Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Your attentiveness to your care should continue when you’re sitting in the E.R. in order to ensure the safest hospital visit.

1. Stay on their radar. Earlier this summer, a 49 year-old victim of Illinois medical malpractice complaining of chest pain died in an E.R. waiting room. Bring a friend who can speak up for you.
2. Do not read the magazines. If you have kids with you, do not let them play with the toys. British researchers recently found toys in an ICU swarming with various strains of bacteria.

For the full article.

Another step in ensuring survival in your hospital visit is knowing how to talk to the triage nurse. When you first enter the E.R., you will probably be told to talk to the triage nurse on duty. The triage nurse signs all of the patients in, takes their blood pressure and temperature, and sets the order in which they’re seen based on severity of symptoms. Because of hospital overcrowding, triage nurses are very busy. When speaking to the nurse, do the following:
1. Be descriptive. Pinpoint your pain’s location and describe it using analogies.
2. Be specific.
3. Be honest. Come clean about every pill you have ingested, even if it is embarrassing.

For the full article.

In April 2004, the FDA banned the diet-supplement Ephedra because of the unreasonable risk it posed to users. The decision to ban came after repeated lawsuits brought against the drug's pharmaceutical manufacturers. By the time the FDA got around to banning the drug, it had been linked to 155 deaths. The Washington Post credited the lawsuits to forcing the change in the way the ephedra companies did business.

If certain Congress members have their way, these influential lawsuits will be nonexistent. The so-called "Commonsense Consumption Act" would limit the liability of food companies and grand immunity to the makers of banned substances such as Ephedra. Without the threat of lawsuits, manufacturers of dangerous supplements will have far less incentive to keep the public safe.

Call your representative and urge them not to support this Act.

As previously mentioned, hospitals can be a dangerous place. MSN Health & Fitness suggests that before heading to the E.R., call your primary-care physician. What you may perceive as being urgent, he may be able to treat in his office. The exception: chest pain – there is nothing an office-based doctor can do to assist in treating a heart attack. Also, if you call your physician and he meets you at the E.R., you will get must faster attention then if you went alone.

For the full article.

MSN Health & Fitness recently released an article full of tips on how to leave the hospital healed and not hurt. The tips begin with what to do while you’re still healthy. Although many view hospitals as havens from illness and accidents, hospitals are actually home to bacterial traps and medical and medication malpractice. Medication dosing errors harm 1.5 million patients each year. Infections from hospitals are now the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

1. While you’re still healthy, gather all of your medical data. Doctors will need a list of medications you’re taking, your medical history, immunizations, allergies, the name and phone number of your physician, lab reports, and copies of recent EKGs and MRIs. This information can help save critical seconds in a hospital visit.
2. Identify the best hospital. There are many resources available on the internet to help determine which hospital is best to suit your needs.

For the full article.

A lawsuit filed last week alleges that the Illinois medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages is unconstitutional. The suit involves a Chicago baby who was born with birth injuries caused by a botched labor and delivery. In 2005, the Illinois legislature passed a cap on non-economic damages in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits rather than leaving that determination up to a jury. Currently, non-economic damages in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits are limited to $500,000 against individual doctors and $1 million against hospitals.

For the full article.

According to a new study, Medicaid patients are less likely to receive the recommended quality of cardiac care than those with HMOs and private health insurance. Medicaid patients were less likely to receive short term medications and to undergo invasive cardiac procedures. They also had higher in-hospital mortality rates and were less likely to receive recommended discharge care. Differences were fewer and smaller for Medicare patients. It is disheartening to see that the insurance status affects quality of are and clinic outcomes for cardiac patients under age 65.

For the full article.

A recent study is suggesting that the answer to that question is “no.” The researchers are reporting that people with ruptured disks in their lower backs usually recover whether or not they have surgery. Patients who had surgery often reported immediate relief, but by 3-6 months, patients in both groups reported marked improvement. An estimated 300,000 Americans have surgery each year to relieve the symptoms, being told that if they delay, they may risk permanent nerve damage or even lose bowel or bnladder control. With the risk of surgical error in disk injury operations, this study is welcome news as patients can avoid unnecessary surgery.

For the full article.

The Illinois AFL-CIO states that limited medical malpractice compensation places a burden on hard working Illinois families when they’re seeking retribution for medical negligence. The president of the Illinois AFL-CIO stated that workers and their families who suffer permanent physical damage or death because of medical negligence deserve their day in court where a jury of their peers can decide without limitations what the amount of damages should be. They support all efforts to challenge the 2005 Illinois medical malpractice caps.

In 2005, the Illinois legislature passed a cap on non-economic damages in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits rather than leaving that determination up to a jury. Currently, non-economic damages in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits are limited to $500,000 against individual doctors and $1 million against hospitals.

