Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Outpatient Surgery News reported recently on developments in a medical malpractice lawsuit following a burn caused during a hysterectomy.

The female victim visited the Hurley Medical Center in 2005 to have a hysterectomy performed. She awoke from the procedure with a bandage on her right forearm. Underneath the bandage the she and her husband found a massive burn. When asked, a nurse called the wound an “open blister.” She explained that it was a “Bovie burn” resulting from the surgical staff’s failure to use a grounding pad on the patient’s leg during the procedure. The forearm injury should have been avoided as all medical professionals’ have a duty to prevent electrosurgical burns.

The lawsuit was filed shortly after the incident seeking vindication for the facility’s negligence. Specifically, the medical personnel should have properly monitored the equipment used in the procedure that could have caused burns on parts of the patient bodies not associated with the specific procedure.

The hospital attempted to kick the lawsuit out of court because of technical arguments about how the lawsuit was labeled and how standards of care were described. However, an appeals court recently allowed the suit to continue, rejecting most of the defendant’s claims. The woman is now one step closer to getting her day in court to share her story with a jury.

Continue reading "Victim of Electrosurgery Burn Can Pursue Malpractice Claim" »

All those concerned with patient safety have likely read many of the recent reports about victims’ overexposure to radiation. With increasing use of radiation to combat the spread of deadly invaders of the body or to receiving imaging for diagnosis, the risk of unnecessary radiation damage increases. It is becoming vital for all medical professionals to take every precaution possible to minimize the collateral effects of radiation on the patient.

Fox News recently reported on the steps that some health care providers are taking in their efforts to minimize the rising examples of medical mistakes. Specifically, some facilities are pledging to use the least radiation necessary for any given procedure. The new-found pledge was instigated in large part by recent research that has shown Americans to be receiving much larger doses of radiation than in the past.

One of the main factors leading to the exposure is a drive for profits. Most insurers pay doctors based on the total number of procedures performed, thereby rewarding doctors for performing more tests requiring radiation exposure. In other cases the doctors themselves own the equipment being used and thus have a financial incentive to order tests with the machine.

Continue reading "Health Care Providers Need to Do Much More to Lessen Radiation Exposure" »

Long Island Business News reported today on the judicial verdict in a malpractice case that was recently handed down. The lawsuit was filed against two doctors for their negligent post-op treatment which resulted in years of health problems for the unsuspecting medical victim.

Several years ago the patient underwent cardiac bypass surgery at St. Francis Hospital. Following the operation the victim suffered from what is known as a cardiac tamponade. It arises when there is bleeding into the chest following a heart procedure. Unfortunately, the two doctors charged with his care failed to diagnose the dangerous condition. That mistake allowed pressure to build in his chest without relief, leading to cardiac arrest.

The complications required a second cardiac surgery and a subsequent 2 ½ years of hospital stays and rehabilitation requirements. Many other troubles arose stemming from the initial mistake including nerve damage, brain injury, kidney failure, a trachostomy, bed sores, and sepsis.

The man filed a malpractice lawsuit against the negligent doctors for their treatment. After the trial the judge found in favor of the plaintiff, awarding him $7 million for his losses.

Continue reading "$7 Million Awarded in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit" »

Certain medical procedures, tests, and operations will always involve risks. It is understood that even perfect medical care may produce complications at times. However, that fact does not absolve all medical personnel from doing all in their power to reasonably shield patients from unwanted side-effects.

For example, medical necessity at times requires patients to be exposed to varying levels of radiation. In those circumstances, it is vital that medical personnel take precautions to minimize the radiation exposure and keep patients as safe as possible. Unfortunately, there are many instances when that does not occur.

The New York Times recently published a detailed story including examples of egregious radiation exposure errors. A Chicago area facility, Evanston Hospital is currently at the center of controversy after three patients were severely harmed following a medical mistake of overexposure to radiation.

One victim was a young woman who went to the hospital to get treatment for head pain. She agreed to undergo a procedure known as stereotactic radiosurgery, or SRS—a therapy that targets tiny tumors in the brain with a powerful, pinpoint radiation attack. The potency of the radiation makes accuracy essential. Unfortunately, what the victim didn’t know was that Evanston Hospital lacked certain safety features to ensure that the radiation did not spill into unwanted areas. The radiation was ultimately funneled outside of the metal cone that was supposed to channel the beam. Her entire head was exposed to lethal doses of radiation. She is now in a nursing home, virtually comatose, unable to eat, speak, walk, or care for her three young children.

