Blog
February 22nd, 2012
When a 49-year-old man walked into a New York hospital’s emergency room in November, 2007, he complained to the emergency room physician of classic signs of an aortic aneurysm (an aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in an artery caused by certain medical conditions, genetic conditions, or trauma that damage the wall of the artery. The aneurysm can enlarge and rupture or dissect (split), causing life-threatening internal bleeding. Most aneurysms occur in the main artery that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body, known as the aorta. Ruptures and dissection of aneurysms are often fatal. Source)
The emergency room physician, who was board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology at the time of the man’s visit to the emergency room, diagnosed a muscle strain but failed to diagnose the man’ s aortic aneurysm. An x-ray taken at the time of the emergency room visit evidently showed the aneurysm. The man was sent home, where he was found dead two days later by his 10-year-old son. An autopsy found the ruptured aortic aneurysm.
The emergency room physician, who worked for an outside group that contracted with the hospital to provide emergency department services, argued during the medical malpractice trial that the man’s aortic aneurysm was not present at the time he examined the man in the hospital emergency room.
The New York medical malpractice trial lasted one month. On February 15, 2012, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the man’s family and against the hospital and the emergency room physician in the amount of $3.4 million. The hospital has stated its intention to appeal the verdict.
Source
Hospital emergency rooms exist in our communities to provide emergency, acute care to patients who walk into the emergency room or arrive by ambulance. The timely and proper diagnosis of the medical conditions of the patients is critical in determining the proper care, whether that care is provided in the emergency room or as inpatient treatment in the hospital, or provided by another source outside of the emergency room at a later date (such as primary care physicians).
If the patient’s medical condition is life-threatening and acute but not properly diagnosed in the emergency room and the patient does not receive necessary medical treatment or not timely referred for appropriate medical treatment, the hospital and/or the emergency room staff may be held responsible for their failure to provide the required medical care if the patient suffers foreseeable injuries as a result of not receiving the proper medical care.
If negligent emergency room treatment may be the reason for your injuries or suffering, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Medical malpractice attorneys may be able to investigate your possible medical malpractice claim for you.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with local medical malpractice lawyers who may be able to assist you with your medical malpractice claim.
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Tags: emergency room error, emergency room malpractice, emergency room medical malpractice, emergency room mistake, emergency room negligence, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorneys, medical malpractice case, medical malpractice claim, medical malpractice lawyers, misdiagnosed aneurysm, New York medical malpractice, New York medical malpractice attorneys, New York medical malpractice claim, New York medical malpractice lawyers, New York Medical Malpractice Verdict For Death Due To Undiagnosed Aneurysm, undiagnosed aneurysm
Posted in Client Updates, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Case, Medical Malpractice Claims, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Malpractice Verdict, Medical Malpractice Victim, Medical Misdiagnosis, Medical Negligence, Medical News, New York Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death | No Comments »
February 21st, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert on February 20, 2012 regarding a counterfeit (fake) cancer medication that may have entered the U.S. from overseas that does not contain the required active ingredient. The only FDA-approved version of the cancer drug Avastin is marketed by a company called Genentech, which is part of the larger drug company Roche. (Roche markets Avastin for use outside of the United States.)
The FDA issued 19 letters to medical practices in the United States, warning them that they may have purchased the unapproved, counterfeit Avastin from a source outside of the United States. The unapproved Avastin was purchased by the medical practices from a foreign supplier known as Quality Specialty Products or Montana Health Care Solutions. The Tennessee company Volunteer Distribution is a distributor for Quality Specialty Products.
The counterfeit Avastin has been confirmed to not contain the active ingredient of Avastin, which is bevacizumab. Therefore, patients who receive the counterfeit Avastin are not receiving the medication that they were prescribed and are not receiving the benefit of the real Avastin.
Avastin is an injectable cancer medication used to treat various forms of cancer. Avastin is packaged in vials. The labels on the counterfeit vials contain the Roche logo whereas the FDA-approved Genentech vials do not. The counterfeit vials may contain the batch numbers that start with B6010, B6011, or B86017 (the FDA-approved Genentech vials have a 6-digit numeric batch number and expiration dates expressed in a 3-letter month and 4-digit year, such as JAN 2014).
The FDA-approved version of Avastin is not currently in short supply in the United States.
Source
What Is Avastin Used For?
Avastin (bevacizumab) is a cancer drug that is in a class of medicines known as antiangiogenic agents that work by stopping the formation of blood vessels to tumors that may slow the tumor’s growth and stop the spread of the tumor. Avastin is used in the treatment of colon and rectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, certain lung cancers, and a type of brain cancer known as glioblastoma that has already been treated with other cancer medications. Avastin is also used in combination with another drug to treat renal cell carcinoma that has already spread to other parts of the body.
Avastin was used in the past to treat breast cancer patients but the FDA determined that its risks in use for breast cancer did not justify the benefit in most cases. (See our blog posting for November 21, 2011 entitled, “FDA Withdraws Approval Of Avastin For Use In Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer”)
Avastin is administered slowly into a vein once every 14 days to treat colon cancer, cancer of the rectum, renal cell cancer, or glioblastoma, and once every 3 weeks to treat certain lung cancers. The first dose is given over a period of about 90 minutes to check for reactions to the medication and subsequent doses are usually given over 30 to 60 minutes.
Source
Drug shortages are a continuing and worsening problem in the United States (see our blog posting for October 1, 2011 entitled, “Drug Shortages In The U.S.”; our blog posting for November 3, 2011 entitled, “Drug Shortages: Get Your Drugs While You Still Can!”; and, our blog posting for December 17, 2011 entitled, “Drug Shortages Are Getting Even Worse!”).
Unscrupulous drug manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors see a potential to earn outrageous profits by either stockpiling drugs subject to shortages or by producing/providing counterfeit versions of drugs that are either in short supply or intended to be substituted for the brand name versions that are exceedingly expensive.
Price gouging hurts patients who cannot afford their necessary and life-extending medications. Counterfeit drugs either do not benefit patients or harm patients who do not receive their required medications. We believe that the price gougers and the counterfeiters should be required to pay civil fines and restitution in amounts greater than their profits from their wrongdoing and that they should also be subjected to criminal prosecution and sentenced to long prison terms.
If you or a loved one have been injured by a drug, the advice of a medical malpractice attorney is critical in determining your legal rights and whether you have a viable claim for compensation.
Click here to visit our website or telephone us toll free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your state who may be able to investigate your possible claim and file a claim on your behalf, if appropriate.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
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Tags: bad drug, bad medication, cancer medication, counterfeit Avastin, counterfeit drug, counterfeit medication, drug death, drug injuries, drug injury, fake Avastin, fake drug, fake medication, harmful medication, Is My Cancer Drug Avastin A Fake?, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorney, medical malpractice lawyer, medication mistake
Posted in Avastin, Client Updates, Is it Medical Malpractice?, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Facts, Medical News, Pharmaceutical Medical Malpracitce, Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 20th, 2012
Wow. A former osteopathic doctor who performed surgeries at a West Virginia hospital has had 124 medical malpractice claims filed against him arising out of his only 7 months of medical practice at that hospital. In the most recent medical malpractice court hearing against him, the former doctor failed to appear for a court hearing on February 17, 2012. Another hearing against the former osteopathic surgeon is scheduled for March 15, 2012.
Source
The hospital that hired the doctor, Putnam General Hospital, was found negligent in its hiring of the doctor as an orthopedic surgeon without properly checking his medical credentials and therefore the hospital became a co-defendant in 122 medical malpractice claims arising out of the doctor’s employment at the hospital between 2002 and 2003. The medical malpractice claimants were also permitted to seek punitive damages from the hospital. Many of the medical malpractice claims alleged that the doctor negligently performed surgeries and that many of the surgeries were medically unnecessary.
It was also determined that the doctor failed to disclose to the hospital all of the medical malpractice claims pending against him and failed to disclose to the hospital his arrest in 1999 regarding his alleged removal of log books from a Florida medical facility.
When the hospital fired the doctor in May, 2003, the doctor gave up his West Virginia medical license, left the state, and allegedly changed his name.
Source
On December 4, 2007, the doctor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. However, a federal bankruptcy judge determined in March, 2009, that the doctor fraudulently failed to disclose at least $670,000 in assets and therefore denied the doctor the discharge of his debts in his bankruptcy proceeding.
The corporation that owned Putnam General Hospital when the doctor was employed there paid approximately $100 million in 2008 to settle 124 of the medical malpractice claims against the hospital.
Source
124…7…1 — 124 medical malpractice claims arising from only 7 months of medical practice against 1 doctor.
We don’t know for a fact that these repeated episodes of medical malpractice by a single doctor in a single hospital in West Virginia is an unwelcome medical malpractice record in the United States, but we certainly hope so. If there are other hospitals in the United States that are harboring repeat medical malpractice offenders, we hope that they are promptly discovered, they are immediately removed from providing patient care, and that the hospitals accept full responsibility for their own shortcomings that have allowed known miscreants to have access to patients who may be harmed due to medical negligence (or worse).
