Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

We have often mentioned on this blog the growing problem of hospital borne infections. These are illnesses that a patient contracts while they are at the hospital to be treated for another medical problem. These infections are almost always the result of medical errors and negligent conduct that can be prevented. Proper hand washing, sterilizations, and other cleanliness protocols have been shown to decrease these infections significantly.

As we reported last week, the problem is estimated to cost medical care consumers over $30 billion each year and take the lives of upwards of 100,000 patients.

Those staggering costs should obviously have translated into a concentrated effort to fix the problem. However, the remedial actions have fallen far short. In fact, even the basic task of compiling and making data available on the total number of these infections has taken years to accomplish.

Illinois has just recently begun the task of informing its citizens on hospital performance with regard to these infections. As reported in St. Louis Today, Illinois officials have finally posted their first hospital “report card” that includes initial data on some hospital generated infection rates. This initial reporting does not include the bulk of infections. Only central line associated bloodstream infection rates are available in the latest report. These are infections caused by catheters that deliver fluid and other medications into the body.

While the initial data is small, the information is clearly a step in the right direction. Any public reporting that shines a spotlight on medical errors is a good development. The Illinois General Assembly sought to address this reporting problem six years ago. However, drafting errors in the legislation and funding errors in later years delayed the implementation of the report until now. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Health insists that even more hospital infection data will become available in the future. She explained, “We are in the process of trying to get some additional data. We’re hoping to have surgical-site infection data by the end of the year.”

Click here to check out the latest Illinois medical report card, including information on hospital infection rates. You can look up your own nearby hospital by name or zip code.

Our medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti encourage all patients to take advantage of this new information to help inform their healthcare decisions. Our decades in practice have made clear the risks associated with seeking medical care at a substandard facility. Personal health is too important to risk on any facility that consistently allows patients to get sicker while they are there than before they even arrived.

A new op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader discusses the vast consequences for patients of even simple mistakes by medical providers. Hand washing is known by all to be an important step in providing a clean, sterile environment at all hospitals in the country. However, most people are not aware that many healthcare providers fail to wash hands as frequently and properly as necessary, ultimately leading to patient complications and death cause by contractions of hospital acquired infections (HIAs).

Overall, this preventable doctor negligence kill a staggering 100,000 patients each year and increases medical costs by $30 billion per year. As these numbers indicate the problem is reaching near epidemic proportions. The scope and detail of the HAI problem is not well known because many hospitals have no reporting requirements. In other words, there is no way for any individual patients to learn about a particular hospitals infection-rate in making the decision to attend one facility over another.

MRSA has long been known as the most common and dangerous HIA, but that has recently changed. As the article discusses, clostridium difficile (C. diff) is now considered the most common hospital acquired infection. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that often causes life-threatening diarrhea.

Hand washing has long been known to curb the problem drastically. Frequent use of alcohol based rubs are also sometimes claimed to have improved the cleanliness at many hospitals. However, alcohol does not kill C. diff because it is spread by sores. Old –fashioned scrubbing hands with soap and water is the only way to properly fend off its advance. Healthcare providers are still failing to do it sufficiently, however, leading to rising rates of C.diff and MRSA infections at many local hospitals.

Patients enter hospitals in order to improve their health. No one should contract a deadly and costly illness while seeking care because of preventable hospital mistakes. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti remain constant advocates for all patients and their families who suffer at the hands of hospital negligence. Please contact a medical malpractice lawyer if you or someone you know was a victim of these deadly errors.

The Washington Post reported today on survey results that indicate thousands of lives could be saved each year if medical professionals paid closer attention to deadly hospital infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that each year approximately 80,000 patients develop catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). Slightly less than 40% of those victims (about 30,000 total) ultimately die as a result of the infection. CRBSIs are caused by improper use of catheters- which are tubes inserted into the body to allow fluid drainage, access for surgical instruments, and insertion of fluids. The most common catheter errors occur when the nutrients are improperly prepared for the catheter or it is left inside that body for longer than necessary.

With 30,000 patients dying each year due to these infections, you would expect medical professionals to take every step possible to limit CRBSIs. However, studies have indicated that the infections could nearly be eliminated if medical simple followed simple protocols to ensure the proper use of catheters.

