Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Few political issues have been discussed more this legislative session than proposed changes to the federal medical system upon which so many Illinois patients rely. Congress was recently considering a House of Representatives proposal that would inflict severe damage to the Medicaid system that remains a vital part of the care received by area patients. Over the past three months we have frequently blogged on the efforts by some legislators which may have severe consequences for many area residents.

Last week brought some welcome news as the U.S. Senate voted to reject the proposal known as the “Ryan House Budget” which would have turned Medicare into a private voucher system—ultimately slashing funding for Medicaid and making it a block-grant program. However, while the defeat of that bill was encouraging, other proposals have been brought forward that are seeking similar changes. It is therefore more important than ever for advocates to contact their U.S. Senator and voice opposition to plans that would destroy Medicaid.

In fact, the Consumer Voice has mentioned that this time of the year is an ideal time for the effort because the week following Memorial Day marks the beginning of the constituent season for most members of Congress. It is during this time that most federal elected officials head home to their state to discuss issues with members of the community who they represent. For that reason, it is vital that advocates against the growth of Illinois medical malpractice and patient rights to use the opportunity to advocate against plans to cut, cap, or block-grant Medicaid.

Continue reading "Contact Your Senator This Memorial Week to Save Medicare" »

Not long ago we discussed the lawsuit and the-pending trial involving Johnson & Johnson’s failure to warn families of the allergic reaction potential with some of its drugs—specifically children’s pain relivers like Motrin and Tylenol. In the case, which was similar to an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit filed a few years earlier, the plaintiff alleges that the pharmaceutical company knew that their pain relief product had a risk of damaging allergic reactions but did nothing.

As we explained, this most recent lawsuit involved a girl who was severely burned and blinded after taking Children’s Tylenol and Motrin in 2000 when she was only 3 years old. The girl had taken the drug to treat a cough and fever. Following her painful reaction, she was required to spend months in the hospital to recover from her skin lesions, lung damage, and eye infections.

The lawyer in that case showed the jury documents produced by Johnson & Johnson from the mid-1990s connecting the drug to the reaction. However, the company did nothing to warn consumers until years later.

Bloomberg News reported recently on the trial conclusion last week, with the jury finding in favor of the girl and her family, ultimately awarding her $10 million. The jury heard the evidence from both sides, deliberated, and found that the company did not act appropriately by not disclosing the children’s potential connection with Stevens-Johnson syndrome—a dangerous allergic reaction to drugs. The drug company plans to appeal the decision.

Continue reading "Jury Finds in Favor of Plaintiff in Motrin Medical Malpractice Lawsuit" »

Yesterday we reported on a new bill that was passed in our state General Assembly which seeks to better track the number of patients who are killed because of Illinois hospital acquired infections. We pointed out how nearly 100,000 patients die nationwide each year because of infections that they acquire while they are at the hospital being treated for other reasons. Virtually all of those deaths could be prevented if medical professionals take steps to limit the spread of those contagions.

One state is taking an innovative approach to tackle the problem—though not all advocates agree on its effectiveness. AMED News reports that the New York legislature is considering a bill to impose a dress code on physicians in the state to limit infections. The legislation would create a “hygienic dress code council” which would study the situation and possibly impose a ban on items like neckties, jewelry, wristwatches, and long-sleeved white coats.

This “bare below the elbow” system seeks to limit the vehicles for the transmission of infections. Some research indicates that clothing like neckties can be contaminated with bacteria. However, some opponents of the bill claim that there has not been a link found between the clothing infection and actually transmission to patients.

Those questioning the proposal believe that overall improvement in cleanliness efforts is more appropriate than outright bans on clothing. One doctor involved explained that “the real goal here is to adhere to good hand hygiene, isolation practices, gloving, barrier precautions—that’s where we’d put our money.”

Continue reading "New Bill Seeks to Better Protect Patients from Hospital Acquired Infections" »

To remain abreast of changes in law that may affect the rights of injured victims, it is important for an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer to closely follow the activities of our state lawmakers in Springfield. Paying attention to potential legislation also allows us to be aware of potential bills that would have dangerous effects on the rights of those injured by the mistakes of their medical providers.

One bill recently passed the Illinois General Assembly which acts as important improvement for open and honest information about the passing of our loved ones. HB1658 amends the Vital Records Act and adds new requirements upon those responsible for filling out the medical certification or cause of death on a death certificate. Specifically the individual must now note if methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), clostridium difficile, or similar infections was a contributing factor or cause of death for the deceased.

Blog readers know that MRSA is an especially common form of deadly infection that arises in hospitals and nursing homes. Patients that have open wounds, are forced to use invasive medical devices, and have weakened immune systems—like hospital patients and nursing home residents—are most at risk for developing these infections. They are also the most likely to suffer severe consequences from those infections, including death.

