The Knuckleheads of the Day award Part One

Again I have too many knuckleheads to pass up on.

Our first winners are JFK Hospital in Atlantis Florida and Neurosurgeon Jacques Farkas. They get the award for the botched surgery performed on Sam Sangounchitte in 1999. Dr. Farkas performed surgery he had never done before which eventually crippled Mr. Sangounchitte.

Medical and bureaucratic incompetence, plain and simple. JFK plans to appeal, but that don't matter to TFM. JFK Hospital and Dr. Jacques Farkas are our first knuckleheads of the day.

Open Post- Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe, Cao's Blog, Samantha Burns, TMH's Bacon Bits,

A Palm Beach County jury on Thursday found JFK Medical Center liable for a neurosurgeon's mishap that left a Boynton Beach man in a wheelchair. The Atlantis hospital was ordered to pay $11.4 million in damages.

According to the complaint, Sam Sangounchitte in 1999 was operated on by neurosurgeon Jacques Farkas, who performed spinal surgery he had never done before using rods that the manufacturer advised should not be used in spinal surgery. The rods migrated into the patient's brain, severely injuring him.

Sangounchitte, 52, who was represented by attorney Nancy LaVista, sued JFK for allowing the surgery to take place and for failing to properly credential the doctor.

The complaint alleged that JFK only required proof of medical training to get privileges and placed no restrictions on what doctors could do in their operating rooms, in violation of federal law. Another reason why the plaintiff sued the hospital was because the doctor did not have any malpractice coverage, LaVista said.

Sangounchitte, a native of Thailand, worked as a jewelry salesman at Sak's Fifth Avenue and owned a bagel store before the operation.

A year after the surgery he began having tremors and losing his balance, LaVista said. He is now in a wheelchair, unable to walk.

"He has permanent spinal cord and low brain damage," she said.

The four-week trial was heard by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Amy Smith.