Daniel E. Holloway
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Pain Physicians of Atlanta complaint alleges cervical epidural consent and imaging failures

The complaint alleges that Ravi Dammanna, M.D. performed a cervical epidural steroid injection at Pain Physicians of Atlanta without obtaining proper informed consent, including consent about the use of Kenalog-40 and procedure-specific risks. The complaint alleges that the procedure was performed at a different spinal level and with a transforaminal approach without medical necessity, proper fluoroscopic imaging was not used to confirm catheter placement, and Pain Physicians of Atlanta negligently trained and supervised personnel.

System
Pain Physicians of Atlanta, LLC
Facility
Pain Physicians of Atlanta, LLC
Providers involved
Pain Physicians of Atlanta, LLC / Ravi Dammanna, M.D.
Pattern
Alleged informed-consent and fluoroscopic-imaging failures during cervical epidural steroid injection
Harm
Alleged permanent injuries, economic damages, and other losses after cervical epidural steroid injection

Overview

This page concerns a public complaint alleging that Pain Physicians of Atlanta and Ravi Dammanna, M.D. failed to obtain informed consent and failed to properly perform or image a cervical epidural steroid injection.

Chronology

The complaint alleges as follows:

  1. The patient presented to Pain Physicians of Atlanta on June 10, 2022 with cervical neck pain.
  2. The patient was referred to Dr. Dammanna for consultation about a potential cervical epidural steroid injection at the right C5-6 level.
  3. Dr. Dammanna recommended the injection despite low and improving pain levels.
  4. The procedure was performed on or about June 23, 2022 at the C-T1 level with use of an arrow catheter at the right C6-7 foramen.
  5. The procedure differed from the consent form and Dr. Dammanna did not properly discuss risks, including use of Kenalog-40.
  6. Fluoroscopic imaging was not properly used to confirm catheter placement during the procedure.

Alleged failures

The complaint alleges the following failures:

  • Dr. Dammanna failed to obtain informed consent before performing the cervical epidural steroid injection.
  • Dr. Dammanna performed the procedure at a different spinal level and used a transforaminal approach without medical necessity.
  • Dr. Dammanna used Kenalog-40 without proper informed consent about risks associated with a particulate steroid.
  • Dr. Dammanna failed to properly monitor the procedure with fluoroscopic imaging to confirm catheter placement.
  • The complaint alleges that Pain Physicians of Atlanta negligently trained and supervised personnel.

Entities and tags

Pain Physicians of Atlanta, LLCRavi Dammanna, M.D.Cervical epidural steroid injectionKenalog-40Arrow catheterFluoroscopic imagingTransforaminal approachInformed consentSurgical errorNegligent hiring or supervisionInterventional pain medicine