NO LAUGHING MATTER

Dr. Alan Garely of Mineola, NY, laughed when process server, Amir Levy, handed him the subpoena at his office on Friday afternoon, June 15, 2007.

My attorney will take care of this, he said, or words to that effect.

Sure enough, Garely's attorney, Catherine Mirabel, Fagler & Amsler, L.L.P. of East Meadow, NY did just that. In a conversation with me (I'm the Plaintiff Pro Se, Lana C. Keeton) on Monday, June 18, 2007, Ms. Mirabel told me personally that Dr. Garely had no information. Ms. Mirabel also stated that Dr. Garely had ended his relationship with Ethicon, Inc's, Gynecare Worldwide, a Johnson and Johnson Company.

Strange that Dr. Garely has no information about that relationship. Rather convenient as a matter of fact. Also of interest is that Ms. Mirabel faxed a copy of Dr. Garely's subpoenas to the office of the firm representing the defendants in the case before she made that phone call to Ms. Keeton.

In sworn testimony at a deposition on June 8, 2005, Dr. Bernard Cantor of Weston, Florida, stated "I believe I submitted a copy of the letter from Dr. Garely stating that I had taken his course [in the procedure to implant Gynecare TVT Prolene mesh tape] and was capable of performing the procedure."

For me, this is no laughing matter. Surgery performed in December 2001 by Dr. Bernard Cantor at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, Florida left me with necrotizing fasciitis, the "flesh eating bacteria." A Gynecare TVT device was implanted in my bladder during that surgery.

For the record, Plaintiff Pro Se Lana C. Keeton of Miami, Florida sued Ethicon, Inc, d/b/a Gynecare Worldwide and Johnson and Johnson in December 2005. The product liability lawsuit alleges that the Gynecare TVT System and its' Gynecare TVT Device are inherently defective. The lawsuit is currently pending before the United States District Court for the Southern Disctrict of Florida.

The images below are not for the faint-of-heart. Be forewarned. They are gruesome and the immediate results of my surgery. For additional information about what happened to me, keep your eyes peeled to this blog spot. Any interested parties may contact me at miamiblog@bellsouth.net.