It remains imperative for all those assisting these at-risk individuals to do everything in their power to prevent these dangerous infections. Often simple steps is all that is required to prevent the spread of these damaging problems—like proper hand washing to eliminate risk of infection spread.

Continue reading "New Illinois Law Mandates Infection Data Be Listed on Death Certificates" »

The growing list of advocates against misguided tort reform legislation added another voice this week as a well-known conservative constitutional scholar came out against the HEALTH Act, known as H.R. 5. In an opinion editorial in the Washington Examiner, Georgetown legal professor Randy Barnett explained how the new law, which would have huge effects on all Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits, would violate a House Republicans pledge to “require every bill to cite its specific Constitutional Authority.”

He explains how tort law—under which all medical malpractice lawsuits fall—have always been regulated by the states pursuant to their “police powers.” H.R. 5 would change all that, forcing the federal government into the tort reform regulation business while superseding the choices of individual states. So-called conservative lawmakers introduced the bill. But those legislators are relying on Constitutional interpretations that they have often rejected as the basis for Congress’s power to pass the legislation.

The professor writes that if Congress is allowed to pass measures like H.R. 5 than there is likely no limit to what the body can do—a rejection of the core principles declared by so many of the bill’s proponents. He explains that before you even get to debates about the merits of the policy, all lawmakers must ensure that they do not compromise their constitutional principles. The “fair weather federalism” at play in bills like H.R. 5 need to be exposed for their inconsistency. Voters must ensure that their legislators are held accountable for how well their words match their actions.

Continue reading "Leading Conservative Legal Scholar Comes Out Against H.R. 5" »

Courant News reported yesterday on a record jury verdict in a case involving untimely cesarean section. The story explains how a family sued their obstetrician for providing them care below the standard of care to which they were entitled. Specifically the family alleged that the doctor did not perform a timely incision to relieve the upper uterine area on the birthing mother. This failure meant that there was no space for a traumatic delivery and ultimately meant that a vital cesarean section birth was delayed.

The delay had terrible ramifications on the child who was born with severe cerebral palsy and will need complex medical care throughout his entire life. He is unable to walk, talk, or eat, and is incontinent. He will forever need to be fed through a tube and use a wheelchair.

After hearing the evidence in the case the jury deliberated and decided in favor of the family for $58.6 million. It is unclear if the judge will let the award stand in that amount.

Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys have a wealth of experience representing families who have suffered similar errors. For example, in November of last year we settled a case for $6.5 million for a family who went through a traumatic ordeal involving an inexperienced medical resident who failed to notice various problems with the birth of a child. The baby’s head was too large to fit through the mother’s pelvis, but that was unnoticed. When a cesarean section was finally ordered for the birth, the anesthesiologist improperly anesthetized the mother, ultimately forcing her arms and legs to be held down while the incision was made. Following the mistakes the child, as in this case, suffered from cerebral palsy and will need on-going medical care for the rest of her life.

Continue reading "Record $58.6 Million Verdict in Single Incident Medical Malpractice Case" »

A southern Illinois woman is claiming that her doctor performed an unnecessary and costly surgery which resulted in her disfigurement. According a report in the Madison Record, the woman filed an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit late last month against the doctor and the company that employed him—OB GYN Care.

In the suit, the victim claims that her doctor incorrectly diagnosed her as having a batholin gland abscess when in reality she was suffering from a vulva abscess. The diagnostic mistake led the doctor to recommend surgery to correct the non-existent problem. Trusting her physician as any reasonable patient would, the victim agreed to the surgery and it was performed. However, not only was the surgery unnecessary, the lawsuit alleges that it was botches as the doctor did not even remove the gland that was supposedly the cause of her problem.

The correct treatment would have involved an attempt to drain the vulva abscess. But this was never done. Instead, the woman claims the doctor indicated that he was removing the batholin gland, but never actually did—likely because he realized that the gland was not the actual problem.

As a result of the surgery the woman lost a portion of her labia leaving her with a substantial anatomical disfigurement. Those physical problems were coupled with increased medical costs, pain, lost work, and other damages.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against OB GYN" »

A local man contacted an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer after suffering vision problems due to the negligence of his doctor, leading to a newly filed medical malpractice lawsuit. The Madison Record reports that the victim in this case went to the emergency room at the Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in early May of 2009 after suffering injuries to his eyes and face. The victim had been hit by a glass bottle and sought treatment for his wounds.

At the hospital the victim claims that his doctor failed to properly treat his wounds. As a result of the mistake, the man claims that he lost a majority of vision in his right eye. Specifically, the new negligence lawsuit states that the doctor failed to properly evaluate a flurosein exam, didn’t use an eye shield, failed to remove all the glass in the eye, and did not diagnose the ruptured globe in his right eye.

