Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

A study of doctor response time in emergency situations published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a strong correlation between delayed time to defibrillation after in-hospital cardiac arrest and a patient’s likelihood of survival. The study lasted five years and covered nearly 15% of the large hospitals in the country. The factors the study identified as highly correlated with response time were hospital size and admitting diagnosis. Small hospitals tended to have quicker response time while patients admitted with non-cardiac diagnoses experienced a higher response time following cardiac arrest.

Surprisingly, however, the study also found a strong correlation between race and response time. In fact, African-Americans and Native Americans experienced nearly 25% greater response times when undergoing cardiac arrest. 25% is extremely significant when considering that only 30% of patients underwent defibrillation after two minutes. However, any time beyond two minutes exceeds the guidelines-based recommendations. This speaks to major problems in hospital response time where nearly 1/3 of responses exceed widely-accepted recommendations.

The significance of this delayed response time? When defibrillation was delayed, patients only had a 22% chance of survival while reasonable response time resulted in a nearly 40% survival rate. Furthermore, the study’s numbers were skewed in favor of successful hospitals as the study was voluntary. One of the study’s authors even noted that this likely resulted in responses from only generally quality care facilities.

Following this study, physicians should realize seconds do make a difference. Many of us have images of doctors on television yelling “Code Blue” and running to revive their patients. In reality, unfortunately, physicians are not always as quick to the punch. In hospitals where such delays are a recurring event, the lack of an adequate response is nothing short of negligent.

For the full study, click here:

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down a new decision recently on its interpretation of Rule 103(b): in determining whether plaintiff was reasonably diligent under Rule 103(b), the trial court is not to consider the time when the case is voluntarily dismissed. Lawyers are advised to avoid taking any action that might seem like a delay, such as withholding summons upon filing a lawsuit. In the context of medical malpractice lawsuits, this means that medical malpractice lawyers should be careful to plan their litigation schedule and pay close attention to the length of time each phase of medical malpractice litigation requires. Additionally, medical malpractice lawyers should explain to their clients how timeliness is very important to their medical malpractice lawsuit.

Read more here.

The State of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation has just released a new website allows users to enter complaints about doctors and health professionals with ease. This website makes it much easier to file a state complaint in the event you have been a victim of medical malpractice or nursing errors. If you believe you are the victim of medical malpractice or nursing malpractice it is important for you to file a complaint with the Department of Professional Regulation to make sure that the state also takes its own necessary steps to investigate the problem and review the practitioner’s licensing.

Click to see the Department’s complaint site.

A study in the May issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery shows that the rate of limb amputation is higher in Chicago’s black communities than in suburban white communities. The data showed that blacks in Chicago are five times more likely to have a limb amputated than suburban whites. Notably, many amputations are preventable. Limb amputations can often be the product of low quality health care and doctor errors, poor access to health care resources, and a doctor's failure to give information about procedures and treatments. One of the more common causes of amputations is untreated pressure sores that may result from diabetes and heart disease.

Read the news story 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 Governor of Illinois recently announced a new tool to help health care consumers make informed decisions about choosing providers. According to Governor Blagojevich, “It is not enough to make sure every Illinois family has access to health care. We need to make sure they have enough information to make informed decisions about the doctors who treat them.” The website will include information about the physician, including medical malpractice judgments against the physician.

For the full article.

CNN recently highlighted the danger that addicted doctors are still treating patients. One patient says she had to forgo cancer treatment because of a botched surgery by a doctor who was in treatment for alcoholism and had been convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol. She had to forgo cancer treatment while battling complications from the medical malpractice. Now she is dying of cancer. She sued the doctor in a medical malpractice lawsuit. While he did not admit fault, he settled with her for $250,000.

A study by the Federation of State Physician Health Programs found about one percent of all physicians practicing in the U.S. are in confidential treatment. That’s about 8,000 doctors whose patients may have no idea that they are addicts. This brings us back to the importance of researching your doctor!

For the full article.

CNN recently featured an article about how consumers can help to receive their own optimal healthcare by being prepared and helping their doctors. While in an ideal world, a doctor would have your health history, current medications and most recent lab results in front of him or her, the reality is that these things get lost in paperwork. Here are tips for your future doctor visits:

1. Bring a list of medications.
2. Come armed with your personal health history.
3. Bring in your recent test results and doctors’ notes.
4. Make a list of your concerns.
5. Don’t ask your doctor insurance questions. These are better answered by the doctors’ staff.

For the full article.

The Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation has posted a new website database where you can find out more about your doctor or health care professional. The Physician Profile Search allows visitors to see where the doctor went to medical school, if the doctor has been involved in any lawsuits, and determine if the doctor is licensed to practice.

Find the Physician Profile Search here.

