Medical Malpractice Category Archives

Medical Malpractice Litigation for Pets?

June 23, 2018 | by Moseley Collins

People spend millions of dollars a year on their pets and a major portion of that is vet bills. A study showed over $15 billion was spent on veterinary bills in 2016. Currently, pet owners spend more than $18 billion a year on pet healthcare. Some people feel their pets are a member of the family, just as a child would be. This seems especially true when the person has no children. Additionally, many studies have been done which point to distinct health benefits pet owners receive from the relationships they have with their pets. There have been important advances in veterinary care and services in recent years which may account for an almost 4 percent increase in pet spending from 2015. Pets have become a large part of American culture and the court system is beginning to realize that.

Traditionally, pets have been looked at as property. Recent court decisions have made major changes in that tradition, however. New York, Texas and Maryland courts have make landmark decisions in medical malpractice involving pets and their vets. Divorce court also sees a few pet custody cases. Instead of considering only who bought the pet or took most care of it, judges consider the best needs of the pet, just as they would in a child custody case in family court. There have been more than 25 state judges to manage financial trusts set up in pet’s names. It is clear the laws are changing when it comes to pets.

With so much more emphasis on pet’s owners as parents of a sort, the courts are seeing more cases of pet medical malpractice. For instance, a pet owner may admit their dog to a vet for dental surgery, being spayed or neutered, or a broken bone. It is possible for something to go wrong and the animal lose its life in the process. What if the vet was at fault? If there is proof some form of negligence occurred on the vet’s behalf that caused the dog to die, the owner could possibly receive remuneration for not only the cost of the dog and vet services, but also pain and suffering and other nonfinancial claims.

The Most Common Doctor and Hospital Errors that Result in Medical Malpractice

December 15, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Which common healthcare mistakes are behind the majority of medical malpractice lawsuits?

A medical malpractice case can arise from any situation where a patient is harmed. Be that from a doctor, nurse, specialist, or any situation which does not provide proper healthcare treatment. Great care and caution go into making sure healthcare professionals make no mistakes and thankfully, only a small number of cases occur each year. Within that number of cases that occur each year, a few errors show up more often than all the others. One thing people are often misguided about concerning medical malpractice is that just because a mistake was made, or a patient is unhappy with the outcome of a course of treatment does not imply malpractice has occurred. To be a case of medical malpractice, a healthcare professional must have acted below the standard of care.

The most frequent medical mistakes that lead to malpractice cases are delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, childbirth injuries, medication errors, surgery errors, and anesthesia errors. These types of errors happen over and over in healthcare facilities all over the country. Often, they are preventable. When one of these accidents is caused by a provider’s negligence, they can be sued for medical malpractice.

Medical Malpractice Debate Opens with Proposed House Bill

June 22, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Both sides of the medical malpractice tort reform debate are out in full-force lobbying Congress concerning a House GOP bill which aims to cap pain, suffering and all non-economic damages in a medical malpractice suit. The bill also lays out more limitations in malpractice suits involving care provided or funded by the federal branch of government.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa authored the bill called The Protecting Access Care Act of 2017. It creates a three-year statute of limitations after the damage is done, or one-year after the injured party discovers the damage, whichever occurs first. While it limits non-economic damages to $250,000, it does not preempt caps established by states. There are also limitations on plaintiff attorney contingency fees and other provisions.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi received word from over 80 advocacy groups against the bill referred to H.R.1215, stating it removes the rights of patients who are injured in malpractice cases, elder abuse cases, prescription of dangerous drug negligence, and defective medical devices. They further claim that even if only applied to medical care facilities and staff, studies show its provisions would cause more injury and death due to the wide loosening of care. The letter written by the advocacy groups cited a 2003 Consumer Watchdog study that disputes the idea that California’s malpractice cap is the primary reason behind the premiums for doctors being lowered. They go on to write that trial lawyers lobby for the bill in order to raise their fees.

Root Canal Gone Wrong

July 21, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

For many people, going to the dentist is something to be dreaded. Maybe it’s the worry over a dentist’s drilling or the general dislike of having someone poke around in your mouth, but most people wouldn’t mind putting off a dentist appointment as long as possible. However, dental care is essential to overall health, and you shouldn’t be skipping out on dentist appointments.

Like other doctors, dentists are also subjected to medical malpractice from time to time, and patients should expect the same standard of care from dentists as they would any other doctor or physician. Unfortunately, some dentists do slip up from time to time, as was the case with a root canal operation that went painfully wrong.

Back in March 2011, Supriya Sarin went to see her dentist, Darryl Simms, at the Farmington Family Dentistry for a root canal procedure. This procedure is used on teeth that are decaying or are infected, and with a good dentist, they can be saved. During the root canal procedure, a dentist will go into the tooth were the nerve and any pulp may be hiding. After cleaning this out, he or she will thoroughly clean the tooth and then reseal it to try and prevent the infection from happening again. Most people assume this procedure is very painful, but others report it as no more painful than the average tooth filling.

Medical Care Improves in California Prisons

July 18, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

After years of trying to fix the healthcare system with the Californian prisons, it seems that things may finally be looking up, at least for state prisons. According to reports from “PolitiCal,” a section of the Los Angeles Times, contract prisons, which are known for taking on the overflow of inmates, have not seen the same improvements in the healthcare system just yet. J. Clark Kelso, the federal receiver who was appointed by the courts, has filed his most recent report, and though they show some optimism, it’s clear that there’s a long way to go.

The problems of the prison healthcare system first came to light back in 2006. U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson insisted that prison healthcare reform was greatly needed after it was officially determined that one inmate per week was dying because of medical malpractice. Henderson put together a comprehensive plan that would work towards ending these oversights, pointing out improvements that had occurred over nine years.

