A surgeon can be sued for Medical Malpractice if he or she failed to properly communicate care instructions to a patient after the surgery. Recently Web M&M analyzed the case of a woman who needed arthroscopic surgery after she tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee. The…
Articles Posted in medical malpractice
Medical Malpractice Case & Commentary – why 15% of patients undergoing an emergency laparotomy will die in the next 30 days and what can be done to improve this situation?
An elderly woman with an history of pancreatitis was admitted for an emergency laparotomy after she showed symptoms of acute abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The diagnosis was small bowel obstruction. Her heart stopped during anesthesia and she had to be resuscitated and sent to the ICU. She died there…
Mothers who are prescribed antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy are at increased risk of giving birth to a child with difficulties with motor development, language skills, social skills, and autistic traits
Children exposed to anti-seizure medication in the womb have a higher risk of suffering from early developmental issues according to a study led by Dr. Gyri Veiby from Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. The study covered a 9 year time frame and looked at the risk of adverse outcomes…
Medical Malpractice – Increase in personal injury and wrongful death related to Alarm Fatigue have hospitals scrutinizing their alarm safety system
Alarm fatigue happens when medical workers overwhelmed by constant and loud alarm rings turn down the volume on the devices, shut them off or simply ignore them. These actions can lead to serious personal injury or wrongful death. As hospitals invest in more and more sophisticated equipment to save lives,…
Medical Malpractice Prevention – New Diagnostic test may prevent failure to diagnose sepsis
Delay to treat or Failure to diagnose Sepsis may lead to the loss of multiple organs and ultimately to death. Every year 500,000 Americans will be hospitalized because they suffer from severe Sepsis and 250,000 will die from it. Sepsis is a condition that is usually triggered by a bacterial…
Medical Malpractice – Amoxicillin-clavulanate (Augmentin) is the most common cause of Drug Induced Liver Injury (DILI)
Drug-induced liver injury (also called DILI or drug-induced hepatotoxicity) is a significant cause of personal injury and wrongful death in many patient populations. According to a study published in in the June issue of Gastroenterology induced liver injury is caused in 75% of cases by a single prescription, in 16%…
Medical Malpractice – Hospital Negligence: the cost of replacing 6 frequently-touched near patient surfaces in a 20-bed ICU with antimicrobial copper can be recouped in 2 months, based on less infection and shorter stays
Installation of antimicrobial copper surface is a very effective way to fight infections and prevent personal injury due to hospital negligence. A unique study presented by the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) at the International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) in Geneva, investigated the economic benefits of deploying…
Reminder: Stephen Mackauf to co-chair Obstetric Malpractice Forum
Our partner Stephen Mackauf and John E. Hall Jr. from Hall Booth Smith, P.C. will co chair the 12th Annual Advanced Forum of the American Conference Institute on Obstetric Malpractice Claims on June 26th-27 2013 in Philadelphia. For more iinformation see our prior post here.
Medical Malpractice – More complications after minimal invasive procedure to remove kidney stones
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy, or PCNL, is a minimally invasive urological surgery during which a surgeon removes medium to large kidney stones through a small incision in the back using a hollow scope. The use of PCNL is increasing especially among women and complications are on the rise particularly blood infections. Patients…
Wrong patient error; adding patient photo to their X-ray results significantly reduces rate of error
A new study conducted by Dr. Srini Tridandapani, of Emory University and presented at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting found that adding a picture of the patient to every imaging study would decrease wrong patient error by five fold.