Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, a woman who battled against malaria has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the first hospital where she received treatment. The lawsuit contends that the hospital allowed her condition to deteriorate so thoroughly that her arms and legs had to be amputated. The 34-year old victim had traveled to Ghana in February of 2008 and was bitten by a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite. At the time, she was not taking anti-malarial medication and when she returned to Chicago, she suffered increasingly severe headaches and fatigue.

This prompted her to visit the emergency room at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. While the hospital did diagnose the victim with malaria, they did not treat it aggressively enough in the early stages. Instead they treated her as if she had non-complicated malaria, despite evidence that it was far more advanced. Her condition continued to worsen and she lost circulation to her extremities. After six days at Northwestern Memorial, she was transferred to the burn unit at the University of Chicago Medical Center where a surgeon had to amputate her arms and legs. The medical malpractice lawsuit has since been filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Doctors have a duty to aggressively treat all diseases to their best ability. If diseases are not properly diagnosed, drastic effects may ensue such as the amputation in this case. If you believe that you did not receive adequate treatment at a Chicago hospital, contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer. To read the article on the medical malpractice case, please click the link.

Congressman Murtha’s recent death has raised questions about the complications of gallbladder surgery. Many are left wondering if the influential lawmaker was among nearly 100,000 people who die in U.S. hospitals annually because of medical errors. While Congressmen debate health care on the hill, it is time that they reflect on the death of one of their own. Instead of focusing on issues such as tort reform, it is necessary that they look more closely at how to prevent medical error.

The Washington Post found reported that Murtha had elective laparoscopic gallbladder surgery preformed at the Bethesda Naval Hospital and fell ill shortly afterwards from an infection that has been related to the procedure. Studies have found that the mortality rates for gallbladder surgery is quite low, ranging from .7-2% even in the elderly. So we are left with the question of whether Murtha was an unlucky patient or whether he is yet another victim of medical error. Some argue that a two minute checklist could decrease the death rate. Since Bethesda Naval Hospital is a government institution, organizations that work to prevent medical mistakes cannot confirm whether they do use such a checklist.

The Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti support the use of checklists to promote communication between hospital staffers. They believe that this is one step that a hospital can take in lower the death toll that occurs every year from medical error. If you believe that you are a victim of such a medical error, please consult a Chicago medical malpractice attorney. To read more about the devastating lost of Congressman Murtha, please click the link.

Healthcare-associated infections are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers. According to the World Health Organization, at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from hospital-borne infections. This is why Kimberly Clarke has started a website designed to prevent hospital infection. It releases news stories regarding the infections and discusses prevention measures. This website will be critical to the fight of ending medical error. To check out the infection website, please click the link.

There is a low-tech way to cut down on a deadly infection that strikes roughly 80,000 intensive-care patients in the U.S. every year. Michigan hospitals dramatically lowered rates of bloodstream infections in their patients by following a five-step checklist. However, nearly three years after the study appeared meaningful use of the checklist remains limited. The list prescribed steps that doctors and nurses in the intensive-care unit should take when performing a common procedure. The procedure is inserting a catheter into a vein just outside the patient’s heart, to allow easy delivery of intravenous drugs and fluids. The steps are quite simple and the Michigan study found that putting the checklist in place lowered the rate of bloodstream infections related to catheter use by 66%. Experts believe that despite the checklists low cost and practical steps, hospitals are slow to implement them simply because it’s a culture piece. Nurses are afraid of backlashes from their physicians. This culture clash is allowing between 30,000 and 60,000 people per year to die, and hospitals are ignoring the need for such checklists. It is time for hospitals to require the checklists to ensure that people do not die from preventable hospital-borne infections. To read more about the checklists, please click the link.

As many as one in 10 patients hospitalized in the United States will come down with an infection which is oftentimes due to the care that is supposed to be restoring health. These infections afflict nearly two million patients a year. They also cause close to 100,000 deaths and cost up to $6.5 billion. The Wall Street Journal has come up with ways to prevent infection in health-care settings. The first is to clean all medical equipment and patient rooms. Also, the use of a shower-sized cubicle with a fogging mechanism inside called SUDS could greatly reduce the bacteria. The paper recommends washing ill patients daily with a mild antibacterial soup. This can cut bloodstream infections dramatically. A very practical way to reduce infections is to enact reporting laws for hospitals. Hospitals should use diagnostic tests to identify infected patients within hours, rather than days. To read more tips for decreasing infections, please click the link.

