Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Ninety-two veterans were given incorrect radiation doses in an attempt to treat their prostate cancer at a veterans’ hospital. Although the treatment equipment was broken, the hospital continued to treat the veterans. Thus far no medical malpractice suits have been filed against the hospital. If you know someone who has been medically mistreated, consider contacting a medical malpractice attorney.

Read more about the medication dosing errors here.

A mother claims that a doctor overmedicated psychiatric medications to her son who later committed suicide and now has filed a medical malpractice action against the doctor. Some of the medications given to her son are not approved for treatment of children. The boy died of a sudden heart attack in his hospital room where he was being treated for his mental illness.

Read more about the medical malpractice suit here.

According to an article, medication errors account for 78% of serious medical errors in the intensive care unit.” There are strategies to prevent such medical errors including: eliminating extended physician work schedules, computerizing orders and intravenous devices, having pharmacists participate in the ICU, reconciling medications upon admission to or discharge from the ICU, and maintaining detailed up-to-date medication lists. Preventing these medication errors would also lead to less medical malpractice litigation.

Read more about medical error prevention here.

It was recently discovered that a patient’s death in a Chicago area hospital was not reported to Illinois state regulators. According to Illinois regulators, the Chicagoland hospital was required by law to report the incident. The Illinois Department of Public Health, according to the article, only learned of the patient’s death a year later. The hospital is also being questioned to whether it overdosed the patient during her stay. Furthermore, a drug the Chicago area hospital prescribed to the patient has not been approved for pregnant mothers, but the patient was eight weeks pregnant.

Read more about the alleged hospital negligence here.

Medical professionals have a tendency to speak in abbreviations. In such a busy, hectic setting such as an emergency room or a doctor’s office, abbreviations shorten time. However, some patients do not follow and are left in the dust. Here is a website where you can enter the abbreviation and then the search engine provides the definition.

Abbreviations can lead to medical malpractice when a handwritten abbreviation is misinterpreted as meaning something different than what the physician intended. In fact, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has issued a “do-not-use” list because of their probability of misinterpretation, leading to dosing errors and serious medical malpractice.

For the website.

Quest Diagnostics, the largest medical laboratory company in the U.S., has acknowledged that it has provided possibly erroneous lab results to thousands of people prompting what some consider to be the largest patient test recall in the last 20 years. The erroneous results occurred when Quest was testing people’s vitamin D levels. The errors consist primarily of overly-high test results although lower-than-actual levels were also recorded. The erroneously high result may have resulted in patients not receiving vitamin D supplements when they should have. Overly-low test results carry a potentially much more serious consequence; in rare instances, if patients were wrongfully prescribed supplements, the dosing error could lead to a toxic overdose of vitamin D, resulting in serious injury or death. The company issued letters to thousands of doctors, listing the names of patients who may have received the erroneous results and offering free retesting to those individuals. Quest Diagnostic says that they have identified and fixed the problem that lead to these errors.

For the full story, click here.

Two year old Emily Jerry died from a pharmacy medication error. She was given a fatal dosage of chemotherapy. Prior to her death, the little girl suffered a coma from the large overdose of medication. Emily’s Law was created to regulate pharmacy technicians like the one who overdosed Emily. The law requires pharmacy technicians to be at least 18, registered with the State board of Pharmacy, and pass a Board-approved competency exam.

For the full story, click here.

Over the counter cough and cold medicine can have serious side effects on children under the age of six. According to the article, about 7,000 children end up in the emergency room each year due to adverse side effects from the medicine. Most problems have occurred from dosing errors. The article also provides ways for parents to prevent colds and coughs in their children.

For the full story, click here.

Recent reviews have found there are an abundance of cancer treatment errors found at various clinics throughout the United States, especially in outpatient clinics. In 1,400 patient charts that were examined, a total of 117 errors were found. 15 caused harm to patients while 64 errors had the potential to cause harm, according to the article. The study showed 60% of the errors associated with adult cases were due to administration of treatment. 64% of the pediatric errors was linked to the ordering of medication.

For the full story, click here.

Researchers received $3.7 million to find ways to reduce medical error in various hospital and pharmacy departments. Researchers will try to develop safe ways in handling patient test results because receiving results are more difficult in larger hospital institutions. Also, the researchers will try and find safer ambulatory sedations. Another goal is to reduce medication error from high-risk medications.

For the full story, click here.

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

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

For the full article click here.

A family doctor who wrote prescriptions that could be linked to three deaths is still seeing patients, despite being under investigation by state authorities. His medical license has not been suspended, nor has his practice been restricted, even though several complaints against him have led to an investigation by the state medical examiners board. An expert has already stated that the doctor needs to have an emergency revocation of his license. The doctor prescribed more than 20,000 pills to a man who had sought treatment for pain streaming from a neck injury. The pills led the man to enter an addiction recovery program. Another patient overdosed from drugs prescribed by the physician. Records showed that she had been prescribed more than 150 painkillers a month and up to 300 extra-strength Xanax pills at one time. Although the doctor is under review, it is alarming that he is still able to write prescriptions. To read the full story, click here.

