Radiology group must pay $4M after fatal botched feeding tube check
A South Carolina radiology practice reportedly must pay $4 million following a malpractice case over a botched feeding tube.
The case dates to May 2019 when a 65-year-old, now-deceased man required help with eating. A referrer ordered an X-ray to confirm proper placement, which was interpreted by Neil H. Parnes, MD, with Upstate Carolina Radiology at the time, South Carolina Lawyers reported Wednesday.
In his reporting, Parnes acknowledged the presence of a previously placed orogastric tube—typically inserted through the mouth and down the esophagus to deliver liquids. However, the radiologist failed to flag the improper placement of a new “Dobhoff” tube—a flexible, long-term feeding tool placed past the stomach using a guide wire and imaging.
After feeding started, the patient developed pneumonia and sepsis requiring several bronchoscopies (examining the airways and lungs) and a lobectomy (removing a lobe of the lung). The man died about three weeks after the tube insertion, leading to his family filing suit against Upstate Carolina Radiology and Spartanburg Regional Health. The hospital settled for $800,000 in April while the imaging group and Parnes did the same for $4 million in June.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.