If you or a family member or a close friend have become the victim of medical malpractice committed by a negligent (or worse) medical provider in West Virginia or in any other U.S. state, you should promptly inquire about your legal rights with a local medical malpractice attorney.
Click here to be forwarded to our website to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your local area who may be able to investigate your potential medical malpractice claim for you and represent you in your medical malpractice case, if appropriate. You may also contact us at our toll free number 800-295-3959, if you prefer.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
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Tags: malpractice, medical errors, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorneys, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice lawyers, medical malpractice questions, medical mistakes, medical negligence, negligent surgeon, negligent surgery, West Virginia medical malpractice, West Virginia medical malpractice attorneys, West Virginia medical malpractice cases, West Virginia medical malpractice claims, West Virginia medical malpractice lawyers, West Virginia Medical Malpractice: 124 Medical Malpractice Claims Against 1 Doctor In Only 7 Months Of Medical Practice
Posted in Client Updates, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Case, Medical Malpractice Claims, Medical Malpractice Facts, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Negligence, Medical News, West Virginia Medical Malpractice | No Comments »
February 19th, 2012
A retired surgeon who was in his mid-80s was being cared for by a nursing assistant who was supposed to use a lifting device to transfer the man from a chair to his bed but failed to do so. As a result of the nursing assistant’s failure to use the proper procedure for the man’s transfer, the man allegedly suffered two broken legs but the nursing assistant allegedly never told anybody. The medical malpractice claim included an allegation that employees were told to falsify the medical records to hide what had happened.
The retired surgeon was unable to tell anyone what had happened to him or how much pain he was in because he had previously suffered a stroke that severely limited his ability to communicate with others. Once the man’s broken legs were finally discovered, he was transferred to a hospital for medical treatment. He was then discharged to another nursing home, where he died less than two months after he was injured.
The defendants alleged that two nursing assistants were transferring the man and that no one was told to falsify any records. The attorney for the defendants was unable to explain how the man’s legs were fractured. The defendants blamed the man’s condition on his severe osteoporosis and the failure of the doctors to inform them of the man’s condition.
The man’s care plan required that two assistants be involved with his transfers and that a lift be used for transfers, which the medical malpractice claim alleged was not done and led to the man suffering his two broken legs.
The trial of the medical malpractice case lasted two weeks before a Kentucky jury took about two hours to return its verdict on February 13, 2012 in favor of the estate of the man in the amount of $8 million, which included $2 million for the man’s pain and suffering, $1 million for violation of the Kentucky nursing home statute, and $5 million in punitive damages.
Source
The amount of the jury’s pain and suffering award appears to be related to the severe pain that the man suffered in silence for a considerable period of time due to his inability to communicate with others and the failure of the nursing assistant(s) to tell anyone what had happened. The large punitive damages award may be based on the jury’s apparent finding that the employees were instructed to falsify the man’s medical records. The jury apparently believed that the elderly, vulnerable man’s mistreatment was extreme and involved a cover-up.
Large jury verdicts serve a most important purpose in medical malpractice cases — they serve to put negligent medical providers on notice that mistreatment or improper treatment of vulnerable patients will not be tolerated, especially when the patients are unable to defend for themselves or act as their own advocates due to their age or their infirmities.
Medical malpractice attorneys are advocates for the vulnerable and the infirmed. If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to medical malpractice, click here to visit our website or telephone us toll free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your local area who may be able to assist you with your medical malpractice claim.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
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Tags: Kentucky medical malpractice, Kentucky medical malpractice attorneys, Kentucky medical malpractice claims, Kentucky medical malpractice lawyers, Kentucky Medical Malpractice Verdict For Surgeon's Broken Legs, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorneys, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice help, medical malpractice lawyers, nursing home abuse, nursing home cases, nursing home claims, nursing home malpractice, nursing home medical malpractice, nursing home negligence
Posted in Client Updates, Kentucky Medical Malpractice, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Case, Medical Malpractice Claims, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Malpractice Verdict, Medical Malpractice Victim, Medical Negligence, Medical News, Nursing Home Medical Malpractice, Nursing Medical Malpractice | No Comments »
February 18th, 2012
The Republican-led Florida Legislature is considering amendments to Florida’s medical malpractice law to make it more difficult for victims of medical malpractice to win their medical malpractice cases and would also allow medical malpractice defendants’ lawyers to speak with the victims’ doctors one-on-one and without their patients’ permission.
