WARREN Patient suit to move forward

The judge also ordered attorneys for both sides not to make any public statements about the lawsuit.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A visiting judge in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court has ruled that attorneys can have no more time to find former patients of the former Warren General Hospital who may want to be part of a class action lawsuit.
Visiting Judge Mary Cacioppo, who is presiding over the case, denied Atty. Dennis Tackett's motion to extend the deadline so more former patients can be found.
Tackett, who is representing some former patients, had asked the judge to extend the ruling because he believed there are more patients who may want to be involved but are not aware of the suit.
Tackett had said he believes there were about 7,734 patients at the hospital from April 1993 to June 1995.
The judge, however, ruled that the hospital made a "reasonable effort" to notify all people who were patients at the hospital between April 29, 1993, and June 6, 1995.
Court officials said they believe close to 4,000 people have been served the paperwork asking if they want to become part of the suit.
The judge ruled, however, that the class action suit will be made up of 555 patients who returned the authorization forms to the court by the Feb. 28 deadline.
Confidentiality issue: Several former patients filed a $240 million lawsuit saying the hospital released confidential information about patients to a legal firm. The suit is pending.
The law firm wanted the records to determine if there were patients eligible to have their hospital bills paid by the Social Security Administration, hospital attorneys have said.
Attorneys for the hospital sent letters to all the people who were at WGH during that time period.
"The hospital officials sent letters to 6-year-old addresses," said Cheryl Biddle, one of the former patients who is involved in the lawsuit. "We now have the Internet. Since we have another tool we should use it."
Judge Cacioppo also ordered attorneys for both sides not to make any public statements about the case.
Overturned on appeal: Judge Cacioppo, who is a former board member at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, ruled in 1996 that the hospital and a law firm violated no laws when attorneys pored over patient records.
The 11th District Court of Appeals, however, reversed her decision in March 1998 and sent the case back.
Appeals Judge Donald Ford wrote in a 30-page ruling that Judge Cacioppo did not consider several items, including a request from the patients to a class-action lawsuit.
The patients contended that the hospital's practice of turning over patient registration forms to an Austintown law firm violated their privacy and state laws mandating that hospital records be kept confidential.
sinkovich@vindy.com