Five simple steps are necessary to stamp out the problem;

1. Hand washing with soap
2. Cleaning patient skin with effective antiseptic
3. Covering patient with sterile drapes
4. Wearing sterile mask, hat, and gloves
5. Using sterile dressing over catheter site

Research consistently indicates that if each of these basic hygiene safety measures is followed, the infections drop drastically. However, medical professionals continually fail to adopt these basic practices in every case, leading to CRBSI-related deaths.

Besides those five steps, research has also indicated that special protocols requiring physicians to weigh the possible benefit of an extra day with the catheter to the potential risks ultimately results in lower CRBSIs. Also, having a response team prepared to deal with any infections quickly has similar effects on limiting the harm from the infections.

Together each of these procedures, as test programs in Michigan hospitals have demonstrated, could save tens of thousands of lives a year. But the majority of hospitals still fail to implement these tested practices.

Instead medical professionals often refuse to pay for the minimal costs of implanting the programs, even though the process actually saves millions of dollars in the long-term. Implementation of these processes typically costs a few thousand dollars to start. However, that pales in comparison to the $30-40,000 price tag to treat each new case of CRBSI.

Besides the skewed financial concern, experts indicate the other main impediment to these life-saving techniques is simply a lack of commitment to the process of behalf of medical professionals. With busy schedules and familiarity with old-fashioned models, many physicians and nurses are simply reluctant to make changes, even if those changes save lives.

No matter what the excuse, no patient should be placed at increased risk of deadly hospital infections. The tools exist to stop CRBSIs, and each medical professional should use them to save lives. Our medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti have fought legal battles on behalf of many patient-victims of catheter errors. We support all steps to ensure that no more victims suffer at the hands of medical device errors.

A recent study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found that ambulatory surgical centers failed to prevent hospital-borne infections in 46 of the 68 surgical centers that the study examined. Researchers reported lapses in infection control in hand hygiene, injection safety, medication and handling, equipment reprocessing, environmental cleaning, and handling of blood sugar monitoring equipment. The study found that 28% of the facilities used medications in single-dose vials for multiple patients and that 32% of the facilities performing blood glucose testing did not clean and disinfect the blood glucose meters after each use. Additionally, the study found that 6% of the facilities reused items that were packaged and labeled as single-use devices and 21% of the facilities used a single lancing penlet device for multiple patients in blood glucose testing.

Ambulatory surgical centers operate exclusively to provide surgical services to patients who do not require hospitalizations or admission lasting longer than 24 hours. Between 2001 and 2008, researchers found that there was a 50% increase in the number of Medicare certified ambulatory surgical centers in the United States. During that same period of time, researchers also found a significant rise in problems relating to hygiene and safety health procedures at the Centers.

Hospital-borne infections are a serious problem facing hospitals. When a patient suffers further injury or death because of a hospital’s failure to prevent infections, hospitals may be held liable. Hospitals can prevent infections among patients by making sure that both the hospital staff and visitors regularly clean their hands with an alcohol-based hand cleaner. Hospitals should also make sure that if a patient needs an IV that it is inserted and removed under clean conditions and changed every three to four days.

For more information about the Center for Disease Control study, visit WebMD.

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a healthcare provider error, such as an infection that could have been prevented, please consult our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys to discuss your possible claim.

The husband of a medical malpractice victim has filed a lawsuit against St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, Illinois. The lawsuit claims that the victim was initially admitted to the hospital with a soft tissue infection in the fatty tissues of the upper leg. She informed hospital personnel that this occurred after she had pinched her left buttock in a toilet seat. The area had grown red, tender and swollen after this incident. The hospital then drained the pressure sore and stated that it was a successful surgery because there was no longer an infection.

