As of last week, not only does a Kentucky hospital face around 520 medical malpractice lawsuits from heart patients who were treated at the facility, but the medical center has been fined by the state of Kentucky itself for conducting unnecessary heart surgeries. The hospital in Ashland, Kentucky was sued by the state government for reportedly carrying out these unneeded, serious operations in order to bilk millions of dollars from Medicaid and Medicare. The hospital settled for $40.9 million. In total, however, Kentucky is to collect $1,018,380, an amount that includes the Medicaid funds that are being returned to the state.

The hospital stands accused of ordering catheterizations and stent insertions for cardiac patients whom the hospital knew never needed such procedures. In order to perform these surgeries, the hospital allegedly fabricated records to create a false medical history. The hospital is also charged with defrauding the aforementioned government programs. These accusations are the result of an investigation that involved the FBI, the U.S. attorney's office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general, and the Kentucky Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit's attorney general office.

Even though the government has settled with the facility, this will not shield the medical center from the hundreds of lawsuits against them. And the result of the state's lawsuit certainly adds strength to the pending private cases. It rather seems to substantiate the claim that invasive surgeries put hundreds of people at risk for no medical purpose at all, but only for the purpose of monetary profit.

Medical malpractice is more than an error that occurs during an operation or a treatment. Malpractice also includes when negligence or criminal actions lead to unnecessary surgeries being conducted, leading to unnecessary health risks and unnecessary financial expenses. If you or a loved one has suffered from any form of medical malpractice, be sure to speak to a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible!