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July 31, 2009

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed for Loss of Leg

A woman alleges in a medical malpractice lawsuit against an orthopedic firm that her surgeon failed to diagnose a blood clot in her leg which eventually caused her to lose her leg. The woman went to the orthopedic firm three times complaining of leg problems, but she was never diagnosed. The orthopedic firm has already been found guilty in failing to comply with proper medical standards by the Medical Review Panel.

Read more about the failure to diagnose here.

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Posted In: Failure to Diagnose

July 30, 2009

Medical Mistakes Must be Top Priority in Healthcare Reform

According to an article, correcting medical mistakes must be the top priority in healthcare reform. Medical errors result in thousands of unnecessary deaths each year and accumulate huge healthcare costs, the article states. The article proposes forming a national medical safety board to investigate many of the numerous medical errors. They would then use this investigation to propose advice to doctors and other medical professionals in reforming healthcare. If you or someone you know has been a victim of medical error, you may want to consider contacting a medical malpractice attorney.

Read more about the proposed medical health board here.

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Posted In: Healthcare

July 28, 2009

Medical Devices May Have Caused Infection

A woman learned from her hospital that medical devices used during her surgery may have caused severe infection in her brain. The severe and fatal infection is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This disease causes dementia, memory loss, deteriorating eyesight, impaired thinking or judgment, and motor function loss in patients. The woman is under traumatic stress and has hired a medical malpractice lawyer to represent her best interests in this hospital negligence case.

Read more about the medical device infection here.

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Posted In: Medical Devices

July 24, 2009

Woman Awarded $24 Million in Failure to Diagnose Claim

A woman was awarded $24 million in a medical malpractice suit against her doctors for the failure to diagnose her breast cancer lump. The woman claims she had complained of a lump in her breast to her doctor but her doctor assured her not to worry about the lump until her next visit. At the next visit, the doctor decided not to order a mammogram. Not until the woman saw her doctor’s partner was her lump diagnosed as breast cancer that had spread to her liver. The medical malpractice jury verdict is believed to be one of the largest in the state’s history.

Read more about the failure to diagnose cancer case here.

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Posted In: Failure to Diagnose Cancer

July 23, 2009

Vet Loses Vision during Eye Surgery

A vet filed a medical malpractice lawsuit after he alleges his corneas were damaged during eye surgery at a Veterans Administration Hospital. The vet underwent surgery to remove sagging skin between his eyelid and eyebrow. After he filed the medical malpractice suit, the hospital called the vet and his family in to address the issue. They claimed he only suffered from an allergic reaction. The damage to his corneas caused severe vision loss, according to the article. The federal judge awarded the vet’s estate $749,000 for the botched surgery.

Read more about the Veterans Administration Hospital medical malpractice suit here.

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Posted In: Surgical Error

July 22, 2009

Medical Liability Study Released

According to Joanne Doroshow, Executive Director for the Center for Justice & Democracy, a new study from the Americans for Insurance Reform called True Risk: Medical Liability, Malpractice Insurance and Health Care has been released with major findings. According to Doroshow, medical malpractice premiums are the lowest they have been in over 30 years. The premiums are “less than one-half of one percent of the country’s overall healthcare costs. Also, medical malpractice claims have dropped 45% since 2000.

Read more about the medical liability study here.

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Posted In: Useful Publications

July 21, 2009

Doctor Disciplined Over Chastising Patient

A Chicago doctor was fined $500 after being accused of chastising a woman in labor with her fifth child and refusing to give her pain medication. According to the medical malpractice civil lawsuit filed by the woman, the doctor failed to give her pain medication because he was angry with her for not calling him first. The doctor even allegedly told a nurse that the woman deserved the pain for not calling ahead. Rush University of Chicago suspended the doctor after reviewing the allegations.

Read more about the disciplined Chicago doctor here.

