Law Blog
New Study Links Traumatic Brain Injury and Increased Risk of Suicide
Whether you suffer a traumatic brain injury from playing sports, a violent attack or a car crash, a concussion can have a devastating impact on those who survive them. A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that head injuries cause more damage than previously thought and carry far more significant long-term…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed over Serious Back Injury from a Botched Lumbar Puncture
When you are suffering from severe symptoms and you need emergency care, who do you trust more than your doctor at your local hospital to fix you up and send you on your way? In most cases, that is what happens. Unfortunately, an Illinois woman had a less than satisfying outcome after visiting Centegra Hospital-McHenry…
Read MoreBarry J. Nace Achieves Distinction Five Decades in the Making
Nace Law Group is proud to announce that Founder and Senior Partner Barry J. Nace has achieved something very rare. Mr. Nace has been representing victims of medical malpractice and hospital malpractice for more than 40 years. He has been representing plaintiffs in malpractice cases since 1972, when he won his first case: a $20,000 award…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice from Communication Failures and Handoff Errors in a Healthcare Setting
The technical term for the problem of communication failures and handoff errors in the medical field is discontinuity. A doctor who is treating a patient will hand them off to the next doctor when their shift ends, the nurses who administer care also change shifts and they must successfully transfer clinical information to the next…
Read MoreInadequate Postoperative Care that Amounts to Medical Malpractice
Medical negligence can occur with regard to postoperative care. Doctors and nurses must monitor their patients diligently following a surgical procedure to make sure that they are healing properly and that there are no complications. A fairly common postoperative complication is infection. An infection in the area of the surgical site can spread and lead…
Read MoreFinding the Solution for Zika Virus Outbreak
The Zika virus has been all over the news lately as concerns about the spread of the mosquito-borne virus move towards full-blown panic, as the virus has been linked anecdotally to microcephaly, a frightening birth defect. Symptoms of the Zika virus are mild and last for a few days to week and include fever, rash,…
Read MoreCommon Reasons Doctors are Sued for Medical Malpractice
Physicians receive years of training and they devote years to the study and practice of medicine because they understand that human error, when it takes place in a medical setting, can mean the difference between life and death. Every doctor is aware of the lasting consequences of their actions and inaction in the life of…
Read MoreBrain Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
There are many causes of brain injury, including motor vehicle accidents, falls and being struck by an object. However, medical malpractice is another cause of brain injuries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that brain injury accounts for about 30 percent of all injury related deaths. When a doctor makes a…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice: Verdict for Failure to Prevent a Pulmonary Embolism
We trust our medical professionals to help us when we have been hurt or suffer from an illness. We trust that their years of education and training and practice will equip them to offer the treatment and advice we need, but in many ways we expect that they will be perfect when they are as…
Read MoreIVC Filter Manufacturer Continued to Sell Defective Product Despite Knowledge of its Deadly Flaws
Last September, we discussed how defective IVC filters were linked with as many as 27 deaths and thousands of problems that required surgery. The manufacturer knew that the IVC filter could cause potentially fatal problems soon after it was released for sale, but they kept it on the market for five more years. In December…
Read MoreFDA Sets More Strict Requirements for Transvaginal Mesh Implant Devices for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken action to warn consumers about the risks involved with surgical mesh devices that are implanted to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP). On January 4, 2016, the FDA issued two final order to manufacturers of these devices. The first was to re-classify transvaginal mesh devices from class…
Read MoreFDA Faulted for Flawed Drug Tracking
When you visit your doctor for an illness or a disease, and they prescribe a drug that is supposed to ease your symptoms or cure your illness, you more than likely take the prescription to your local pharmacy, and take the pills as directed. Many Americans blithely assume that the FDA is making sure that…
Read MoreIs Your New Year’s Resolution Putting Your Life in Danger?
The most common New Year’s resolutions always involve health: this will be the year we eat better, exercise more, and quit our bad habits. For many people, the overall goal is to lose weight – thus explaining the increase in gym memberships each January – and some people choose to take weight loss supplements to…
Read MoreIs Your Hospital Hiding its Medical Malpractice Data from You?
