Dr. Frangie Lawsuit: Anesthesia Error, Settlements, and Aftermath

The lawsuits involving Dr. John P. Frangie stem from May 20, 2014, when five patients lost vision in one eye after cataract procedures at the Cataract & Laser Center West in West Springfield, Massachusetts, where Dr. Frangie was the operating surgeon. The injuries were traced to pre-operative anesthesia injections given by a contracted anesthesiologist, not to the cataract surgeries themselves. All five patients settled their malpractice claims for a combined total of roughly $4.475 million, and the anesthesiologist permanently lost his medical license.¹²³

What Happened on May 20, 2014

Five patients arrived at Cataract & Laser Center West that morning for routine cataract removal. Before each surgery, anesthesiologist Dr. Tzay Chiu performed an “eye block,” injecting lidocaine into the muscles around the eyeball to numb the area for surgery.¹ Specialists who later examined the patients concluded that Dr. Chiu had pierced their eyeballs or retinas with the anesthesia needle.⁴

The resulting injuries included retinal hemorrhaging, possible retinal breaks, retinal ischemia, and, in at least one case, central retinal artery occlusion, a blockage that cuts off blood flow to the retina and causes permanent vision loss.⁵⁶ All five patients suffered permanent vision loss in the affected eye and were taken to Baystate Medical Center for emergency surgery.¹

Who Administered the Anesthesia

Dr. Chiu was not a regular employee of the surgery center. He was a contracted anesthesiologist provided through a third-party staffing agency called D&G Associates, and May 20, 2014 was only his second day treating patients at the facility.⁵¹ Plaintiffs’ attorney William Thompson of Lubin & Meyer said Dr. Chiu had reportedly not performed eye blocks since July 2013, nearly a year before the May 2014 procedures.⁴

How the Surgery Center Responded

In its report to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the center said Dr. Chiu had been hired through a standard process and had provided proper training credentials, experience, and two letters of reference.⁷ Medical Director Andrew Jusko called the injuries an “error in technique” but said the event was “not preventable,” arguing that Dr. Chiu had appeared competent during an observation period.¹ The center also said Dr. Chiu “either misrepresented his skills, had a lack of knowledge or misused equipment.”⁵

Thompson rejected the idea that the injuries were unforeseeable. “When one patient ends up blinded, it raises a red flag because it’s such a rare complication,” he said. “When five patients are blinded, all on the same day, in the same center, it’s really shocking.”⁷

The Malpractice Settlements

All five patients hired attorneys, and every case was resolved by settlement rather than trial. Two firms handled the litigation.

Attorneys John P. Connor and Allison K. Murphy of Stobierski & Connor in Greenfield represented three of the patients. Their cases settled on March 15, 2018 for a combined $2.175 million. The plaintiffs alleged that the anesthesiologist failed to use proper technique, failed to undergo adequate training, and failed to offer less invasive anesthesia methods. Claims were also brought against the eye surgeon, the surgical center, and the placement agency that supplied Dr. Chiu.²

William J. Thompson of Lubin & Meyer represented the other two patients. Each of those cases settled for $1.15 million, both finalized by October 2018.³ One of those plaintiffs, a 69-year-old woman, suffered permanent vision loss in her right eye after the anesthesia needle perforated the globe of her eye and caused central retinal artery occlusion.⁶

Across all five patients, the reported settlements totaled approximately $4.475 million.

What Happened to the Anesthesiologist

The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine opened an investigation into Dr. Chiu after the incident. He was initially allowed to keep practicing on the condition that he not perform eye blocks, and later signed a voluntary agreement not to practice in Massachusetts while the investigation continued.¹⁵

In December 2016, the Board accepted Dr. Chiu’s resignation of his medical license, which the Board characterized as “a disciplinary action that permanently removes the physician from the practice of medicine anywhere in the United States.” Dr. Chiu had held a Massachusetts license since 1981.⁸ Based on the available record, no publicly reported disciplinary action was taken against Dr. Frangie or the Cataract & Laser Center West by the Board or the Department of Public Health.

A Separate Lawsuit Involving Dr. Frangie

Dr. Frangie is also involved in a civil lawsuit that is unrelated to the 2014 cataract cases. Filed in Franklin County Superior Court in October 2023, the case concerns the division of assets of Pioneer Valley Ophthalmic Consultants, P.C., a practice he shared with Dr. Nathalie Rioux, after his departure on December 31, 2021.⁹

Dr. Frangie, who served as president and a 50% shareholder, alleges that Dr. Rioux made improper payments from the corporate account after he left. Dr. Rioux responds that the corporation remained active and that Dr. Frangie remained responsible for corporate debts and contractual obligations as a shareholder. As of May 2025, the case was still active, with Dr. Rioux filing a motion in limine on the post-departure expense question.⁹

Is Dr. Frangie Still Practicing?

Yes. Dr. Frangie continues to practice ophthalmology and is listed as a provider with Baystate Health, affiliated with Baystate Franklin Medical Center, at his office at 274 Westfield Street in West Springfield, Massachusetts, where he is accepting new patients.¹⁰ His practice serves patients in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut.¹¹

1
MassLive. West Springfield Cataract Surgery
2
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Partial Blindness of Patients Linked to Anesthesiologist
3
Lubin and Meyer. Anesthesiologist Cataracts
4
Boston Globe. Anesthesiologist Eyed in Series of Cataract Surgery Errors
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WWLP. 5 Local Patients Seriously Injured During Eye Surgery Gone Wrong
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Lubin and Meyer. Cataract Blind Malpractice
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MassLive. 5 Patients Report Blindness Following Surgery
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MassLive. Dr. Tzay Chiu Anesthesiologist
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Trellis Law. Frangie v. Rioux Motion in Limine
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Baystate Health. John P. Frangie
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JohnFrangieMD.com. John Frangie MD