A hospital, where officials say a nurse may have exposed more than 1,800 patients to HIV and hepatitis by reusing medical supplies, says that patients are currently being tested for HIV. Officials at the hospital said that 410 of the 1,851 potentially exposed patients have been tested. Earlier this month the hospital discovered that 59-year-old nurse was reusing IV tubing and saline bags during cardiac chemical stress tests. While hospital officials said that the chances of infection are low, it cannot be ruled out. Police are currently investigating this tremendous medical error. To read more about the medical malpractice, please click the link.

More people will die in the US this year from MRSA infections than from the swine flu or AIDS. The Journal of American Medicine Association estimates that 18,000 Americans die each year from MRSA infections. Statistics show that most people who develop MRSA do so after receiving care from a hospital or other health care facility. A report showed that 12 percent of patients who require home health care are released from the hospital with MRSA. These patients tend to be elderly or younger patients with weakened immune patients. People are the most common source of MRSA and they can spread it with hand-to-hand contact. A patient may be a carrier of MRSA and spread it to a doctor or nurse by shaking his or her hand. If the health care provider is not wearing gloves and fails to wash his or her hands, MRSA can negligently spread to other patients. One of the most common ways to prevent spreading MRSA is hand washing. However, studies show that through hospital negligence only 50 percent of hospital workers wash their hands regularly. Patients should ask their physicians and other health care providers to wash their hands before examining them to avoid medical mistake. Illinois has taken an extra step towards the prevention of MRSA by passing laws requiring hospitals to screen high-risk patients for the staff infections. If you or a loved one has developed MRSA it may be the result of medical malpractice and you should find an Illinois lawyer. To read more about MRSA, please click the link.

An issue of Women's Health this summer touched upon issues that concern a lot of Levin & Perconti blog readers - how to avoid medical mishaps. We wanted to share the startling statistics that the magazine provided. Each year, nearly 1.5 million Americans are injured by medication errors and up to 98,000 die in hospital due to medical errors. To avoid being a victim, Women's Health suggested that you always check your prescriptions, find rested workers, and personalize your case file.

To read more about how to take control of your medical care.

Five former patients of a urology center filed a medical malpractice lawsuit, alleging that the facility improperly used medical supplies on multiple patients, potentially exposing them to danger illnesses. According to a report, the center contacted 5700 patients to warn them of a risk of blood borne illnesses and suggested they get tested because the center misused single-use supplies. Five of the patients contacted filed the lawsuit together, claiming that the center knew this practice was improper but continually reused supplies anyway. To read more about this medical malpractice lawsuit click on the link.

A pediatric resident has scared three different Chicago hospitals after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. Thus far, there have been no detections of the tuberculosis spreading. The Chicago Department of Public Health claims this is a good sign that the bacterial disease had not spread. This does not mean the scare is over. Tuberculosis can take up to ten weeks to be detected, according to the article. Patients are being contacted for screening who may have come in contact with the infected pediatric resident.

Read more about the TB hospital scare here.

A previous army nurse, who at the time was currently working as a civilian, at an Army hospital allegedly infected at least 15 patients with hepatitis C. The allegedly negligent nurse poured medication into an infected container he brought from home for patients. The nurse is facing 20 years in prison if convicted.

Read more about the alleged medical infection here.

A jury ordered a hospital to pay $5.8 million in a medical malpractice case to an anesthesiologist who suffered serious infection after having back surgery. The doctor was a staff member of the hospital where the surgery took place. The medical malpractice lawsuit claimed that his surgeons used instruments that were not properly sterilized and the surgery site became infected as a result of this negligence. The plaintiff had to have five additional surgeries as a result of this hospital-borne infection. His attorneys also noted that he would be on pain medicine for the rest of his life and would work less because of this hospital’s negligence.

To read more about this case of medical negligence follow the link.

A man won $17.5 million in a medical malpractice suit against a doctor who failed to treat him correctly after contracting MRSA. The plaintiff contracted the hospital borne infection after having ulcer surgery. Due to the doctor’s failure to treat his infection with proper antibiotics, the man lost both his arms and legs from the MRSA infection.

Due to state medical malpractice caps, the plaintiff only received $250,000.

Read more about the MRSA medical malpractice lawsuit here.

