Hi Rich, As for my story it is really pretty incredible..

I had a minor surgery six days after I graduated with two degrees in 1995. Due to a previous spinal cord injury my bladder is not so hot. I am able to walk OK, but my bladder was affected. However, prior to his butchering me I had a pretty normal life still, ( before he took my remaining bladder function away from me.. )

The doctor stupidly left the artificial bladder pump "ON," or activated. This meant that six days after my 1st surgery when the catheter came out of my "wilbur" I could not void. (urinate).

I begged them repeatedly to take me into the urodynamic lab to make sure both pumps were properly turned off. They refused of course and said it was post surgical swelling of the tissue..

I was sent home with a blankety-blank foley catheter in my wilbur that I had for something like 78 days. 33 days after my surgery I was in pain, and I went to the emergency room. The doctor discovered that one pump had been left on.

(Here is where my story gets unbelievable. Keep in mind I am a registered x-ray technologist with a BS degree in of all things Hospital Management. So I have and idea of how things are supposed to be done, along with a better than rudimentary knowledge of human anatomy and physiology.)

Dr. Terry Little the ER doctor, and Dr. Leonard Zinman went back in time and they both falsified and rewrote all of my records to hide Zinman's gross negligence. They even rewrote my initial discharge to state I did NOT have a catheter in my body when I went home after my 1st surgery..

I did not know they got cute until after my 7th surgery there at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA in January of 1996. When I read my records my heart sank, then I got pissed off..

I called good ol' Dr. Little into my room and waived my falsified records at him. He sat in a chair next to my bed and laughed at me with arrogance, and contempt. There I was with a large hole in my abdomen packed with a 50% bleach solution, and two or three tubes in my body...in great pain and that evil, amoral little peckerwood laughed at me with glee like a small child who got away with a huge nasty prank.

I spent a whole 30+ days in that hospital and suffered three operations. Having him laugh in my face was like kicking me when I was down already. He did stop laughing when I told him I would remember him in my law suit. Like my new doctor tells me, "It is just not worth getting caught falsifying medical records. They ALWAYS make a mistake when they do that." He was right as rain. They were so smart they were stupid and they forgot to lose my nursing floor records that still contained the truth. :)

They did "lose" over 250 pages of my medical (hospital) records that were incriminating however when they "vacuumed" my records to try to hide Zinman's negligence. As I later discovered Zinman was caught before falsifying medical reocrds. When he slipped up in his depostion all he did was to refuse to show up for his own malpractice trial and the case was settled for a lot of money..

The Massachusetts Board of Registration is ranked 49th out of the 50 states for doing nothing to punish the amoral, and unethical doctors like Zinman and Little. They "promised" me that I could submit my expensive official polygraph to prove Zinman and Little were/are lying. I later received a letter stating, "The purpose of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine is NOT to act as your private advocate." That means they admit that they are not in business to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from amoral, and unethical criminals who commit gross illegal activities..

A question any sane person should ask them if their job is not to protect the citizens, then what the Hell are they doing to earn their inflated salaries? I could also tell you that Medicare fraud investigation is a JOKE. I could go on, and on with examples of how the DA, Atorney General, the Justice Department (a joke), FBI, and the MA State Police all did nothing..

A Captain in the MA State police told me how he had a perp who stole his wife's ring sent to prison. He pulled strings with the courts to ensure that that perp got lotsa time, but they would not help me.. My medical bills are now in excess of $315,600 and growing. I guess 315,600 is not enough Medicare Fraud to get their attention? Even good ol' Senator Tedley Kennedy's office did nothing.

I took a polygraph and sent it to every board member and trustee at the Lahey Clinic where I was harmed by Zinmam. Their response was to sick the local police on my a$$ to intimidate me with threats of arrest if I sent any more letters to the hospital. They found the truth to be very frightening to them indeed. It took me 3 years to get my case into the system. I had to file Pro Se which means w/out a lawyer. 4 Days before my case was heard by the MA Medical Malpractice Tribunal I signed the papers with a great law firm. My case breezed through the Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Tribunal on 12/18/98 in my favor. This meant there was merit to my case. No kidding.. :)

I later found out that one member of the three member panel asked only ONE question of my lawyer. That was not a good sign for Zinman's lawyers, who have defended him before in the case where he did not show up for his own trial and other times as well. The evil doctor's seem to spend the $$$ to hire the biggest lawyers blood money can buy to protect them. I still can not comprehend how any lawyer can take on a client like zinman knowing full well that he did deliberately falsify records, and harmed me so badly. I guess I am naive.. The American Justice system is stacked in the side of whomever has the most expensive legal counsel sadly..

