When the expectant mother arrived at the hospital in August 2008, the baby appeared to be exhibiting complications leading to fetal oxygen deprivation. But the delivery was delayed for a time. During the trial, experts said that if the baby had been delivered promptly, the birth injury could have been avoided.
]]> The delay was determined to be caused by the obstetrician's initial belief that the baby was already dead. The obstetrician could not get a heartbeat on the outdated ultrasound equipment, and there was not a trained staff member there to perform the ultrasound procedure. A second ultrasound performed by a technician detected a fetal heartbeat, however, and the doctors rushed to deliver the baby through an emergency cesarean section.The attorney for the mother argued that an 81-minute delay in the birth resulted in the child's cerebral palsy. The delay could have been precluded through a proper diagnosis with a trained staff member and an up-to-date ultrasound machine, he said. He also emphasized the shocking fact that the delay was due to the obstetrician believing the baby was dead.
The damage awarded by the jury includes funds for the mother's emotional distress, her child's future medical treatment and the suffering and harm endured by the baby. Hospitals are required to provide treatment in line with the applicable standard of care. When they fail to do so and injury results, victims may be able to seek compensation for their injuries.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, "Phila. jury awards $78.5M in medical malpractice case," Chris Mondics, May 6, 2012.
]]>According to complaints registered by various residents, one man repeatedly entered fellow residents' rooms and touched them inappropriately. The nursing home's administrator did not do enough to address those complaints and prevent future assaults, said the state's Board of Nursing Home Administrators. The board has charged that administrator with negligence and professional incompetence for his inability to control the alleged assailant, who was reportedly an abuser of alcohol.
]]> There were five assaults during four months in 2008. The administrator allegedly did not follow proper protocol for documenting or reporting the incidents to the authorities, health care staff or even the families of the victims. Even after the charges, however, he remains in charge of the facility, of which his own father is the owner. And his father has previously made comments to the media suggesting that he does not know how to deal with complaints of sexual assaults. "I don't know how you can keep it from happening," said the administrator's father.But nursing home facilities, their administrators and their owners do have a responsibility to protect vulnerable residents and provide them with a proper standard of care. This is true whether the abuse comes from a staff member or from another potentially dangerous resident.
Source: Des Moines Register, "Nursing home chief faces sanctions after '08 assaults," Clark Kauffman, May 1, 2012.
]]>The driver was a New York physician who, according to authorities, was not only speeding, and not only texting, but also driving drunk when he struck the defenseless girl. The extreme violence of the impact sent the teenager flying in excess of 150 feet. When she landed, she broke her neck.
]]> That doctor is now on trial in the girl's death and faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and tampering with evidence. All told, those charges could place him in prison for a term of 23 years.Despite hitting a person with his car, the man's defense attorney said that the physician did not suspect something was amiss until he pulled up to his house and saw that his car had sustained some damage. But the doctor avoided going to the police because, in his attorney's words, he "panicked." The man's lawyer attempted to portray the girl's death as a horrible accident, in which the doctor committed no crime.
Some crimes require that a person form a particular intent to do a certain act. But others do not have such a requirement, and arguing that a person did not mean to cause harm is no excuse. By imposing punishment on offenders, the criminal law seeks retributive justice against the guilty and aims to deter further crimes among the broader population. But the civil law has a role to play too. In wrongful death cases, compensation attempts to soften the suffering of victims' families while holding the other party responsible.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Jurors hear of NY teen's death at doctor's trial," April 26, 2012.
]]>Cerebral palsy's root cause lies in damage to the brain that occurs from the time a baby develops as a fetus to the time that the baby turns a couple of years old. While there are many things that can cause that brain damage--such as an infection during fetal development--doctors and other medical professionals can be responsible for a negligent birth injury that leads to cerebral palsy.
]]> At the moment, there is unfortunately no cure for cerebral palsy. But researchers hope that they are drawing closer to a solution that would help cerebral palsy patients regain some of their movement. In a recent study, researchers gave a drug to day-old rabbits afflicted with a condition similar to cerebral palsy. Those rabbits did significantly better than the control group and within a few days had nearly attained the motor functioning of a rabbit without the condition.Researchers designed the drug to affect specific cells in the brain's white matter that become inflamed and destroy other brain cells. Although the drug showed promise in combating the motor effects of cerebral palsy, researchers need to perform additional tests to determine what effect it will have on the disease's developmental symptoms, which are rooted in the brain's gray matter.