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Posted In: Professional Malpractice

July 18, 2009

Medicare Study Exposes “Double Failure”

A new Medicare study claims that too many people are dying needless deaths within hospitals and are carelessly turning out patients after short stays that end up back in the hospital within 30 days. John Rumsfeld of the Denver VA Medical Center and chief science officer for the American College of Cardiology's National Data Registry, called this a “double failure” of our healthcare system. Death rates in hospitals below the national average tend to be in the nation’s smallest and poorest counties. Currently, organizations are trying to disseminate information to patients in order to educate them on health care and help them seek out higher standards of care. If you feel you have been a victim of medical malpractice or medical negligence, you should consider consulting a medical malpractice attorney.

Read more about Medicare’s hospital study here.

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Posted In: Useful Publications, Prevention Programs

July 17, 2009

Grand Jury Investigation in Emergency Room Death

A grand jury investigation has begun in the death of a woman who was found on the floor of a psychiatric emergency room. The woman was rushed by ambulance to the ER when diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis. The woman was found dead on the floor of the emergency room while waiting 24 hours to be treated. While waiting for treatment she suffered from a blood clot and died. Hospital staff appeared to ignore the patient while in the ER which was caught on the ER’s security camera. The hospital has been fondly referred to as “Killer Hospital.” The grand jury will investigate the hospital’s negligence and malpractice.

Read more about Killer Hospital and its alleged medical negligence here.

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Posted In: Emergency Rooms

July 16, 2009

Patient Suffers at Hands of Surgeon

A patient received a jury verdict of $1.3 million against a hospital resident for surgical malpractice. The woman had complained of ovary and abdomen tenderness. The hospital staff recommended gynecological laparoscopic procedure. However, during the surgery the hospital resident injured an iliac artery and vein in the patient which almost caused her to lose her entire blood volume, according to the article. Two weeks after the surgery, she had to return back to the hospital for deep-vein thrombosis. The jury had compassion for the injured patient and awarded her a huge jury verdict for medical malpractice.

Read more about the medical malpractice case here.

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Posted In: Surgical Error

July 15, 2009

Patient Wins in Medical Neglect Case

A patient filed a medical malpractice case against her OB/GYN physician for neglect in diagnosing her of cancer. The patient complained of a lump in her breast to her physician who then failed to diagnose the lump in a timely matter for breast cancer. Not until after the woman became pregnant did her OB/GYN take a mammogram and ultrasound to determine the lump was in fact breast cancer. The failure to diagnose cancer and subsequent surgeries and chemotherapy left the woman extremely leak and unable to come to trial. The woman was awarded $24 million for medical malpractice against her doctors.

Read more about the medical malpractice case here.

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Posted In: Failure to Diagnose Cancer

July 14, 2009

Woman Receives Jury Verdict against Plastic Surgeon

A woman received a jury award of $60 million against her plastic surgeon for medical malpractice. The woman underwent a thigh lift procedure performed by the plastic surgeon. After the surgery, the article claims the woman “sustained significant injury and deformity to the vagina which is permanent and cannot be surgically corrected.” The jury found in favor of the patient for medical malpractice due to the doctor’s ill advice on risks of the procedure.

Read more about the medical malpractice award here.

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Posted In: Surgical Error

July 13, 2009

Medical Injuries, Not Patient Compensation, Is Problem

According to an article, preventable medical injuries, not patient compensation, is the problem with healthcare reform. Many think limiting liability against doctors would help but the article disagrees. Most patients that file medical malpractice claims against their medical provider have been seriously injured from such procedures. According to the article, medical liability has only improved patient safety, not the compensation paid out to patients because not every patient brings a claim that has been injured.

Read more about the benefits of medical malpractice claims here.

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Posted In: Tort Reform

July 12, 2009

Case Law Update: Evidence in Medical Malpractice Suit

Sbarbora v. Vollala found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Plaintiff's motion for new trial after jury verdict in favor of all Defendants. Plaintiff not substantially prejudiced by Defendant physician's testimony about his discharge summary, even though Plaintiff's counsel was not provided with discharge summary until time of trial. Trial court properly granted Defendant physician's motion in limine to bar evidence that he had failed internal medicine board certification examination; Defendant gave no expert opinions, but only described decedent Plaintiff's symptoms within context of his treatment. This case will have a great impact on medical malpractice cases.