That young victim was not the only one. It was soon discovered that at least two other patients had suffered similar injuries at the same hospital. Investigations since have revealed that the SRS process has leads to dozens of over radiation errors. In many of those cases the errors might have been caught if the medical personnel had only followed more rigorous safety protocols.

Continue reading "Rash of Radiation Overdoses Reveal Problems with Medical Care" »

The Las Vegas Sun recently profiled a Chicago doctor who is going against the grain and taking a stand for the improvement of patient safety. For many doctors, news of a medical error begins a process of cover-ups, legal stonewalling, and excuses. However, some brave physicians take responsibility for the errors, seek to provide relief to the victims, and attempt to learn from the occurrence so that future victims are spared.

The newspaper profile here explains how the doctor is working to properly handle mistakes. Part of that proper handling involves hospitals proactively launching investigations while keeping the patient abreast of all developments. It also involves changing protocol so that whatever steps led to the original error is not repeated. Unfortunately far too many doctors and hospitals fail to follow this plan. Instead, the motto “it is a mistake to admit a mistake” remains alive and well.

Part of the difficulty in changing the medical mindset around mistakes rests in generational differences. Many of the older doctors who currently sit atop the food chain of medical hierarchies have been trained in the older model which encourages doctors not to admit mistakes. Overall, the new approach both helps improve the relationship between the patient and the doctor but also works to improve patient safety overall.

Continue reading "Much Reform Needed Before Patient Safety Improves" »

As with many issues related to medical malpractice, misinformation abounds. Insurance companies and the powerful medical lobby are often willing to perpetuate distorted truths about the effect of malpractice lawsuits in an effort to influence policy in their preferred direction. Through it all, it is important to keep sight of the truth about the fair access to justice for all medical patients.

For example, Chicago Now recently published a letter by the president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association that debunks a skewed study which attempted to paint the picture that medical students were fleeing Illinois because of malpractice laws in the state.

The letter explained that the “study” which claimed to reach that conclusion was nothing more than a survey paid for by the Illinois Hospital Association and the Illinois State Medical Society Insurance Company—two groups that have much to gain from taking away the legal rights of malpractice victims.

Yet, even then the survey reveals not that medical students leave Illinois because of malpractice lawsuits but instead because the Illinois legal market is “oversaturated.” Oversaturation, of course, means that there are already more than enough doctors in certain areas. That is a far cry from doctor’s “fleeing” the state because of legal rights. Besides that, many of the other students who leave the state are doing so because they never intended to stay in Illinois anyway.

Continue reading "The Myth of the Fleeing Medical Student" »

Ultimate Pasadena News reported earlier this week on a new malpractice lawsuit filed by a woman against a hospital and nurse who treated her following a hospital stay. The lawsuit was filed because the victim claims that the poor medical care caused her injury. The plaintiff victim is alleging that she received damaging care at the Patients Medical Center Hospital. Specifically, she alleges that there was a problem with the administration of an IV into her harm.

The woman entered the facility in January of this year with pain in her right side of her body and face. In the course of treatment the nurse inserted an 18-guage IV into the victim’s left wrist. However, there were problems with the IV shortly after the insertion. The injured woman’s wrist started to swell which eventually had to be surgically corrected to release the pressure and swelling. The procedure is known as a fasciotomy, and the plaintiff alleges that it left her permanently injured.

Surgical errors are a common form of medical malpractice. Patients are often at risk for complications when their surgeons and nurses make mistakes when performing these risky operations. All patients should be guaranteed a basic level of care when they submit to the surgery.

Continue reading "Malpractice Lawsuit Filed After Surgical Error" »

Lancaster Online News recently explained two new jury verdicts handed down in area malpractice lawsuits.

The first case involved a doctor alleged to have made surgical mistakes leading to permanent nerve damage in a patient’s hand. The victim was a laborer whose right hand was injured in a construction accident. The worker eventually had surgery on the hand and was told he could go back to his job as a welder. However, the victim continued to have pain in the hand. Upon visiting a specialist, the man discovered that a nerve in his hand had been mistakenly cut in the first surgery. Ultimately five more surgeries were needed, but the problem could not be fully corrected. He has constant pain in the hand and only limited functionality. A jury awarded the victim a combined $2.7 million for his losses.

The second case involved an ankle surgery gone wrong. As in the first case, the surgeon mistakenly cut a nerve in the patient. The victim has since suffered permanent nerve injury to her right ankle and foot. She continues to suffer walking complications because the problem. A jury found in her favor following the trial, awarding her $300,000.