The drug is still in its early stages. Researchers have to evaluate any side effects, ascertain whether humans will benefit similarly from the drug and discover whether the improvement seen in the rabbits is lasting or only temporary.
Some cerebral palsy cases may be caused by medical malpractice on the part of doctors, obstetricians and other medical professionals. Parents of negligently injured children have the right to seek compensation, which can be vital to supporting a child with cerebral palsy. One doctor estimated that $1 million in economic costs are averted when a baby avoids cerebral palsy.
Source: FOXNews.com, "Cerebral palsy drug may offer hope for treatment," Rachael Rettner, April 19, 2012.
]]>The study, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reveals that patients flown to a hospital's trauma center have between a 1 and 2 percent better chance of recovering from their injuries than those who arrived in an ambulance. While the difference between the two forms of emergency transit was unclear for many years, the recent study joins a growing collection of data that evince better outcomes for helicopter transported patients.
]]> The study examined patient data from 2007 to 2009 at 900 trauma centers around the nation, noting whether the patient was transported by helicopter or ambulance and whether the patient eventually survived or passed away. Most of the patients in the study had been in car accidents. Since there were a number of other factors that could potentially affect the data, the researchers performed a regression analysis to single out the effect of transportation alone on patient outcomes.Of course, the data do not reveal why patients taken to trauma centers by helicopters are more likely to survive. The researchers hazarded a couple of guesses, however. They supposed that the type of care received on a helicopter may be different than that on an ambulance or the decreased interval between the time of the car crash and the arrival at the hospital could be responsible for the improved survival rate.
Car accident victims taken to trauma centers typically have significant injuries that may cause them to incur substantial medical expenses and make them unable to work for a period of time. The law permits victims to seek compensation for such losses and be made whole.
Source: Reuters, "Trauma patients taken by chopper may fare better," Andrew M. Seaman, April 17, 2012.
]]>But surgical infections still do occur, accounting for approximately 8,000 patient deaths each year. Not every infection is evidence of medical malpractice. But hospitals are often able to hide infection data behind friendly state disclosure laws. A new report on those laws argues that more rigorous legislation will allow patients to make better choices and will force hospitals to provide better services.
]]> Those states that mandate the reporting of surgical infection rates appear to have lower overall infection rates. New York was a bellwether in passing laws during the 1990s that required hospitals to make data on cardiac procedures available to the public. Now patients who undergo a cardiac operation in a New York hospital are more likely to survive than those who had the same procedure in another state.The researchers suggest that there is a causal link between the legislation and the reduced infection rates. Once potential patients can compare hospitals, they will usually choose those that perform the best. To stay in business, the other hospitals will reduce surgical errors and bring their standards up to par, which improves patient outcomes.
But at the present time, the majority of states do not have legislatively mandated reporting standards. And even in those that do, only a relatively small amount of infection data is actually recorded and revealed to the public. Those data are usually released according to surgical procedure. In some cases, this can mean that a hospital's most unappealing figures are withheld from public view. New York is one of just two states that require the disclosure of figures on colon surgery, which is the procedure that puts patients most at risk for infection.
Source: Forbes, "Lack of National Reporting Mandate for Hospital Infections Hurts Consumers," Gergana Koleva, April 5, 2012.
]]>This may have been the cause of a fatal crash last month in Oswego County, near Syracuse. According to accident investigators, a motorcyclist and his passenger were traveling along Route 49 when a truck pulled out into traffic.
]]> The driver of the truck was attempting to make a left hand turn and appears to have cut off the motorcycle, causing it to collide with the truck. Emergency responders were called to the scene, but both the operator of the motorcycle and his passenger tragically lost their lives in the crash. At this time there are no additional details concerning what the driver was doing at the time of the accident, but the investigation is ongoing.This winter has been unusually mild in many parts of the country, including New York. Some motorcyclists have seized the opportunity to take to the roads earlier and enjoy the warmer riding weather. Unfortunately, deadly motorcycle accidents will continue to occur as long as drivers neglect to look for bikers carefully enough.
Motorcycle riders face a greater likelihood of injury than do drivers of cars and trucks. But the legal system provides a remedy. Riders who are injured--and the families of those who are killed--can seek compensation for their losses.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "2 killed in NY when motorcycle crashes into truck," Mar. 19, 2012.