The family of one of the two victims in a fatal car crash is hoping to settle for ten million dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit. The victims were killed in a car accident after a woman, who was not supposed to be driving while taking medication, hit them. The suit is against the hospital and four of her doctors because they failed to tell her that she should not drive while taking the medicine. She had complained of dizziness while driving, and was still not informed that she should not drive while taking the medication. The driver was personally sued but has settled out of court. This type of medical malpractice, with lawsuits that hold the doctor liable for their patient’s actions, is rather new in the court system. For the full story click here.

Doctors say that medical mistakes can have more serious consequences in children than they do in adults. A study in the journal Pediatrics found that problems due to medications occurred in 11 percent of children who were in the hospital, and that 22 percent of them were preventable. An Institute of Medicine report found that besides medication errors, children are also the victims of diagnostic errors, incorrect procedures or tests, infections and injuries. Medical errors are a greater threat to children than to adults because they are physically small and their immune systems are still developing. Even a tiny increase in the dose of medication can have serious effects, especially in premature babies. Children deteriorate more rapidly than adults and they are less able to communicate their problems. 32 percent of medication errors in children in the operating room involved the wrong dose, while this only occurs in 14 percent of adults. Experts have come up with ways to reduce the threat of medical malpractice in children such as ID bracelets, ensuring that health care providers are hygienic, getting all the correct information, and asking questions. Although these are ways to reduce risks, it is ultimately the role of the physicians and staff to ensure that children are properly medicated. To read the full story, click here.

Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court decided that there was a federal law barring suits against makers of government-approved medical devises such as pacemakers. Now, the Court will consider whether to extend the shield against lawsuits to the makers of prescription medicines and over-the-counter drugs. The current case before the court concerns a 62-year-old musician whose right arm was amputated after an anti-nausea drug was improperly injected into an artery and caused gangrene. She was successful in her medical malpractice suit and was awarded $6.7 million. The pharmaceutical company is appealing the medical malpractice suit saying that it should be thrown out. They claim that the FDA should decide whether a drug is safe or dangerous, not a jury. This would be changing the historical right to a civil jury trial as a protection for consumers. Consumer rights advocates state that companies should not have immunity from liability that ordinary citizens don’t have. To read the full story, click here.

A patient has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against his psychiatrist, alleging the doctor prescribed a medication for an off-label use that left him permanently disabled. The patient had been referred to the psychiatrist for depression and anxiety but also had a history of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. The patient was prescribed Geodon at 40 mg per day dose, “which would constitute an off-label use”. The medical malpractice lawsuit states that the psychiatrist did not warn the patient of the potential of the major side effects of extrapyramidal symptoms and tardive dyskinesia. After problems with involuntary movements of the fingers and drooping eyes, the patient sought the help of a specialist. The specialist found that the patient had tardive blepharospasm and tardive dyskinesia induced by Geodon and Zoloft. The plaintiff is seeking damages of loss of earning capacity, disfigurement, medical expense and the loss of enjoyment of life. To read the full story, click here.

A wrongful death suit has been filed against a doctor and hospital claiming negligent administration of pain medication. The victim of the alleged medical malpractice went to the hospital to undergo an elective ankle surgery procedure. During the course of the surgery the patient died. The million dollar medical malpractice lawsuit is alleging that pain medication was given in incorrect doses causing the patient to die. To read the full story click here.

A suburban Chicago mother recently settled her lawsuit against Northwestern Hospital for severe brain damage to her ten-year-old daughter during child birth. The case arose when doctors attempted to induce labor with the drug Pitocin. However, they administered the drug too aggressively, leading to strong contractions that were too close together. This resulted in severe brain damage to the child due to oxygen deprivation. Recognizing their fault, Northwestern Hospital settled the case for $9.75 Million.

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Medical malpractice lawsuits are sure to arise after a Texas hospital is responsible for overdosing babies with the blood thinner heparin. The heparin overdoses lead to at least 17 babies suffering injuries. The medication dosing error caused one of the babies to die. The other babies have sustained severe personal injuries due to the hospital’s negligence. This tragic story is reminiscent of the tragedy that occurred to Dennis Quaid’s twins who were also given improper heparin doses. To read more about the hospital’s pharmaceutical dosing error click here.

One state and the biggest insurer therein announced a list of 28 medical errors for which doctors and hospitals will no longer be reimbursed. The 28 errors entail mistakes such as performing surgery on the wrong body part, or the wrong patient, performing the wrong surgical procedure on a patient, unintentionally leaving a foreign body in a patient, and death or serious disability resulting from a medication error such as the wrong drug or dose. The list will be used by Blue Cross Blue Shield in the particular state and by several state agencies that provide or subsidize insurance for various groups including needy people. This comes after Medicare announced last year that it would stop paying for what are called “never events,” such as leaving a foreign object inside a surgical patient. This initiative may spread to other states, including Illinois.

Read more here.

