Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 11/18/2008

An Indiana jury recently awarded $1 million dollars to the husband of a woman who died after physicians failed to timely determine to the source of her bleeding. The 55 year old woman was hospitalized in the ICU for treatment of breathing difficulties. Upon extubation, a nurse noticed bleeding coming from her mouth. The woman’s blood pressure began dropping as a result of the ongoing bleeding, ultimately causing hypovolemic shock. Physicians then attempted to urgently place a catheter in her jugular vein, but unfortunately, in the process, punctured her lung, causing it to collapse. The patient subsequently was then required to be placed back on a ventilator where she developed pneumonia and died. Plaintiff alleged that the source of the bleeding was a partial denture that cut into his wife’s throat and that the physicians could have discovered this by merely checking the patient’s mouth. The partial denture was also apparent on an x-ray taken before the bleeding began, something the physician failed to appreciate.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 10/10/2008

The family of a New York woman recently settled a case arising out of a radiologist’s failure to properly read and interpret a mammogram. The decedent, a 46 year old woman with a husband and two children, underwent a routine mammogram which was read as normal. A few months later, the woman detected a lump in her breast and was referred for a second mammogram. The second mammogram was interpreted as normal by a radiologist. Several months after that, however, the breast became inflamed and doctors performed a biopsy. The biopsy revealed Stage III breast cancer that had metastasized/spread to three quarters of her lymph nodes. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation were all unsuccessful and the woman died of her cancer 20 months after the diagnosis. The case ultimately settled for approximately 3 million dollars.

As with most illnesses, early diagnosis of cancer is the best ammunition that a patient has toward defeating the disease. If, however, the cancer was missed by physicians for an appreciable amount of time or simply not timely diagnosed, a patient can face dire consequences. Sadly, these delays in diagnosis can result in more invasive treatment, extended physical and emotional heartache and even death. Most cancers are either graded or staged in terms of their severity. The lower the grade or stage (i.e., the earlier the diagnosis), the better a patient’s chances are of survival. Conversely, the higher the grade or stage, the worse a patient’s chances are of survival. Importantly, a delay in diagnosis can increase the likelihood that the tumor will metastasize (spread) to the lungs, thereby significantly decreasing a person’s chances of survival. In Maryland, failure to diagnose cases can only be pursued if the negligence caused the patient’s cancer to progress from a stage in which the patient had a probability of surviving the cancer if he or she received proper treatment to a circumstance in which they now face a probability of death due to the growth / spread of the cancer inside the body.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 09/24/2008

As was first reported in the Chicago Tribune, a woman from the Chicago recently agreed to a $5.5 million dollar settlement with the doctors and hospital who delivered her son. According to the Tribune, the baby boy was delivered with severe brain damage after he was deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time during the delivery. In the lawsuit, the mother alleged that she was admited to the hospital on March 1, 2002. After she was given a drug to induce her contractions, the baby’s heart rate started to drop. A family medicine physician attempted to deliver the baby but failed. Subsequently, another doctor delivered the child by C-section. Unfortunately, by that time, the baby had been deprived of oxygen for such a period of time that he sustained irreversible brain damage that will require lifetime of support. He also suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of the negligence.

Cerebral palsy is a complex medical condition that ranges in severity from mild to severe. Typically, those afflicted with cerebral palsy have an inability to control their motor function; i.e., they lack adequate muscle control and coordination. Common symptoms that can lead to a diagnosis of cerebral palsy include: involuntary movements of limbs; muscle spasticity (tightness), inability to walk properly (gait); seizures, breathing problems or difficulty swallowing; bladder and bowel continence issues; learning disabilities, and the impairment of one or more senses (sight, hearing, etc.). More severe cases may also result in a child having difficulty speaking.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 09/18/2008

An Arizona jury recently awared the family of an 81 year old $6 million dollars following her death from morphine toxicity. The victim, a dialysis patient, was originally treated for sciatica at a hospital and was receiving 30 milligrams of morphine a day. When she was transferred to a nursing home, her dosage was doubled to 60 milligrams a day. Unfortunately, at the time of transfer a nurse negligently wrote an order for the victim to receive 90 milligrams a day. A day after her first dosage of 90 milligrams, she began suffering from confusion, twitching and became delirious. She died the following day. The victim’s family sued the nursing home and hospital on the grounds that they should have realized that 90 milligrams was an excessive amount of morphine for a dialysis patient, that the hospital was inadequately staffed and that the nursing home’s workers should have realized the signs and symptoms of morphine toxicity and treated her the day before she died.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 09/18/2008

A Louisiana jury recently awarded the daughter of an 84-year-old man $1 million dollars after the man developed a bed sore while confined to his hospital bed and later died. The victim was apparently admitted to a nursing home due to his declining health. At the time of admission, he was confined to his bed, required a feeding tube and a Stage II pressure sore on his left hip. Within a month of his admission, the man’s bed sore had become infected due to exposure to feces, he had become malnourished and was suffering from dehydration. In addition, he had developed a new Stage II pressure sore on his right hip and on his sacrum. He was subsequently transferred to a hospital where he died six days later. The lawsuit brought by his surviving daughter alleged that the nursing home failed to adequately treat and prevent bed sores and failed to properly clean and bathe her father.