]]>Instead, the baby left the hospital permanently disfigured. Although the child spent just two days in the hospital, she did require an intravenous line. When she improved enough to go home, a nurse went to cut off the intravenous tube, but completely severed the baby's pinky finger. The mother has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and nurse on behalf of her daughter.
]]> Doctors from the hospital attempted to reattach the finger, but could not. While the baby suffered a great deal of pain from the injury, her mother worries about the pain that she may endure later in life when she becomes aware that she was not born with only nine fingers.So far, the hospital has not engaged in discussions to settle the matter, according to the woman's attorney. The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the hospital failed to provide the nurse with proper oversight and that the nurse did not observe standard safety measures. Hospital patients have a right to expect that doctors, nurses and other health care professionals will follow the applicable standard of care. Those injured as the result of hospital negligence have a right to seek compensation for their injuries.
Source: Orlando Sentinel, "Polk mom's lawsuit: Nurse cut off baby's pinky," Ray Reyes, Mar. 27, 2012.
]]>According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of people who become infected by C. difficile went to their doctor recently or live in a nursing home. But since the spread of the bacterium can be curtailed by following proper procedures, an unusual incidence of C. difficile infection at a nursing facility could suggest an occurrence of nursing home neglect.
]]> People generally pick up a C. difficile infection when they have some sort of medical treatment while receiving a course of antibiotics. This may at first seem to be a paradox, because antibiotics are meant to make us healthier. But the antibiotics eliminate both harmful and beneficial bacteria. Without these helpful bacteria, patients stand at a greater risk of catching C. difficile from a medical professional's hands or from unsanitary conditions. In fact, some kind of medical treatment is involved in 94 percent of C. difficile infections.Those aged 65 and older--a significant proportion of nursing home populations--are most at risk of death from C. difficile. But measures, such as hand washing, can be taken to reduce the transmission rate. According to the director of the CDC, "Illness and death linked to this deadly disease do not have to happen."
Victims of nursing home neglect have a right to seek compensation for their injuries.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Life-threatening germ poses threat across medical facilities," Mar. 6, 2012.
]]>A woman was riding in a cab near Central Park when her driver failed to stop at a red light. The cab crashed into another taxi in the intersection, causing the woman to be thrown up against the unyielding plastic divider in the car. She was taken from the scene of the car accident to the hospital, where doctors repaired her broken nose and gave her 50 stitches to mend deep cuts across her nose, cheek and eyelid.
]]> She had shared the taxi with a friend, and he suffered much more extensive injuries. Aside from cuts to his face, he was diagnosed with a brain injury in the accident. He lay in the intensive care unit for three days, receiving treatment for bleeding on the brain.The woman has seen a plastic surgeon to help address the cuts to her face. According to the plastic surgeon, she is getting better, but the cuts will leave some scars that will never completely go away. In addition, the woman still experiences a loss of feeling in her cheek where she made contact with the taxi partition.
People have a right to expect that drivers will observe traffic signals. As this accident demonstrates, failure to do so can lead to severe and permanent injuries. Those who are harmed because another driver has violated traffic laws may be able to receive compensation for their injuries.
Source: New York Daily News, "She didn't use her seat belt in a New York City cab, and she suffered serious injury in crash when her face smashed into partition," Heidi Evans, Mar. 11, 2012.
]]>This week, local families discovered that they were the victims of an extensive medication error at a local pharmacy. Children in the families had been prescribed a medicine for their dental health: a fluoride pill designed to strengthen teeth. What they got instead was surprising.
]]> Pharmacists had been giving the children prescriptions for a potent breast cancer drug. And the prescription error was not caught for two months. One parent complained: "It's something that's very disheartening to see that happen and who knows what else they did wrong." The pharmacy has initiated contact with the families of any child prescribed the fluoride pill to discover whether they have been given the cancer medication by mistake.At this time, none of the children has shown any symptoms of an illness or side effect that could have resulted from being on a breast cancer drug for two months. But other victims of medication errors may not be as fortunate. Some medications can have significant adverse effects on certain people. A particular drug can aggravate a person's pre-existing medical condition or react negatively with other medicines the person is taking. Prescription errors have the potential to cause serious harm, and the victims have a right to seek compensation for their injuries.
Source: ABCNews.com, "CVS Gives Kids Cancer Drugs by Mistake," Mar. 4, 2012.