However, three days later the victim was complaining of extreme fatigue and a week feeling. Blood cultures showed that there was a high level of E coli in the victim’s body and she had degeneration around the surrounding tissue. The doctors released her and the remaining tissues appeared healthy. She was ordered to use a wound-vac in her infected area and to simply wash and clean the wound. After the hospital she went to a nursing home. A month later her wound had to still not heeled and she was still complaining of pain and discomfort. New blood cultures showed that she had MRSA. The MRSA infection was traced back to the pressure wound. She died a few months later from complications related to the MRSA infection. To read more about this medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

Pressure ulcers and infections are a common form of death. It is important to know the signs and symptoms in order to properly diagnose them. One is that the blood from the body core is warmer than skin temperature. Also, you may be able to detect a small odor caused by the bacilli. To read more signs and symptoms of pressure ulcers, check out the link.

A Medical Center is investigating after a child wrongfully died in their care following an organ transplant. The two-year old’s death may have possibly been the result of an accidental overdose of the blood thinner heparin. They recently released a statement declaring that they were investigating the death after an apparent overdose of a blood thinner. According to Action 3 news, the patient was at the hospital for a multi-organ transplant. After she received the transplant she was readmitted to the hospital with an infection. The virus caused the victim’s kidneys to shut down, requiring her to receive dialysis. It was at the hospital where the 23-month girl died from an infection.

In reality the blood thinner that can be a life-saver during a hospital stay can turn deadly if this blood thinner is given in too high of a dose. According to Omaha.com heprin can cause immediate problems if given in too high of a concentration. This will cause internal bleeding, which can be life-threatening. No one is exactly sure how the overdose occurred. Many of the hospital staff believes the medical malpractice occurred when the setting on the IV pump was not checked properly.

The medical center has already arranged for travel for the family and funeral expenses. Also the medical center is trying to be proactive in sharing this information with other hospitals on what they are trying to do to prevent these occurrences. This hospital is taking important steps to reduce medical error. By sharing new safety implementations with other hospitals, fewer patients will die as a result of a heparin overdose.

The family of a victim who wrongfully died of sepsis at a hospital will receive $1.44 million after a jury determined that his doctor failed to provide him with proper care. The medical malpractice verdict was declared several weeks after this specific hospital notified almost 530 patients that they may have received unnecessary coronary stent implants. The Baltimore Sun is reporting that two physicians in addition to the hospital were named in the medical malpractice lawsuit.

The victim had endured several tests which included an X-ray and a CT scan to determine what was wrong. The doctor believed that the victim was suffering from some sort of infection but believed it to be pneumonia. Finally, a test determined that the victim was suffering from sepsis but the doctor was unaware of the source. He treated the victim with a broad-spectrum antibiotic and admitted him. To read more about the medical malpractice verdict, please click the link.

Reports have shown that nearly 48,000 patients die each year from pneumonia and blood-borne infections. This epidemic has become a widespread problem in hospitals throughout Illinois. Sepsis is a blood infection that can develop after surgery. Patients who developed sepsis after surgery will end up staying nearly 11 days extra in the hospital. This will cost an additionally $32,900 per patient. Most importantly, 20 percent of these people die of sepsis. If you have developed sepsis at a hospital, please contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer. To read more about sepsis statistics, check out this link.

The family of a medical malpractice victim who died at a hospital has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctors. The family states that the victim underwent surgery to remove a noncancerous mass and later died from peritonitis that was improperly diagnosed after the surgery. Peritonitis is caused by a spread of an infection from the blood and lymph nodes to the peritoneum. It is a very serious disease that becomes life threatening if not quickly treated. The Puget Business Journal has reported that the victim was complaining of thirst and pain for three days after the surgery. He later died what they referred to as an “agonizing” death. Their attorney stated that all patients undergoing invasive abdominal surgery are at risk for infection. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the doctor’s failure “to diagnose and treat the basic signs of a horrendous onset of peritonitis is astonishing.”

One of the legal issues in this case is whether or not the hospital can be held responsible for the doctor’s actions. Hospital officials claim that although the doctors have the credentials to practice at the hospital, they are not actual employees. This oftentimes occurs at hospitals that treat doctors as independent contractors.

This victim is one of the 98,000 people that die annually as a result of medical error. Doctors must properly diagnose post surgery infections in order to avoid wrongful deaths. It is important to closely monitor patients after any surgical procedure. To read more about the medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

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.