At STSW, we have recently and routinely secured large verdicts for patients who have died or suffered severe injuries as a result of the bed sores or infections arising out of untreated bed sores. Given the large number of nursing homes in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area, these cases are becoming all too frequent. It is important to note that there are many advancements that have been made in the prevention and treatment of bed sores in recent years. As a result, the negligent failure to properly treat and prevent bed sores is becoming entirely unacceptable.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 09/17/2008

As was reported in the Baltimore Sun last month, the family of a Baltimore County woman who drowned in a swimming pool in 2005 filed a $100 million lawsuit against the apartment complex and pool management company, alleging that unqualified lifeguards were on duty. The 23 year old victim, who was not a resident at the complex, was visiting a friend. According to the family, the victim asked and received permission to use the pool from a lifeguard on duty while she was visiting a friend at the complex. At some point, the victim, who could not swim was pushed or fell into the deep end of the pool where she drowned, unnoticed. As is set forth in the lawsuit, the victim’s family alleges that the lifeguard was unqualified to monitor the pool and, further compounding the problem, was unable to view all areas of the pool from his chair. The family further alleges that the lifeguard was first notified about the victim being underwater by children swimming in the pool but struggled to find her because the water was too cloudy. The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants were negligent by failing to keep the pool clean and safe and for failing to provide two or more lifeguards during the busy time periods.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 09/17/2008

As was reported in numerous newspapers around the country this week, the acting Surgeon General, Dr. Steven Galson, has announced a new campaign to raise the awareness of a serious medical problem in the United States that far too often goes undiagnosed: blood clots that initially present as simple leg pain. These blood clots are often referred to as a “deep vein thrombosis” or DVT. They form in large veins, usually in the leg or groin and can quickly kill if the clot moves up to the lungs. In such instances the clots are referred to as a pulmonary embolism or PE. The goals of the recently announced campaign are to get both patients and doctors to recognize the emergency in time. It is estimated that approximately 500,000 people a year get these clots and 1/5 of them die. Identified risk factors and triggers for these clots are: a recent surgery or broken bone; fall or car crash; being immobile for long periods of time; taking of birth control or menopause hormones. People within this class have a higher risk of developing a clot. In addition, some individuals are genetically predisposed to developing a clot. Symptoms of an existing clot include: swelling, pain (especially in the calf), a warm or red spot on the leg, shortness of breath or pain when breathing deeply. Although the campaign takes aim at an ill-informed society, it appears many physicians are also failing to recognize and treat the warning signs. In fact, some studies suggest that up to 1/3 of patients in hospitals who need protective blood thinners to prevent the development of a clot are not getting them. Moreover, many physicians are to recognize the basic signs and symptoms of these clots, confusing the diagnosis with muscular pains and/or other seemingly harmless medical issues.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 09/17/2008

As was initially reported by Reuters, a recent study of data from nearly 1,300 U.S. hospitals has revealed that less than half routinely meet a key component for care of colon cancer patients — checking a suitable number of lymph nodes following surgery to determine if the cancer has spread to other areas of the body. Medical literature and leading medical organizations say that physicians should examine at least 12 lymph nodes in patients who have had colon surgery to remove cancerous tumors to determine whether the colon cancer has metastasized. Such information is critical to physicians’ efforts to accurately diagnose the stage and/or severity of the caner, guide future treatment, and determine whether a patient may be a candidate for chemotherapy. The study, which reviewed hospital data from patients who had undergone surgery to remove colon cancer in 2004 and 2005, found that only 38% of the hospitals in fact checked at least 12 lymph notes. According to physicians who participated in the study, checking too few lymph notes may give a false impression that the cancer has not spread to other areas of the body.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 07/23/2008

As was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution several months ago, a Gwinnett County jury recently awarded $5 million dollars to the family of a new mother who drowned in a bathtub at a local hospital. The new mother, who was being treated for post-partum high blood pressure, apparently collapsed in the bathtub while taking a shower. Her mother later found her, but she died the next day. In the lawsuit, the family alleged that video footage from outside the decedent’s room confirmed that no nurses or other health care providers entered her room to check on her for an extended period of time. Moreover, the evidence uncovered during the discovery phase suggested that the hospital faced a critical shortage of nurses and other staff that should have been on duty so as to prevent this catastrophic result.

Unfortunately, given nursing shortages and the escalating number of patients in U.S. hospitals, incidents of hospital neglect / hospital abuse / hospital negligence are becoming all too common as our cases of nursing home neglect. Nursing home malpractice cases involving patient neglect are often very difficult for plaintiff’s attorneys. Whereas in typical personal injury type cases jurors are asked to focus on things such as medical expenses, lost wages and lasting results from injuries, these things are often absent in nursing home cases. As a result, attorneys representing injured nursing home patients must focus on developing themes that focus on the nursing home’s wrong doing such as: that the nursing home puts profits over people; that the facility was understaffed and the home knew it; that the staff were not adequately trained; and that the case is not just about 1 patient but about a larger systemic problem at the facility. In short, attorneys often focus on the institutional negligence as opposed to the negligence of lower level employees.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Medical Malpractice

Article posted on: 07/23/2008

As was reported in the New York Times yesterday, the president of a swimming pool company was charged with second-degree manslaughter following an accident last year in which a 6 year old boy drowned in Connecticut after his arm became trapped in the pool’s suction drain. Police have charged the builder with recklessly causing the death of the boy by failing to ensure that his company installed mandated safety devices in the pool that would have prevented the death. According to the accident investigation, the boy drowned after his arm became stuck in an intake valve in the deep end of an in-ground pool. The boy’s parents desperately attempted to free their son’s arm from the drain but were unsuccessful due to the strong suction of the pump. Ultimately, the boy’s mother ran and shut off power to the house (including the drain pump) and they were able to to free their son and perform CPR, but it was too late. The lawsuit alleges that the pool fell well short of the minimum safety standards for pools. C

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