By Doug Fletcher,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and two doctors who practice there are being sued for allegedly providing improper care to a woman who died of what is sometimes called flesh-eating disease.

The hospital and Drs. Marsha C. O’Rourke and Richard K. Kappelmann also face civil charges of negligence and causing suffering by the patient prior to her death.

However, a pre-litigation screening panel that examined the evidence in the case voted to exonerate Kappelmann and the hospital.

The claim was first filed in Androscoggin County Superior Court in 2002 by Portland lawyer John McArdle III on behalf of the estate of Jacqueline Anderson and sent to the pre-screening panel as required by law.

Anderson, who was 67 at the time, died of blood poisoning resulting from what is commonly called flesh-eating disease, a rare condition in which bacteria destroy tissues underlying the skin.

McArdle said Anderson went to St. Mary’s emergency room on April 23, 2001, for treatment of what was then thought to be a minor surface skin infection in her left leg.

Over a period of days the infection worsened and deepened, eventually turning into the flesh-eating disease. The only way to stop the disease is by surgically removing the infected tissue, he said.

McArdle’s lawsuit alleges that Kappelmann failed to properly diagnose or treat Anderson’s illness and that O’Rourke, a surgeon, failed to diagnose the disease or to operate to remove the flesh.

The suit notes that Kappelmann eventually consulted with a second surgeon, who diagnosed Anderson’s condition over the telephone from Kappelmann’s description of symptoms.

That surgeon operated and removed “substantial necrotic tissue,” the suit states. Despite the surgery, Anderson died.

A state medical negligence screening panel issued a malpractice decree on June 27, citing O’Rourke’s failures in the case, according to court documents.

The same panel exonerated Kappelmann and the hospital, according to McArdle. “That tells me that the panel thought that Kappelmann and other people at the hospital were relying on Dr. O’Rourke to diagnose and treat the necrotizing fasciitis,” the lawyer added.

The pre-litigation panel consists of two lawyers and a doctor. It screens all medical malpractice lawsuits as a means of keeping frivolous cases from reaching court dockets.

O’Rourke was out of state Wednesday, according to her office, and couldn’t be reached for comment.

Kappelmann declined to comment. James Martemucci, his lawyer, said, “Dr. Kappelmann is a caring physician and I believe the he did nothing improper in this case. I have full confidence in him.”

St. Mary’s spokesman Russ Donahue said, “This is an unfolding legal matter and as a result, we don’t discuss circumstances.”

He said Kappelmann and O’Rourke continue to practice at the hospital. Kappelmann is employed by Community Clinical Services, a subsidiary of the same Sisters of Charity corporation that operates St. Mary’s.

O’Rourke is an independent surgeon. Her lawyer, Mark Lavoie of Portland, said Friday that he wasn’t surprised by the pre-litigation panel’s decision against his client. “That’s not terribly unusual. It’s a very summary sort of proceeding. It’s nothing like a jury trial, and juries can reach very different decisions, and that’s why we’re defending this.”

Lavoie said Anderson’s condition was very complex and that she showed “co-morbidity features,” including obesity and diabetes. He said Dr. O’Rourke saw the patient only once, when she was called in late at night for an opinion. He said Anderson was also being treated by an infectious disease doctor and a critical care doctor, neither of whom were named as defendants.

The lawsuit seeks damages and costs for health care, funeral and burial expenses for Anderson’s estate. The amount would be determined by either a judge or jury if a jury hears the case, McArdle said by phone from his Portland law office. He hasn’t decided if he’ll ask for a jury trial, he said.

The suit also seeks compensation for pain and suffering for Kathleen Timmermyer, Anderson’s daughter. The suit says Timmermyer was traumatized by hearing her mother suffer and cry out during her hospitalization.

Timmermyer, of Lewiston, and Kenneth Anderson of Cumberland represent Anderson’s estate.

No trial date has been set.

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