Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

American Association for Justice is hosting a seminar from January 30-31, 2009 in Phoenix, AZ. It will cover a full array of medical negligence lawsuits, including catastrophically injured infants. You will get advice from prominent physicians and trial attorneys.

For more information.

A pro off-road racer suffers a 24 day coma and severe brain injuries after a motorcycle crash. The youngest pro off-road racer at 16 years of age is battling to come back from the brain injuries and shows signs of healing.

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The military culture has become an unhealthy environment for soldiers to express their feelings about the men and women lost along the way. Post traumatic stress disorder affects 1 in 5 men and women who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan according to the Pentagon. Although there are outlets such as mental health clinic s for soldiers to seek out on military bases, these clinics are by some soldiers are considered to be a sign of weakness. Now there are efforts to train the soldier’s brain to cope better with PTSD.

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Some tort reform advocates are advocating that courts adopt the “English rule” for medical malpractice lawsuits and other tort lawsuits. The “American rule,” however, is the only way to ensure equal access to justice in personal injury lawsuits and medical malpractice lawsuits. The “English rule” is a pure loser-pas system for the costs of the medical malpractice lawsuits whereas the “American rule” allows for attorneys’ fees on a contingency fee basis.

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Brain injuries brought on by stroke, illnesses, and sudden blows to the head will dramatically change the entire functionality of each person affected. The affects of the injury could be anywhere from a concussion to a coma where those persons will suffer memory loss or personality changes. The severity depends on the type of brain injury. Families send loved ones affected by the injury to homes where they can receive more individualized care.

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Doctors found that women who were overweight or obese and underwent breast surgery were more likely to develop lymphedema, a chronic condition of painful swelling in the arm or shoulder area. According to Doctor Jane Armer, diagnosis of lymphedema can be difficult. She also said it “often goes undiagnosed and untreated by physicians and patients.”

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Doctors will be given incentives to send prescriptions to pharmacies by fax or email instead of paper beginning in January. Medicare will give the doctor a bonus payment for their compliance. The federal government hopes to reduce health costs for Medicare by eliminating paper records.

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Blue Cross was fined $150,000 for improperly disclosing patients’ medical information to other insurance companies. According to Blue Cross, the disclosure was a printer error. Abuse of patient information has been noted. According to Judy Dugan who works for Consumer Watchdog, patient information has been held for ransom before.

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The Chicago Tribune helps educate readers with tips on avoiding adverse side effects from mixing different medications.

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A woman has sued a physician due to a surgical error that occurred when the woman underwent a breast reduction surgery. The doctor’s mistake was alleged to have resulted in the woman undergoing a surgery where the wrong breast was reduced in size. This can be described as an uncommon cosmetic surgery error. The doctor’s surgical error resulted in emotional damage to the woman and the need for her to have to undergo another surgery to correct the bad operation done to her. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that despite consulting with the physician before the surgery, the surgery resulted in a breast reduction error. The woman underwent the surgery to reduce chronic pain that caused her back pain and shoulder pain, however after the surgery mistake the woman continues to suffer physically and emotionally. To read the full story click here.

In order to avoid harmful drug interactions, it is a good idea to keep an updated list of medicines that you are taking in your wallet and next to the phone. Give a copy to a family member or caregiver. Be sure to describe your medications at your medical appointments. Include any herbal treatments and dietary supplements. Before you add any new drugs to your regimen, consult a physician. Do NOT take any medications that have been prescribed to someone else. Make a new year’s resolution to do your best to avoid harmful drug interactions.

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The death of an Iraq war veteran whose skin cancer was misdiagnosed by military doctors has raised questions about a long-standing Supreme Court rule that bars soldiers from suing the federal government for medical malpractice. A Marine Sergeant died after doctors mistakenly treated his deadly melanoma as a wart. The family cannot file a medical malpractice suit because the man was on active duty and military hospitals and personnel are immune from malpractice claims because of what is known as the Feres Doctrine. The doctrine is named after the 1950 ruling that the wife of a man who died in a barracks fire had no right to sue the government for negligence. The Feres Doctrine even allows for institutional abuse. Proponents of the Doctrine say it protects officers from being threatened by lawsuits from lower-ranking personnel and it keeps doctors in the military. However, some Supreme Court justices believe that the case was wrongly decided and needs universal criticism. For unfortunate soldiers who have suffered from the Doctrine, it must come soon. To read the full story, click here.

