Sommers Schwartz attorney Robert Sickels filed a medical malpractice and general negligence lawsuit alleging the defendants improperly and negligently treated a patient’s osteoarthritis, causing severe infections in both knees that required total replacement surgeries.

In January 2022, Terence Mekoski consulted Dr. Hardik Shah, an orthopedic doctor affiliated with the Institute of Neuromuscular Medicine (INM), to evaluate and treat his bilateral knee pain. Shah diagnosed Mekoski with knee pain and bilateral osteoarthritis. His recommended treatment plan included having Mekoski enroll in a functional medicine and wellness program at INM and undergo injections in his knees, neck, and back.

Over the next few months, Mekoski received multiple injections into his knees, neck, and back. His knee pain persisted, and he began to experience severe headaches, swelling in both knees, and reduced mobility. When his knees gave out and caused him to fall twice, he went to the emergency room.

Tests revealed C. pelliculosa, a severe infection, in both knees, which was reported to the Michigan Department of Health. Mekoski underwent irrigation, drainage, debridement, and synovectomy surgery on both knees and remained hospitalized for nearly a month. Over the following six months, he was hospitalized repeatedly and completed numerous unsuccessful courses of antibiotics and antifungals. Ultimately, he underwent total knee replacement surgeries on both knees. 

The complaint alleges that the defendant physician breached the standard of care in numerous ways, including improperly conducting physical examinations and assessments, failing to ensure proper sterility practices, and failing to follow standard injection protocols for treating osteoarthritis. These violations allegedly caused the infections that required Mekoski to undergo bilateral two-stage knee replacement surgeries. Mekoski claims that due to the defendant’s negligence, he suffered pain and loss of mobility, endured multiple surgeries and hospitalizations, and now has significant permanent impairment and disability. The lawsuit seeks damages for medical expenses, loss of wages, diminution of earning capacity, disfigurement, scarring, and mental and emotional anguish and anxiety. His wife has additional claims for loss of the comfort, companionship, society, and services of her husband.