Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

We have previous posted the news of radiation violations which affected thousands of patients at Veterans Affairs hospitals across the country. Last week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission finished its investigation into the incidents, and ultimately decided to fine the Department of Veterans Affairs $39,000 for the medical mistakes.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the fine was levied after radiation safety violations were uncovered at 12 VA hospitals. This particular fine resulted for two separate incidents connected to the Department’s brachytherapy program. Brachytherapy is essentially the use of radiation to attack tumors in the body. It involves implanting dozens of radioactive seeds into certain glands in an effort to kill cancer cells over a period of months.

Radiation treatment obviously poses unique risks to those who need it. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys have fought for many patients who have suffered at the hands of radiation errors in various forms. The risk of mistakes in radiation is high, so obviously extreme care should always be used by medical professionals. However, The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission discovered that the VA failed to have any pre-operative procedures in place and failed to notify patients of errors following a failed procedure.

This is not the first punishment handed out to the Department for problematic radiation medical care. Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hit the VA with a $227,500 fine after it was discovered that residents received incorrect doses of radiation over a six year period as part of their prostate brachytherapy treatment.

The repeated issues connected to the brachytherapy treatment vividly demonstrate that problems existed right from the start of the program, and doctors repeatedly failed to fix them. The medical mistakes affecting hundreds of our nation’s veterans have been noticed by many concerned with proper patient care. As Congressman John Adler argued, “The NRC has found widespread medical misconduct throughout the VA’s brachytherapy program. It is time the VA acknowledges and fixes their mistakes.”

The New York Times discussed a pair of studies that were recently released by the journal “Radiology.” The research suggests that physicians should take a new approach to limiting the exposure of patients to potentially dangerous doses of radiation during screenings for breast exams.

It is common knowledge that radiation can be harmful in large doses. Of course patients are exposed to lower levels of it during routine testing—x-rays and ultrasounds being some of the most common. However, problems arise when more complex testing is used that involves increased exposure to radiation. In particular, a few nuclear-based breast imaging tests used to screen for breast cancer involve injection of large amounts of radioactive material in patient bodies. These tests—known as breast-specific gamma imaging and positron emission mammography—are supposed to compliment regular tests but are often used liberally. They offer much more radiation exposure than regular mammograms. Specifically, experts believe that just one of these exams exposes a patient to the same radiation as the total they would get from a lifetime of yearly mammograms.

The radiation exposure ultimately increases some patients’ risk of getting other cancers, like those in the kidney and bladder. The risk for some patients of getting these cancers may be 30 to 40 times greater with the high exposure tests compared to the regular tests. Considering the side effects, the Radiology study indicated that it would be wise for physicians to more fully consider whether the test is actually necessary before ordering it.

Unfortunately changes are slow-going. Asa Mayo Clinic researcher noted, “This is something that isn’t well understood, not just by the public but by physicians who order the tests.” Physicist R. Edward Hendrick explained that this is caused by a misconception among doctors that all of these tests have similar radiation exposures, even though that is unequivocally wrong.

While exposing patients to the risks of excessive radiation is sometimes unavoidable, doctors need to do a better job of fully understanding the risk of the test before administering it. Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have watched as doctors have refused to consider the risks of certain medical decisions that ultimately injure and kill innocent patients. We encourage all patients to pay close attention to each facet of their medical care to ensure that it is meeting the standards to which they are entitled.

The New York Times recently profiled a growing problem of medical error, radiation overdoses. Radiation treatments are often used at hospitals to test for strokes in a procedure known as a CT brain profusion scan.

Radiation always contains some risks, but doctors are supposed to protect against exposing patients to harmful levels of radiation that are unnecessary. Recent investigation, however, have uncovered that the true extent of the problem. Many doctors are negligently exposing patients with too much radiation than necessary. A quick investigation discovered, for example, that the well-known and respected Cedars-Sinai hospital had over 269 cases of extra-radiation.

The total number of patients exposed to unnecessary levels of radiation is unclear, but the number continues to rise as more injured patient come forward. Food and Drug Administration officials admit that the total number of patients affected is not known but likely higher than initial estimates suggested.

Even when performed properly, CT scans deliver a dose of radiation to the skull that is 200 times stronger than an x-ray. The problem exists when that already high amount is inflated unnecessarily. Some experts believe that the radiation overdoses were as high as 13 times the amount of a normal CT scan. That is equivalent to a single patients getting 2600 x-rays in a single day.