The lawsuit states the emergency room doctor also should have consulted with an expert in the area—an ophthalmologist—to ensure that the man’s care was up to standards. The doctor’s failure in this regard, says the complaint, resulted in his ruptured right eye to continue to worsen unabated. He now can see only minimally from his that eye.

The man claims that besides his permanent physical disability he incurred a variety of medical costs and suffered physical and emotional pain. He is seeking to hold the negligent hospital, doctor, and outsourced physicians’ company for which the doctor was employed accountable for their actions.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against Hospital for Eye Error" »

A Chicago medical malpractice lawyer knows that few injuries are as costly in both emotional and monetary terms than those that have permanent and debilitating effects on a patient. Unfortunately, that is exactly the result of many preventable errors made by medical professionals like doctors and nurses.

For example, the Winona Post reported last week on a new medical malpractice lawsuit alleging that poor treatment caused a victim to become a paraplegic. The suit stems from the care provided to a patient at Winona Health Services between March and May of 2009. Allegations contend that while at the medical facility the victim suffered from sepsis (infection in the bloodstream) as well as had a staph infection. The most basic step to treat these dangerous infections involves the administration of antibiotics, but the victim in this case never received those antibiotics.

As a result, the infection spread, creating a spinal epidural abscess. That abscess damaged the nerves in the victim’s spine, resulting in his becoming a paraplegic with a neurogenic bowel and bladder. He eventually required surgery to remove part of his spine.

Following the tragic turn of events the patient eventually filed suit against his negligent caregivers. The injuries have obviously caused the man great pain, discomfort, embarrassment, physical and mental loss of function, loss of life enjoyment, a mountain of medical bills, compromised earning potential and other injuries. Accidents of this sort that truly incapacitate the victim are incredibly damaging for their victim and all of their loved ones.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed After Mistakes Cause Man to Become a Paraplegic" »

Earlier this month our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers reported on the growing concerns of some in the medical community about the necessity of mammogram testing for a certain group of women. A controversy is brewing over the effectiveness of the procedures used to detect breast cancer for women in their 40s. The uncertain effectiveness of the procedure at that age and the potential complications from false diagnosis are leading many to counsel against the yearly testing until women reach their 50s at least.

Similar arguments are now being made about ovarian cancer tests, according to a report in USA Today. The report centers on a new study that finds that the screening of healthy women for these cancers often does more harm than good. The research was conducted over an 18 year period and included nearly 80,000 women.

The results which were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncoloy indicate that women who were randomly screened for ovarian cancer died at the same rate as those not screened. Part of the problem is that the two tests used for the screening are often inaccurate, leading to many false alarms. More benign problems, like ovarian cysts and twisted fallopian tubes are capable of causing an incorrect diagnosis.

Over 3,000 of those women who received false alarms ultimately had unnecessary surgery performed. 166 of those patients then developed surgical complications ranging from blood clots in the lung to infections.

Continue reading "Concerns Raised About Complications from False Alarm Cancer Surgeries" »

Chicago medical malpractice attorneys know that many families have little option but to trust the information provided to them by doctors and other medical professionals. The same applies to information provided to them about various medications by the drug companies that produce the medications. That misinformation is at the heart of a new medical malpractice lawsuit that was filed in Philadelphia and is currently at trial.

Bloomberg News reports on the drug lawsuit filed against mega-pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnsons by the family of a girl who was severely burned and blinded after taking Children’s Tylenol and Motrin in 2000 when she was only 3 years old. The girl had taken the drug to treat a cough and fever. Following her painful reaction, she was required to spend months in the hospital to recover from her skin lesions, lung damage, and eye infections.

The heart of the suit involved the company’s hiding of information about the pain reliever’s connection to Stevens-Johnson syndrome—a dangerous allergic drug reaction. A jury in a similar Illinois medical malpractice case found in favor of the victim for $3.5 million because of the company’s failure to issue any warnings that the drugs could trigger Stevens – John Syndrome. A procedural error required the judge to dismiss the Illinois claim, but the message about the company’s role in the case was made clear.

The lawyer in the most recent case reported that they had documents produced by Johnson & Johnson from the mid-1990s connecting the drug to the reaction. However, the company did nothing to warn consumers until years later.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawyer Argues Drug Company Failed to Warn Parents of Risk" »

Since it was first filed in the House of Representatives, we have been closely following the advance of a bill known as H.R. 5 or the HEALTH Act. As we have consistently explained, this measure would constitute a serious blow to victims of all stripes who have been harmed by their doctors, nursing home caretakers, and others. Illinois medical malpractice victims would certainly suffer. The regressive measures in the bill would be taken despite that fact that nearly 100,000 people are killed each year because of preventable actions by those that are supposed to be making them well.