Back in March, we discussed medical malpractice confidentiality agreements: laws and regulations around the country that looked to protect healthcare professionals when something went “awry” during a procedure. The in August, we looked into research that analyzed the importance of doctors “recognizing and properly disclosing the errors they make, [and] offering an apology and explanation…
Read MoreRaise Your Hand if You Prefer Your Surgeon to be Exhausted
In 2011, a mandate was passed that doctors could no longer work 30 hour shifts. This was based in part by a study that claimed that “Interns working the traditional 30-hour shifts made 36 percent more serious medical errors,” as reported in the New York Times. Banning long shifts makes practical sense; when you are…
Read MoreBad for Mama Means Bad for Baby: Untreated Infections Can Lead to Neonatal Brain Damage
When you are pregnant, your entire world changes in a lot of ways. You will be told to avoid certain foods, to take prenatal vitamins, to avoid drinking or smoking: the usual roundup. You may also be told to avoid certain kinds of medications, because they could have a harmful effect on the baby. For…
Read MoreBeing Exposed to Anesthesia Could Cause Children to Develop Learning Disabilities
Sometimes when a child is born with a birth defect or a cognitive impairment, there seems to be no reason why. Other times, that child might have been the victim of medical negligence, or exposed to a substance which permanently altered their body chemistry or their brain. Discovering the “whys” is often one of the…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice: The Dangers of Misdiagnosed Meningitis
The misdiagnosis of diseases is far more common in the United States than you might imagine. According to a new study in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety, approximately 12 million adults who seek outpatient medical care end up being misdiagnosed. The journal also reports that in about half of those cases, the misdiagnosis could…
Read MoreChristopher T. Nace Named a 2015 Top Lawyer in the D.C. Metro Region by Washingtonian Magazine!
Nace Law Group is pleased to announce that attorney Christopher T. Nace has been selected to Washingtonian Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers. The Washingtonian combs through the more than 80,000 attorneys in the Washington, D.C. region to uncover the best of the best and shares this list with their readers. Nominees are solicited from those…
Read MoreThe Dangers of Opioid Painkillers Likely Outweigh the Risks
Opioids, or narcotic pain medication, is the strongest pain killer available. Doctors typically prescribe opioids for the most severe pain that cannot be helped by other pain relief medications. The problem with these powerful medications is that they are dangerous because of the risk of death by overdose, or addiction and other side-effects. Opioids work…
Read MoreMedication Errors Take Place in 50 Percent of Surgeries
A new study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to measure the medical mistakes made in the perioperative period has raised some eyebrows. As it turns out, the most common errors in surgical procedures are not related to the physical procedure itself, but to medication. “Incorrect dosages being administered, symptoms indicated by a patient’s vital…
Read MoreChoose a Motorcycle Helmet to Protect Your Brain, Not Just Your Head
Motorcycle helmets have an important job to do. They must protect the rider’s head in the event of a crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets are about 37 percent effective in preventing deaths in a motorcycle crash, and about 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. Most motorcycle helmet manufacturers are…
Read MoreArbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts May Soon be Banned
As a consumer you may be under the impression that if you should have a dispute with a company about its products or services, you are always free to file a lawsuit against them to recover damages for your losses. Not so in some cases. In fact, you have likely already signed a contract or…
Read MoreCan a Surgical “Black Box” Lessen the Number of Preventable Medical Errors?
The patient safety advocacy organization The Leapfrog Group published a report in 2014 that identified hospital errors as the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer. This report estimates that up to 440,000 Americans die each year from preventable hospital errors. A new idea that could help make…
Read MoreNow Researchers Cannot Even Tell You about Dangerous Drugs
Dr. Nav Persaud is a physician and drug researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada. He has been researching a drug called Diclectin, which is manufactured by Duchesnay Inc. It is the only drug on the market which has been approved by Health Canada to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). There is…
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