Continue reading "Jury Awards $3 Million Following Two Malpractice Lawsuits" »

The Madison-St. Clair Record reported earlier this month of a new malpractice lawsuit filed following a devastating medical mistake. The victimized patient alleges that the negligence of a doctor at Anderson Hospital caused both his feet to be amputated.

The patient went to the hospital where doctors diagnosed him with viral pharyngitis. He was released and placed on conservative management. However, only two days later he was back at the hospital with the same symptoms from before. The same doctor provided the same diagnosis and released the patient again without any antibiotic prescription or other treatments. Two days after that the victim was again rushed to the hospital, this time with septic shock. He was flown to a different hospital where he finally received proper treatment. However, the delay in treatment and misdiagnosis caused both his feet to require amputation

The suit claims that the doctor at Anderson Hospital failed to recognize the worsening and severity of the condition or provide proper diagnostic testing. The victim claims that the professionals should have obtained proper consultations, should not have discharged him from the hospital, and should have required close observation to monitor developments in his condition.

Continue reading "Malpractice Lawsuit Filed After Mistakes Leads To Amputation" »

A story in the Washington Post recently commented on the new reports that indicate that there has been little to no reduction in the number of preventable medical errors in recent years—despite a claimed surge in efforts made by hospital to improve patient safety.

The story’s author, a doctor, explains how a patient suffered a potentially deadly allergic reaction following a medication error committed by several medical professionals. He described getting a call at 3am alerting him that his patient had suddenly spiked a fever. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic, suspecting an infection. However, in doing so the physician forgot his own note written in the patient’s chart alerting of an allergy to antibiotics. Along the way the nurse who administered the medication also failed to notice the problem as did the pharmacist who dispensed the drug. Three individuals had missed the clear warning sign, leading to an allergic reaction.

Preventable errors just like that occur with startling frequency at all hospitals. Despite recent attempt to limit those errors, the problems continue unabated. A recent report revealed that one in seven patients are victims of medical errors—the same figure reported in the first study of such issues ten years ago. The authors explain, “harm remains common, with little evidence of widespread improvement” in the last decade.

Continue reading "Hospitals Failing To Eliminate Preventable Deaths" »

This weekend we posted a story discussing the shocking medical mistakes made by many inexperienced resident doctors. One of the tragic examples profiled in that story involved the death of a young man at a Chicago teaching facility—Weiss Memorial Hospital. Our malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti are currently representing the victim’s family in its efforts to seek justice following the death of their son.

Devron Matthews was only 19 when he was rushed to the hospital with serious medical problems including pneumonia, sepsis, fever, and respiratory distress. A young resident doctor only two months out of school was sent to monitor the young man’s condition and provide the necessary care. On top of being an inexperienced new doctor, the young resident didn’t even have access to Devron’s medical chart nor could he contact the attending physician.

A brief interaction with Devron made clear the need for emergency medical care. The young patient was short of oxygen and was in need of a new blood gas test. The resident went to contact an experienced doctor but repeated pages and phone calls went unanswered. A voicemail could not even be left, because the doctor’s inbox was full.

As soon as the resident doctor returned to the Devron’s room following his failed attempt to contact a supervisor, the young victim “coded blue”—a medical term indicating cardiac arrest and need of immediate resuscitation. The resident doctor began resuscitation, even though he had never before participated in a “code blue.”

The lack of oxygen to Devron’s brain ultimately lead to a devastating brain injury, and he died a few months after the incident.

Without question there were severe breakdowns in the care at Weiss Memorial Hospital that caused an inexperienced resident to perform emergency actions without access to a medical chart while the attending physician was nowhere to be found. Supervision and training problems led to the error which ultimately claimed the life of a 19-year old young man.

In a pre-trial deposition with the resident doctor involved, one of our firm founders, Steve Levin, asked the doctor about the training he received regarding the situation that developed with Devron. He asked, “Did anybody that you were working with at Weiss or in your residency program, in any way, shape, or form, try to teach you something about what should or should not have happened?

The resident admitted, “No.”

Continue reading "Levin & Perconti Lawsuit Highlights Insufficient Supervision & Training of Medical Residents" »

The Insurance and Financial Advisor News recently published a story that reiterates the reality that limits on malpractice damage awards have little to no effect on health care costs.

Supporters of the caps typically claim that medical costs will be drastically lowered by limiting the amount of money a jury can award a victim of malpractice, regardless of the injury. However data continues to roll in revealing that claim to be nothing more than a false myth used to push a specific political agenda. In fact, a report by the Congressional Budget Office in 2004 explained that limiting the damage awards, at a maximum, influence healthcare costs by less than one half of one percent.