As Gibson Vance explained in a letter published by Roll Call, this tort reform measure, which would bind all states, is being pushed by the very legislators who so often believe that the federal government continues to overstep its bounds of power. Interestingly, many of those claiming that the comprehensive Affordable Care Act championed by President Obama last year is unconstitutional because Congress lacks the ability to pass such a measure pursuant to the Commerce Clause. Yet these same individuals turn around and claim that the Commerce Clause gives them the power to enact mandates on the states like H.R. 5.

Something is clearly wrong here.

Issues related to the justice system and medical malpractice lawsuits specifically have always been within the purview of each individual state. Now claimed states-rights officials are attempting to preempt and supersede state law. That is one of the main reasons why bipartisan groups like the National Conference of State Legislatures are staunchly opposed to the bill. The very sponsor of this bill has repeatedly criticized laws that present a “Washington knows best” approach to lawmaking. But apparently he is able to forget that principle when it suits a particular need.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Must Be Decided By States" »

Our state lawmakers took an important step forward in protecting the rights of all patients this week with the passage of the Patients’ Right to Know Act. As described this week in the Chicago Tribune, the bill requires a variety of information to be shared about medical providers in the state. It will allow all patients to make more informed choices about who they entrust with their care.

The bill was passed in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly and will now be sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature—it is expected that the Governor will do so. Once that occurs, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will begin collecting information to share on a publically-accessible website.

Under the terms of the legislation, doctor histories will now be available for public view. Those histories include information on whether or not the physician has previously been fired, been convicted of any crimes, or made Illinois medical malpractice payments in the past years. The chief sponsor of the measure, Representative Mary Flowers explained that “this is going to be an excellent way for patients to protect themselves.”

The measure faced stiff opposition from the Illinois State Medical Society—the main doctor lobbying arm. The organization had worked for nearly a decade to keep the information away from patients. The profiles were temporarily available as part of the medical malpractice cap bill which passed in 2005. However, when the state Supreme Court ruled the caps unconstitutional the state department immediately pulled the information from the website. This bill will return that information.

Continue reading "Important Illinois Medical Malpractice Bill Passes General Assembly" »

A young Illinois medical malpractice victim recently shared her story in an American Cancer Society video. In the video, our client Heather Kornick explains her courageous and inspirational battle with cancer and how national health care legislation has impacted her life.

Heather originally went to her doctor in late 2006 with some health problems. Her physician diagnosed her as having polycystic ovary syndrome or insulin resistance. Over the next fifteen months the only treatment he recommended was some medication and a diet. Throughout that time Heather visited her doctor on four occasions. Yet, during each of those visits he never once actually examined her body, nor did nursing staff ask her mother for complete information about her signs and symptoms. No other tests were conducted by the negligent physician to better understand Heather’s health problems.

Eventually Heather went to a second physician who, after hearing about the situation, suspected Cushing’s Disease immediately. By only the second visit this second physician had diagnosed her with the adrenal carcinoma. However, the delayed diagnosis of one and half years because of her first doctor’s negligence allowed the cancer to spread and metastasize to her lungs and liver. She has recently undergone a much more intense IV chemotherapry regimen to tackle even more metastases.

While the treatment leads to much exhaustion, Heather continues to push ahead. She was able to graduate college, and her spirit remains strong.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Attorney Shares Story of Courageous Client" »

A Chicago medical malpractice lawyer who has worked with victims suffering from lifelong debilitations because of the mistakes knows that the cost of dealing with permanent injuries is often quite high. While large jury verdicts are often used as a smear to paint the civil justice system in a poor light, the fact remains that the medical and other costs associated with permanent care (not counting the emotional losses) are often staggering. The verdicts in those cases reflect that reality.

For example, The Day News reported last week on the culmination of a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a woman who was permanently injured following an anesthesia error. The victim, a 44-year old mother of two filed the suit following her treatment at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in 2006. Besides the hospital, an outsourced anesthesia organization and individual anesthesiologists were also named defendants.

The suit alleged that the carelessness of those involved in her pre-operative work led to “serious, severe, painful and permanent injuries.” Following the botched surgery, the victim remained in a coma for 26 days. She then remained in the hospital for another month before regaining the strength to make it home. Another 45 days of verbal and orthopedic rehabilitation was necessary even upon making it home. Her ordeal included nerve damage, memory loss, and a variety of physiological and psychological side effects. She now requires close care at home by her daughters.

The medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the family following the trauma was recently brought to trial. Following a hearing of all the evidence, the jury decided in favor of the woman, awarding her $10.5 million. She will require special care for the rest of her life.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Ends with $10.5 Million Verdict for Victim" »

A complain was recently filed which initiates a lawsuit alleging that two physicians at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital failed to properly care for a 60-year old stroke victim, ultimately leading to her death. About Lawsuits reported on the new medical malpractice lawsuit last week.