Following the lead of a Midwestern hospital, facilities throughout the country are taking a novel approach to medical malpractice – honesty. In an effort to limit liability, hospitals are calling patients’ families for meetings where they inform the family members that their loved one died, not because of natural causes, but physician malpractice or negligence. Surprisingly, the approach has worked to the extent that most family members appreciate an honest account of the cause of death.

However, there is an invidious motive behind this new policy. Hospitals are finding that by calling family members into their facility and telling them what happened, they are able to force ignorant or misinformed grieving family members into an emotional decision to settle before even consulting an attorney. This has the potential to create problems where settlements are far below fair compensation for the pain and suffering experienced by the family or even insufficient to cover basic medical expenses. Many of these cases involve gross negligence on the part of physicians where a patient is administered the wrong medication or a fundamental test is not performed that could have prevented death.

Ultimately, the policy of honesty has potential in wrongful death situations. However, patients and family members should be cautious when faced with a sudden decision to settle. At the very least, these individuals should avoid making an emotional decision on-the-spot. To this extent, consulting an attorney would help improve and refine this new approach to medical malpractice.

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Dennis Quaid’s newborn infants almost died earlier this year after a medication dosing error where they were given an adult dose of a blood thinner. The babies were hospitalized at the time for an infection, however they were doing well when a nurse misread a drug label and inadvertently gave the infants the adult dose, an overdose of the drug for the babies. This caused the infants’ blood to turn essentially into the consistency of water, and they were bruised and bleeding profusely, one of the infants was even bleeding through its belly button. What disturbed Quaid and his wife the most was the hospital’s reaction to the mistake, no one called to notify them, and when they came to visit the next morning, they were confronted by risk management officials from the hospital. While Quaid’s children recovered, other infants have died from similar medication errors regarding pediatric versus adult dosing and labeling. Quaid is now trying to bring attention to medical mistakes in general, which are a leading cause of death in America.

Read the full story here.

In 1999 a survey was conducted by the Institute of Medicine that reported between 48,000 and 98,000 Americans dying yearly as a result of preventable medical errors. Specifically, medication errors and neglect were to blame for the deaths. Shockingly, this makes hospital errors the eighth highest cause of death in the United States, above car crashes. The most mistakes occurred in hospitals run by the Veterans Health Administration. Apparently almost ten years has made little difference in VA hospitals, as lawsuits and complaints against them are numerous. A possible explanation for the high rate of errors is that VA doctors do not have to pay their own malpractice insurance since the government pays out for any harm caused by a doctor’s negligence. Further, the caliber of VA doctors may be lower than the general population; take, for example; Dr. Veizaga-Mendez, who was hired by the VA even though he had a history of medical malpractice lawsuits and claims against him. Hopefully the onslaught of medical malpractice lawsuits and allegations will instigate a change in VA hospitals.

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Army Hospitals have a growing problem with drug overdoses and patient deaths due to drug overdoses and interactions. Since June of last year, there has been an increase in the number of incidents of accidental drug overdoses to patients in Army hospitals. Additionally, some patients have died from drug interactions. In one recent patient death from drug interactions, the Sergeant actually told his doctors he was feeling disoriented as a result of the medication and that he could not function. The doctors did not alter the medication or determine if there was an interaction and the Sergeant later died. Patients and their families can help to alert doctors to side effects and possible drug interactions and should be certain to follow up with their doctor immediately. Patients of government-run, Army, and Veterans' Administration hospitals may have recourse under the Federal Tort Claims Act if they are injured.

Read more here.

As many medical schools don’t have conflict of interest policies that are as strong as hospitals’, drug companies often market directly to young doctors and students to gain an advantage. Many drug companies spend billions in marketing to doctors and students which is more than they spend on research or marketing. The Association of American Medical Colleges hopes that by limiting drug companies’ access to students to help cure conflicts of interest, bias, and curb the reciprocal benefit exchange between doctors and drug companies. Hopefully, medical schools following this program might help to curb medical malpractice and conflicts of interest in the future.

Read the full article here.

One of the greatest organizational problems facing hospitals today is the battle over medical records. Many patients find that it can take months or years to get a hold of their own medical records after treatment. Even worse, some families of victims of medical malpractice or wrongful death have waited for years to obtain their loved one’s medical records from hospitals. Often, lost or missing records are simply part of hospital error and not a deliberate attempt to delay, but on some occasions hospitals may frustrate a patient’s records request purposefully. Patients and victims’ families must be aware that statutes of limitation often require that medical malpractice lawsuits be filed within a certain period of time after the injury occurs or is discovered. This means that patients and victims’ families must decide to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and contact their medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible and begin the medical records request process.

Read more here.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently released its patient survey where hospital patients rate their experiences and patient care in a format much like a restaurant guide.

The survey showed some troubling results for Chicago area hospitals including some reports of patient dissatisfaction and hospital care statistics that need serious attention. For instance, four out of ten Illinois hospital patients responding to the survey indicated that they had to wait longer than expected when they needed help or called for assistance. Nearly one third of Illinois hospital patients felt that the hospital did not manage their pain properly. Additionally, only 57% of hospital patients thought that the hospital’s staff properly explained the benefits and risks of medication before administering it.