According to a recent industry newsletter, jurors often misconceive the role of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in approving new drugs and how pharmaceutical manufacturers create their prescription drug labels. Jurors often believe that the FDA is responsible for pharmaceutical research. In fact it is just the opposite: private drug companies produce their own studies for FDA approval. Additionally, many jurors believe that the pharmaceutical companies have sole control of warning label contents. Though the FDA has some oversight of label contents, a recent article shows that drug companies can hide information from the FDA to prevent certain risks and side effects from appearing on warning labels. Questions and misconceptions about the FDA’s role will continue with increased litigation on the FDA liability shield issue currently pending before the Supreme Court.

To read the full newsletter, please click here.

A recent op-ed article scrutinized health care oversight. The article argued that there is no reason that any consumer seeking preventive care should risk death while seeking routine medical care at the hands of a profiteering physician. When culpability in a medical malpractice lawsuit becomes revealed, there is no reason that others with close ties to a bad doctor should remain in positions of oversight. The article concludes that a full-scale, top-to-bottom failure of government systems have allowed years of risky behavior to put others at risk of medical malpractice.

For the full article.

Four years ago, an investigation concluded that it was easier for consumers to find out information about their building contractors than for patients to get information about their doctors. In response, the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners promised to enhance its website to inform the public about doctors. But recently, the board removed medical malpractice lawsuit settlement and judgment information from the doctors’ online records. One State Senator stated that the statute covering the website was not very specific, but added “if we have to spell it out, then we’ll spell it out.”

People should have a right to the medical malpractice history of their doctors to make better informed decisions. Any board hindrance on consumer research into their own health care is unacceptable.

For the full article.

Around 47 million Americans don't have health care, but even those that do agree that problems in the United States healthcare system need reform. In a recent article, 10 health care experts offered their personal suggestions on how to improve the country's situation.

1. Mend the medical schools
2. Single-payer insurance (creating a national system)
3. Individual, not company, plans
4. Divert the dollar to the doc
5. Pay for the care of populations, not events (high quality preventive care)
6. Cut costs for med students
7. Eliminate insurance all together
8. More health centers (affordable, community health centers)
9. Stimulating positive-sum competition (giving more info to providers and consumers)
10. Keep it low-tech (low-tech approaches to preventive healthcare)

Click here to read the descriptions of the experts who offered these ideas, in addition to more information about each view.

Levin & Perconti's Steven Levin and John Perconti are 2008 Illinois Super Lawyers! Chicago Magazine has honored the two for the fourth year in a row as top Illinois Injury Attorneys. John and Steve have practiced Chicago medical malpractice law for over twenty five years.

There are many factors that contribute to why Medicare & Medicaid fraud is becoming out of control in America. Two serious contributors are overpriced prescriptions for medications, devices and treatments in addition to overspending by largely unregulated hospitals. Billions of Americans' tax dollars are not going to where they are intended.

Doctors have many incentives for prescribing the most expensive drugs and medical devices mainly including rewards from drug companies. This type of fraud is estimated to account for about 15% of Medicare & Medicaid over-billings. It is difficult to restrict the ability of the drug companies to manipulate doctors because according to the study, the corporations have too much influence in the US Government.

Additionally, "boutique hospitals," those owned by investor groups and not-for-profit hospitals are also cited as a large source of Medicare & Medicaid fraud. According to the study, these hospitals are less regulated by the government and can, as a result, over-bill the federal government.

Medicare & Medicaid fraud was also shown to be extensive in nursing homes, rehab centers, and long term care facilities. Click here to learn more.

Click here for the full article

Pregnant women who have previously given birth by C-section are having more difficulty finding doctors who will allow them to give birth vaginally. A growing medical community is rethinking policies around vaginal births after C-sections because it carries a risk of uterine rupture or a bursting of the C-section scar.

Doctors also are fearful of medical malpractice lawsuits in the small percentages of cases that go bad. Some doctors opine that the liabilities are too great to perform such procedures.

For the full article.

1. Don’t be afraid to intervene
2. Ask questions until you understand the answer
3. Remember that you know things the doctors don’t
4. Temper your loved one’s enthusiasm for quick fixes
5. Scope out the nurses

Click here for the full article

On Sept. 14, 2007 Inside Edition will air a segment on surgical fires, a form of medical malpractice and the subject of recent medical malpractice lawsuits. Inside Edition is a syndicated national program that airs on different channels and at different times of the day. The program will air in Chicago on ABC at 3pm.

Click here for a listing of where to watch in your locality
Click here for prior posts on surgical fires

Choosing a doctor for LASIK eye surgery is often the most difficult part of the process. A skilled and experienced doctor who uses the best technology and procedures is the best choice. Most importantly, make sure your surgeon uses a laser that has been approved by the FDA. A recent article addressed questions to ask your surgeon before surgery in order to protect yourself, including some of the following:

1. When did you start performing LASIK surgery?
2. How many surgeries have you performed in the last 12 months?
3. Have any of your LASIK patients ever filed a medical malpractice lawsuit after surgery due to surgical error?
4. What type of corrective laser do you use? Is it FDA approved?

For the full article and more questions.