Posts Tagged ‘Medical Malpractice’

In December 2008, the Ecri Institute released it second annual report on the top 10 technology hazards that should be on every hospital’s list of safety concerns for medical-device use.  The Ecri Institute conducts patient-safety research and investigates medical-device incidents.   Five of the hazards on the list are new. However, all of the five hazards dropped from the list are still seen as “significant concerns.”  The five new hazards just caused more problems in the past year, including retained devices and air embolism from contrast media injectors, causing them to placed on the list. 

The top 10 technology hazards are listed in order as follows:

1.  Alarm hazards
2. Injuries from needle sticks and other sharp objects
3. Air embolism from contrast media injectors
4. Retained devices and unretrieved fragments left in patients
5. Surgical fires
6. Anesthesia hazards due to inadequate pre-use inspection
7. Misleading displays
8. CT radiation dose
9. MR imaging burns
10. Fiberoptic light-source burns
     

While some problems involve a defective medical device, it tends to be inexperience and/or lack of knowledge on the user’s part that causes these devices to be hazardous.  Few people read the manual. If devices are used safely, fewer incidents would occur.  Every participant in the chain during the process has a responsibility to prevent a problem from arising. If you have been a victim of one of these technology hazards or any other technology, you may have a medical malpractice or hospital negligence lawsuit and may be entitled to a medical malpractice settlement.  You should contact a medical malpractice lawyer today for more information.

Many studies are done on the side effects of drugs before they are released to the market to properly inform patients of the potential side effects.  However, these studies often do not incorporate studies on drug-drug interactions, which are the effect of using a particular medication in combination with several other drugs that a patient is already taking.  Not only can these medications cause their own side effects, they can have additional and sometimes irregular side effects when taken with other drugs.

In the United Kingdom, fifteen percent of its residents over 75 years of age take five or more drugs on a daily basis.  People in nursing homes take an average of six to eight medicines a day.  In the United States, forty percent of people over the age of 65 take five or more drugs on a daily basis.  The number of drugs prescribed to people is on a rise, especially in western European countries.  While the reasons for prescribing more drugs are done to effectively treat older people, there are sometimes other less respectable reasons, such as more drug marketing by drug companies disguised as “disease awareness” campaigns.  Often, drugs are not needed to treat these “diseases” and prescriptions written for these purpose are unnecessary and can even lead to dangerous interactions with other necessary drugs patients are taking.

Various studies show that about five percent of hospital admissions in Europe and the U.S. are due to adverse reactions caused by two or more drugs patients are taking.  In addition, five to ten percent of hospital patients have additional drug reactions when being hospitalized, resulting in prolonged stays and inevitably higher hospital bills.  Another unfortunate reality is that even with drugs that do not have any drug-drug interactions, the patient might stop taking a drug without informing the doctor, because all of the drugs they are taking have cumulative side effects that the patient wants to avoid.  Doctors may prescribe even higher and often unnecessary doses because they think the lower doses are not working.  In addition, doctors themselves are often not aware of the cumulative side effects that patients can have by taking multiple drugs, causing the patients to suffer any unnecessary side effects.

In short, some patient advocates argue that compliance with prescribed doses is a precursor to effective treatment but if you have adverse reactions or are concerned about them, consult your doctor or pharmacist.  If you are injured by a dangerous drug or think you are the victim of medical negligence, contact a medical malpractice lawyer.

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/34019120-498b-11de-9e19-00144feabdc0.html

The Arizona Senate has introduced legislation that would increase the standard of proof for emergency room medical malpractice lawsuits. Under the proposed law, recovery for emergency room malpractice would require that plaintiffs show “clear and convincing evidence” of malpractice, which is more difficult to prove than the current requirement of a “preponderance of the evidence.” Changing the law in this way would make it more difficult for patients to obtain damages from the doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that are responsible for their injuries.

The law’s sponsors say that it is intended to persuade doctors, particularly specialists, to work in hospital emergency rooms. Many doctors allegedly are unwilling to work in emergency rooms because they fear malpractice lawsuits from dissatisfied and injured patients. Tuscon attorney and Arizona Trial Lawyers Association lobbyist JoJene Mills objected to the law, saying that it would deprive injured individuals of their civil rights.

Versions of the bill have been voted on in both the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives, where it passed on June 22 and June 26, respectively. A similar law was approved by the legislature in 2006, but was vetoed by then-governor Janet Napolitano, who is currently serving as the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Read more about medical malpractice.

No news is not always good news. A study of office procedures among primary care physicians found that more than 7% of significant findings in test results were never reported to patients. At two large academic medical centers, 23% of abnormal test results were not mentioned to patients.

Researchers surveyed 19 independent primary care practices and four practices based at academic medical centers, examining the records of more than 5,400 patients. Out of 1,889 abnormal test results, doctors failed to notify patients 135 times. Researchers also found that practices using electronic records had the lowest failure to inform rates, while practices using a combination of electronic and paper records had the highest failure rates.

The study’s authors suggested five simple steps that could significantly reduce errors:
1.    Routing test results to the proper doctor;
2.    Having the doctor sign off on results;
3.    Informing patients of the results;
4.    Documenting that patients have been informed; and
5.    Telling patients to contact the office after a certain period if they have not received their test results.