Proposed Stricter Burden Of Proof For Medical Malpractice Victims
A proposed change in the law would substantially raise the level of proof that medical malpractice victims must meet in order to recover damages for their injuries if due to the alleged failure to order supplemental diagnostic medical tests. The proposed change reads as follows: In an action for damages based on death or personal injury which alleges that such death or injury resulted from the failure of a health care provider to order, perform, or administer supplemental diagnostic tests, the claimant has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the alleged actions of the health care provider represented a breach of the prevailing professional standard of care. Source
The Florida Supreme Court defines the proposed standard of proof known as “clear and convincing evidence” as “evidence that is precise, explicit, lacking in confusion, and of such weight that it produces a firm belief or conviction, without hesitation, about the issue.“ Florida Standard Jury Instructions — Civil Cases, Standard Instruction 405.4.
The existing standard of proof in Florida medical malpractice cases is known as “greater weight of the evidence” which the Florida Supreme Court has defined as evidence that has “the more persuasive and convincing force and effect of the entire evidence in the case.” Florida Standard Jury Instructions — Civil Cases, Standard Instruction 405.3.
Obviously, the proposed stricter requirement for proof by evidence that is “precise, explicit…that it produces a firm belief or conviction” is a much higher burden than evidence that is “more persuasive.” If the proposed change becomes the medical malpractice law in Florida, it will be much more difficult for Florida medical malpractice victims to recover for their injuries resulting from medical malpractice committed by Florida doctors when the basis of the medical malpractice claim is the negligent failure of the doctor to order and obtain supplemental diagnostic tests, such as mammograms in failure to diagnose breast cancer cases.
Proposed Change: No Patient-Doctor Confidentiality For Medical Malpractice Victims
The other significant, major proposed change to Florida’s medical malpractice law would allow the attorneys for medical malpractice defendants and the medical malpractice defendants themselves to meet alone in private with all of the treating doctors of medical malpractice victims, without any restrictions whatsoever.
The proposed change in the law reads as follows: “A prospective defendant or his or her legal representative may interview the claimant’s treating health care providers without the presence of the claimant or the claimant’s legal representative.” Source
The proposed change in the law does not limit the extent or the subject matter of the discussions between the medical malpractice defendants, their attorneys, and the medical malpractice victims’ doctors; the proposed change in the law does not limit the extent or the subject of the disclosures by the victims’ treating doctors; and, the proposed change in the law does not restrict the doctors who would be violating the previously sacrosanct patient-doctor confidentiality to only those who treated the medical malpractice victims for the injuries caused by the alleged negligent care.
As the proposed change to the law is written, what would limit the defendants’ attorneys from discussing the sexual history of a medical malpractice victim with the victim’s treating gynecologist in a medical malpractice claim involving the failure to diagnose breast cancer in a timely fashion, or from discussing the results of their findings with others such as health insurance companies, sexual partners or family members of the medical malpractice victims, the medical malpractice defendants themselves, or anyone and everyone in the defendants’ attorneys’ law firms?
The nation’s laws are supposed to protect victims, not victimize them further. As we see it, the proposed changes to Florida’s medical malpractice laws would unfairly, inequitably, and unjustly protect and benefit a special class of people (medical malpractice defendants) at the expense of the enormous harm and detriment to innocent victims of medical malpractice.
If you or a loved one were injured or suffered serious losses as a result of medical malpractice in Florida or in any other U.S. state, click here to visit our website to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your local area who may be able to assist you with your medical malpractice claim. You may also reach us at our toll free number 800-295-3959.
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Tags: changes to Florida medical malpractice law, clear and convincing evidence, Florida medical malpractice, Florida medical malpractice attorneys, Florida medical malpractice cases, Florida medical malpractice claims, Florida medical malpractice law, Florida medical malpractice lawyers, greater weight of the evidence, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorneys, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice lawyers, medical malpractice tort reform, medical negligence, Proposed Changes To Florida's Medical Malpractice Law Harms Malpractice Victims, tort reform
Posted in Client Updates, Florida Medical Malpractice, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Facts, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Malpractice Reforms, Medical News, Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 17th, 2012
The Republicans running for President of the United States agree that you should not be fully compensated for your injuries and losses suffered as a result of medical malpractice. They want to put a cap (limit) on the amount that a jury can compensate you after the jury has heard all the testimony, reviewed all of the evidence, and has come to a consensus as to the value of your losses due to medical malpractice.