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to make this survey mandatory for every US hospital; though the survey was voluntary in 2007, the Department will reduce Medicare funding for hospitals that do not participate in the survey.

Read the full news story here, and access the survey here.

The FDA has received 62 reports of deaths over the past 15 months of patients who were treated with heparin, made by Chicago-area Baxter International. In Cook county, Dennis Quaid, a popular actor, has filed suit against Baxter for the wrongful death of his twin daughters after they received excessive doses of heparin. Baxter recalled most of its heparin products in February.

For the full story please click here.

The Supreme Court will hear a case next term that could decide whether drug companies may escape liability for harm caused by their products and hide behind FDA approval. The issue in the case involves Johnson & Johnson’s prescription birth control patch, Ortho Evra, which delivered much more estrogen than the company originally disclosed. The Ortho Evra patch was a popular form of birth control as an alternative to the birth control pill. For women, medication dosing errors of estrogen may cause an increased risk of blood clots and strokes and has been linked to one death.

Read the full text of the original article here.

Continue reading "Supreme Court Will Decide if Drug Companies Can Hide Behind FDA" »

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics shows that about 1 in 15 children are harmed each year by medication dosing errors at hospitals. The study revealed that children are harmed by dosing errors and incorrect medication substantially more often than previously thought. The study also revealed that some of these dosing errors and patient injuries could be prevented easily.

Medication dosing errors in children are the central issue in popular actor Dennis Quaid’s lawsuit in Chicago against Deerfield, Illinois-based Baxter Healthcare. Quaid is suing Baxter, a large pharmaceutical manufacturer, after Quaid’s baby twins received a Heparin overdose. The medical malpractice lawsuit is pending before Judge Quinn in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The full text of the Pediatrics study is available here.

A woman who suffered a seizure as a result of negligent manufacturing of a drug and medical malpractice is seeking compensation for her preventable medical expenses but has repeatedly been denied. After having worn a pain patch containing a Fentanyl gel for several years, it unexpectedly leaked, exposing the woman directly to Fentanyl, a powerful opiate 80 times stronger than morphine. After overdosing on Fentanyl, the woman went to the emergency room where she was mistakenly administered twice the recommended dosage of a drug used to counter overdoses, leading to a seizure. She sought compensation from the hospital for her unnecessary medical bills, but her requests continue to be denied. The patch has been recalled from the market.

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It was recently revealed that a clinic had reused syringes and vials of medicine. With a large clientele, this clinic could have potentially exposed 40,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis B and C. This Southern Nevada clinic is now facing numerous medical malpractice lawsuits.

For the full article.

A physician has filed a lawsuit against her own hospital after being pushed out for attempting to report major events of medical malpractice and gross negligence. Following state inspections of the facility, the federal government has halted Medicare and Medicaid funding to the hospital until it is able to meet minimum standards of safety. One inspection found “immediate jeopardy” in the hospital’s administration of medication to its patients. The lawsuit further alleges numerous specific incidents of malpractice and negligence. The physician even observed one patient’s intravenous needle dripping onto the floor and another patient was not given her prescribed antibiotics for three days.

The physician filed the lawsuit only after attempting to file complaints with hospital administration. However, instead of resolving blatant violations of the standard of care, administrators harassed the physician and told her to stop writing formal complaints, suggesting she speak with the risk manager at the hospital prior before writing any formal complaint. The physician was even told to cater breakfast for the nurses who were upset that she was filing too many reports.

A chief inspector for the state concluded there were serious violations in the hospital’s ability to detect and correct medication errors. He stated that these violations demonstrate the poor quality of oversight at the hospital, a problem that originates with staff not following orders. The hospital was one of five facilities that have similarly been stripped of Medicare and Medicaid funding.

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A $22 million verdict was recently awarded in a Cook County, Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit. The jury ruled that the hospital was negligent during the birth of a 34-year-old woman's son in that staff did not properly treat difficulties with the woman's blood pressure. The woman went to an Evanston hospital two weeks before her scheduled date of delivery due to complaints of severe headache and abdominal discomfort. Medical staff soon noticed that the woman had unusually high blood pressure. Tests eventually showed that she had HELLP syndrome, meaning that she had a low platelet count and elevated liver enzymes, or hemolytic anemia. Attorneys alleged that she was not treated properly for this problem, by being given the wrong amounts of medication at the wrong times. Her son was successfully delivered by cesarean section, but the woman's blood pressure rose and she suffered a major brain hemorrhage, dying four days later. The jury found that hospital staff was negligent and that she was irreplaceable to her son and husband, ultimately awarding the multi-million dollar verdict.

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In a recent medical malpractice lawsuit, a birth injury that was allegedly caused by a nurse-doctor communication breakdown yielded a $1.2 million settlement. Nurses were concerned that the birth was taking too long, but were hesitant to consult the doctor about these fears due to his reputation of angry responses to perceived criticism. The infant developed cerebral palsy.