The Food and Drug Administration is still investigating the overexposures. They have yet to determine a conclusive cause of the rash of increased radiation problems. Possible causes include improper manufacturing of equipment, inadequate training of medical professionals taking the images, and an unnecessary need to get clearer images.

Hair loss is the most common sign of an overdose, but symptoms also include headaches, memory loss, and confusion. The complications could be even more far reaching and include increases in risk of cancer and brain damage. Patients exposed to the unnecessary doses often have trouble identifying the cause of their problems. For many, the symptoms start with a band of hair missing around their head. For others red welts begin to form on parts of the body including the arms, legs, and back.

No patient should be forced to go through the physical, emotional, and mental struggles caused by overexposure to radiation. Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti continue to fight for the rights of all patients who suffer at the hand of medical errors that should have been prevented. Be sure to contact a medical malpractice lawyer if you suspect that you or someone you know may have been overexposed to radiation or suffered any other complications caused by medical mistakes.

Please click here to learn more of the dangerous problem of radiation overdose at hospitals.

Two weeks ago we posted on the medical negligence at a Veteran’s Affair hospital in St. Louis that exposed veterans in several states (including Illinois) to hepatitis and HIV. That incident is only one in a string of errors at VA facilities across the country.

The Philadelphia Enquirer discussed another example of inadequate medical care at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Over a six year period, the facility had radiation therapy problems, giving the incorrect dosage to nearly over 85% of the patients receiving the treatment.

The radiation was part of a prostate-cancer treatment. Known as brachytherapy, the procedure involves the implantation of tiny radioactive seeds into the prostate gland to destroy cancer over a period of months. When done incorrectly, however, the radioactive seeds may eventually destroy healthy tissue while leaving the cancer intact.

Five of those veterans have recently filed suit for the substandard care they received. For some, their cancer has become incurable, and all five men report severe bleeding caused by the radiation. Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission punished the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, fining it $227,500 for which it classified as a “total breakdown” in its radiation program.

Problems at veteran’s hospitals occur with alarming frequency. The recent incidents in Philadelphia and St. Louis highlight the need for increased oversight and action to ensure that medical malpractice at these facilities is stopped.

In addition, Brachytherapy problems are an all-too-frequent form of medical error. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti won a $1.25 million settlement against the University of Chicago Hospitals for a botched brachytherapy treatment. In that case a 70 year old patient with prostate cancer suffered radiation burns on her rectal wall and lost all bladder control due to the improper placement of radiation seeds.

Be sure to contact a medical malpractice lawyer if you suspect you have been the victim of similar radiation injury. Also, all veterans should be sure to aggressively protect their right to proper treatment at the VA hospitals where they seek care.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, an Illinois man lost his wife to medical negligence after she suffered a perforated bowel. The retired police office and his sons settled a wrongful-death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Chicago and two other entities. The $7.5 million settlement with the hospital set a Cook County record for a settlement in a wrongful death of an adult without minor children.

The victim was chairperson of ten community mental health advisory boards in Chicago. She was diagnosed with stage three endometrial cancers and began radiation therapy at the Chicago hospital. There, she was over-radiated, causing a perforated bowel and a bacterial infection in her blood. This medical mistake ultimately caused her wrongful death. According to the family's medical malpractice lawyer, the victim received and overdose in radiation. To read about the landmark Chicago medical malpractice , settlement please click the link.

The FDA is currently in the process of investigating a series of medical cases in which over 270 patients were exposes to excess amounts of radiation. This occurred when the victim were undergoing CT brain perfusion scans. In October officials realized that patients in Los Angeles were exposed to 8 times the normal amount of radiation used in conducting these computed tomography scans. A 59-year-old woman reported having a bald strip on her head a few weeks after receiving a CT scan. She released through her medical records that she had been exposed to a higher degree of radiation than normal. High radiation can lead to hear loss and skin redness. The FDA will continue investigating the cause of the medical error with state and local health authorities. Radiation error is a common form of medical malpractice. To learn more about the radiation error, please click the link.

The hospital that recently disclosed they had been giving overdoses of radiation told the Los Angeles Times that they had contacted all those affected by the medical error. However, some four people claim that they were only asked about hair loss and not told of the mistake or its potential cancer risk. The patients claimed that doctors neither acknowledged any medical error nor explained that the patients had been exposed to eight times more radiation than necessary. One victim had lost clumps of hair in the shower, leaving him bald from the tops of his ears to his neck. He told the doctor that his hair had grown back and that was the end of the conversation. The hospital has said the overdoses stemmed from an error made when the hospital reconfigured a scanner to improve doctors’ ability to see blood flow in the brain. The most serious risk from the radiation overdose is a brain tumor. Ethic experts state that if medical error was done, the hospital would have a legal obligation to tell patients of any mistake. To read more about the medical mistake, please click the link.