]]>But in a local medical malpractice case, one man did not receive the correct diagnosis from his doctor. In the fall of 2004, he felt a pain in his chest and had trouble breathing. He prudently went to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. He saw a doctor, who said that the symptoms were merely the result of a virus. The doctor discharged the man without prescribing him any medication.
]]> The man went home, but his condition deteriorated. Thinking that he was going to die, he hastily drew up his will. The next day he was even worse and became unconscious. Paramedics were called to take him to the hospital, but he could not be revived. He had died from a pulmonary embolism, which is an obstruction in the lung's primary artery.During the malpractice trial, the doctor attempted to argue that when he saw the patient, he did not exhibit symptoms of a pulmonary embolism. A jury disagreed, finding that the doctor's treatment constituted negligence. The jury gave the deceased man's estate more than $1 million.
Source: The News of Cumberland County, "Vineland man's estate awarded $1.065 M in malpractice case," Jason Laday, Jan. 31, 2012.
]]>In 2008, the federal government created a ratings system so that people could become better informed about the quality of a particular nursing home. The ratings system uses a five-star grading basis like those used in other industries. States conduct annual inspections of nursing homes to measure how well they are performing. At least 15,700 nursing homes have been graded under the ratings system.
]]> Comparing the data from 2009 and 2011 shows that the overall quality is improving. The number of nursing homes receiving four or five stars went up, while those receiving one or two stars went down. But inspectors still gave a rating of one or two stars to 35 percent of nursing homes in 2011. The awarding of one star is reserved for homes "much below average" relative to others in the state. They are often plagued with problems including unclean conditions, employees who lack licenses and, most importantly, mistreatment.According to the data, 564 homes earned a single star rating for seven consecutive reporting intervals from 2009 to 2011. A large number of those are chain-operated for-profit nursing homes, and some are located in New York.
Programs aimed at improving struggling nursing homes show that by hiring a more steady and dependable staff, nursing homes can reduce the number of falls and injuries suffered by residents.
Source: USA Today, "As nursing home care improves, some problems slow to mend," Paul Monies, Feb. 10, 2012.
]]>But a new road safety epidemic is on the rise: cell phone use while driving. Studies show that drivers using their cell phones are just as unsafe as those who are intoxicated. Yet states have been relatively slow to adapt their laws to this sobering reality. New York prohibits handheld cell phone use while driving, but not every state has outlawed texting while driving.
]]> Estimates place the number of automobile deaths attributable to cell phone use at approximately 2,600 per year. Although not as high as the number of deaths caused by drunk driving car crashes, every one of those deaths might have been avoided if the driver had paid attention to the road instead of using a cell phone.Just a few decades ago, drunk driving killed about 25,000 people each year. The number has been gradually reduced through increased awareness, and perhaps the same can happen with cell phone related deaths. Using cell phones behind the wheel is just one part of the larger problem of distracted driving, which includes eating, searching the radio or changing a CD, personal grooming and a host of other behaviors that siphon a driver's full attention from the road.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Distracted is the new drunk," Jonathan Zimmerman, Feb. 9, 2012.
]]>But anyone who has been to hospitals knows that they are less active on weekends. And the results of a recently released study suggest that this reduced activity may be hazardous to your health and could lead to potential medical malpractice.
]]> The study observed National Health Service hospitals in England from 2009 to 2010, and examined patients who died within 30 days of admission to the hospital. The researchers found that patients admitted on the weekends were more likely to die within 30 days than those admitted during weekdays. Specifically, admission on a Sunday posed the highest risk to patients of dying in the hospital, while Saturday and Monday admissions carried a lesser, though still statistically significant, elevated risk. Admissions on Tuesday through Friday presented the least risk.Although the study was conducted in England, studies of 254 hospitals in the United States demonstrate similar findings. In particular, when controlling for other variables, studies of U.S. hospitals have shown that being admitted on a weekend results in a higher mortality rate among patients with acute kidney injury, acute myocardial infarction, and among babies born to teenage mothers.
There are a few explanations suggested for the increased risk posed by weekend admissions. Testing facilities often do not run at full capacity on weekends, and there are generally fewer staff members in hospitals on weekends.
Source: Medical Daily, "Patients Are 'More Likely to Die' if Hospitalized During Weekends," Christine Hsu, Feb. 3, 2012.
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