$37 Million Settlement for 273 Patients Who Received Unnecessary Heart Stents at St. Joseph Medical Center

For years, cardiologist Dr. Mark Midei worked out of St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland, where hospital administration regarded him as a top revenue producer. Between the mid-1990s and 2009, Midei performed cardiac stent implantation procedures on hundreds of patients. The problem: many of those patients did not need them.

In 2009, St. Joseph sent warning letters to at least 369 patients, advising them that their stent procedures may have been medically unnecessary. Some patients later learned that Midei had told them their arteries were 80 or 90 percent blocked when independent review found blockages as low as 10 percent. Midei falsified medical records to justify the expensive interventions. Maryland revoked his medical license.

Murphy Falcon and Murphy, led by Hassan Murphy, filed a class action lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court in January 2010 against St. Joseph Medical Center and its then-owner Catholic Health Initiatives. The firm joined with the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos P.C. in representing the class. The central claim was that the hospital institution enabled and concealed Midei's conduct, exposing patients to an invasive cardiac procedure they never required and never meaningfully consented to.

The case took four years to reach a resolution. In late March 2014, plaintiffs and Catholic Health Initiatives reached a settlement agreement for up to $37 million. A separate federal action filed in January 2013 was stayed and administratively closed once the state-court settlement came together.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Sylvester B. Cox granted final approval on May 23, 2014, stating from the bench: 'I find this settlement fair, reasonable, adequate and in the best interest of the class.' The 273 class members each stood to receive a minimum payment of approximately $135,000 before attorney fees. Two named class representatives received an additional $25,000 each. Plaintiff counsel collectively received approximately $15 million, or 40 percent of the fund, plus nearly $600,000 in documented expenses.

Midei denied performing unnecessary procedures throughout the litigation and was not individually named as a defendant in the class settlement. Catholic Health Initiatives also admitted no liability.