Rick Santorum, like the other Republican candidates for President, desires to change our laws for a select but very powerful and very limited category of people (that is, negligent medical providers) so that they are provided special and unjustified protections and benefits unavailable to all other people. They want to stack the judicial deck in favor of medical providers who provide their patients with substandard medical care so that the unwitting and innocent victims of their medical negligence are at a legal disadvantage and will never receive the justice that our laws were intended to provide. They want to replace equal protection under our laws with laws that provide unequal protection.
But has Rick Santorum’s view of the need for medical malpractice “reforms” always been this severe and sinister? The answer may surprise you.
In 1999, Rick Santorum’s wife, Karen, filed a medical malpractice claim against her chiropractor, seeking $500,000 in compensatory damages (which was twice the amount of Rick Santorum’s 1994 legislative proposal for a medical malpractice cap) for her alleged permanent back injury that she claimed would require a lifetime of medication for a lifetime of pain and restricted mobility, allegedly due to the chiropractor’s medical treatment of her. The medical malpractice claim alleged that Karen Santorum suffered back pain following the 1996 delivery of her premature fourth child (who tragically died the same day). She sought out the treatment by the chiropractor for her lower back pain. The medical malpractice claim alleged that the chiropractor’s manipulation of her spine (a standard chiropractic procedure) caused a disk herniation that required surgical removal of the disk one week later. Her total medical bills were just over $18,000.
Rick Santorum testified during his wife’s medical malpractice trial regarding the emotional and physical damages allegedly suffered by his wife that he said would justify a large monetary award for pain and suffering (the same category of damages that Rick Santorum and other Republican candidates for President of the U.S. now seek to severely limit). Rick Santorum testified at trial that his wife’s pain made her unable to exercise and stay fit and thus she did “not have the confidence” to assist him with his public campaign events. The jury awarded $350,000, which was reduced by the trial judge to $175,000 (the judge called the jury award “excessive” and based on “undue sympathy.” The trial judge stated, ”The subjective testimony of Mrs. Santorum and her husband is belied to some degree by the fact that Mrs. Santorum sought virtually no medical treatment following the operation.”)
Source
It would appear that Rick Santorum does not want his wife to be subject to the same pain and suffering damage cap that he would impose on the rest of the country. If you are not Rick Santorum’s wife, or if it is important to you that the laws that protect the innocent victims of medical malpractice should not be changed in order to heavily favor the wrongdoers at the expense of their victims’ destroyed lives, then you may wish to take that into consideration when it is time to cast your vote for President of the United States in November, 2012.
If you have been injured as a result of medical malpractice, you may wish to seek the advice of a medical malpractice attorney to protect your right to seek compensation for your losses.
Visit our website or telephone us toll free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your state who may be able to help you with your medical malpractice claim.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
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Tags: medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorney, medical malpractice lawyer, medical malpractice reform, Republicans running for President of the United States, Rick Santorum, Rick Santorum medical malpractice, Rick Santorum medical malpractice reform, Rick Santorum tort reform, Rick Santorum's View Of Medical Malpractice Claims -- Good For His Wife But Bad For You, Rick Santorum's view on medical malpractice, Rick Santorum's wife, tort reform
Posted in Client Updates, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Claims, Medical Malpractice Damages Cap, Medical Malpractice Facts, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Malpractice Reforms, Medical News, Politicians and Their Views on Medical Malpractice | No Comments »
February 16th, 2012
In a medical malpractice case decided on February 10, 2012 by the Maryland Court of Appeals (Maryland’s highest appellate court), the Court of Appeals (“Court”) upheld a Maryland medical malpractice jury verdict in the amount of $3.6 million in favor of the plaintiff as a result of the severe and permanent birth injuries sustained by a newborn during labor and delivery.
What makes this case even more interesting is that the defendant hospital was praised by all involved for the care it had provided to the pregnant woman in delaying the premature birth of her son for three weeks, which greatly increased his chance of survival. Unfortunately, the subsequent medical care provided to the pregnant woman by the hospital during labor and delivery was found by the medical malpractice jury to have fallen below the required standard of care, resulting in the fetus being without enough oxygen and causing his life-long disabilities.
The Facts Of This Case
The woman was 23-years-old when she became pregnant with her first child in March, 2002. Her expected due date was determined to be December 24, 2002. She received routine prenatal care at one hospital and then switched to another hospital (the defendant in her medical malpractice lawsuit).