However, regardless of the truth, many state medical lobbies have effectively passed state laws to create arbitrary caps on damage awards for malpractice victims. For example, Florida has a $500,000 cap for regular doctors and $150,000 caps for emergency room doctors. Investigators into the state explained that over 1/3 of doctors in many area do not even have malpractice insurance. In those cases, the victims of an uninsured doctor likely have no means to receive compensation for the mistakes made and losses suffered.

Continue reading "Malpractice Caps Shown to Have No Effect On Medical Costs" »

The Dallas Morning News recently conducted a thorough investigation into the way doctors are trained that has consequences for many patients, leading to many medical mistakes. Investigators at the publication uncovered several cases in their area of patients of all ages rushed to the emergency room, treated by inexperienced resident doctors, and ultimately killed by the physician’s medial error.

Teaching hospitals like the one investigated in this case treat more than half of all patients in the country and perform about 70% of all charity medical treatment. However, regardless of the prevalence of the training systems, there are rising concerns about the minimal efforts taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the patients involved. The medical teaching environment is traditionally an insular, self-regulating community that has not been open about the actual procedures involved with doctor training.

On top of that, it is difficult to get a true measure of the medical mistakes made by resident doctors because there is minimal tracking of such statistics. The medical political lobby has fought to ensure there are no safety regulations governing the supervision of medical residents. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services rarely investigates issues related to resident supervision and error.

In fact academic studies are generally the only way that information about malpractice caused by medical residents are shared with the public. That data includes a report that revealed over 15,000 deaths caused by hospital actions across the country each month. Also, researchers documented the “July Effect” where hospitals experience a 10% spike in medication errors because it is the month when new resident begin working at teaching hospitals. A Harvard study concluded that 1/3 of all medical errors are caused by medical residents, specifically when supervision has broken down in the teaching system.

Continue reading "Lax Supervision of Medical Residents Puts Patients At Risk" »

Attempts to improve the medical system in Illinois often run into a large roadblock in the form of the Illinois State Medical Society. Unfortunately the group often works to protect bad doctors without concern for the needs of the patients who unknowingly seek their care.

For example, one state Senator attempted to introduce legislation last spring that would automatically suspend the license of a doctor charged with a sexual or violent crime against a patient. The bill was spurred by the case of a pediatrician who was allowed to continue seeing young patients after being charged with sexually assaulting a 13 year old patient.

However, the state’s medical lobby began chipping away at the bill almost immediately. The legislator was forced to cut back on the bill, weakening its provisions, in an effort to get the political coalition together to pass the measure. He explained, “The doctors have a very strong lobby in Springfield, and they certainly were making it very difficult to pass a piece of legislation that addressed a statute that had this big, large gaping loophole.”

Much of the wheeling and dealing involved in crafting legislation takes place behind closed doors—and that is exactly where the medical lobby wields its influence. The group targets lawmakers in leadership positions and crucial committee assignments to alter their vote. Over a dozen lobbyists and $6 million in campaign donations have been used in the last decade alone to thwart medical reform bills that the medical lobby disapproves.

The group has worked to block changes to doctor licensing, open reporting of medical errors, and a variety of other reform measures.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Lobby Prevents Attempts to Bar Dangerous Doctors" »

The Center for Justice and Democracy recently produced a new document that summarizes recent malpractice studies. The main take-away from the research is that that “crisis” of malpractice is not caused by lawsuits, but by the actual committing of malpractice. In other words, the way to solve the problems is to ensure that patients are given proper care, not taking away their legal rights after they are unnecessarily harmed by negligent doctors.

For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently reported that about 1 in 7 patients may have suffered a medical mistake, known as an “adverse event.” Extrapolated out, those numbers are stark: over 134,000 Medicare beneficiaries harmed by doctor each month alone. Of that group 1.5% died as a result of the error—a figure that represents almost 15,000 patients per month.

The cost of the mistakes continues to rise, both in personal and financial ways. Overall, the same HHS report projected the price of the malpractice to hover around $4.4 billion per year. That figure was reached conservatively, without considering the additional costs required for follow-up care following complications from the medical negligence.

Another study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine reported similar findings. The summary is consistent with common harm, frequent mistakes, and underreporting of errors.

Continue reading "New Fact Sheet Explains Recent Medical Malpractice Studies" »

The war to take away victim rights continued today with the release of a “judicial hellhole” report by a front group for big business. The American Tort Reform Association is an organization propped up by corporate interests like Dow Chemical, Exxon, Pfizer, and others. Their goal is to influence the passage of legislation that will ensure that people who fall victim to their negligence will have less ability to seek justice in the court system.

