Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Lawsuit against Freeman,disgraced doctor settled

Another malpractice lawsuit against Freeman Neosho Hospital in connection with its association with disgraced doctor Jeffrey Wool has been settled, according to Newton County Circuit Court records.
The Turner Report noted on July 6 that it appeared that the claim filed by Billie
Aschentrop, 61, Neosho, had been settled. The defendants in that case, in addition to Wool and Freeman Neosho, were Freeman Health Systems, Neidra DePuy, and Margaret Bond. Court records at that time indicated the case had a "satisfaction of claims" and "satisfaction of costs by plaintiff." The case had been scheduled to go to trial Aug. 14 and 15. The official dismissal with prejudice was filed Aug. 25.
Wool pleaded guilty last year in Newton County Circuit Court to a Class D felony of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. He received a suspended sentence and four years of supervised probation.
During the past two years, the Wool situation has been a nightmare for Freeman, which has faced at least eight malpractice lawsuits against the doctor, with some who filed lawsuits claiming that he practiced medicine on them while he was addicted to painkillers.
One of those cases went to trial with the plaintiffs Jessee Eastburn, Tim Zengel, and David Zengel awarded $300,000 plus $1,457.80 in court costs on April 9, 2004.
Undisclosed settlements were reached in two other cases.

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