Physicians too commonly react harshly to instances where they feel bothered by the nursing staff, such as late-night clarification requests, difficulties with procedures, changes in patient condition and more. The negative consequences of verbal abuse or disruption in hospitals are significant; reduced communication, team collaboration, information transfer and concentration are all reported as responses to disruptive behavior. Patient safety is compromised in many ways by these reported breakdowns. Medical errors increase in disruptive or abusive situations and the quality of care decreases. Patient mortality increases with these outbursts. Medication errors have also been caused by verbally abusive hospital staff relations.

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Continue reading "Hospital conduct leads to reduced patient safety and medical malpractice lawsuits" »

If physicians do not warn patients of the risks medications have on driving ability, they now can be held liable in an automobile accident lawsuit. In a recent suit, a boy was killed in a car accident by a man prescribed eight different medications by his doctor and was not warned of their side effects. The doctor now faces a wrongful death lawsuit based on his medical negligence. According to the mother of the victim's attorney, the doctor should have warned his patient that the medications he was prescribed are known to have certain side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness and fainting. The doctor should also have warned his patient not to drive. The doctor claimed that this medical mistake was too far removed from the car accident tragedy, but the court ruled that a possible consequence of that negligence could be harm to others.

Earlier this week, actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins were victims to medical malpractice. The twins received an overdose of Heparin, an anti-coagulant provided to reduce the amount of blood clots. Babies are routinely given 10 units, but the twin children were each given 10,000 units last Sunday. The babies began bleeding out and are now reported to be in stable condition after receiving a drug that reverses the effects of Heparin.

For the full article.

A medical malpractice lawsuit has recently been filed on the behalf of an imprisoned man who was misdiagnosed and is permanently disfigured as a result. The inmate's pleas for medical attention relating to an infected hemorrhoid were ignored until his pain was unbearable, his genitals swollen, he was bleeding from the rectum, had a rash on his torso and had a fever. The prison doctor diagnosed him as having an allergic reaction. As the man's fever rose and blisters developed on his skin, the doctor issued a pain reliever and a prescription steroid that lowers immune system capabilities. When the man was taken to the hospital after his symptoms continued to worsen, he was immediately diagnosed with Fournier's gangrene, a type of necrotizing fasciitis that kills about a fourth of the people who get it. The editor of Prison Legal News in Seattle called it, "the most outrageous case of medical neglect in a prison or jail... I've seen where the patient lived." The 60-year-old man is disabled and deformed after six pounds of flesh were removed from his pelvis, he lost one testicle and had his penis reconstructed.

Continue reading "Med mal lawsuit filed by deformed man misdiagnosed by prison doctor" »

Foreign drug company Bayer AG, has pulled Trasylol from U.S. shelves. Trasylol has been used to reduce blood loss for patients undergoing by-pass surgery and avoid transfusions. The drug was pulled amid concerns that it may be linked to a higher risk of death than other drugs. So far, no major lawsuits have been filed.

The FDA announced it would review Trasylol last month after a clinical experiment was halted when the drug appeared to be linked to a higher risk of death. There was also a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January of last year which advised against continued use of the drug because of the risk of kidney failure, and increased risk of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes.

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The guardian of the child filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital, alleging that the hospital was administrating lethal doses of lithium. According to the plaintiff’s petition, the minor plaintiff was hospitalized for behavioral mental health problems. During the admissions process, the admitting nurse allegedly reported in error that the child was taking lithium carbonate 600 mg per day – twice the amount of the recommended dosage. Because of this medical malpractice, the child began receiving 1200 mg of lithium carbonate each day, continuing until his emergency transfer six days later.

By the child’s second day at the facility, the blood lab had flagged the child’s blood lithium level as abnormally high. However, no doctor initialed the lab report to indicate that it had been reviewed nor was any other corrective action taken. Six days later, a social worker brought the child to a hearing room. The child could hardly walk or hold his head up, was slurring his words, drooling, and covered with sweat. Nurses could not find the child’s pulse and he collapsed into a coma. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the hospital breached the standard of care and was negligent in its treatment of the child.

For the full article.

A recent study reviewed almost nine hundred medical malpractice claims to find that 27% of those cases involved errors by residents, interns, or fellows. The result of these errors frequently resulted in substantial personal injuries or death, despite the fact that many of the errors occurred in the outpatient setting.

Researchers also looked at how these errors by residents, interns, or fellows could have been prevented. They noted that errors in their judgment resulted in 72% of the medical malpractice claims. More than half of these medical trainees errors were due to a lack of supervision. The study concluded that there is a relationship between poor teamwork to preventable errors and quality of care.