In a response president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association explains that the latest report is nothing more than a stunt to further the corporate “tort reform” agenda. The fact remains that both victims and potential tortfeasors deserve a fair hearing in the civil justice system. Instead, the big businesses want to stack the deck so that they do not even have to present their case in court. They’d prefer a “free pass” any time that they injure consumers and engage in dangerous or unfair practices.

No community is improved when corporate interests are allowed to meddle with the justice system for its own gain. It is imperative that the common sense political forces stand up to this blatant misuse of business power and influence. Major CEOs and small-town working people deserve the same legal rights. It’s a simple principle that must be preserved.

Continue reading "Big Business Attempt to Take Away Legal Rights" »

We have been closely following the case of medical fraud at the St. Joseph Medical Center involving the prominent heart doctor who exposed hundreds of patients to unnecessary stent procedures. The surgeon at the center of the scandal is accused of telling patients that they needed stents inserted into their hearts, even though they didn’t, all to raise his own profile and increase his pocketbook.

Now, the Baltimore Sun is reporting that depositions in the case have revealed that the doctor admitted that salespeople for the stent-makers were allowed inside cardiac treatment rooms—a clear violation of hospital rules and patient privacy.

Abbott Laboratories employees developed a cozy relationship with the heart doctor—raising questions about the influence that those salespeople have on medical care and product choice. A state Senate committee already admitted that the relationship between the doctor and the medical manufacturer may have “indirectly encouraged [the doctor] to intensify his use of stents, with unfortunate results.”

The stents costs patients $10,000 or more, require risky surgery, and place patients at increased risk for a variety of other problems. The doctor is this case was caught implanting hundreds unnecessarily, but experts believe that wasteful stent procedures are a nationwide problem.

Continue reading "Unnecessary Stent Doctor Admits Allowing Salespeople Into Surgery Room" »

The Wall Street Journal Health blog recently discussed the results of a new study of mediation in medical malpractice cases. Overall, the results were clear in finding that mediation helped lower the cost of litigation and created a reduction in medical errors. But there was one major hurdle: doctors themselves usually refused to participate in the helpful process.

Mediation is a voluntary process where the parties in a disagreement work with an impartial mediator to help resolve the issues through mutual negotiations.

The Journal of Health Politics published the New York study, which examined 31 malpractice cases involving mediation. Of those, slightly more than 50% were settled through the process. Another 5 were settled shortly afterward and about 1/3 were not settled. Plaintiff’s attorneys were more likely than defense attorneys to agree to the process, but all lawyers who were involved reported satisfaction with the mediation.

Unfortunately, not a single physician participated in any of the 31 mediations. Part of the problem, according to the study’s co-author was that hospital administrators and hospital lawyers discouraged the doctor’s from attending the conference. They worried about what might be said and how that might affect a potential trial.

As a result, the doctor’s missed the chance to connect with their former patient and work together through the issue. In addition, the study’s author explained that those piecing the event together missed the physicians input to better understand what happened and how to prevent it in the future.

Continue reading "Study Finds Doctors Often Refuse To Participate In Malpractice Mediation" »

WREG News reported today on the developments in a malpractice lawsuit that was filed following the death of a young woman several years ago.

The wrongful death suit was commenced by the family of the victim who died August 13, 2005 at the Parkhill Clinic for Women. The lawsuit has led to a trial which began last week and continued today with testimony related to the conduct of the medical facility and the doctor involved in providing the care to the woman.

The victim had given birth only two weeks before her death. According to the suit the woman had high blood pressure following the birth. But that problem was not noticed by the medical professionals. Additionally the woman was not even given a physical before her release following the pregnancy. Only two days after her discharge she fell into a coma. She was rushed to a local hospital but never regained consciousness and died a week and a half later.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Lawsuit Continues For Woman Killed Following Childbirth" »

Vanity Fair recently posted a story of a doctor who has been dubbed the worst in America. The negligent physician is accused of harming hundreds of patients over his years in practice before fleeing the county.

The Indiana surgeon has a mind-boggling 350 malpractice lawsuits pending against him. The types of errors made are too many to mention, but it seems that the doctor essentially operated a permanently fraudulent operation. Patients would visit the doctor, CAT scans were shown that were not even of the correct patient, and then surgery would be recommended. The CAT scans were shown to scare the patients into thinking surgery was necessary. All that mattered to the doctor was the fact that more surgeries meant more money in his pocket. The unnecessary surgeries involved outdated processes that put hundreds of patients at risk for no reason.

The doctor built his clinic in the tiny Indiana town of Merrillville because the area was filled with working-class citizens who worked hard and had health insurance. In other words, the area was full of individuals who the doctor thought he could exploit for his own gain.