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Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

July 11, 2009

Psychiatric Malpractice Claim Proceeds

A psychiatric malpractice suit filed for wrongful death of an inmate will pursue against a county and psychiatrist. An inmate committed suicide after his psychiatrist ordered “close watch” of his patient by the prison employees because he recognized the inmate had suicidal tendencies. However, the psychiatrist did not realize “close watch” did not mean “continuous watch” in prison terms and thus the patient was left alone for a period of 15 minutes when he was able to commit suicide. A judge allowed the deceased’s medical malpractice claims to proceed.

Read more about the psychiatric malpractice case here.

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Posted In: Psychiatric Malpractice

July 8, 2009

Third Chance Might be Charm in Medical Malpractice Suit

A woman’s estate has a third chance to claim their previous jury award of $11 million for medical malpractice. The family claims the woman died from a medical misdiagnosis when the doctor told her she had arthritis when in fact she had cancer. The medical malpractice claim had been dismissed twice after the family was originally awarded $11 million.

Read more about the medical malpractice claim revival here.

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Posted In: Verdicts and Settlements

July 7, 2009

Medical Malpractice Payments Reach New Low

According to an article by Public Citizen, medical malpractice payments are at an all-time low in 2008, but this record does not imply that medical practice health standards have improved. The article claims that between three and seven Americans die every year from medical errors for every one who receives a payment for any malpractice claim.” It also claims that the vast majority of medical malpractice victims receive no compensation whatsoever. In 2008, 80% of medical malpractice payouts went to patients involved with serious physical damages.

Read more about the depletion of medical malpractice payments here.

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Posted In: Useful Publications

July 6, 2009

Better Knowledge of Geriatric Medicine May Prevent Medical Malpractice

A recent New York Times Op-Ed calls on hospitals to provide clinical training to medical students in geriatric care in order to deliver proper medical treatments to older patients. Currently, medical students receive clinical training in ob-gyn and pediatrics but most physicians never treat children or deliver babies. There are no requirements for medical students to receive clinical training in geriatrics even though people over 65 make up a large number of medical and surgical patients in our hospitals. Older patients do not always have the same symptoms or react to treatments like younger patients do. Because of this, the risk for incidents of medical malpractice may arise because medical students do not understand how to treat older patients.

Recently, there has been a push by several organizations to require geriatrics training. This training would include training in nursing homes. These new measures could increase clinical knowledge and help reduce medical negligence in hospitals coast-to-coast. Follow the link to read more about the proposed list of geriatric competencies in Academic Medicine, the Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

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Posted In: Hospital Negligence

July 3, 2009

Lawsuit Filed against Wrestler’s Doctor

The family of Chris Benoit filed a lawsuit against his physician for improperly prescribing medications to the wrestler. The family claims Benoit was using these medications when he strangled and killed his wife and son. Other physicians have come forward and claimed the doctor was negligent in monitoring his patient during the course of prescribing medications. The physician is currently serving prison time for improperly dispensing medications.

Read more about the negligent physician here.

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Posted In: Psychiatric Malpractice

July 2, 2009

Patient Never Allowed to See Doctor

A physician was held accountable in a wrongful death lawsuit for neglecting to diagnose a patient. The patient died of a dissected aorta and bled to death. The patient asked the doctor to see a cardiologist at the hospital but was never given that opportunity. On the same day he was discharged from the hospital, he died. The man’s estate was awarded $1.5 million in the medical malpractice lawsuit.

Read more about the medical malpractice award here.

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Posted In: Failure to Diagnose Cardiac

July 1, 2009

Parents Settle in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Parents of a young boy who died after having surgery settled with the boy’s doctor for $200,000 in a wrongful death medical malpractice claim. The boy died from septic shock after his bowel was perforated during a medical procedure. The doctor also checked on the boy the following day and found the perforation, according to the parents. There has been worldwide medical malpractice concern over this particular doctor’s capability as a medical professional.

Read more about the notorious doctor here.

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Posted In: Wrongful Death

« June 2009 | | August 2009 »

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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