Posted on May 28, 2008 in Childbirth Malpractice

A New York jury on Tuesday ordered a hospital to pay a former patient more than $17 million in a medical malpractice case. The woman claimed a Caesarean delivery in 2003 damaged her organs and resulted in the removal of the transplanted pancreas she received in 1995 to treat her diabetes. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.

Injuries during childbirth are always tragic because they turn a usually joyous event into a catastrophy.

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 Posted on May 28, 2008 in Plastic Surgery Malpractice

The parents of an 18-year old who died as a result of a negligent liposuction procedure were awarded $20.5 million on Friday by a Philadelphia jury. The young girl died two days after undergoing liposuction during which a blood vessel in her neck was severed. Despite falling oxygen levels, the surgeon did not call an ambulance until the patient was near death, after almost 2 1/2 hours in the office.

I handled a case just like this where a woman went into cardiac arrest at a plastic surgeon’s office and subsequently died. It was a tragedy, especially considering the fact that the surgery was elective. In the cases, it is critical to look at the type of anesthesia that was used and whether it was administered by a qualifed health care provider.

We handle cases like these all of the time in my practice.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

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 Posted on May 28, 2008 in Birth Trauma Malpractice / Cerebral Palsy Malpractice

Documents filed this week in an Ohio court revealed that lawyers for the Cleveland Clinic and the mother of a brain-damaged child settled a medical malpractice lawsuit on May 1 for $10 million. Apparently, a jury heard the two-week trial and reached a $15.9 million verdict, but the lawyers settled the case before the verdict form was signed. Part of the settlement called for the verdict forms to remain sealed, but the verdict papers were placed into the public case file by accident, revealing the jury’s award, which would have been one of the largest verdicts ever in Ohio. A copy of the article regarding the settlement can be found here.

What is interesting here is that the defense apparently tried to keep the verdict secret but failed. Typically, health care defendants and health care insurers like to keep such verdicts quiet so as not to encourage other cases.

As I have said before, cases involving permanent injuries to children are some of the most difficult cases that Maryland and District of Columbia medical malpractice attorneys pursue because they usually involve multiple expert witnesses, such as obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, placental pathologists, life care planners and economists. This makes them extremely time-consuming and expensive to pursue. Nevertheless, these cases are extremely important to pursue, so that compensation can be obtained for the parents and child, in order to provide the child with best medical and other care that the child can have, so as to maximize the child’s abilities and comfort. Nothing is more important.

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 Posted on May 28, 2008 in Amputation Malpractice

A jury has ordered a Wisconsin physician to pay $3.2 million in damages to a man whose leg was amputated after alleged malpractice. According to news reports, the doctor examined the patient at least five times before a specialist determined that the patient had muscle damage, nerve damage and reduced blood flow in the leg, causing the amputation. A copy of an article describing the case can be found here.

These cases are almost always devastating because of the difficulty the amputation causes for the rest of the person’s life. In Maryland, the cost or advanced prosthetics should always be included in the malpractice case so as to give the person the best chance of leading a normal life.

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 Posted on May 22, 2008 in Medical Malpractice

This past weekend, there was a fascinating story in the New York Times about doctors who say “I’m sorry” when a medical mistake is made. A copy of the article can be found here. According to the article, some of the leading hospitals in the country are instituting policies that encourage doctors to apologize when a medical mistake is made. What a novel idea!

In my experience, one of the most frequent reasons that people contact my office to investigate a potential Maryland medical malpractice case, is because their doctor will not tell them what happened when something went wrong. These new steps should help doctors avoid medical malpractice cases.

Interestingly, Maryland recently enacted legislation that makes apologies by doctors inadmissible at trial in medical malpractice cases, furthering the goals stated in the New York Times article.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

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 Posted on May 21, 2008 in Birth Trauma Malpractice / Cerebral Palsy Malpractice

An Illinois hospital and doctor have agreed to pay $15.35 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman whose son suffered brain damages during the delivery in 2001. The child, Cody Smithey, now suffers from cerebral palsy and mental retardation arising from the unsuccessful use of a vacuum extractor, which was used to assist in delivery of the child.