Unfortunately, after pleading guilty to 22 counts of medical fraud, the doctor fled to Europe. He remains in exile, hiding from the hundreds of pending lawsuits and millions of dollars in debt. The negligent doctor’s victims remain without any recourse.

Continue reading "Unique Story Highlights the “World’s Worst Doctor”" »

Last week Courthouse News Service wrote about a recent state appeals court that reached the same conclusion as the Illinois Supreme Court: medical malpractice damage caps are unconstitutional infringement into the judicial process.

The court made the ruling after an appeal by a family whose young daughter suffered debilitating injuries because of the negligent of a nurse. The young girl developed a rare childhood-cancer that was not diagnosed in time to prevent severe injury—even though the girl made 32 separate visits to a nursing clinic prior to the diagnosis. The nurse practitioner who ran the clinic failed to diagnose the young child with the cancer, known as neuroblastoma. It was eventually revealed that the nurse never received a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree as required to become a nurse practitioner. Her highest degree was a high school diploma.

The family of the victim, who is now legally blind with a misshaped skull, filed a malpractice lawsuit against the negligent nurse. The family won their claim and a jury from their community awarded them $6.2 million for the lifelong care that will be needed because of the medical error. However, the caps in the state arbitrarily shrunk the award to a one-time payment that was 12 times smaller than that which her jury deemed appropriate.

The appeals court ultimately rejected the cap as an unjustified discrimination against certain victims of negligence. The caps apply only to some victims and not others. As one of the Judges wrote, “the state offered no evidence in this case…to refute the fact that the cap discriminates against [the victim] by limiting their general damage recovery…while allowing other less severely injured victims to fully recover.”

Continue reading "State Court Declares Medical Malpractice Caps Unconstitutional" »

The Chicago Tribune recently published a story involving a doctor who admits to developing an intense drug addiction–it was a problem that put many patients at risk. The doctor, Richard Ready, developed the destructive habit during medical school, and it continued throughout his rise as the chief resident of neurosurgery at a Chicago hospital.

To get through his daily rounds during the second year of his residency he became a regular user of Tylenol mixed with codeine. Eventually he was taking up to 70 pills each day in order to meet his craving. He explained how at times he would look sick right before getting ready to operate, and so he would quickly take 10 pills and then begin the procedure.

Unfortunately the doctor’s conduct is not as unique as one might expect. Recent studies indicate that as many as 1 in 10 doctors are battling either drug or alcohol additions—with more doctors struggling with the drugs than the alcohol. In Illinois alone, the state’s medical licensing board reprimanded or suspended 156 professionals for these types of problems last year. Obviously the number of abusers is much larger than the small percentage that happens to be punished for the conduct.

Stories like those of this doctor are motivators behind a new push for mandatory drug testing for all medical professionals. However, it is unclear whether this type of regulation will become mandatory as many groups are fighting in opposition.

Tribune reporters discussed the sad reality with one of our firm’s founders, Chicago malpractice lawyer Steve Levin, who explained, “To go to a doctor who is impaired can really have deadly consequences. It’s no different than an airline pilot who is using drugs or alcohol in that you’re often dealing with life-and-death circumstances.”

Continue reading "Doctor Shares Story of Drug Addiction to Emphasize Scope of the Problem" »

Early this month a commission charged with looking at ways to cut the U.S. deficit publically released various parts of its plan. The scope of the plan is sweeping, cutting $4 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade, including steep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

In response to the release the president of the American Association for Justice, Gibson Vance, commented on some of the more troubling aspects of the report. He explained that the proposals outline by the commission would ultimately create a healthcare system that produces worse outcomes but is more expensive.

The outcome of the proposals would essentially leave many patients injured by medical errors with no options to address their losses—taxpayers would ultimately have to pay these costs. Also, it is unlikely that most Americans would prefer expensive new health courts or new health guidelines that will limit the work that physicians can perform, he explains. More government bureaucracy is not what is needed.

Completely silent in the report is any mention of the epidemic of medical mistakes that continue to plague hospitals across the country. Vance goes on to highlight that new research by both the New England Journal of Medicine and the Department of Health and Human Services indicate that there remains a crisis at many hospitals, with patients dying daily from preventable medical errors. The proposals outline by the debt commission do nothing to address that concern, weakens the healthcare system overall, and ultimately requires taxpayers to pay more.

Continue reading "American Association for Justice Comments on U.S. Deficit Commission Report" »

The New York Times recently published a story that shares disappointing news about the lack of improvement in the effort to improve hospital safety.