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The wife of an Illinois man who bled to death after routine surgery at Downstate VA Hospital in southern Illinois recently began filing a lawsuit against the US Department of Veteran Affairs. A surgeon, who was barred from practicing in another state, was the doctor caring for that Illinois patient. The doctor had been accused of causing life-threatening complications and deaths by providing "grossly substandard care" and making repeated medical mistakes. Downstate VA Hospital in southern Illinois suspended inpatient surgeries shortly after the man bled to death in response to an increasing amount of post-surgical deaths. The hospital serves veterans in southern Illinois and other nearby areas in other states. The surgeon who spurred the chain of events had been linked to deaths all over the country. A surgical error caused a death after the doctor caused a blood infection and respiratory failure by allowing a stitch to dislodge in a man's esophagus. On another occasion he mistakenly put stitches in a patient's bladder during a hernia repair causing years of pain. He made misdiagnoses, delayed diagnoses, and used improper surgical methods, all leading to unnecessary surgeries, pain, and hospitalizations. The list does not stop there. The State of Illinois continued his license after learning it was revoked in another state. It was not difficult to find his record status even if the state hadn't been alerted. The Illinois VA hospital was responsible for a mortality rate over four times the normal amount. The barred surgeon was involved in all of them.

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A transplant surgeon was recently charged with purposely advancing the death of a patient in order to recover his organs. A medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit was filed. The transplant community is extremely worried that this allegation could steer people away from offering their organs for donation. When people are deciding whether or not to donate their organs, one of the biggest fears and deterrents is that doctors will hasten their death. The transplant community has been working hard to reverse this mentality and this recent charge is a serious setback. There are about 97,000 people nationally are currently awaiting a transplant.

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The mother of a 26-year-old man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor and others she alleges prescribed overdoses of medication to speed up his death. The claim alleges that the doctor prescribed overdoses of morphine and Ativan and injected a topical antiseptic into the man's stomach. As a result of the alleged medical malpractice, the man had suffered irreversible brain damage and was put on a respirator. When his mother gave approval to donate his organs, the California Transplant Donor Network sent a surgical team to handle the transplant. In California, however, it is illegal for transplant doctors to treat potential organ donors before they are declared dead. The doctor is charged with felony counts of dependent adult abuse, administering a harmful substance and unlawful prescription of a controlled substance.

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The families of three elderly women have ordered medical records from University of Chicago Hospitals, commonly the first step taken in filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. The two women who died and the woman that remains in a coma were all being cared for in the same wing. Their deaths and the coma may all be caused by insulin overdoses. One of the women, who entered the hospital with a urinary tract infection, showed that her insulin level was hundreds of times higher than normal at the time of death, while hospital records revealed that the woman was never officially given insulin. Another woman, who was suffering from pressure ulcers and wound infections, died after being admitted to the hospital. Police continue to investigate her case. The third woman was admitted for a brain aneurysm and now suffers from a brain injury and remains in a coma after displaying unusually high levels of insulin as well. Chicago police continue to investigate and the families move closer to filing suit.

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A personal injury lawsuit has been filed against an Illinois pharmacy because it gave a concentrated dose of phenobarbital to a child. The child's prescription called for 16.2mg tablets, but she was instead given 60mg tablets. When she arrived at St. Louis Children's Hospital less than two weeks later, the child's injuries included phenobarbital overdose, hypercapnia, acidosis, altered mental state and right lung collapse.

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Wal-Mart announced that it has recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit involving a store whose pharmacist inadvertently gave a concentrated dose of insulin. The man went to the store for over-the-counter insulin, Humulin R (u-100). Instead, he was given prescription strength Humulin R (u-500), which is five times stronger. After injecting the prescription strength insulin, the man lapsed into a diabetic coma and died two weeks later. The details of the wrongful death settlement have not been disclosed.

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The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended both the physician and surgeon license of Gerald Saul Kane, M.D., of Chicago suburb Highland Park. Three patients treated by Dr. Kane received a surplus of multiple prescriptions in a short period of time. This included more than 20,000 doses of OxyContin and other pain killers and controlled substances. Two patients died of drug overdoses shortly after receiving their last prescriptions from Dr. Kane. The department alleges that the doctor did not appropriately treat these patients by failing to prescribe medically appropriate amounts of controlled substances and failed to monitor the patients for signs of dependence on these drugs, leading to the wrongful death of the two patients. The department issued his summary claiming that allowing Dr. Kane to continue to practice medicine after this medical malpractice would put the safety of the public in danger. His license has been suspended and his license to prescribe controlled substances has been revoked.

A recent HealthGrades study revelaed that 248,000 patient deaths over a three-year period were preventable, and mistakes multiply during the night shift. Every type of patient is at danger during the night.

Studies have shown that babies born at night are 16% more likely to die than babies born during the day. Patients going into cardiac arrest at night were also more likely to die. Pediatric patients admitted at night are more likely to die within two days. The risks appear even more serious when birth injuries and pediatric injuries also occur preventably. Medication administration errors also multiply at night. Weekends are also dangerous for patients.

Because workers with seniority get priority shifts, night time staffers are not only fewer, but less experienced. Night staffing issues are not limited to doctors and nurses; mental health, social services, directors, and administrators are also understaffed on the night shift. Not only are night workers less experienced, they also suffer from fatigue- a major contributor to night shift errors.

Beware of the danger that medical errors are more frequently made at night. Click here to read the full article, including a personal account of a preventable death occuring during the night shift.