Scores of radiation overdoses at a medical center have been traced to a single cause. That cause is a hospital mistake made when resetting a CT scanner. Hospital officials said that the medical error occurred in February 2008, when the hospital began using a new protocol for a specialized type of scan used to diagnose strokes. The doctors had believed it would provide them more useful data to analyze disruptions in the flow of blood to brain tissue. However this meant resetting the machine to override the pre-programmed instructions that came with the scanner when it was installed. There turned out to be a misunderstanding about an embedded default setting applied by the machine and as a result there were higher levels of radiation administered to patients. The dose of radiation was eight times what it should have been. Once the scanner was programmed each patient received the overdose. The hospital error went unnoticed for the next 18 months, when a stroke patient informed the hospital that he had begun using his hair after a scan. 206 people had received the overdoses and 40% of them had suffered patchy hair loss. Excess radiation would be difficult to detect from simply looking at the scan results. Radiation exposure increases the likelihood of cancer. To read more about the radiation overdoses, please click the link.

A patient was being treated for the skin disease psoriasis when he suffered first and second degree burns from allegedly his doctor’s mistreatment. A medical panel conducted in October found the doctor took appropriate care when treating the patient, but the patient is now suing the doctor. The doctor has allegedly been involved in numerous medical malpractice cases.

Read more about the medical malpractice suit here.

Ron Weidenfeller, through his attorneys at Levin and Perconti, has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Schaumburg-based Cancer Treatment Centers of America and its Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion on behalf of his wife who died from an undiagnosed colon obstruction.

Mrs. Weidenfeller had been complaining of severe pain, distention of her abdomen, and constipation in the days before she died. The Wiedenfeller’s requested tests to ensure she had no bowel obstruction, but instead of listening to the patient’s complaints, the facility assured the couple she would be fine and did not perform these tests. Ultimately, it was determined that the cause of death was sepsis from an undiagnosed perforated colon, revealed by an autopsy that facility staff suggested Mr. Weidenfeller not pursue.

This case is one more illustration of the devastating impact tort reform will have on victims of medical malpractice and negligence. Mr. Weidenfeller is seeking damages because he believes the facility was not candid with him about the events leading to his wife’s death. Should damages be limited where a medical facility simply fails to conduct a necessary test? How much do insurance costs affect a facility’s decision to conduct necessary testing? Shielding physicians and facilities from liability will only discourage them from taking measures necessary for the health and safety of our citizens. Perhaps the threat of liability would have provided the motivation to conduct proper testing to find Mrs. Weidenfeller’s bowel obstruction. Passage of significant tort reform measures will only increase the likelihood of negligence and malpractice and will prevent future Weidenfellers from seeking their just compensation.

For a link to this article, click here.

A Madison County, Illinois jury awarded $450,000 in an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit on Thursday to an Illinois man hurt during a spinal x-ray in which the doctor, hospital, and clinic admitted they botched the test. The doctor injected the wrong chemical dye into the 81 year-old Illinois victim’s spine and the victim suffered tremendous muscle spasms and suffered from breathing difficulty that left him in the hospital for over two weeks. The Illinois jury deliberated for about 4 hours before giving their decision to the judge.

For the full article.

An Illinois jury awarded a Madison County man $450,000 on Thursday for his injuries resulting from a spinal X-ray in 2004 after the doctor, hospital, and clinic admitted botching the test. The basis for the Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit was a myleogram performed on the man. The doctor performing the test injected the wrong chemical dye into the patient’s spine for the scan and the patient suffered tremendous muscles spasms for more than two weeks. The medical malpractice led to a condition called arachnoiditis, inflammation of tissue inside the spine.

For the full article.

Levin & Perconti is currently litigating a medical malpractice case against 2 physicians and the University of Chicago hospital for negligently performing brachytherapy on a patient with prostate cancer. The doctors placed radioactive seeds in or near the rectal wall causing a burn injury, radiation proctitis, and the loss of the patient’s colon and bladder.

The seeds should have been implanted within the prostate and many seeds were not, therefore causing the rectal burn injury.

The case is expected to go to trial later this year.