Patients can also protect themselves from failure to diagnose and medical negligence by contacting their doctor’s office if they have not been notified of test results within a few weeks of a test. Read more about medical malpractice and hospital negligence.

From 2002 until mid-2008, doctors at one V.A. hospital in Philadelphia made significant medical mistakes in 92 out of 116 brachytherapy procedures, a less invasive method of treating prostate cancer. Most of the errors involved patients receiving too little radiation to effectively treat their cancer, but about 35 veterans received overdoses of radiation to the wrong parts of their bodies. This often occurred because doctors injected radioactive pellets used in the procedures into the wrong organs. Investigators say that it took so long to uncover the mistakes because of insufficient internal and external oversight.

Fortunately no one has died as a result of these errors, but many patients have suffered painful and unnecessary medical complications because of the hospital’s surgical mistakes. The radioactive material used in cancer treatments is a carcinogen and can damage or destroy healthy tissue in addition to cancerous cells. All of the affected patients have obtained follow-up care, and eight had brachytherapy procedures performed properly at another V.A. hospital. Read more about medical malpractice and hospital negligence.

Medication adherence, which is really the extent to which patients take medication as prescribed by their doctors, is important to the medication’s effectiveness to cure and treat the particular illness.  Poor medication adherence can have a particularly negative impact on the medication’s ability to treat many diseases, causing more severe complications from the illness and decreased quality of life for patients.   Many factors cause poor adherence; the most common ones being the inability to pay for medications, lack of belief that the treatment is necessary or helping, busy schedules, forgetfulness, and confusion about how and when to take the medication.

The Food Drug Administration recently published an article on its website, which discusses the importance of medication adherence and provides tips on how to take different types of medication correctly.  For example, when taking antibiotics, the FDA warns strict medication adherence is vital.  If antibiotics are not taken as prescribed by the doctor, a small number of bacteria is likely to survive and continue to replicate and become resistant to the antibiotics.  The same reasoning goes for the HIV virus.  When patients with AIDS skip or stop taking their prescribed medication, they might develop strains of HIV that are more resistant to the prescribed medication and even some medications that patients aren’t currently on.

The FDA advises people to communicate with their doctors or pharmacists if they are experiencing side effects of their prescribed medication and understand how long they need to take the medication.  Setting a daily routine to take medication, keeping medications in noticeable places, using daily dosing containers, and keeping written or computerized schedules are all good ways to help people remember to take their medication.

Ultimately, if there is ever an issue of negligence, consumers want to make sure it is medical negligence outside of their control and not negligence of their own.  Making sure you properly take medications, at least according to the FDA, is an important consumer health issue.

Christine Golden, a Pennsylvanian woman, was recently awarded a $1.88 million judgment by a Pennsylvanian jury in a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Her husband, Terrence Golden, died after two doctors failed to diagnose his bladder cancer during a time when he could have been potentially saved with proper medical treatment.  Terrence died in January 2009 from the bladder cancer, which Christine alleged could have been treated if doctors had diagnosed it correctly.  It took nearly two years and several visits to a urologist and a pathologist before the bladder cancer was discovered.  The jury found that this medical misdiagnosis led to the death of Terrence.

With cancer, medical misdiagnosis is extremely fatal, because it can deprive a patient of important early treatments, which are less effective when the cancer is at later stages.  Bladder cancer is invasive and often spreads to other organs, as it did in Terrence, when not discovered in its early stages.  If caught early, bladder cancer can even be cured.

Christine sued Terrence’s urologist, Milan J. Smolko, who saw him numerous times between September 2002 and January 2004.  Terrence had complained about urinary problems during those visits.  Smolko had misdiagnosed him with only an inflamed and enlarged prostate without doing any further investigations until July 2003.  At that time, Smolko sent a bladder biopsy to pathologist, Lillian Longendofer, who also failed to identify the problem.  Eventually, Terrence went to another doctor in June 2004, who discovered the bladder cancer, but it was too late.  By that time, the cancer had metastasized to Terrence’s prostate and portions of his urethra.  The doctor removed the affected areas, but the cancer was too advanced to treat completely and as a result, Terrence died in January 2009.

Medical misdiagnosis can lead to serious, even fatal, consequences.  Careless oversights made by doctors can claim lives and deprive people of the chance to live their lives to the fullest.  If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical misdiagnosis or a doctor’s failure to diagnose, contact a medical malpractice lawyer today.

If you visit a relative or friend in the hospital but are asked to leave because “visiting hours” are over, can you trust that the hospital workers will monitor and administer the utmost care and attention to your loved one? 

