Surgeon on Trial for Negligence, Wrongful Death

By Daniel Hawn

Published on February 11, 2006

The widow of John J. Sebastino Jr., 68, of North Adams filed the lawsuit against Parvis J. Sadighi of Berkshire Medical Center.

According to the suit, Sebastino suffered from cancer of the esophagus and received chemotherapy and radiation treatment before he was referred to Sadighi's care in October 1999.

Sadighi later performed surgery on Sebastino to remove his esophagus. Seven months after the procedure, Sebastino died of respiratory problems.

During the trial's opening arguments, W. Stanley Cooke, the attorney for Sebastino's widow, claimed that the procedure was unnecessary because the chemotherapy and radiation treatments had eliminated Sebastino's cancer. He went on to state that Sadighi did not perform the necessary tests on Sebastino to determine whether this was the case.

Cooke also alleged that, during surgery, Sadighi injured one of Sebastino's nerves. The damage rendered Sebastino unable to eat or breathe normally, Cooke claimed.

Martin C. Foster, an attorney for Sadighi, responded to the plaintiff's claims by asserting that Sadighi had informed Sebastino of all the risks associated with the surgery, including the same nerve injury Sebastino suffered.

Foster also said that Sebastino was a long-time smoker and that stomach discharges caused by his smoking sent liquid into his lungs, which produced the respiratory condition that ultimately killed him.

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