Posted on July 24, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

A pregnancy can be determined to be high risk for any number of reasons but one common factor that makes a pregnancy “high risk” is advanced maternal age. Women who become pregnant when they are older are more likely to carry fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome. Because of these risks of complication, some mothers-to-be elect to undergo genetic testing known as Chorionic Villus Sampling (“CVS”). CVS is a prenatal test in which a sample of chorionic villi is removed from the placenta for testing. When CVS reveals the presence of a condition that is likely to severely diminish the quality of life of the child, it is generally well within the pregnant woman’s rights to terminate the pregnancy. If that testing is not interpreted accurately – i.e., it is reported as normal – an unwanted, full term pregnancy can result and the parents of the child could have a claim for malpractice under Maryland law.

In addition to Down syndrome, another genetic or congenital abnormality that can occur due to advanced maternal age pregnancy is Smith Magenis Syndrome (“SMS”). SMS is a severe genetic disorder that can cause significant intellectual disability, delayed and impaired speech and language skills, severe sleep disturbances and severe behavioral problems. SMS occurs as the result of a defect on the 17th chromosome. Children who are born with SMS are likely to require a life-time of 24-hour supervision and are unlikely to ever live independently or be gainfully employed.

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 Posted on July 24, 2015 in Anesthesia Malpractice

Last month, a Fairfax County, Virginia jury returned a verdict of $500,000 against a Bethesda, Maryland based anesthesiologist for her conduct during a colonoscopy procedure she oversaw. As reported by multiple news outlets, as the Plaintiff, a Virginia man, prepared for his colonoscopy in a medical suite, he pressed the record button on his smartphone, in an effort to capture the post-operative instructions that anticipated his doctor would give him. His smartphone, which was in his pants pocket and placed under the operating table during the procedure, ended up recording the entire procedure. When he returned to his home, the man pressed play and was shocked at what his phone had recorded. In short, what he heard was the entire operating room team, including his anesthesiologist and gastroenterologist, openly and viciously mocking him while he under anesthesia. For example, at the outset of the procedure, a medical assistant noted that the man had a rash. In response, the anesthesiologist warned her not to touch it, tell the young woman that she “might get some syphilis on your arm or something” then adding, “it’s probably tuberculosis in the penis, so you’ll be all right.” The anesthesiologist was also recorded telling the sedated man that “after five minutes of talking to you in the pre-op…I wanted to punch you in the face and man you up a bit.” In addition to the shocking commentary, the health care providers also instructed an assistant to lie to the man after the procedure and how the doctors would endeavor to avoid him after the colonoscopy. Lastly, the doctors also discussed placing a false diagnosis on his chart – stating that the man had hemorrhoids, when in fact he did not.

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 Posted on July 17, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

According to the National Stroke Association, a stroke occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, and brain cells are deprived of oxygen and begin to die. When brain cells die during a stroke, functions controlled by that area of the brain such as memory and muscle control are lost. A stroke can have different impacts on people ranging from minor problems such as temporary weakness in limbs to more serious problems such as paralysis, losing the ability to speak or death. Moreover, in some people these issues are temporary and in others they prove to be permanent.

Given the devastating effects that a stroke can have, the importance in diagnosing and treating them quickly cannot be overstated. They key is quickly recognizing the symptoms. Classic stroke symptoms include sudden weakness or numbness in the face, arm, leg or one side of the body; sudden loss of vision, strength, coordination, sensation, or speech; and trouble swallowing. It is crucial that when a patient presents with any one or a combination of these symptoms, that the doctor include a stroke in the differential diagnosis.

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 Posted on July 16, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

Recent reports have alleged that hundreds of unsuspecting patients who underwent spinal fusion surgery at Baltimore Washington Medical Center between 2007 and 2013 may have been implanted with defective spinal hardware, including spinal screws and other hardware. In particular, these reports suggest that patients of Dr. Randy Davis, a surgeon who operates at Baltimore Washington Medical Center, may have received and implanted spinal hardware manufactured by Spinal Solutions, Inc. that was not FDA approved, and therefore, potentially unsafe for patients. If you or a loved one were implanted with defective spinal hardware, and this was known by the doctors and/or hospital that utilized this equipment, you may have a medical malpractice against those persons or entities. The implantation of defective spinal hardware is well known to potentially result in additional harm to a person’s body, the need for subsequent removal and revision surgeries or other significant complications. At STSW, our lawyers have decades of experience in handling similar types of medical negligence or product liability types of cases involving defective medical/surgical equipment. Accordingly, if you or a loved one have had spinal fusion surgery at Baltimore Washington Medical Center between the years 2007 and 2013, you are urged to contact our office for a no cost consultation at 410-385-2225.

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 Posted on July 13, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

When you or a loved one have been injured or has died as a result of suspected medical negligence / medical error in Maryland, our lawyers know that it is difficult to know what do, who to call and what your next steps should be in order to determine if you have a medical malpractice case that is worthwhile pursing. Here is what you can expect from our firm and our lawyers when you make that initial phone call to us.

Upon answering your call, our receptionist will transfer your call to one of our experienced medical malpractice attorneys. During the call, our attorneys will take down your general biographical information and then ask you to explain as many of the details of your potential malpractice case. Our attorneys will do their best to construct an accurate timeline of events from the information that you are able to provide to us. In some instances, based upon the information that you provide, our attorneys will be able to tell you that your case is unlikely to be able to be successfully pursued. In other instances, our attorneys may ask you to provide us with additional information in order for us to determine whether it may be a viable case.