Where my story gets even more unreal is, I also sent my information to the Mass-achusetts Medical Society. My Dad and I hand delivered my proof(s) to a Jason Duncan who looked up Zinman's status on a computer in front of us in 1997. Zinman WAS a member in good standing at that time. :) 3 days later they mailed all my evidence back to me. I was informed by their hired mouthpiece lawyer named Dean Nicastro, Esquire that it did not matter. It seemed good ol' Zinman had cancelled his membership conveniently in September (or October) of 1995. So even though Zinman WAS a member at the time he falsified my medical records they could not help me because I did not learn of said falsification of my records until January of 1996 when Zinman was no longer a member. I also discovered later on that Zinman was the head for a year of the MA. Medical Society. So he was well protected, and they felt my pain, and all that crap.. I got a "have a good life" spiel and I was shown the door.

I am at 21 plus operations now. My kidneys are below normal and failing more every year as my yearly kidney tests (scans) prove. My hearing is damaged, and my bladder has been so badly damaged I will soon need a urostomy and be peeing out my side for the rest of my shortened life.. All due to Zinman's avoidable negligence.He was/is so arrogant as to believe that because he has 140 journal papers to his credit he can get away with anything. The good news is I have at least 4 board certified doctors that gave me statements saying Zinman was negligent. I almost died twice from Sepsis due to another mistake he made in leaving three foreign bodies in my abdomen. The worst part is I worked my a$$ off for 5+ years to earn my two degrees.

Going on 4.6+ years later I am still unable to work still and I live on SSI which is not affording me the life I worked so very hard for. I was 35 and change when I graduated in 1995. Now I am 41 and as we all know there is a HUGE difference between finding work at 35 and 41. Being over 40 in this new age society we live in is the kiss of death. I guess we all have some misery, and pain in this life. I just feel like I went back for 2nd and 3rd helpings through no fault of my own.

I may try to seek out a group myself if there are any such things for damaged people due to medical malpractice? I have lost most of my friends, and struggle with some depression also from this nightmare. I thank God though for every day I wake up and see another day. Until we lose our health we tend to take good health for granted. I wish my story could be told, I have a 40 something page running log/journal of this. Maybe a reporter will want my story someday.. I really do not care.

What I want is to tell people how to protect themselves. If anyone ever disvovers they, or a loved one was hurt in a hospital to go immediately to another hospital to document in WRITING that something was done negligently. In my worst nightmares I did not believe that at least 4, or five doctors would help hide Zinman's negligence to include some nurses helping them falsifymy medical records.

How does one get justice for the physical pain and suffering from 21 plus operations? No one could possibly grasp what 8+ months of having a 50% bleach solution packed in their bodies was like.. I guess we all have some misery in life.. If anyone is interested you have my permission to add this true story to your files.:)

Just wait till I get their sorry behinds in court next May, or June.. Let the games begin as they say! I wish you the best of luck!
Take care,
John

Should anyone wish to contact me to obtain a copy of my polygraph, or other proof(s) I would be glad to oblidge them.

What I REALLY want people to know is that as soon as a mistake is discovered to immediately go to another hospital and have it verified, and written down. If just one person can avoid the 5 years of grief I have been forced to endure. Then maybe the next amoral, and unethical doctor just might think twice before simply rewriting, and falsifying a set of medical records.

That thought might make my last years a little brighter for me as my kidneys slowly fail.. I enjoy every day that I wake up as a gift from God. While I still am working out my anger, I am much better than I used to be.

I am looking into the chance to start a local chapter for other victims of medical malpractice in my area. I need to do some more research on the matter before I can start a small chapter. I know I have been frustrated for many years not having a single person who has "been there, and done that" so to speak to talk with.

Unless someone has experienced a tragic loss in their quality of life like both you and I have, they really can not comprehend what we go through each day. Chronic pain is a real bear to live with sadly as we both know.

I have good days, and some not so good days. The depression was the worst of it. I have lost touch with most of my old friends. Plus, as I learned some of my old friend's do not know how to handle me now. I am not "the person" I used to be.

It is hard to put this into words. Who knows? Maybe a small group could be started in my local area. I have to look into it more carefully. LOL, there would prolly be a 1/2 dozen "buzzards" (lawyers) working the room for potential clients. :)

Take care!
Have a great weekend,
John P. Chleapas ll
23 Lapham Street
Fall River, MA 02721
508-674-3991
Email John Here