Dennis Quaid, the Hollywood actor, agreed to a $750,000 medical malpractice settlement with a hospital after their twins were given a lethal dose of Heparin. The hospital gave the babies a 10,000-milliliter unit dose of Heparin, a blood thinner, made by the Baxter Healthcare Corp. instead of the prescribed 10 milliliters. The twins struggled for their lives after the lethal overdose of Heparin. Fortunately, the twins survived the lethal overdose administered by the healthcare providers at the hospital. A petition filed in the court shows that the Quaids and the hospital have agreed on the parents’ damages, but can still pursue medical malpractice claims for their children. To read the full story, click here.

A family of an inmate who died after officials ignored his plea that he needed medical help has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and jail. When the inmate collapsed, a nurse requested a deputy to administer CPR and the deputy was negligent in laughing and walking away.

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The American Association for Justice (AAJ) will host a medical negligence lawsuit seminar from January 30-31, 2009 in Phoenix, AZ. The seminar will cover a wide variety of medical malpractice lawsuits, including birth injury lawsuits.

To sign up and for more information, click here.

The first person in the U.S. to receive a facial transplant is now recovering. The patient, a burn injury victim, has expressed high satisfaction with procedure, according to the plastic surgeon. She is expected to spend weeks in the hospital. Ethical issues arise with the facial transplant procedure. Recipients run the risk of deadly complications and must take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent organ rejection, raising their odds of cancer and infections.

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An annual report issued by the American College of Emergency Physicians gave the nation a D- grade for access to emergency care. The report stated that ER care is fraught with significant challenges and under more stress than ever before. A shortage of doctors and nurses with an increased demand for urgency care creates disaster and threats of medical malpractice.

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One representative is renewing another attempt at tort reform in introducing legislation with the goal of making it harder for medical malpractice plaintiffs to successfully sue bad doctors. The Arizona legislator is attempting to raise the burden of proof for claims of medical malpractice.

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Kids are taking herbal supplements in a sign of how mainstream alternative medicine has become. More than one in nine children and teens try these remedies and other nontraditional options. It could be dangerous for children because lack of rigorous testing could be harmful for kids.

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A recent Newsweek article addressed that 42.8 percent of American women use some sort of complementary or alternative medicine. Women should be wary of these medicines and claims for medical cures. The FDA regulates herbal and dietary supplements as food rather than as drugs, so they do not have to meet the same stringent standards as pharmaceuticals.

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Doctors prescribe statin drugs to help lower cholesterol, but carry serious side effects such as muscle pain, neurological disorders, rashes and liver problems. In the latest study, eye disorders may also be attributed to this drug.

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Heparin manufactured by Baxter, an Illinois based company, contained a contaminant which produced adverse effects such as hypotension, nausea, and shortness of breath. After this detection, APP Pharmaceuticals, also from Illinois, became the major supplier of Heparin in the United States. APP hopes to lead a safety initiative that will essentially reduce medical errors in the future.

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Hospira, a global medication delivery company, is voluntarily recalling a plastic product used to administer injections. A small number of products may be incorrectly labeled. Adverse effects from error may result in electrolyte imbalance, cardiac dysfunction, gastrointestinal disturbances, paresthesia and mental confusion.

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A recent New York Times article examined recent programs calling for lightened hours for medical residents. The Times piece says that for the standards to be enforced, they need regulations. The panel proposed that residents or no more than 16 hours straight and that every 30-hour shift needs a five-hour sleep break after 16 hours. Such regulations would be great and likely lower rates of medical malpractice and surgical error.

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Two doctors are being sued for medical malpractice in a rare case allowing a punitive damages claim. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that one surgeon left him on the table unconscious to be mutilated by the other doctor. Additionally, the medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that other doctors concealed evidence.