She was 23 weeks pregnant when she was seen for her first appointment at the second hospital on August 30, 2002. She was determined at that time to have cervical shortening and was sent to Labor and Delivery for further evaluation, at which time a physical examination showed her cervix was prematurely dilated to 4 centimeters and 100% effaced (that is, it was shortened) and that her membranes were bulging.
She was admitted into the hospital to attempt to extend her pregnancy as long as possible in order to give her fetus the best possible chance of survival (the vast majority of babies born at 23 weeks die whereas babies born at 26 weeks in hospitals such as the one where the woman was admitted have a death rate of about 18% and two out of three of them have no significant deficits). The hospital’s successful efforts to extend the woman’s pregnancy by three weeks from 23 weeks to 26 week was critical to her baby’s survival.
What Happened Next?
On September 19, 2002, a sonogram found that the umbilical cord had prolapsed [a condition where the umbilical cord has descended into the cervix and beneath the fetus] and was within a few millimeters of the vagina, making her an “extreme risk” for PPROM [preterm, premature, rupture of membranes]. The specialist who performed the sonogram strongly worded in his report that he recommended continuous monitoring of the woman’s condition and that they be ready for a stat [within ten minutes] cesarean section “at all times” because the woman’s condition could deteriorate to PPROM at any time.
The situation was dangerous because the location of the umbilical cord within the cervix that was below the lowest part of the fetus’ body created a dangerous condition where the cord could be squeezed shut by labor contractions that would cut off the blood flow to the fetus.
That night, the woman had symptoms consistent with an acute cord prolapse that required the hospital to perform a stat (within 10 minutes) cesarean section, but there was a delay of 40 minutes in performing the cesarean section. There was also a claim that the cesarean section should have been performed some six hours earlier, when the woman showed signs of a serious infection in her uterus. In either case, the medical malpractice claim alleged that had the baby been delivered earlier, as required by the standard of care, the baby would not have suffered his severe deficits.
The baby was blue when he was born. He was not breathing and his body was flaccid with low and unstable blood pressure and reduced blood volume. The newborn had to be intubated, resuscitated, transfused twice, and given medications to raise and stabilize his blood pressure. He had to spend two months in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital.
The negligent delay in delivery caused the baby to suffer developmental delays, including not walking until he was two and a half years old and not using full sentences until he was four and a half years old, due to the lack of oxygen to his brain caused by the cord prolapse that would have been avoided had the baby been delivered earlier, as required by the standard of care.
Source
If your baby suffered injuries during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, you and your baby may be entitled to compensation for the injuries, expenses, and losses if medical malpractice caused or contributed to the situation.
Click here for our website so that we can connect you to medical malpractice lawyers in your state who may be able to assist you in investigating your possible claim and file a medical malpractice claim on behalf of you and your baby, if appropriate. You may also call us toll free at 800-295-3959.
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Tags: bad baby, bad birth outcomes, birth malpractice, injured baby, injuries to babies, injuries to newborns, Maryland malpractice claim, Maryland medical malpractice, Maryland medical malpractice attorneys, Maryland Medical Malpractice Case: From Medical Heroes To Medical Villains, Maryland medical malpractice claim, Maryland medical malpractice lawyers, Mayland malpractice, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorneys, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice lawyers, medical negligence, negligent labor and delivery
Posted in Client Updates, Hospital Medical Malpractice, Is it Medical Malpractice?, Lawyer Updates, Maryland Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Case, Medical Malpractice Claims, Medical Malpractice Facts, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Malpractice Verdict, Medical Malpractice Victim, Medical Negligence, Medical News | No Comments »
February 15th, 2012
While speculation continues to swirl with regard to what caused Whitney Houston’s recent death, with little accurate information being disclosed by the authorities and official statements warning that it will take weeks before the official cause of death is known (after toxicology results are made available and reported), there has been recent speculation that Whitney Houston had consumed the prescription medication Xanax along with alcohol that may have led to her death by slowing her heart rate and/or causing her to have a heart attack.
What Is Xanax?
Xanax is the brand-name of a prescription medication containing alprazolam and is typically used to treat panic disorder. Alprazolam is in a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines, which are central nervous system depressants used to produce sedation, to induce sleep, to relieve anxiety and muscle spasms, and to prevent seizures.
What Are Benzodiazepines?
Benzodiazepines, including Xanax, are subject to abuse because of the “high” and the loss of inhibition that they can provide. As the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency has noted, abusers of Xanax and similar drugs often obtain them by getting prescriptions from several doctors, by forging prescriptions, or by buying diverted drugs “on the street.” Adolescents and young adults are among the most frequent abusers of benzodiazepines. Source
What Warnings Are Associated With Xanax?
