Medical Malpractice

When you file a medical malpractice claim, you must be able to prove causation. Causation is a legal term that refers to the required proof regarding a particular issue that stems from a specific action. As the plaintiff, you must prove the defendant’s action(s) or failure to act in some way (among other things) contributed…

Cases that involve a failure to diagnose cancer can include various forms of negligence. In some cases, a doctor may fail to conduct the tests necessary to detect cancer such as a biopsy or mammogram. In other instances, a pathologist or radiologist may act negligently by mishandling the patient’s medical file. For example, a radiologist…

Anesthesia is given to patients in various types of medical care situations (including dental care) in order to help them remain as calm, comfortable, and as safe as possible. Administering anesthesia places the individual into a state of either semi-consciousness or total unconsciousness. It allows medical professionals to perform procedures that would otherwise bring significant…

Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently profiled how surgical checklists are making a difference in reducing mistakes and improving medical outcomes. The HBR report profiled a surgical team at a South Carolina medical facility which reduced its mortality rate by a third, increased productivity, and saved more than $4 million a year since instituting the use…

In May 2019, Medical Economics reported that there is a rise in medical liability claims involving electronic heath records (EHR). An EHR system should help keep patients’ information current and readily accessible, thus helping to avoid mistakes. While these databases have numerous benefits, electronic health record systems only work as well as the software that…

California Congresswoman Jackie Speier has proposed a new bill that would give soldiers the right to sue the federal government for medical malpractice. Currently, federal law prohibits servicepeople from suing the federal government for medical malpractice. The “SFC Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability” bill is named after Army Sgt. First Class Richard Stavaskal, who is…

It seems simple enough: take diagnostic images and an oral history. Conduct a physical exam. Read the reports of the treating doctors and nurses. There shouldn’t be any reason then for operating on the wrong part of someone’s body, removing an incorrect organ, or even operating on the wrong patient. And yet, this particularly egregious…

A recent study by Clinical Spine Surgery disclosed an alarming and tragic finding. VA surgeons, all too often, are operating on the wrong part of the spines of our veterans. This study revealed that the major causes for this inexcusable type of medical malpractice were mistakes in standard imaging studies. Common errors include mistakes when…

As we age, we spend more time with doctors. Maybe we need blood pressure medication. Perhaps we’ll develop arthritis in our fingers. Maybe there’s an increased risk of cancer, or stroke, or any of the many, many conditions and illnesses that seem to affect the elderly population a bit more. We have every right to…

The New York Times reported recently reported on a Risk Analysis study which showed that maternal delivery difficulties increase on weekends, at nights, and during the holidays. The study analyzed pregnancy complications in Texas, from 2005 to 2010. More than two million births occurred in that time period. Per the Times, the study specifically reviews…

In August 2014, Tiffany Tate was working in the Medical College of Wisconsin cafeteria at a Milwaukee hospital when she suffered a stroke. At that moment she was only a few hundred yards away from Froedtert Hospital’s emergency department which includes a premier stroke center. However, she was not transported there due to the fact…

There are a lot of stories out there (and you have probably heard a few in your time) about horrific plastic surgeries gone wrong. It makes a popular theme for movies and TV shows, and stories about bad surgical procedures tend to make the news. Often, these stories involve some rogue doctor using dangerous drugs…

If you sustain a serious injury from your doctor or another medical professional and you file a lawsuit against them, you may recover a settlement. But what happens to the doctors? Are they allowed to continue practicing medicine? What does it take to get a doctor banned from practicing medicine in your state? How can…

After undergoing surgery, or recovering from an injury, patients may be prescribed a stay at a rehabilitation hospital so that their recovery can be supervised, and their medical needs attended to. You trust that these types of facilities are staffed with competent, well-trained people who have the patients’ needs in mind. Sometimes, however, this is…

Surgical errors accounted for about 22% of medical malpractice claims last year in the United States according to a major medical malpractice services provider. A number of those errors, it appears, involve the kidneys. An Iowa woman, Dena Knapp, is suing her surgeon, Dr. Scott Baker, after he allegedly removed her kidney, when he was…

New research has revealed how certain drugs provided to patients in intensive care unit (ICU) settings may, instead of shortening recovery time after hospital discharge, actually lengthen that time and prolong muscular weakness. A recent study published in the online journal CHEST closely examined the impact of particular drugs administered to patients on medical ventilation.…

Many individuals who experience chest pains, shortness of breath, or other health concerns contact their doctor and discover that their heart is not receiving a proper flow of blood. Lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart creates the symptom of chest pain. This condition is known as angina. The commonly accepted way to…

Any physical harm an infant suffers as he or she is in the process of being born is referred to as a birth injury. Damage that occurs to the mother during birth may also fall under this term, but less commonly. A birth injury is distinct from a birth defect which originates or grows while…

Medical malpractice doesn’t just mean instances like when a surgeon makes a mistake during surgery. Medical negligence can also include times when a doctor fails to diagnose (or misdiagnose) a condition completely. Errors like these often lead to tragedy and catastrophic injuries. A spinal cord abscess (SCA), sometimes called an epidural abscess, is an infection…

Longtime drummer for rock band Blink-182 Travis Barker recently filed a malpractice suit against a Santa Monica medical imaging center. This action caps off an unfortunate several months for the musician and his family. Earlier this past summer, in June, Barker was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment for blood clots in his arms,…

For many decades, paramedics have treated urgent cardiac arrest victims with adrenaline to prevent their death. However, newly released information is suggesting that the drug used by these medical professionals when cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and electric shocks failed to work, only improves the chance of preventing death by a slim margin, but at the same…

Regardless of whether you have a surgical procedure done at a surgery center or hospital, you expect those in charge of your surgery to provide the same level of competency and safe care before, during, and after surgery. However, the statistics are revealing significant inadequacies when it comes to the resources and oversight associated with…

In a poll by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), nine out 10 emergency room doctors say their hospitals aren’t prepared for a mass tragedy or major disaster. The poll also revealed that fewer than half of doctors believe their emergency rooms are only “somewhat” equipped to handle an incident that drastically increases ER…

In a recent ruling, the Florida Supreme Court stated that the injuries a patient sustained resulting from the use of a restraint maneuver at The National Deaf Academy were the result of negligence, and not medical malpractice. Because the patient’s cause of injury was not related to malpractice, the Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiff…

Kernicterus is a rare form of birth injury which results from a newborn’s inability to process excess levels of bilirubin in the blood after birth. Babies are typically born with a surplus of red blood cells, and their bodies accumulate bilirubin as it breaks these cells down. A newborn’s liver often becomes overworked in processing…