Since the fall of 1988, Public Citizen has opposed the use of silicon gel breast implants. After receiving numerous documents from FDA scientists concerned about their safety, Public Citizen petitioned the FDA to ban the implants. The FDA has heightened knowledge about the adverse safety and health information relating to the implants, including the high rates of rupture, the need for repeat surgery, clear evidence of lymph node infiltration, and lymph node damage by leaked silicone. The recent approval makes a mockery of the legal standard requiring a “reasonable assurance of safety.”

Continue reading "Public Citizen contends that Silicone gel breast implants are the most defective medical device ever approved by the FDA" »

This story of medical malpractice in a surgical error should remind everyone to do their research on their doctors and hospitals before procedures. In April 2004, a 33 year-old woman was admitted to a hospital for surgery to relieve a buildup of fluid around her heart. A doctor performed a pericardial window and removed roughly 500 cc’s of liquid. After the operation, the pains continued. For the next 9 months, the 33 year-old underwent x-rays and finally learned the truth during a heart catheterization. The doctor who was performing the surgery shouted “What the hell is that?” The doctor’s assistant replied “Doctor, that’s a suture needle.”

On the video of the catheterization, the curved needle left during a surgical error is plainly visible. During the 9 months of x-rays, the 33 year-old went to five different hospitals. In each case, the x-rays should have clearly exposed the needle in her chest, but she was never told about it. Everyone hid the truth from her. The 33 year-old continues to live with a surgical needle lodged in her chest because of a surgical error. She urges others to do their research on doctors before going to a hospital for a procedure.

For the full article.

Although many corporate lobbyists repeatedly stated that restricting lawsuits through so-called “tort reform” was one of the top concerns of today’s voting public, the results from the 2006 midterm election show just the opposite. For example, Senator Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania campaigned “tort reform” as part of his platform. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent over half a million dollars on ads praising Santorum for his pro-“tort reform” stance. Nevertheless, he lost by no slim margin to his opponent Bob Casey, who opposes “tort reform.” Several other congressional candidates who used attacks on trial lawyers during their election races also were defeated.

Despite the results, the day after the election, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform stated that swing voters demanded restrictions on their rights to bring lawsuits. This is contrary to both CNN's and Gallup’s Top Ten exit polls, which did not even list “litigation reform” as an issue influential in a voter’s decision. In the recent election, our predictions, that Americans really do not want to limit their ability to obtain justice through the legal system, were affirmed.

For the full article.

An article released by the Center for Justice & Democracy recently reexamined who really wins in “tort reform.” Once again, results show that the insurance companies come out as the major winners. For example, in the period from 2000-2005, net medical malpractice lawsuit claims paid by the 15 leading insurers across the country remained flat, while the net insurance premiums for doctors surged 120%. Insurance companies will continue to profit unless they have strict oversight by insurance commissioners. The article stated that unfortunately, strict oversight is the exception and many state insurance departments do not have authority for aggressive regulation. In Illinois, medical malpractice insurance premiums continue to rise despite the civil justice restrictions that became law.

For the full article.

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released surveys of physician and pharmacist views on health care issues, including quality issues, prescription drug advertisements, doctors’ willingness to treat patients with government aid, medical errors and medical malpractice, and other health care issues.

To access the surveys.

Are you looking for what options you have during the Medicare Prescription Drug open enrollment period from November 15 to December 31? The Kaiser Family Foundation has released website that includes resources such as state-specific information about benefit plan options, an updated version of the online consumer guide, and an updated fact sheet providing an overview of the benefits. The website was published in response to criticisms that the government-issued Medicare handbook did not provide objective information for consumers.

To access the website.

The chart, entitled “Part D By the Numbers,” provides a side-by-side comparison of the 2006 and 2007 Standard benefits, costs, and out of pocket thresholds for Medicare Part D. The open enrollment period is from November 15 to December 31. There were recent criticisms that the government-issued Medicare handbook failed to provide enough information for consumers.

To see the chart.

A recent article reported that selling medical malpractice insurance is an extremely profitable business. Last year, medical malpractice insurance companies made more than twice as much as they spent in some states, allowing the state’s largest med-mal insurer to pay it’s CEO about $300,000 per year plus a performance bonus.

The insurance companies continue to benefit from the so-called “tort reform.” Doctors continue to pay the same premiums. Severely injured victims lose the most as they are unable to obtain true justice through the legal system.

For the full article.

Approximately 8,000 new medical devices are marketed in the U.S. each year. The FDA receives approximately 200,000 adverse event reports received by the FDA yearly. Despite these reports, only 1,000 medical devices are recalled each year. Vital life-dependent medical devices are poorly tracked by the FDA and unnecessarily risk patients’ lives every day. The ATLA is seeking to end the disparity and is asking the FDA to be stricter with medical device recalls.

To read the full article.