NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Union County couple sues surgeon, hospital
$26M lawsuit fi led
in Baker County
Circuit Court
By CHRIS COLLINS
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — A Union
County couple has fi led a $26 million
lawsuit against
former Baker City
surgeon Dr. Eric
Sandefur, and St.
Alphonsus Medical
Center-Baker City.
Mark and Lynne
Brown filed the
Sandefur
lawsuit on Feb. 11
in Baker County
Circuit Court. They are demand-
ing a jury trial. The Browns allege
that Mark Brown suffered a lifetime
disability — the loss of mobility in
his right leg — because of the defen-
dants’ negligence.
Sandefur performed a total knee
replacement of Mark Brown’s right
leg on Oct. 16, 2018, at Saint Alphon-
sus Medical Center in Baker City,
the complaint states.
Mark Brown is asking for
economic damages of up to $10
million for complications that he
alleges resulted after Sandefur
performed the surgery.
Mark Brown claims that as a
result of an infection that developed
and continued to worsen over the
course of his recovery, and which
he alleges Sandefur was negligent in
treating, Brown’s right leg has been
St. Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City/Contributed Photo
A Union County couple has fi led a $26 million lawsuit against former Baker City surgeon Dr. Eric Sandefur, and
St. Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City.
left immobile.
Because of his immobility,
according to the complaint, Mark
Brown is permanently disabled
and can no longer work as a certi-
fied diesel and heavy equipment
mechanic.
The lawsuit claims that Mark
Brown expects to “incur economic
damages in the form of past and
future medical care and expenses as
well as medical devices and imple-
ments, including prosthetics; past
and future lost wages and impaired
earnings; and past and future substi-
tute domestic services.”
Mark Brown also is seeking
noneconomic damages of up to $12
million to be determined at trial.
According to the complaint, Brown
has experienced “severe pain, suffer-
ing, disability, anxiety, emotional
distress, scarring, multiple hospi-
talizations, multiple surgical inter-
ventions, disfigurement, loss of
self-esteem and permanent limita-
tion on motion, together with inter-
ference of all aspects of his daily
life.”
The Browns’ complaint also
includes a second claim for relief
against Saint Alphonsus Medical
Center, alleging the hospital was
negligent in credentialing and grant-
ing privileges for Sandefur to prac-
tice at the hospital.
The lawsuit alleges Saint Alphon-
sus should have known that prior
to Sandefur’s treatment of Mark
Brown, Sandefur “had a history of
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Another lawsuit challenges
Hammonds’ grazing permit
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Capital Press
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surgical outcomes that resulted in
the development of infections.”
The lawsuit claims the hospital
should have performed “reason-
able credentialing and ongoing peer
review” of Sandefur to ensure the
safety of its patients.
(A $5.2 million lawsuit fi led Sept.
8, 2020, in Baker County Circuit
Court accuses Sandefur, Veron-
ica Crowder, a physician assistant
who worked with Sandefur, and
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center of
negligence in connection with treat-
ing a fracture to 6-year-old Avery
Martin’s right arm after she was
injured on May 5, 2018.)
As part of the Browns’ lawsuit,
Lynne Brown also is seeking $2
million for what she claims is the loss
of her husband’s “society, compan-
ionship, consortium, services and
support” as a result of the defen-
dants’ negligence and violations.
In a fourth claim for relief,
Lynne Brown seeks an addi-
tional $2 million in noneconomic
damages. She alleges that as a result
of Mark Brown’s injuries caused
by the defendants’ negligence and
violations, she has suffered “severe
emotional distress and anxiety with
depression.”
The Browns are represented by
Brian C. Dretke of the Dretke Law
Firm of Bend.
Sandefur is represented by
Connie Elkins McKelvey, of Lind-
say Hart LLP, a Portland law fi rm.
McKelvey did not responded to a
voicemail message and an email
seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Saint Alphonsus Health System
declined to comment.
“Saint Alphonsus cannot
comment on pending litigation,”
Mark Snider, Saint Alphonsus
Health System spokesman, stated
in an email to the Baker City Herald.
In a letter to his patients dated
Dec. 21, 2020, Sandefur announced
that “after 23 years of dedicated
service with Saint Alphonsus, I have
decided to explore new opportuni-
ties in health care.”
The letter stated that Sandefur’s
last day of seeing patients would be
Dec. 31, 2020.
In closing, he wrote: “I truly
appreciate the trust you have placed
in me to partner in your care and
wish you the very best in health
going forward.”
SALEM — Environmen-
talists have asked a federal
judge to again cancel the
grazing permit for Oregon’s
Hammond family, claim-
ing its restoration violated
administrative, environmen-
tal and land management
laws.
In January, the U.S. Inte-
rior Department reauthorized
the Hammonds to graze cattle
on four public land allotments
totaling 26,400 acres, partly
due to the family’s historic
use and proximity to the
federal property.
Steven Hammond, who
operates the ranch, and his
father, Dwight, originally
lost permission to graze the
allotments near Diamond in
2014 when the government
refused to renew their permit
after they were criminally
charged with setting fi res to
rangelands.
The Hammonds were
convicted and completed
their initial prison terms,
then ordered back behind
bars after the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled they
had to serve fi ve-year manda-
tory minimum sentences for
arson.
Dwight
Hammond
Steven
Hammond
Their return to prison in
early 2016 sparked protests
that culminated in a month-
long stand-off with federal
agents at the Malheur
National Wildlife that
attracted national attention.
T he ra nchers were
released early in 2018 after
receiving a full pardon from
former President Donald
Trump, which prompted the
Interior Department to renew
the ranchers’ grazing permit
the following year due to
“changed circumstances.”
However, environmental
groups convinced a federal
judge to reverse that decision
in 2019 because the grazing
permit was renewed contrary
to regulations.
The Interior Department
then opened up the grazing
allotments to applications
from other ranchers, but ulti-
mately decided to issue a
new permit to the Hammond
family earlier this year.
The Western Water-
sheds Project, Oregon Natu-
ral Desert Association,
Wildearth Guardians and
Center for Biological Diver-
sity have now fi led another
lawsuit seeking to rescind the
grazing permit’s most recent
approval.
The environmental plain-
tiffs argue the federal govern-
ment’s decision involved
“rushed, opaque, and highly
unusual public processes”
that were “tainted by politi-
cal infl uence and are not the
product of reasoned, lawful
decision-ma k i ng,” the
complaint said.
Ac c o r d i n g t o t h e
complaint, the federal govern-
ment approved the grazing
permit “without opportuni-
ties for public participation
required by law” and wrongly
determined the Hammonds
were more qualified than
other applicants.
The decision also didn’t
comply with land use protec-
tions for the sage grouse
and with a statute aimed at
conserving the “long term
ecological integrity” of
Steens Mountain in Eastern
Oregon, the complaint said.
Alan Schroeder, attorney
for the Hammonds, referred
questions about the lawsuit
to Steven Hammond, who
wasn’t available for comment.
IN BRIEF
U.S. Democratic Rep. Kurt
Schrader opposes Biden’s
COVID-19 relief package
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