The bedsore lawsuit was filed by the husband of the victim. In the complaint, the surviving spouse explains how his wife was sedated and unable to move for three days following a stroke. However, one of her doctors ordered that she not be moved while in this state. As a result, the woman developed bedsores on her backside. Those sores eventually became infected from fecal contamination. The infection ultimately caused her to undergo two months of surgery, but the efforts were not successful. She eventually died from complications from those sores.

The wrongful death lawsuit challenges the care given to the victim which did nothing to ensure that the sores did not develop, and when they were discovered, little to treat them. Blog readers are well aware that these injuries develop when blood flow stops at a particular area of the body. This occurs when a victim has pressure on one area for a considerable length of time without movement. Prominent bones with thin layers of skin are the most likely targets—heels, elbows, and tailbones.

Hospital patients who have prolonged visits and nursing home residents are often most at risk for developing these deadly problems because of their mobility problems. Yet, virtually all professionals agree that these sores can be prevented and treated if proper care is given to individuals involving repositioning and checks for developing problems.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed After Wrongful Death Following Bedsore Infection" »

A Chicago medical malpractice lawyer who has worked in cases involved problematic medication would know well the lengths that pharmaceutical companies are willing to go to ensure the success of their products. Part of the drive to maximize profits involves guaranteeing that their drug products are perceived as beneficial in academic and professional writing. To help receive that good coverage, some companies engage in highly questionable ghostwriting activities.

Macleans News recently discussed the way that some companies pay to have favorable writing written about their products. The practice was made apparent in details of a class-action lawsuit involving the safety of drugs produced by Wyeth. The company apparently paid a communications firm to write articles on the benefits of their hormone replacement therapy and then approached leading academics to claim authorship to boost the apparent credibility of the writing.

In 2009 a study into the issue found that nearly 8% of articles published in the leading medical journals had at least one ghostwriter. Some magazine editors admit that they reject many articles because it becomes clear that they were written in part by those paid by drug companies. The conflict of this practice is damagign. Often the companies that make these products and write the articles attempt to cite the articles in their marketing efforts in order to wrongly boost the perceived effectiveness of the product. For example, Vioxx promoters cited ghostwritten articles in an effort to sell more of the painkiller—that product eventually had to be pulled from the market after being linked to heart problems.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Sheds Light on Pharmaceutical Ghostwriting" »

A seasoned Chicago medical malpractice lawyer is likely to have encountered some particularly egregious medical professionals who are guilty are harming several patients over the course of their career. However, few doctors have likely caused as much damage, death, and suffering as a recently convicted former Chicago M.D. ABC Local News has the story.

The doctor is a 1970s graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker Medical School. He had a residency at Loyola after his graduation and had a promising future ahead of him. He worked in our city for many years, until he came upon some trouble in 2003. A medical mistake on his part ultimately resulted in a large Illinois medical malpractice settlement. The court judgments forced the doctor out of the state, and he eventually ended up opening a medical clinic in southern Ohio.

The doctor eventually set up several pain clinics offering cash only services that dispensed massive amount of the painkiller OxyContin. The doctor’s business boomed, but it was soon clear that the physician was handing out the drugs to anyone who had money to pay him regardless of their need or abuse of the substance. At its height, his business was the single largest distributor of OxyContin in the entire country.

His disbursements caught the attention of federal investigators who eventually uncovered his illegal schemes and charged him with a variety of crimes. According to those officials, as many as 18 individuals died only a few days after visiting his clinic from OxyContin overdoses. The doctor was recently convicted of several of those charges and will now face twenty years to life in prison for his conduct.

Continue reading "Former Chicago Doctor Convicted of Running Deadly “Pill Mill”" »

The fight against misguided tort reform legislation took a troubling, though not altogether unexpected, turn this week as the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill known as H.R. 5. Of course, this piece of legislation represents a incredibly short-sided attack on the rights of a variety of innocent injury victims—including those suffering from Illinois medical malpractice and nursing home neglect. With approval, the bill will be sent to the entire House for final consideration.

The American Association for Justice explains how during the debate on the measure several amendments were offered which would have limited he scope of the bill—all were largely defeated along party line votes. For example, one proposal would have taken out intentional torts (knowing abuse), nursing home lawsuits, medical device lawsuits, and medication suits. However, the amendments were rejected, meaning that the bill would affect countless more victims if passed.

The committee also rejected the arguments made about the preservation of the federalist system which generally would allow states to decide for themselves how to handle these issues. Instead, H.R. 5 places a straight-jacket on each state, eliminating its right to craft a civil justice system in its own way. Many conservatives supported this bill even though they claim to be proponents of the federalist tradition.

Continue reading "H.R. 5 Advances Out of Committee and Threatens Illinois Medical Malpractice Victims" »

Our Illinois medical malpractice lawyers have been discussing the potential risk of metal-on-metal devices for several months. The DePuy hip recall and subsequent filing of Illinois hip implant lawsuits have led many observers, including those involved in regulating these products, to take a second look at their safety.