A comprehensive 5 year study analyzing the harm caused by medical care in several hospitals found that little to no headway has been in made in recent years to lower the numbers of patients harmed by preventable errors. The research effort was one of the most vigorous medical studies of the past decade. Experts claim that the scope of the data collection mirrored that from a 1999 report which uncovered that nearly 100,000 patients die every year from medical mistakes, with another million suffering injury.

The most common hospital mistakes involve procedural complications, drug problems, and hospital-acquired infections. Many other problematic events were found, from unnecessary bleeding during procedures to vaginal cuts caused by improper use of childbirth devices. Overall, about 18% of all patients suffered at least some harm from problematic medical care—2.4% of those actually died from the errors.

Experts are not surprised by the results, because hospitals continue to avoid taking known steps to improve safety. As one involved doctor explained, “Until there is a more coordinated effort to implement those strategies proven beneficial, I think that progress in patient safety will be very slow.”

Continue reading "Little Progress Made on Improving Patient Safety" »

Many people are aware that their doctors must get their informed consent before proceeding with any course of medical treatment. The logic behind the requirement is clear. Patients have the right to understand the options in front of them, the risks of a course of action, and other important information before allowing a medical professional to take action. After all it is the patient and their family that will personally suffer the consequences of all medical decisions.

However, new research out of the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that all too often doctors fail to share proper information and correct patient misinterpretations in informed consent discussions.

The research focused on informed consent conversations for patients that are asked to participate in clinical trials. The study involved taping many conversations between oncologists and cancer patients regarding informed consent. Both the professional and patient then filled out questionnaires about the discussion and their knowledge of what took place. The results reveal some problems.

Researchers found that the discussion of the patient’s prognosis was often lacking. Also, alternative care plans were infrequently mentioned, and patients appeared to misinterpret the options in front of them. Patients also left the discussion with little information about available supportive care choices.

Continue reading "Omissions and Misinterpretation In Many Informed Consent Discussions" »

A new toxicology audit out of Indiana suggests some troubling results that could have implications for criminal investigations into medical errors.

The Chicago Tribune posted a story yesterday on the issue which developed following work by the Indiana Department of Toxicology. Outside scientists examined 26 cases of toxicology work by the department, the group uncovered repeated examples of deficient lab standards and chain-of-custody gaps. The scientists will eventually review up to 10,000 cases to determine the scope of the problem and its forms. However, the results in just the first 26 cases reveal an ingrained problem of improper testing processes.

Toxicology tests are used in a wide-range of cases, including all criminal matters where illegal substances use is at issue. The results are also used in many civil cases, where the substance use of involved individuals is a key part of the negligence in a case. It goes without saying that all judicial systems depends on reliable lab results.

The average individual does not have any expertise in these issues or access to the details of the testing results. Consequently, the determination of the department that handles these matters is taken as true almost without question. The negligent operation at the department is therefore extremely troubling, because it paves the way for extreme injustice.

Continue reading "Repeated Errors Found in Indiana Toxicology Tests" »

The need for “tort reform” continues to be a common refrain among certain political elites, but the reality is that the claim is nothing more than a misunderstood attempt to take away rights from many innocent victims.

The Center for Justice and Democracy recently prepared a historical primer on the right to jury trial doctrine that so-called “reformers” are hoping to eliminate. The document outlines the fact that the right to a jury trial was repeatedly emphasized as one of the most important rights to early Americans. As far back as 1641, Massachusetts colonists enacted a charter that explicitly provided for civil and criminal jury trials. The importance of the explicit reference to the right cannot be understated—even vital protections like free speech and free press provisions had yet to be mentioned at this point in history.

Later as tensions rose between England and the colonists, the British leadership attempted to restrict the right to jury trials for Americans. The Stamp Act, one of the main impetuses of the Revolutionary Way, riled our Founding Fathers in large part because its enforcement was made by judges alone. John Adams remarked, “[T]he most grievous innovation of all is the alarming extensions of the power of the admiralty…no juries have any concern there.”

Following the war, the new states themselves repeatedly drafted constitutions that included a civil jury trial. For example the Virginia model declared, “In controversies respecting property and in suits between man and man, the parties have a right to trial by jury, which ought to be held sacred.”

Continue reading "Historical Perspective on Right to Jury Trial In Civil Cases" »

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported on Thursday on recent decision by a Cook County judge to deny transfer of a medical malpractice lawsuit to DuPage County where the conduct actually occurred. This was a unique decision in that most cases are resolved locally, in the county where the negligence occurs.