Kelso also concluded that improvements had been made. For example, the state had doubled the annual budget for prison health, and the population of prisons has decreased by about 40,000 inmates. His report also showed that the prisons had a solid medical staff on hand, and the processes that led to patients being diagnosed and treated were running smoothly. The prisons had also instated a process that would catch oversights in the prison healthcare system especially when inmates received poor care,

California ER Release Forms

July 15, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

When a patient checks into the ER, most of the time they are sick or in a lot of pain. Their minds might not be as sharp as usual, and they might have other things to worry about than signing release forms. These forms, however, may become the center of a lawsuit that could come to trial in the near future.

A California hospital’s liability is at the center of this release form lawsuit. In August 2008, Dean Whitlow awoke to hear his mother screaming uncontrollably. She claimed to be having the worst headache of her life. She was in such agony and Whitlow decided there was nothing to do but take her to the emergency room. On the way, she vomited in the car, and when they got to the waiting room at Rideout Memorial Hospital, she vomited again.

According to court documents, her pain ranked at a 6 out of 10, but would periodically spike to 10 out of 10. When the hospital staff asked her to sign a “Conditions Admissions” form, but her son insisted that she was so overwhelmed with the pain and nausea and she was crying uncontrollably. There was no way for her to be able to consent to these forms or even read them. Whitlow also stated that no one on the hospital staff ever read the statements to her in order to help her out.

Back Surgery Fraud

July 9, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

Since the widespread use of the internet, it’s become easier and easier for patients to research their own doctors and surgeons. This better prepares them for any major surgeries and encourages trust between doctors and patients. Because medical records and medical malpractice information is a matter of public record, patients now have the power to pick the best surgeons for their health needs/

But what happens when a doctor is moving around the country and uses different aliases? This was the case of Birmingham doctor Aria Sabit, who been accused of performing bad spinal surgeries and sending in fraudulent bills to several healthcare programs. Sabit’s work has crossed state borders many times and stretched from California to Michigan to Alabama. Now the case is in the hands of federal prosecutors, and they’re expecting a guilty verdict to come down.

The case surrounding Sabit stems from the lumbar spinal fusions he performed. During these procedures, he was known to not use the correct medical devices to perform the surgery safely on the spinal columns of his patients. After the surgery was complete, Sabit would allegedly bill the healthcare providers of his patients for many different services – most of which he did not actually perform. His patients believed he had performed the surgery correctly, but the truth eventually came out.

Brain Shunt Complications – What You Need To Know To Protect Yourself

June 1, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

Unfortunately, nothing is perfect in the medical field including medical providers, medications, medical devices and medical treatments. While medical providers and manufacturers of medical devices strive to provide the best services and products to patients, there will be complications and negligence in the medical field.

Brain-Shunt-Complications Brain shunts are commonly used to treat hydrocephalus. When the brain shunt fails or develops complications, it can be terrifying for the patient and his or her family. Our medical malpractice attorneys have extensive experience helping clients determine if the brain shunt complications were due to a preventable and unavoidable malfunction or failure of the brain shunt.

Common Signs that a Brain Shunt is Malfunctioning

Verdict for Defense in St. John’s Health Center Medical Malpractice Trial

May 13, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

The highly publicized medical malpractice case of St. Johns Health Center has finally come to a conclusion. The case involves the elder abuse and general neglect of Ida Waksberg, an 89 year old female patient during a stay in 2009. A 12 man jury, sworn in on August 18, unanimously found no fault in the hospitals care. Many years of languishing in trial finally saw this case to West District Superior Court located in Santa Monica, where it proceeded to conclusion in a two week trial.

In the initial complaint, the patient’s son filed a case citing inadequate healthcare for his ailing mother when she was admitted in 2009 for hypertension and chest pains and seeking $1.5 million in damages. The plaintiff, the patient’s son, explained that his mother was admitted on a fairly routine visit complaining of pain and discomfort due to chest pains and hypertension. She was admitted for one day for observation. She suffered a fall the day before her discharge and was required to stay for additional medical attention. During the stay she developed a urinary tract infection. A short time later she developed a fatal staph infection. The staph infection developed into endocarditis, eventually travelling to her spine and developing into osteomyelitis.

The plaintiff declared the patients injuries to be a result of the attending nurses negligent care. The hospital claimed all care provided the patient was of the utmost in medical care. With help from nursing and infectious disease experts, the hospital was able to prove they were not negligent. Once deliberation commenced, the jury took only a few hours to reach a verdict.

Patients Injured by Chiropractic Adjustments

May 12, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

Neck and back problems can be hard to diagnose. Often, patients visit their doctors repeatedly for years and are never able to pinpoint the exact reason for neck and back pain. Chiropractic care has been used for centuries and generally thought to be safe. This isn’t to say it is without naysayers. There are many respectable detractors who claim this form of therapy is nothing more than voodoo. Others claim chiropractic maneuvers have been scientifically linked to blood clots, stroke and other neurovascular complications.

While the threat of injury is real, so is back pain and it is often unbearable. So much so, many patients take the health risks and seek the help of a chiropractor. Legal professionals agree all patients should be aware of the exact risks and their rights should injury occur at the hands of the chiropractor before making a decision to proceed with care.

Chiropractic manipulations that result in blood clots, stroke or other neurovascular complication or injury may have been caused by the chiropractor’s negligence. The techniques could have been provided incorrectly or without proper safety procedures to prevent injury. Chiropractic doctors are required to adhere to the same strict level of competence as other medical doctors. They are also required to carry medical malpractice insurance.