This week the New York Times reported on a new move by the Food and Drug Administration to further ensure the health and safety of those receiving hip implants. The Agency has ordered all metal-on-metal hip implant manufacturers to conduct research on the patients who have the device in order to determine if they are linked to early failure rates or health problems.

One of the main side effects that will be examined is the rate at which metal particles may be shed into the patient’s bloodstream causing soft tissue damage.

The FDA order is a rare step for clinical trial after a product has reached the market. However, the fact that these hip implant devices were brought to consumers through a fast-tracked approval process which meant that many of these implants had little, if any clinical testing beforehand.

Readers will remember that the national concern about these devices began last August when DePuy Orthopedics issued a recall of its nearly 100,000 metal-on-metal implants after thousands of cases of early failure rates and dangerous health effects were identified.

Continue reading "Hip Implant Producers Ordered to Conduct More Research" »

An Illinois medical malpractice lawyer often receives inquiries from clients who went into the hospital for one problem only to develop a different life-threatening infection while at the medical facility. These hospital acquired infections remain a prevalent problem in our area and throughout the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1.7 million infections develop in hospitals each year in the U.S., killing near 100,000 patients annually. What makes the situation particularly alarming is the fact that almost all of these infections are preventable if proper cleanliness and hygiene practices are utilized by the hospital.

Increased pressure on the need to prevent these medical errors has led to new approaches to ensure that proper standards are met. For example, hand washing remains one of the simplest, yet most effective ways to cut down on deadly infections. Many hospitals are engaging in “check-list” approaches where medical professionals consistently monitor their hygiene practices. Those facilities that consistently use this method have seen benefits.

Even more innovative approaches exist.

AMED News recently published a story on the use of high tech devices to ensure that hand washing is conducted when necessary. Wireless, infrared radio devices are being used which beep whenever a medical professional has failed to wash their hands before getting near a patient. The device is able to measure the alcohol in the gel used in the hand washing. Besides reminding employees if they have forgotten to clean their hands, the device is also a great tracking tool for facilities.

Continue reading "High Tech Options to Monitor Hand Washing and Cut Down on Hospital Infections" »

Medical errors have a variety of causes, as our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers well know. For example, in many cases, a patient receives substandard care simply because a medical professional had a lapse in judgment at a particular moment. In other cases, systematic problems at a facility lead to certain mistakes being made time and time again.

A case of the latter form of medical malpractice was recently reported in the San Francisco Gate. A hospital chain in the area, Prime Healthcare Services, is being investigated for a series of incorrect diagnoses of a complex blood infection known as septicemia. State health inspectors examined 120 patients at four different hospitals within the chain who had been diagnosed with the infection. Twenty percent of that group, or 22 patients, showed little symptoms of the disease but were still diagnosed.

One patient’s file specifically indicated that he showed “no sign of infection,” yet he was started on septicemia treatment anyway. In seven other patients, the clear signs indicated a far less severe urinary tract infection.

The probe began after medical records indicated that septicemia rates within these hospitals were nearly triple the national average. So what might be the cause of the problem? As usual, money is involved. Hospitals are paid a premium for treating patients with the blood infection—more than three times more than for a urinary tract infection. The increased treatments meant more money was headed to the hospital from public coffers. However, the investigation may ultimately result in sanctions against Prime Healthcare.

Continue reading "Hospitals Repeatedly Misdiagnose Complicated Blood Infections" »

For the past several months we have been following the progress of the terribly misguided piece of legislation known as House Resolution 5 or the HEALTH Act. The legislation would remove and severely cut many basic legal rights for Illinois medical malpractice victims, those suffering nursing home neglect, and other personal injury victims.

The legislation has already been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is now going through a few final committee considerations before potentially moving to the floor of the United States Senate for a full vote. Specifically, the Senate Energy & Commerce Committee will hear opening statements on the measure today and then more testimony on Wednesday before a committee vote on the measure.

During this committee process, amendments may be offered to the bill to change some components of the legislation. If passed out of committee, the entire Senate will get a chance to consider and vote on the bill. If amendments are made to the Senate version of the bill than it will have to be reconciled with the version that passed the U.S. House of Representatives before reaching the President’s desk for potential signature.

As has been consistently explained, this bill represents a shocking overreach which takes away basic legal rights from vulnerable community members to fix a “problem” that has been shown not to exist. It is important to defeat this bill at every possible step and, at the very least, offer amendments which eliminate some of the most dangerous portions of the legislation.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Watch: H.R. 5 “Reform” Bill Nears Senate Vote" »

Unfortunately, a few state legislatures have made misguided attempts to take away the rights of medical malpractice victims in the name of “tort reform.” Big insurance interests and the medical lobby continue to work their contacts to drive through changes in state law that will make it more difficult for those harmed by the mistakes of their medical provider to seek fair compensation by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit . The Orlando Sentinel reported recently on another state assembly that has enacted claimed tort reform measures.