A recent study by two hospitals said that overcrowded hospitals are pushing too hard to streamline and cut costs. These goals are putting their patients at risk of medical malpractice such as medication errors, nerve injuries, infections, and other easily preventable mistakes. The study found that hospital goals of cutting costs and improving patient safety are working against each other.

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Anemia-fighting drugs calling erythropoietins, which totaled more than $10 billion sales in the U.S. last year, may harm some patients. Recent studies showed that physicians using the hormone-like drugs to “cure” the anemia seen in cancer and kidney-failure patients may cause patients to suffer complications and possibly die earlier. The studies showed that physicians are using the drugs at doses beyond those recommended by the FDA.

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In a recent medical malpractice lawsuit, a jury voted to award $360,000 to the 76 year-old medical malpractice victim and $40,000 to his wife. The 76 year-old was injured when a nurse at the hospital punctured a nerve in his arm with a needle. The man who operates a heavy-equipment garage cannot effectively feed himself or manage paperwork or other duties related to his work.

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One common form of medical malpractice is preventable drug-related injuries. At least 1.5 million occurred in 2006. Of those, 98,000 deaths occurred both because of mistakes in administering drugs and because of infections contracted in hospitals. A recent article offered a potential solution in new technologies. The technology discussed continually verifies that when the medication is drawn at the nursing station, it is checked against the patient record, confirming the time and dose. If implemented successfully in hospitals nationwide, the overwhelming number of preventable drug-related injuries could be avoided.

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A recent research study suggested that certain pain-relieving drugs that belong to a group of medications called COX inhibitors can hinder the body’s ability to rid itself of cholesterol. This recent finding suggests an explanation for the increased risk of heart attacks in people who used Vioxx and Bextra (both COX-2 inhibitors) and can help the pharmaceutical industry develop new arthritis pain medications.

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The FDA and Baxter International Inc. (a pharmaceutical company) are warning health care providers about mix-ups of two heparin products. These mix-ups recently resulted in the death of three infants. The deaths occurred when a higher dose of Heparin Sodium Injection, at 10,000 units a milliliter, was inadvertently administered instead of a lower dose. Both products are in the same size vial and use different shades of blue as the prominent background color on their label. The similarity between the two bottles makes providers prone to medical malpractice in administering the drug.

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The Institute of Medicine states that hospitalized patients can expect to experience at least one medication error a day. Though some mistakes are harmless, others can be deadly. 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die yearly from medical malpractice in medication dosing errors. Nationwide, hospitals are taking steps to reduce medical mistakes; however, families and patients must stay vigilant in ensuring their safety in the hospital.

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In 2002, the National Quality Forum created a list of adverse medical malpractice issues and in 2006, they updated it. This list contains serious medical malpractice events that are easily preventable and have dire consequences.

1. Switching donor eggs or sperm, resulting in paternity mixups.
2. Leaving of sponges or instruments inside a surgery patient.
3. Disappearance of a patient from a facility.
4. Medication errors (wrong drug, wrong patient, wrong dose, etc.)
5. Giving wrong blood type.
6. Electric shock to a patient.
7. Fall of a patient.
8. Surgery on wrong body part of body.
9. Surgery performed on wrong patient.
10. Wrong surgery performed on patient.
11. Death during or after surgery on a healthy patient under anesthesia.
12. Contaminated drugs or medical devices.
13. Medical device malfunction or improper use.
14. Air embolisms.
15. Babies discharged to wrong parents.
16. Patient suicide.
17. Death or injury of a mother during low-risk pregnancy.
18. A patient developing hypoglycemia.
19. Failing to identify high bilirubin in infants, leading to death.
20. Advanced pressure sores.
21. Death or injury in spine manipulative therapy.
22. Oxygen or other gas lines being switched or contaminated.
23. Burn of a patient.
24. Injury or death from restraints or bed rails.
25. Impersonation of a health care working
26. Kidnapping of a patient.
27. Sexual assault of a patient.
28. Assault or battery between staffers.

For more information about the list.

1. Ask how long they have been in the field. Because of the current nursing shortage, you may not have much choice in terms of who cares for you, but if you have concerns, talk to the nurse manager.
2. Discuss slow response times with the nurse manager.
3. Triple-check your meds. A nurse is supposed to double-check to make sure that the patient is receiving the correct medication. To protect yourself from medication dosing errors, triple-check. Ask what the medication is that you are receiving and why you are getting it.

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1. Have someone research your doctor.
2. Enlist a drug pro. Ask if a clinical pharmacist can handle your case. This can reduce the risk of medication dosing errors and adverse drugs reactions. If the hospital does not have one, ask if a staff pharmacist can perform the same functions.

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

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

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The 87 year-old retired detective died at a medical center after a series of hospitalizations for large ulcers that covered his body. After enduring a stroke a decade ago, the 87 year-old entered a nursing home. In March 2003, the nursing home began to persistently neglect him, failing to prevent massive bedsores from developing. At one point, the nursing home even put a shoe on the retired detective to hide a foot ulcer! During a stay at a hospital, the 87 year-old also was a victim of medical malpractice when a doctor gave him an overdose of a blood thinner. Because of this medication dosing error, the man had to undergo a blood transfusion. The victim’s daughter is holding the nursing home accountable for its nursing home abuse and neglect and also filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital .

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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has placed certain medical abbreviations on the “do-not-use” list because of their probability of misinterpretation, leading to dosing errors and serious medical malpractice. For exam, “IU” is often used by physicians or others in the medical field to mean “international unit.” However, it is often mistaken for “IV” (intravenous) or the number 10, which could lead to serious mistakes in administering medicine. The Official “Do Not Use” list applies, at a minimum, to all orders and all medication-related documentation that is handwritten or on pre-printed forms. Unfortunately, the medical field is not sufficiently complying: failure to substantially eliminate the use of such abbreviations is one of the most frequent non-compliance findings during Joint Commission reviews.

For the Official “Do Not Use” List.

Medical shortcuts used in internal communications, telephone and verbal prescriptions, labels, medical administration records, and pharmacy entry screens can lead to serious medical malpractice in harmful medication errors. The Institute for Safe Medical Practices has released the most frequently misinterpreted abbreviations and dose designations. The list was compiled from the Medication Error Reporting Program. Certain abbreviations have been so error-prone that they have been put on the “do-not-use list” by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

For the list of abbreviations to avoid in the medical field.

An Illinois woman was awarded $2.1 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital whose substandard medical care caused her to suffer a stroke. The doctors could have prevented her stroke by administering a clot-busting drug when the woman entered the emergency room.

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A jury recently awarded a widow and her five children $2.2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit accusing the treating physician and nurse of negligence in the death of the 34 year-old husband. The suit focused on the care received by the husband in the days preceding his untimely death. The man went to see his doctor after having chills, shortness of breath, a high temperature, and leg pain. He received painkillers and muscle relaxers. Three days later, he returned to the doctor’s office and again received no exam or lab analysis, returning home with painkillers. The following day the 34 year-old died of organ failure related to a strep infection. Unfortunately, state law in this case hinders justice and the award will be reduced to $1.7 million, the state cap for medical malpractice lawsuits.

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Last week, a Chicago jury awarded $31 million to the estate of a man who died as a result of receiving the wrong prescription from a Walgreen’s pharmacy. The award consisted of $25 million in punitive damages. The Cook County jury ruled that Walgreens showed "utter indifference" to people's safety by not keeping accurate track of its medications, thereby allowing a pharmacist to illegally steal and take drugs for eight years before incorrectly filling a Schaumburg man's prescription, leading to his death.

The 77-year-old man took a gout medication called Allopurinol, which he phoned into the Shaumburg Walgreens in January of 2001. The pharmacist James Wilmes, filled the prescription with Glipizide, a diabetes medication. After the man took the pills for two days, he went into a diabetic coma, subsequent kidney failure and eventually died.
It was also revealed that Wilmes had signed a statement when he was fired admitting to taking uppers and other drugs - at a total theft of 86,000 pills over eight years.

Levin & Perconti is currently prosecuting a case involving a prescription mis-filling at a Walgreens pharmacy in Puerto Rico. A 59-year-old man underwent surgery for a liver transplant at the University of Chicago. Doctors prescribed an anti-organ rejection medication called Prograf, which the patient was to take 5mg doses twice daily. The pharmacy mistakenly filled the prescription for 0.5mg, or one-tenth of the prescribed amount. The pharmacy made the same mistake a month later when the patient refilled his prescription, again giving him just one-tenth of the amount prescribed.

The Plaintiff was hospitalized at the University of Chicago Hospital and was told he rejected his liver as a result of being mis-medicated and would need a second liver transplant in order to survive. The transplant for the second liver was successfully completed, however the man required multiple hospitalizations.

Illinois suspended the dental license of the dentist whose 5 year-old patient tragically died due to his improper administering of anesthesia. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said that the dentist failed to monitor the 5 year-old girl’s blood pressure, pulse, and respiration during her visit. The dentist gave the 5 year-old multiple medications, including intravenous doses of Valium, but did not notice her comatose condition until the girl’s mother alerted him. The dentist’s records even state that the 5 year-old was “alert and responsive” when she was discharged. For his gross medical malpractice, the dentist also faces heavy fines.

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A third infant has died after having been given an adult dosage of blood thinner medication heparin at Methodist Hospital. The mistake was made when a pharmacy technician accidentally stored adult doses in the neonatal unit's drug cabinet. Six infants were affected by the error, two had died previously and three others are in critical condition.

The families have retained a lawyer and will likely file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

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A doctor is the subject of a medical malpractice lawsuit in the death of a woman for whom the doctor illegally prescribed a hydrogen-peroxide solution to treat her multiple sclerosis.

The same doctor is being sued in a second medical malpractice case by the widow of a man who died of prostate cancer in 2004. The man sought treatment form the doctor who gave him intravenous hydrogen-peroxide treatments and falsely diagnosed him as having Lyme disease. The doctor next prescribed testosterone, which caused the man’s prostate cancer to rapidly advance and resulted in his death about six weeks later.

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