An Illinois man died weeks after having brain surgery five years ago at Mayo Clinic. His widow filed a medical malpractice suit against both Mayo and the neurosurgeon who performed the surgery. The widow’s attorney claims they will be aiming for over 4.5 million dollars in damages. The widow alleges there was a cerebral spinal leak during surgery which caused her husband infection, meningitis, and ultimately death. She alleges through the neurosurgeon failure to take proper precautions to prevent the complications.

For the full story, click here.

A mom lost her limbs during a horrific hospital stay is making great progress in using her artificial legs. The woman lost all four limbs and much of her eyesight to medical malpractice at a hospital. She was sent home from the emergency room with only painkillers for a kidney stone. When the condition worsened, medics failed to take her back to the hospital, causing her to develop sepsis. She awoke from a two week coma partially blind with gangrene ravaging her body. The woman is suing both the hospital and emergency service for medical malpractice. To read the full story, click here.

A medical malpractice lawsuit claims that doctors at a hospital left a five-inch catheter inside a man’s heart, causing an infection that complicated his fight against cancer, then tried to cover up the mistake. The man says that the hospital should have known that a catheter being used to treat his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma had broken off from a port in his chest after he began treatment. The catheter became a “time bomb” when it lodged in his heart and caused an infection which permanently damaged the organ. The medical center arranged for an operation to extract the catheter through his next and groin. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for negligence, medical malpractice, fraud and battery. The medical malpractice suit accuses the doctor of knowing the about the broken catheter “substantially before” the date the doctors claim to have discovered the device. The medical malpractice lawsuit also states that the doctor promoted surgery at the same hospital “in an attempt to extract the incriminating evidence” To read the full story, click here.

An infection called “C. diff” has been plaguing hospitals nationwide and some people are blaming the scrubs that the hospital staff wear. A national hospital survey has warned that C. diff infections are sickening half a million people a year. Some hospitals have gone as far as to prohibit scrubs outside the building. This is in response to a study which shows that 65% of medical personnel change their lab coat less than once a week, though they are aware that it’s contaminated. Superbugs such as staph can live on the polyester coats for up to 56 days. C. diff has caused healthy patients who go into hospital for elective surgery to die, because it is hard to control outside of the hospital. Hospitals should launder scrubs for all staff and prohibit them from wearing scrubs outside the building in order to combat this problem. To read the full story, click here.

Heath care professionals failure to follow basic infection practices placed more than 60,000 American patients at risk for hepatitis B and C. A study concluded that health care personnel in settings outside hospitals failed to follow basic infection control practices. Reuse of syringes and blood-contamination of medications, equipment and devices have been identified as the most common factors. Studies reveal that in the past 10 years there have been 33 identified outbreaks of HBV and HCV in 112 outpatient clinics, 6 hemodialysis centers and 15 long-term care facilities. This study found that 450 people acquired hepatitis infections as the result of health care personnel. Unfortunately, thousands of patients are exposed to viral hepatitis and other preventable diseases in the places where they should feel safe. To read the full story, click here.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are on the rise according to a new study that has looked at the incidence rates of common hospital acquired infections nationwide. The most common hospital infections are related to urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections and infections after surgery. Hospital infections can cause a hospital patient injuries and in extreme cases even hospital patients death. The statistics on this hospital infection study can be found in detail by clicking here.
Hospital acquired infections should be on the radar of hospital staff, nurses and patients. To learn more about preventing hospital injuries from such infections watch this video. Levin & Perconti is not responsible for the content and manufacture of this video; this video was obtained via YouTube.

A physician who practices out of an Endoscopy Center has been hit with a medical malpractice complaint by the state’s board of medical examiners. The former gastroenterologist faces four medical malpractice allegations relating to the care he was provided to patients. Officials believe that one of the patient’s hepatitis C was transmitted to seven others. Medical malpractice complaints have already been filed against the clinic’s majority owner as well, and their licenses have been suspended pending an investigation. The allegation is that it was the physician treating the source patient that led to the other patients acquiring hepatitis C later that day. Claims of medical malpractice against the doctor focused on treatment of not only that first patient, who underwent a colonoscopy, but on a patient the doctor treated later in the day. The medical board complained that the doctor failed to exercise proper skill and diligence and that he brought the reputation of the medical profession into disrepute. It is believed that the reuse of syringes in a manner that contaminated multiple vials of anesthesia used for more than one patient led to the transmission of hepatitis C. The state board is investigating whether this has contributed to a widespread outbreak of hepatitis C. To read the full story, click here.