Florida officials last week pushed through legislation that included a variety of changes to the legal systems all with the cumulative effect of insulating the negligent professionals from being held fully accountable for their conduct. For one, the new bill enacts changes to the court rules about expert witnesses. These witnesses will now be required to obtain a certificate from the state health department before providing any testimony in a case and undergo stricter disciplinary standards. The changes are intended to throw more obstacles in the way of injured victims seeking recovery.

On top of that, the bill places severe limits on the ability of victims to file medical malpractice lawsuits against a teaching hospital. The state’s “sovereign immunity” would protect these hospitals from all but the more egregious cases of negligence. Considering research continues to show that more medical mistakes are made in those institutions, the latest changes will have a chilling effect on the ability of many victims to receive fair compensation for their losses.

Interestingly, the leading lawmakers who pushed through the measure admitted that the changes were nothing more than a “deal” made with hospitals in exchange for other funding changes at hospitals. In other words, there were no objective, logical reasons for taking a hatchet to the legal rights of medical victims. Instead, those average community members had their rights taken from them as a bargaining chip with big interests.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyer Concerned Over Removal of Victim Rights" »

A Chicago medical malpractice lawyer is often considered at odds with the medical professionals whose care is occasionally challenged with lawsuits. However, there remains disconnect between a doctor’s actual likelihood of facing a lawsuit and their perceived likelihood. According to Diagnostic Imaging News, this point was recently made at the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) meeting in Chicago—the largest annual meeting of radiological medical professionals in the country.

A speaker at that conference explained how the total number of medical malpractice lawsuits being brought by patients is actually lower than at other times in the past. Of course this would come as a shock to those who repeatedly advocate for draconian measure to take away rights of victims so that they do no file lawsuits.

On top of that, the speaker explained how many doctors have a problematic perception of their actual chance of getting sued. For example, only 10 percent of mammographers will be likely to face a medical malpractice lawsuit in the next five years. However, 40 percent of mammographers expect to be sued in that same time frame. In other words, doctors think that their risk of lawsuit is much higher than it actually is.

The incorrect assumptions about these lawsuits are likely a driving force behind efforts at medical malpractice “tort reform.” Hopefully more accurate understandings about the state of the legal system and the role that it plays in seeking justice for honest victims will put an end to the dangerous political efforts to penalize unsuspecting medical victims.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Much Less Than Many Doctors Believe" »

Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers have frequently called for a return in focus toward decreasing the prevalence of medical mistakes and away from misguided attempts at cutting out the legal rights of victims. Recently, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, issued a similar call. The Philadelphia Inquirer reprinted the opinion piece urging a new focus on tackling medical errors.

Secretary Sebelius explains how the health care system in the United States offers the best quality anywhere to some but for others it falls far short. A new study emphasized that one in three hospital patients is harmed by the care given to them at area hospitals. Overall, nearly 100,000 Americans are killed every year because of medical mistakes that should have been prevented.

The cost of those losses is staggering. The pain and anguish of grieving friends and family members can never be calculated. Added to that loss is the enormous effect that the errors have on the rising cost of health care. The monetary cost of dealing with the complications of these errors is in the tens of billions each year. Yet, too little attention is paid to eliminating the problem.

Often, explains the Secretary, the problem is caused by bad health care environments at hospitals and medical clinics, where a culture of poor care pervades. To change that, innovative patient safety protocols exist which can drastically lower, if not eliminate, many common mistakes. Yet, it remains a struggle to get hospitals to try these life-saving strategies. Even then, there is very little coordination and tracking of the successes of various programs.

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All patients, both big and small, must remain extremely careful when it comes to taking prescribed drugs. Risk always exists in some form when foreign subjects are put into the body. Of course prescriptions are required for the most potent medications under the assumption that doctors are pharmacists are best trained to ensure that accidents and abuses with these substances are avoided. Unfortunately, medication errors errors still occur frequently, often with deadly effects. New information suggests that it may represent one of the most common forms of Illinois medical malpractice.

The risk of deadly consequences are always highest in the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society—infants. Yet, as HealthDay News reported last weekend, a percentage of those young patients continue to be victims of risky prescription overdoses. Researchers found that 4 percent of all toddlers under 3 years old were given too much medication, and upwards of 40 percent of all infants under 2 months over were given far too high a dosage. The information even used a conservative estimate of the patients’ age and weight which may mean that the results are even lower than reported here.

The study involved an analysis of 19 types of drug prescriptions given to children enrolled in Medicaid from 2000 to 2006. The staggering results showed that 4 in 10 infants under 2 months received more medication than was safe. Ten percent of patients in that age range actually received double the necessary dose. This represents very clear and consistent mistakes made by medical professionals that place the lives of vulnerable young children at risk.