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 Posted on July 10, 2015 in Obstetrician Malpractice

Shoulder dystocia occurs when, during childbirth, the baby’s shoulders get stuck on the mother’s pelvis bones after delivery of the head. This complication is considered an obstetric emergency and, if it is not dealt with quickly, serious injury can occur to both the pregnant woman and the baby. Indeed, if during shoulder dystocia the umbilical cord is compressed for even a short time, the baby can die. Significant risk factors for shoulder dystocia include gestational diabetes, excessive weight gain and post-term pregnancies.

One method of resolving an episode of shoulder dystocia is by applying gentle traction in an attempt to free the shoulder from the pelvic bone. However, it is crucial that the obstetrician not apply excessive traction. Doing so can cause a severe and permanent injury to the baby’s brachial plexus, which is a group of major nerves that run from the spine into the arm that control movement and sensation to the arm. If too much traction is used, the injury to the brachial plexus can cause devastating Erb’s Palsy which is essentially paralysis and lack of sensation of the arm due to a tearing of the brachial plexus.

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 Posted on July 06, 2015 in Infection Malpractice

A recent article in Maryland’s legal newspaper, The Daily Record, titled “Md. hospitals take aim at costly, deadly sepsis,” correctly points out that hospitals must have the proper procedures in place to both detect and treat sepsis quickly. The article can be found here.

Sepsis is a complication of an infection and occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body that can damage organs, causing devastating organ failure. If sepsis progresses to septic shock, the patient’s blood pressure will drop dramatically, often resulting in the patient’s death. In a patient suffering from sepsis, every second counts as a delay of as little as an hour “could mean the difference between life and death.”

Some of the classic symptoms of early onset of sepsis include fever, elevated heart rate, elevated respiratory rate, rash, vomiting, diarrhea and confusion. Doctors encountering patients with these types of symptoms should immediately recognize sepsis and begin treating with antibiotics and intravenous fluids until a blood test either confirms or rules out the presence and progression of sepsis. In medical malpractice cases involving the failure to timely diagnose and treat the onset of sepsis, the defense often argues that the delay was not unreasonable. Proving that the delay caused unnecessary injury to the patient can be very complicated. Therefore, medical malpractice cases involving sepsis and septic shock should be assessed by an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

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 Posted on July 02, 2015 in Surgery Malpractice

Severe back or pain is one of the more debilitating conditions facing many Americans today. Lower back pain, which starts below the ribcage, is called lumbar back pain. Mid-back pain, centrally located, is called thoracic back pain. Neck pain is often referred to as cervical pain. Sometimes this pain comes on suddenly (acutely) following an injury from an athletic activity or fall. In other cases, the pain comes on slowly and lasts for months and months, if not years. In many of these instances, the pain is caused either by degeneration of the spinal cord discs. Spinal cord discs are gel-like spacers that occupy the spaces between the spinal cord vertebrae. These discs are prone to wear and tear from injuries or from mere aging. As these discs weaken, the discs can bulge out of the normal disc space, or even rupture, which in turn, puts pressure on the spinal nerve roots that run through the back region. Discs that extend slightly outside that normal disc space are often called “bulging” or “herniated” discs. Intense pain often results when these herniated/bulging discs put pressure on the surrounding nerve roots. In many instances, the pain can radiate into a person’s buttocks or down into their legs. In severe cases, the herniation can result in loss of bowel or bladder control, leg weakness or even paralysis.

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 Posted on June 24, 2015 in Surgery Malpractice

Some of the most obvious medical mistakes are those in which the doctor operates on the wrong part of the patient’s body. This type of negligence can occur in a variety of situations. The doctor may be careless in his or her reading of the medical chart or the doctor may fail to accurately identify the correct anatomy prior to operating on a structure.

For example, we recently handled a case in which a young woman presented for removal of an ovary that was stricken with an ovarian cyst. During the surgery, the surgeon negligently removed the wrong ovary, which had been healthy. As a result of this careless mistake, a woman with many child-bearing years remaining could be unable to have any more children. She will require an additional, otherwise unnecessary surgery and if the cyst cannot be removed without removing the ovary, removal of the entire ovary will cause her to become permanently infertile and require hormone therapy for life.

These types of medical mistakes can have devastating effects on the patient’s health and, as in the situation described above, can seriously change the plans that a patient has for his or her own life. Notwithstanding how clear these mistakes may appear to be, a competent defense lawyer is often able to create issues that can call in to question whether the doctor was at fault. Therefore, even clear cases of medical malpractice such as these should be reviewed and pursued only by experienced medical malpractice lawyers.

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 Posted on June 19, 2015 in Medication Malpractice

Physicians have known for decades that persons with decreased renal (kidney) function or kidney failure have a reduced ability to process and metabolize certain drugs such as opiate pain medications. If due to decreased kidney function, the body is unable to metabolize and pass these drugs, the patient can overdose and die. These risks are increased in patients who, in addition to suffering from diminished kidney function, also suffer from liver dysfunction.

When a patient with decreased kidney function or kidney failure presents to a hospital in pain, that pain should be treated as conservatively as possible. Moreover, if the doctor decides that opiate pain medication is appropriate, that doctor must carefully monitor the patient for signs of drug toxicity, including confusion, disorientation, hallucinations and a deterioration of vital signs.

Our firm has evaluated and successfully pursued multiple medical malpractice cases involving the negligent administration of prescription pain medications to patients with decreased ability to metabolize them due to kidney dysfunction. Due to their complexity, it is important that such cases be evaluated by a skilled and qualified medical malpractice attorney.

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