The official warnings for Xanax include the following: Because of its CNS [central nervous system] depressant effects, patients receiving Xanax should be cautioned against engaging in hazardous occupations or activities requiring complete mental alertness such as operating machinery or driving a motor vehicle. For the same reason, patients should be cautioned about simultaneous ingestion of alcohol [a central nervous system depressant] and other CNS depressant drugs during treatment with Xanax. Source (page 7).
Did Medical Malpractice Kill Whitney Houston?
Two matters that have not been publicly resolved at the present time are how and where did Whitney Houston obtain Xanax? Other questions regarding Whitney Houston’s death include: was the Xanax she consumed (assuming that she did in fact consume Xanax shortly before her death) from a prescription that she had obtained and had filled at a pharmacy? How much Xanax was consumed by Whitney Houston and at what time in relation to her death? Did Whitney Houston also consume alcohol — if so, how much and when did she consume the alcohol in relation to taking Xanax and in relation to the time of her death?
The answers to these and other relevant questions surrounding Whitney Houston’s death may help determine if medical malpractice may have played a role in her death.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is generally defined as the failure of a medical provider to provide that level of care that a reasonably competent medical provider would have provided under the same or similar circumstances in the same or similar community.
One or more of Whitney Houston’s medical providers may have committed medical malpractice if they knew or should have known that she was not an appropriate candidate for being prescribed Xanax (for medical or other reasons known to them); that she had a history of abusing Xanax or similar drugs without addressing and monitoring Whitney Houston for present abuse of such drugs; that she had a history of taking Xanax with other depressants such as alcohol that she was continuing to take; and/or if they knew or should have known that Whitney Houston was obtaining Xanax from other sources at the same time that they were prescribing Xanax for her (assuming that Whitney Houston was obtaining Xanax from other sources, which is presently unknown to the public).
While all of this is speculation or conjecture at the present time because of the lack of reliable information in the public domain, we would not be surprised if news reports tying Whitney Houston’s death to medical malpractice increase in the near future as further information about the circumstances of her death become known (especially after the toxicology results are made public).
While we presently have no knowledge whether medical malpractice caused or contributed to Whitney Houston’s death, and we are saddened by her passing, her reported past history of substance abuse should serve as a warning to everyone about the dangers of such behavior that affect not only the substance abusers but their families, friends, and fans alike.
Our daily blog at MedicalMalpracticeLawyers.com provides useful and interesting information regarding a vast variety of medical malpractice issues and our website provides assistance in connecting with medical malpractice lawyers in your local area who may be able to investigate your possible medical malpractice claim and file a medical malpractice claim on your behalf, if appropriate. If you prefer, you may contact us at our toll free telephone number 800-295-3959.
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Posted in Celebrity Medical Malpractice, Client Updates, Is it Medical Malpractice?, Lawyer Updates, Medical Malpractice Facts, Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Medical Malpractice Victim, Medical Negligence, Medical News, Wrongful Death | No Comments »
February 15th, 2012
Certain medical procedures require the patient to receive some form of sedation (ranging from a light sedation commonly called I.V. sedation that results in the patient being relaxed and feeling sleepy and causes the patient to forget the procedure and the time immediately afterwards but enables the patient to follow simple commands, to full anesthesia that results in unconsciousness where the patient needs a breathing tube and ventilator support in order to breath).
I.V. sedation (also called “twilight anesthesia”) is often used when the procedure does not require extensive surgery or a long duration. This type of sedation usually results in less nausea and less recovery time for the patient. Many dental procedures and some plastic surgery procedures are done using I.V. sedation.
Another common use of I.V. sedation is during a pain management procedure when steriod injections are given in the back or neck to relieve back or neck pain. The steroid injections are typically given in a series of injections and the procedure may be repeated periodically because the effectiveness of the injections wears off over time.
When sedated, patients are typically unable to provide for their own safety and must rely on the supporting staff to take appropriate precautions to insure their safety. Failure to adequately provide for patient safety while he or she is sedated may foreseeably result in the patient suffering injuries while sedated. One of the most common unexpected outcomes during sedation is injury due to falls.
A Louisiana woman filed a medical malpractice case on January 20, 2012 against her pain management doctor and others for the alleged injuries she suffered when she fell from a procedure table after she received sedation in anticipation of receiving steroid injections in her back for treatment of her severe back pain. Her medical malpractice lawsuit claims that when she woke up after being sedated, she was advised that she had fallen from the procedure table and that the injections were not given.