Continue reading "Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Reports on Risks for Infant Medications" »

A controversy is brewing that may have important implications for all women and efforts to reduce the deaths caused by breast cancer. CNN recently reported on the breast cancer prevention issue which may have implications on Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits.

Over the past two decades as the problems of breast cancer become clearer, a clarion call was made urging all women to get annual mammograms to better detect the cancer at earlier stages. The plea was made especially strong to all women who were over 40 years old, as they seemed the most likely to benefit from the yearly test.

However, new guidelines are now suggesting that there may be little benefit in the test for women in their 40s. This has led to a decrease in use of the test and public outrage by cancer prevention groups who argue that more women will ultimately suffer because of the decrease in testing.

The controversial guidelines were issued in November of 2009 by the U.S. Preventative Task Force, a federal medical advisory board. Instead the group recommended mammograms every two years for women aged 50 – 74. In fact the group argues that the denser tissue in younger women lead to many false positives following mammograms, creating much anxiety over unnecessary biopsies.

Other cancer advocate and survivor groups disagree. They note that while it may be easier to detect breast cancer in older women, the chance of detection in younger woman increases the chance the cancer will be detected at an earlier, more treatable stage.

One of those advocates explained, “I haven’t met many patients who don’t appreciate us being thorough, to trying to find cancers at an early stage. I would still recommend screening mammograms starting at age of 40.”

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyer Shares Information On Mammogram Controversy" »

If you ask an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer they are likely to tell you that at one point or another they have worked with a victim who was injured at a teaching hospital. These facilities are the locations where doctors in training work with patients as part of their medical education. Of course, these inexperienced doctors are supposed to always be under the close supervision of experience physicians who ensure that no mistakes are made that place the patient at risk.

Of the roughly 5,000 hospitals nationwide, one fifth of them are teaching hospitals where novice doctors learn the ropes of being a practicing physician. However, there remain many questions about the actual supervision provided to young doctors at these hospitals. A story published by Reuters this week adds even more questions about the medical safety of care of these facilities, particular related to surgical errors. The new research published in the upcoming issue of the Annals of Surgery report an increase risk of death to patients who have emergency surgery performed at a teaching hospital as opposed to a non-teaching hospital.

The researchers used data from a six year period involving a massive data set that included twenty percent of all hospitals in the entire country. The findings showed that the chance of a patient dying at a teaching hospital was 20% higher after having emergency surgery at a teaching hospital as opposed to a non-teaching hospital.

Continue reading "More Surgical Errors Occur At Teaching Hospitals" »

Local patients are often unsure if they should visit a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer when they suffer problems following a radiation treatment. Radiation is a necessary treatment for many different ailments and for diagnosis. However, doctors often fail to take reasonable care when providing the radiation treatment, leading to skin burns and tumors.

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.

There remains a difference between side-effects and actual complications caused medical malpractice. For example, when it comes to radiation, a patient should never develop a tumor as a result of the treatment—the cause of it may be a medical error. In those cases, it is important to visit an Illinois medical malpractice attorney and share your story.

The attorney will be able to explain the basic ways in which your possible case will be evaluated. For example, your doctor’s conduct will be judged against a basic standard of care. In other words, would a reasonable physician have acted in the way that your doctor did?

Continue reading "Radiation Tumor May Be Caused by Medical Malpractice" »

Some false claims made about Chicago medical malpractice lawyers continue to be repeated. The only solution is to continue fighting the wrongheaded statements with the truth. For example, bizarre claims are sometimes made attempting to pin state and federal budget deficits on medical malpractice lawsuits. The proponents of this view claim that medical costs are drastically increased because of these lawsuits and therefore the lawsuits cause governments to go into the red paying medical bills.

This claim is then used as support for drastic “tort reform” measures that would make is much harder for those catastrophically injured by medical mistakes to be compensated for their losses. Unfortunately, little talk is made of actually taking steps to limit medical malpractice itself, only the lawsuits that stem from the Illinois medical errors.

Completely disregarding the misplaced emphasis, even if tort reform measures were enacted, little to no medical savings are to be had. As a recent Huffington Post article explains, the opposite might be true. At its best, the Congressional Budget Office has already stated that the most far-reaching “reform” measures can save one half of one percent of total health care costs.

Even after noting that, the CBO had to acknowledge that the effect of these measures would likely weaken the deterrent effect on medical providers, have a negative impact on health outcomes, and ultimately require an increase in medical costs. Some studies have explained how these tort measures may increase the nation’s death rate by .2 percent—more than 4,000 more patients killed unnecessarily each year.

The actual monetary costs of paying for the increased mistakes and complications far outweigh any potential financial savings from limiting lawsuits. This is not even counting the unacceptable loss of medical quality and acceptance of more preventable deaths.

Continue reading "Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyers Explains How Medical Malpractice Reform Will Increase Deficit" »