Interestingly, I successfully handled a similar medical malpractice case in Maryland approximately 15 years ago in which an obstetrician used a vacuum extractor to assist in the delivery of a premature infant. Such use was contraindicated by the manufacturer. Because the obstetrician used the device, the child developed a severe (grade 4) intraventricular brain bleed, which left the child severely and profoundly disabled. The success of the case allowed the family to better care for the child.

As I have said before, cerebral palsy and birth trauma cases like this are some of the most difficult cases that Maryland medical malpractice attorneys pursue because they usually involving multiple expert witnesses, such as obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, placental pathologists, life care planners and economists. This makes them extremely time-consuming and expensive to pursue. Nevertheless, these cases are extremely important to pursue, so that compensation can be obtained for the parents and child, in order to provide the child with best medical and other care that the child can have, so as to maximize the child’s abilities and comfort. Nothing is more important.

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 Posted on May 20, 2008 in Fire / burn malpractice

The family of a man killed last week in an Illinois nursing home fire has filed a lawsuit alleging that staff at the Hampton Plaza Health Care Centre were not equipped to handle the fire. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire.

Fires involving elderly or disabled people are horrifying. We are currently handling a product liability case in which an home hospital bed, provided by Johns Hopkins and distributed by Sunrise Medical, caught fire causing a wife/mother to burn to death. It is a tragic case.

I also have handled cases in involving fires that start during surgery. In my cases, the patient caught on fire because the surgeon did not keep the cautery device away from the oxygen that was being given to the patient during the surgery. Doctors and hospitals have long known how to prevent surgical fires, yet they still occur. I would say that any time a patient catches on fire during surgery it is a clearly due to medical malpractice.

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 Posted on May 20, 2008 in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Malpractice

An Indiana jury has reached a verdict requiring a doctor to pay $4.45 million to the family of a man who died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm approximately 12 hours after being discharged from a hospital with a misdiagnosis of kidney stones. According to attorneys, the man’s death would have been prevented if the doctor had ordered a routine CT scan. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a weakness in aorta, the largest blood carrying vessel of the body. An abdominal aortic aneurysm – otherwise known as a “Triple A” – can be a medical emergency if it reaches certain size, due to the danger of rupture. Once the aorta ruptures, there is an extremely high death rate, especially if the person is not in the hospital when it happens. The standard test used for diagnosing an abdominal aortic aneurysm is a simple CT scan.

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 Posted on May 20, 2008 in Birth Trauma Malpractice / Cerebral Palsy Malpractice

An Ohio jury has awarded $22.6 million in damages to a woman whose baby suffered permanent brain injuries after it became stuck in her birth canal for over 13 hours. Jurors found that a doctor and practice group were negligent in the medical care that led to the baby’s injuries. Approximately $16 million of the award has been allocated to future medical bills and future loss of ability to perform the usual functions.

Birth trauma cases like this are some of the most difficult cases that Maryland medical malpractice attorneys pursue. They are extremely complicated cases, usually involving multiple expert witnesses, such as obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, placental pathologists, life care planners and economists. This means that they are extremely time-consuming and expensive to pursue. Nevertheless, these cases are extremely important to pursue, so that compensation can be obtained for the parents and child, in order to provide the child with best medical and other care that the child can have, so as to maximize the child’s abilities and comfort. Nothing is more important.

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 Posted on April 30, 2008 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

Maryland is one of the many states that cap, or limit, certain types of damages in medical malpractice cases. Under current Maryland law, medical malpractice damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress are capped at $650,000. That cap will not change until the end of this year (December 31, 2008), when the cap is scheduled to begin increasing $15,000 per year. A jury can award whatever it wants for pain, suffering and emotional distress, but if it awards more than the cap, the judge is required to reduce the verdict to no more than the cap.

The type of damages that are capped in Maryland medical malpractice cases – pain, suffering and emotional distress – are called non-economic damages. Economic damages, on the other hand, such as past and future lost wages, past and future medical expenses, and lost household services, are uncapped in Maryland.

The Maryland statute that sets forth the cap on medical malpractice cases specifically states that the jury shall not be told about the cap. Thus, everyone in the courtroom knows about the cap except for the jury that is making the decision on damages.

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