The medical malpractice case alleges that the woman suffered a head contusion, dizziness and headaches, and lower back pain into her right leg as a result of her fall while she was sedated, and that her injuries have resulted in depression, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, and other symptoms.
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Injuries sustained while under sedation or anesthesia are not very common but do occur. Sometimes the cause of the injuries is documented in the medical records maintained by the anesthesiologist, surgeon, or support staff such as nurses, and other times the medical records are either silent as to what may have occurred or the records may be less than fully honest or precise as to what occurred, or the records may be fraudulent as to what happened (or did not happen).
Because patients are typically unaware of their surroundings or what may have occurred during a medical procedure due to the effects of the sedation or the anesthesia, medical malpractice claims based on occurrences or omissions while the patient’s mental status or memory are compromised are some of the most difficult medical malpractice wrongs to uncover unless and until someone with knowledge of what occurred (or did not occur) comes forward or otherwise provides testimony in support of the medical malpractice claimant’s allegations.
The assistance of a medical malpractice attorney in investigating a possible medical malpractice claim based on events that occurred while the patient was sedated or unconscious may mean the difference between suspecting that medical malpractice may have occurred and proving that medical malpractice was the cause of your injuries.
Visit our website to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your local area who may be willing to undertake the investigation into your medical malpractice claim for you. You may also call us toll free at 800-295-3959.
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Tags: anesthesia injuries, anesthesia malpractice, anesthesia medical malpractice, falls while sedated, I.V. sedation, injuries while sedated, Louisiana medical malpractice attorney, Louisiana Medical Malpractice Claim For Sedated Patient Who Fell From Procedure Table, Louisiana medical malpractice claims, Louisiana medical malpractice lawyer, medical malpractice, medical malpractice attorneys, medical malpractice case, medical malpractice claim, medical malpractice lawsuit, medical malpractice lawyers, twilight anesthesia
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February 14th, 2012
The 77-year-old male resident of a Chicago nursing home had a habit of wandering off from the premises. With a history of two previous recent incidents when he had wandered away, he was a known risk for leaving the nursing home without being seen. The man’s dementia made it difficult for him to understand that he should not leave the nursing home. His heart condition made it dangerous if he left. And the freezing temperatures in Chicago during January made it deadly if the man were to walk outside and disappear from the nursing home.
On January 14, 2012, the man left his nursing home without being observed. He was not found until two days later when his body was discovered partially submerged in a creek one block from the nursing home. He had died from exposure (hypothermia).
The nurse responsible for the man’s care claims that she was unaware that the man had attempted to leave the nursing home on prior occasions and that the care plan for the man did not document the prior wandering attempts. Nonetheless, the man was not fitted with a device that would have warned the nursing home staff on duty if the man attempted to wander off.
Source
What Is A “Care Plan”?
Nursing homes are required to establish a written care plan that outlines the medical (nursing) care that is to be provided to each resident. Every patient must undergo a detailed assessment that forms the basis in determining a plan of action required to address the patient’s identified problems and issues and to work towards identified patient goals and objectives. The care plan is an on-going process that is required to be updated and changed as the patient’s condition/problems/issues change over time.
Nurses and aides who take care of nursing home patients must refer to and depend upon the care plan to insure that the proper nursing care is being provided to their assigned patients. If the care plan for a patient fails to adequately outline the patient’s problems, or is not timely and properly updated to address changes in the patient’s needs and medical conditions, the appropriate care may not be provided because the caregivers may be unaware of certain problems or issues with the patient.
Failure to timely and appropriately create the care plan and/or to make changes to the care plan when required is a breach of the standard of care and is, by definition, medical malpractice. Failure to follow the care plan, without adequate reason, is also medical malpractice. Deviation from the care plan can result in devastating injuries, or death, to the patient who is the subject of the care plan.
In the case of the Chicago nursing home resident, if the man was not properly assessed for wandering, or his care plan was not properly written or updated to address his recent wandering and to set forth nursing interventions to address his wandering (including but not necessarily fitting the man with a device that sets off an alarm if and when he attempts to leave the premises), then the nursing home may be responsible for the medical negligence that resulted in the man’s death.
If you or a loved one were injured due to nursing home negligence, the advice of a medical malpractice attorney may help you decide if you should bring a medical malpractice claim for your losses.
Click here to visit our website or telephone us toll free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your state who may be able to assist you in investigating your possible medical malpractice claim.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn as well!
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