Articles Tagged with Medical Malpractice

There is always some potential for something to go wrong in terms of medical care. In some instances the problem that occurs is very minor and sometimes even goes unnoticed. In other circumstances, the issue could have some very serious consequences, especially if the problem is not identified in its early stages.

Oftentimes, even if a patient suspects that there is some kind of problem in terms of their medical care, they may refrain from bringing it up or discussing it with anyone because they wholeheartedly trust the medical professionals working on their case. Telling a doctor that they are making a mistake can be extremely difficult for some individuals, especially those that tend to be quiet. Furthermore, a person who is incapacitated to any degree may not be able to speak up at all.

But in many serious medical negligence cases, there comes a certain breaking point. It’s a point where the consequences of the negligence are seen very clearly, such as severe side effects from taking the wrong medication. In these cases a patient might feel angry or upset and wonder what they can do to remedy the issue.

We hear about a lot of different types of medical malpractice cases but the stories that are often the hardest to hear about are those involving children. As parents, we will often trust medical professionals in terms of their treatment recommendations when our children are facing serious medical problems. We want what is best for our children and hope experienced medical professionals can help our family.

A case involving a toddler has recently reached a settlement of $30 million to be paid to the family. The toddler apparently suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to surgical complications. The child reportedly underwent around 25 experimental surgeries after he was born with a leak in his esophagus in 2009.

The last surgery performed on the child was in 2011 and involved using a suturing device. That device severed the child’s pulmonary artery. The child currently deals with cerebral palsy and an irreversible brain injury. Other surgeries performed involved the use of a stent to fix the leak. The family’s attorney says the doctor who performed the surgeries deviated from the acceptable standard of care and was medically careless.

There is a lot of stigma surrounding medical malpractice lawsuits. Some might think that far too many people file lawsuits against physicians or big entities every year in hopes of securing a big award. Considering they are covered by malpractice insurance, some might think that everyone is reaching for a chance to sue them.

But in many cases, that’s simply not the case. There are many patients in our country that are hurt every year by the negligence of medical professionals but feel too scared to file a lawsuit. They may feel like they don’t have a case, may not want to go through the effort and stress of filing a lawsuit, or they may feel bad for even considering it. While all these emotions are understandable, it’s important to remember the purpose of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A medical malpractice lawsuit aims to secure compensation for individuals who have been hurt by the negligence of others. Some patients end up having to deal with unimaginable medical bills in order to deal with the medical error they experienced. Those same individuals may also end up being out of work for weeks or even months, causing them to lose significant amounts of income. While these individuals still may feel worried about the implications of filing a lawsuit, for many people it is the only viable choice that may help them get back on their feet.

There is some risk associated with undergoing just about any surgery. Whether it’s a lifesaving surgery or a cosmetic one, people in our state make decisions every day to go under the knife. When patients hear that the surgery they need is “minimally invasive,” they may feel a bit more secure in its safety. Unfortunately, even a minimally invasive surgery can have tragic outcomes if medical negligence is involved.

Recently, a jury awarded $3 million to the husband of a woman who passed away in another state. The woman had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst in 2009. Just two days later, she passed away. According to a news report, the woman’s bowel was pierced during the surgery. The medical malpractice claim said the surgeon failed to check the woman’s bowel for cuts, and that he also mishandled the woman’s complaints after the surgery.

According to the physician’s lawyer, the jury felt he did a good job on the surgery but should have told the woman to head to the emergency room “more urgently” after she started belching. The jury held the clinic and the doctor who did the surgery accountable for the incident. Two other defendants were not found to be at fault in this case.

New York City has the largest municipal health care system in the United States. There are 11 public hospitals in New York City, which are run by the City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Because of its sheer size, it’s important for the city and for patients to know these hospitals’ medical malpractice statistics.

Information has recently come out from the New York City Comptroller’s Office that shows the number of medical malpractice lawsuits that were filed against these city-owned hospitals has increased in fiscal year 2015. That year saw 521 lawsuits as opposed to 495 in fiscal year 2013.

Although the news isn’t very positive, the trend is still moving downward since 2015 saw fewer cases than 2013. Not only that, but it’s important to point out that while some of the individual hospitals saw an increase in cases, others saw a decrease for fiscal year 2015.

A very interesting case recently made it to New York’s highest court that brings up a unique issue when it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits.

We have extensively discussed medical malpractice lawsuits on our blog that involve a patient who was injured due to alleged negligence by a medical professional. If that individual was injured, he or she may file a lawsuit. In other cases we also hear about someone dying due to alleged negligence and their family filing a medical malpractice lawsuit on their behalf.

But what happens when the injury happens to a third party? This is exactly the issue that the higher court recently took on.

Up until 1946, veterans who felt they were victims of medical malpractice that occurred at a VA medical center were unable to sue. Thankfully Congress passed the Federal Tort Claims Act that year, which gave veterans the right to seek compensation from the federal government for the injuries they suffered at the hands of federal employees.

Recent information released by The Project on Government Oversight takes a look at the medical malpractice claims filed against VA medical centers across the nation between 1989 and 2008. That information brought some good news for the VA facility in Syracuse.

The statistics show that during that period of time there have been 31 claims filed against the Syracuse VA. Of those claims, 10 involved patient deaths. In total, the VA paid out some $2 million in claims; $1.56 million in cases that went to court and nearly $500,000 for cases that were resolved administratively.

Although a medical malpractice lawsuit win can often lead to compensation for the victims involved, it also serves another purpose. It hopefully motivates the physicians and medical entities to change their safety procedures so the negligence doesn’t happen again.

A recent news article described a few ways that doctors and hospitals in a nearby state are trying to decrease medical errors and therefore medical malpractice claims. One hospital apparently does simulations of high-risk situations such as postpartum hemorrhaging as a way to teach their physicians and staff how to properly communicate during such an event. The training has helped one hospital cut its medical malpractice costs by 26 percent since 2011.

Another way that the hospital has tried to improve its communication during these situations is by creating an office of patient affairs. They realized that it’s important to talk to patients directly about what is happening or what has happened instead of covering things up or acting like nothing happened. The hospital has seen great results from this approach. Clearly communicating during patient handoffs is also another strategy that has been helpful.

Most of the time when someone goes into a New York hospital with a minor issue, it stays a minor issue. The doctors at the hospital are able to treat the ailment and send the patient home with follow up instructions. But once in a while, for one reason or another, a seemingly minor injury can snowball into something that is very debilitating or even disabling.

A recent lawsuit filed in another state concerns just this very scenario. A woman came into the hospital after a cat bit her. She was apparently taking care of her sister-in-law’s cat when the feline got into a fight with a stray cat. The 41-year-old woman got in the middle of it and was bitten on the forearm, hand and thumb.

The woman initially cleaned the wounds but eventually noticed an infection. She went to a local hospital after she noticed abscesses on her wrist. She returned to the hospital several times after that and doctors referred her to a hand surgeon and gave her antibiotics.

We constantly discuss a variety of medical malpractice cases on our blog, but sometimes it’s hard to see the bigger picture. Looking at the issue as a whole can sometimes help the medical field understand where they are lacking and what they can do better in order to not cause injury to their patients.

A recent survey asked some 4,000 physicians about their experience with being sued for malpractice. According to the survey, by the time the respondents were 60 years of age and older, 80 percent of them had been sued at least once.

While there are many reasons that may be brought up in a medical malpractice suit, the physicians who responded indicated three top reasons. Failure to diagnose and a patient suffering abnormal injury both came in at 31 percent. Those two were followed by failure to treat at 12 percent.