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The parents of a 7-year-old boy who died after he contracted the West Nile virus from a tainted blood transfusion asked a state’s Supreme Court to restore an $8 million jury verdict against a blood bank. The justices have also been asked to decide whether all blood banks are covered by the state’s medical malpractice suits, which include special procedures and limits on damages and attorney fees, rather than general negligence laws. The American Red Cross and two national blood bank associations are participating in the case through a written “friend-of-the-court” argument that sided with the defendant, a blood bank. The appellate court overturned the negligence verdict in the death of the young boy. It ruled the boy’s estate should have filed a notice to the blood bank before suing as required for a medical malpractice claim. The parents argued that the appellate ruling violates his clients’ right to access to the courts, saying it would be impossible to comply with the medical malpractice requirements. This is due to the fact that the parent’s couldn’t obtain records on the donor they’d need to file a preliminary notice because of patient confidentiality laws. To read the full story, click here.

Larsen, M.D. v. The Carle Foundation, No. 4-08-0149 (11-21-08) affirmed that in a breach of contract complaint against a hospital for its failure to renew privileges of surgeon, the trial court did not err when it granted judgment at the close of the plaintiff's, case in defendant's favor, pursuant to the provisions of Section 2-1110 of Code of Civil Procedure. Although the physician established that hospital was untimely in its forwarding of application to renew his privileges, the hospital gave him additional time to complete his application; and the plaintiff failed to prove that request for additional information was unreasonable, gave him insufficient time to respond, or that timely compliance was not possible. Further, because plaintiff's privileges were merely allowed to expire without renewal, rather than physician being subject to an adverse decision, he is not entitled to a fair hearing pursuant to the Hospital Licensing Act. This Illinois decision will greatly affect medical malpractice cases.

The family of a 27-year-old mother of nine who died in Stroger Hospital in Chicago, Illinois three years ago will get $9.8 million to settle a medical malpractice suit. The woman died after bleeding during a pregnancy. The Cook County Board authorized the medical malpractice settlement in the case. According to the suit, medical personnel at the Chicago hospital failed to give the woman blood-clotting products in a timely fashion after she began bleeding and collapsed in August 2005. She was 31 weeks’ pregnant and her baby did survive. 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.

Claims based on hospital infections are becoming the focus of many medical malpractice suits. Recently a jury awarded $13.5 million in a medical malpractice case to the family of woman who died of an infection caused by flesh-eating bacteria that she contracted during cancer treatment. Then a woman reached a $16 million medical malpractice settlement alleging that the hospital failed to detect necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacteria, before and after she gave birth which caused her to lose three limbs and several organs. The Centers for Disease Control has estimated that more than 2 million hospital-aquired infections occur annually which results in 90,000 deaths. However, the rate of patient infection is “close to zero” when health care personnel comply with strict protocols governing the washing of hands, instruments and hospital rooms. The CDC is responding to this epidemic by raising the standard of care that applies to hospitals in preventing infections. For example, an ambulance IV should be switched to a new one upon arrival at the hospital. By following these guidelines, a hospital can decrease its risk of medical malpractice lawsuits. To read the full story, click here.

Recent studies suggest arrogant, abusive, and disruptive behavior by doctors in the workplace contributes to medical mistakes, preventable complications, and even death. One nurse testifies to a patient that could have suffered serious brain injury or death if she did not call an attending doctor at home due to an unruly on-call resident. Also, through surveys and testimony, nurses and residents have reported not questioning medical mistakes made by a doctor due to fear of the doctor’s anger.

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At least 17 babies were given excessive amounts of blood thinner heparin at a hospital, possibly leading to two deaths. After investigation, the hospital concluded the error occurred in their pharmacy. The hospital contends there were no adverse effects due to the overdose. One family with twins subjected to the overdose is considering filing a lawsuit.

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The widow of a man who died following gall bladder surgery at the Marion VA Medical Center has accepted a settlement of almost $1 million. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the hospital was negligent in treating the man and that it failed to perform an adequate background check prior to hiring Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, the surgeon who performed the operation, resulting in the man’s wrongful death. The Chicago Tribune reported last year that Veizaga-Mendez had been operating on veterans at the Downstate hospital for more than a year after surrendering his license in Massachusetts in a disciplinary proceeding that accused him of providing “grossly substandard care” that caused his patients to suffer serious complications and death.

The Veterans Health Administration medical inspector and the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs have reported that, during a 2-year period ending September 2007, 9 patients have died from substandard care at the Marion VA Medical Center, while 34 others have been seriously injured. Disciplinary actions have been taken against 6 of the facility's surgeons and several other employees.

To read the full story, click here.