Cardiologist seeks trial in St. Joseph Medical Center suit

Dr. Mark Midei's lawyers on Wednesday cast the embattled cardiologist as a scapegoat used to mask deeper turmoil at St. Joseph Medical Center as they asked a judge to let a defamation lawsuit Midei filed against the hospital go to trial. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Mickey Norman made no decision. Norman held the hearing in response to a plea from St. Joseph and its corporate parent to throw out Midei's case rather than carry it to the jury trial Midei's lawyer Stephen L. Snyder is requesting. Midei's troubles began in 2009, when St. Joseph warned 600 patients that their stent surgeries might have been unnecessary. More than 200 have since filed lawsuits against the cardiologist.