Disturbingly, the answer is no.  According to the AARP, an estimated 98,000 hospital patients die every year in the United States because of preventable errors, such as mistaken identity or medication mixups.  There have been many cases where a patient has been harmed because of mislabeling on a medication or on the patient chart that leads to the incorrect medication being administered.  Or perhaps the hospital staff simply may not notice when a patient is in pain or is in need of assistance – while the nurses have many patients they must tend to, a relative remaining by the bedside might notice something such as an adverse reaction to medication or an IV drip that had pulled out of a vein, or even something less specific.  Merely noting that the patient “doesn’t look so good” might prompt a doctor or a nurse to take a closer look – it might be nothing, but it might mean preventing the patient’s condition from worsening.  A simple mixup could have the nurses administering a test or an injection that may be meant for the patient on the next hospital bed.  Such errors could be prevented by instituting unlimited visiting hours, as some hospitals have, allowing relatives and friends to stay with the patient through medical procedures and even during some emergencies, sharing their observations and concerns.

Human beings make mistakes, and doctors and nurses are human beings.  But the price of not taking every available precaution with such preventable errors can be catastrophic in certain cases, and the suffering caused to patients and their loved ones may be immeasurable.  People should not hesitate to voice their concerns regarding the care of loved ones in the hospital.  Though it may seem to be stepping on the toes of the doctors and nurses, the possible outcome of a preventable error could be disastrous.  Karen Aydt Curtiss, who is writing a book on how to help a loved one in the hospital, titled “Someone With You,” makes some suggestions such as asking nurses about new medications, ensuring the drug orders match the patient’s ID bracelet, asking everyone who enters the room to wash their hands and sterilize any equipment, and keeping a journal of your observations.

Patients should not have to pay the price for these preventable errors.  If you or a loved one has suffered from such errors, you should contact a New York Medical Malpractice attorney today to discuss your legal rights and options.

Drugs and over the counter remedies can provide relief or treatment for many health conditions. However, they are not without risks. Mixing incompatible medications or taking too much of a drug can cause negative reactions or health problems. Consequences of improperly mixing drugs or overdosing include stomach problems, diarrhea, blurred vision, skin rashes, or the need for emergency medical attention. Such problems can occur both with prescription and over the counter medications and the larger the number of drugs that a patient uses, the greater the risk of an adverse interaction.

The best way to avoid such complications is to take a few basic precautionary steps. Patients should keep track of when and how much medication they take, and whether they experience any side effects. Consulting with a doctor or pharmacist about combining medications and possible side effects is also important. Additionally, it is important to read drug labels and warnings carefully to determine if they might cause a negative reaction. Finally, patients should carefully read prescription labels to make sure that they have received the correct medication.

Some people who take several different medications find it difficult to remember which drugs to take and when. Timers and pill organizers often help with this problem. There are also reminder services, which will call or send an e-mail to prompt patients to take their medications.

Patients should consult with a doctor before using medications or over the counter heath products in conjunction with prescription drugs. If you or a loved one has been injured by prescription drug negligence or medical malpractice, contact a medical malpractice attorney for a free and confidential case review.

At the Consumerinjurylawyers.com blog, we wish to make consumers aware of helpful resources that will protect and inform them before they undergo medical care. Additionally, those who feel that they have suffered harm due to medical malpractice need to be informed of consumer-driven outlets that will educate patients on possible recourses. Patients are no longer helpless regarding hospital safety resources, thanks to the work of several victims of medical malpractice. These survivors and family members have taken to the Internet to inform potential patients on possible indicators of medical errors and counsel others suffering due to medical malpractice. This patient-initiated grassroots safety movement has already had a profound impact on hospital safety policy by encouraging doctors to be aware, cautious, and upfront regarding patient care.

Often in taking the form of online communities and blogs, patient-created hospital safety resources provide comradery, medical, and legal advice on avoiding and treating medical error. Blogs such as josieking.com, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, patientadvocare.blogspot.com, and Persons United Limiting Substandards and Errors in Health Care, were started by people who have lost loved ones or themselves been injured by substandard health care. One in 10 patients admitted to hospitals world-wide will suffer some type of preventable harm. These patient safety blogs aim to lower that number through their support.

Patient advocates encourage consumers to choose doctors with electronic medical recording systems, pick physicians that do specialized operations frequently rather than sporadically, and go to hospitals whose spiritual beliefs are in line with the patient’s. Parents of hospitalized children should specify requests for their child’s surgeries in writing, and ask the doctor to sign the written request. After obtaining care, hospital safety blogs request that patients see their primary care providers immediately after being discharged from the hospital. These seemingly simple, but important, requests could be crucial in preventing and detecting medical malpractice, and aiding in malpractice litigation.

Such hospital safety resources are beneficial to a broader audience than just patients. Patient-safety movements also provide tips for medical practitioners to improve safety, which could ultimately save physicians billions of dollars in additional hospitalization, litigation claims, and medical expenses. Because programs can be so financially beneficial to care providers, doctors have internalized the suggestions of patient safety advocates. The New York Times has reported that hospitals who end a “defend and deny” policy can drastically reduce lawsuits, and in the process, prevent patients from baring the emotional and financial cost of medical mistakes.

But medical malpractice is still prevalent, and patients must keep themselves informed in order to prevent and receive compensation for medical malpractice. Consumers should look at consumer safety resources before their loved ones or they undergo medical care, and especially if they notice any red flags during treatment. To obtain further information on a New York medical malpractice lawyer, to investigate a possible malpractice claim, please contact us.