The malpractice case in question involves a patient who was injured in a suicide attempt, released and severely injured again in a second attempt. The suit was filed by the patient’s plenary guardian against the Hospital and doctors who treated the victim between the two suicide attempts.

The main issue was application of a legal doctrine know as forum non conveniens—where a court may chose to refuse jurisdiction in a matter because a more appropriate alternative location is available. In other words the medical defendants asked the Cook County judge not to hear the case because the DuPage court system was a superior location to resolve the matter when considering the public and private interests involved.

However, the judge in this case found that other considerations were stronger than the interest in deciding the controversy locally. For one thing, the size of the DuPage County itself makes it more difficult to find an impartial jury of 12 when the trial is conducted there. Both court dockets are overburdened, with about the same lag time between filing and conclusion, so there would be no adverse effect on the Cook County justice system. In addition, there is little unfairness or extra trial expense considering the two court locations are only 32 miles apart. The court found that there would be no effect on the ability to obtain testimonial evidence nor personal inconvenience for the parties. Therefore, the court rejected the forum non conveniens motion and allowed the matter to proceed.

Continue reading "DuPage Co. Malpractice Case Allowed To Be Heard In Cook County" »

Far too often patients enter a hospital because of one ailment and then contract an infection after they are admitted because of conditions at the hospital. These hospital-acquired infections pose potentially deadly problems for many—especially the most vulnerable patients. We have often posted on the need for hospitals to provide data to prospective patients on their rates of infection. In that way, these facilities will be held accountable for rates that are above the average and that should be improved.

The Seattle Times reports that hospitals in that state have taken the positive step of providing post surgery infection data to patients. A new state law requires medical facilities in the state to post that data online at a hospital specific level. The data allows close, easy comparison of hospitals, and officials in that state noted that some facilities stuck out immediately for their high numbers. For example, the overall infection rate average is .76 per 100 procedures, but one facility had a staggering 12.99 per 100 rate.

There may be explanations for certain figures, especially related to hospital size and unique care provided. The hospitals will always have an opportunity to explain certain figures that they believe to be misleading. However, that step can never be reached if the figures are never presented to patients in a meaningful way.

In Illinois, our hospitals post a “report card” that includes some hospital generated infections, but not many. As it now stands only bloodstream infection rates are accessible to patients in these reports. More information is planned to be released, however.

Continue reading "Hospital Begins Reporting Post Surgery Infection Rates" »

On this blog we have followed the progress of electronic medical records closely. Many studies have identified the improved care that comes with these records. Similarly, electronic medical orders have been found to provide more consistent care with less error and fewer misunderstandings that occur with paper orders.

Over 90% of healthcare providers still do not use electronic records, but that number will most assuredly change quickly as providers start capturing federal funds which seek to encourage more use of the technology.

Next Gov News recently explored another facet of electronic record-keeping that will influence all those who follow malpractice lawsuits. The report explains that malpractice insurers are worried that access to these records may make it easier for patients to get a better understanding of the care provided to them, and, when that care was deficient, to seek legal redress for their injuries.

Insurers are concerned that the electronic medical records will mean that patients will have more information about their own care—both the good parts and the bad parts. When medical providers fail to follow standard treatment protocols, the patient will better be able to learn that their care may have been compromised.

Continue reading "Electronic Records May Have Effect on Malpractice Lawsuits" »

The New York Times recently explored an issue that hasn’t received much consideration: radiation exposure caused by dental exams. It is well established that children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults. For that reason almost all hospitals and medical clinics do everything in their power to limit child radiation exposure to bare minimum levels.

Unfortunately that push has not led to many changes at dentist offices across the country. Instead most dentists still use out-dated x-ray film that exposes young patients to high doses of radiation. What’s worse it that specialists and orthodontists are now using a new scanning device that actually emits even more radiation than the old x-ray models.

This con-beam CT scanner provides great 3D images, but a New York Times investigation questions many of the claims made about the new scanners. Specifically, reports on the new imaging technology compare it to airport scanners but fail to note that it actually produces hundreds of times more radiation than those airport devices.

The lack of honest evaluation of the radiation issue means that the side-effects may mount quickly with continued indiscriminate use of the scanners. In other words, dental experts are putting young patients at risk by using a device that they don’t fully understand. Routine use of these scanners may cause much more harm than good.

One doctor explains the situation, “So let me ask a question to the mother of a prospective orthodontic patient. Would you like me to use a tool that is entirely safe—a camera—to record the position of your child’s teeth, or another method that may rarely cause cancer?”

Continue reading "Children Exposed To High Levels of Radiation At Dentist’s Office " »