o
Garabet “Gary” M. Zakeosian, practicing law
is, in his words, “like doing detective work.”
An experienced anesthesiologist before turning to a legal
career, Dr. Zakeosian had the opportunity to participate
in a variety of surgeries and gain knowledge that spans
a broad spectrum of medical fields and procedures.
 One
particular expertise: reviewing an injured patient’s medical
chart and being able to tell what went wrong and how. Since joining
Kline & Specter in 1998, Dr. Zakeosian’s case analyses
have helped lead to legal victories.
One example was the shocking death
of Adam Covenko, a 24-year-old former wrestler who checked
into the hospital for a routine rhinoplasty two weeks
before he was to be married. He wound up dead. The cause
turned out to be improper intubation resulting in Covenko
losing his airway for several minutes. The 2003 case resulted
in a substantial settlement.
Another case involved a four-year-old
girl who was checked into an emergency room for diabetes
testing and treatment but suffered brain damage. Dr.
Zakeosian was able to help determine that the little girl
had been too heavily sedated during the procedures, causing
respiratory depression, and that she had not been properly
monitored. The firm won a multi-million dollar settlement.
In yet another case, Dr. Zakeosian
helped determine that an anesthesiologist was responsible
for a woman suffering a stroke and resulting paralysis
after her blood pressure was allowed to drop too low during
surgery. At trial, the anesthesiologist broke down during
cross-examination and admitted he had provided poor care.
A substantial settlement was reached in the case.
Dr. Zakeosian
has helped make cases by using his legal skills as well
as his medical knowledge. In April 2004, he co-tried a
case in federal court in Allentown in which a jury awarded
$410,000 for a woman who had to endure a second operation
to remove a sponge left in her abdomen during an earlier
fertility surgery. The woman suffered a colon disorder
as a result of the mishap.
Dr. Zakeosian was also part of the
Kline & Specter legal teams that won a $6 million
verdict in 2001 from an Indiana County (Pa.) jury in the
case of a baby injured during childbirth (see Chichy)
and an $18.5 million verdict in 2003 in Philadelphia for
a girl whose heart was damaged due to medical error. (Keen)
Dr. Zakeosian received his undergraduate
degree from Franklin & Marshall College, earning a
B.A. in physics in 1973. He then attended the Milton S.
Hershey College of Medicine of the Pennsylvania State
University, graduating with an M.D. in 1977. He completed
an internship at the Bryn Mawr Hospital and did residency
training in anesthesiology at the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania. He completed post-residency fellowships
in pediatric anesthesia and intensive care medicine and
in cardiac anesthesia at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Zakeosian obtained his board certification in anesthesiology
in 1981. He has practiced at Bryn Mawr Hospital, Frankford
Hospital and Paoli Memorial Hospital. He has extensive
experience with pain management and was co-director of
the Frankford Hospital Pain Management Clinic.
Dr. Zakeosian started at Kline &
Specter while he was still in law school, doing legal
and medical research for cases. He joined the firm full-time
after earning his J.D. in 2000 from the University of
Pennsylvania, where he has completed course work toward
a master’s degree in bioethics. In May 2007 he earned an LL.M. in Trial Advocacy from the Temple University Beasley School of Law, winning the Faculty Award for courtroom performance skills.
He is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. He is also a Fellow
of the American College of Legal Medicine.
In addition to his work-related
endeavors, Dr. Zakeosian is actively involved in the Philadelphia
rowing community as a member of University Barge Club.
To contact Gary Zakeosian, email him at
Gary.Zakeosian@KlineSpecter.com
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