Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a medical malpractice case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court. It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco General, California Pacific Medical Center, or St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)

Serri claimed that on April 25 he heard a pop while buttoning his shirt and that over the next two days some swelling and redness developed in his right hand. Serri claimed that he called Stevens’s office on April 28 and advised one of the staff about the swelling and redness. Serri claimed that he received a return call later that day in which he was told that Stevens had indicated that redness and swelling were normal and not to worry about them, and that Serri did not need to be seen.

Serri testified that by May 15 the redness and swelling had disappeared, but returned and became progressively worse each day after using his hand on a job starting May 17. Although he testified that his finger had become extremely swollen and that he was progressively unable to bend it, Serri continued to work until May 25 and did not report these problems to his employer or any doctor. Serri testified that a couple of days before May 25 the finger was in a fully extended position and that he could not bend it at all. Serri testified that he decided to wait until May 25 to report the problem because he had an approved workers’ compensation appointment scheduled on that date for his left hand. On May 25, Stevens evaluated the finger and clinically diagnosed probable rupture of both flexor tendons. Stevens also received a history from Serri indicating that three weeks before the visit Serri had been lifting heavy steel plates at work and that bruising of the finger had developed during this time. Stevens scheduled an urgent MRI for May 26 in anticipation of reconstructive surgery.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the San Jose area, such as Kaiser Permanente, Regional Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, or O’Connor Hospital.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

Defendant hospital #1 had a policy of using NRP-certified nurses to attend deliveries, although it had a contract with defendant hospital #2 to provide physicians to staff the NICU. At the time, there was a pediatrician on the unit, but she was not notified about this delivery until 6:41 p.m. The pediatrician arrived in the OR at 6:45 p.m. and assisted with the resuscitation. At 6:48 p.m., the baby was moved to the Special Care Nursery, where it was noted that the oxygen saturations were very low. At 7:07 p.m., the baby was re-intubated, and his vital signs and oxygen saturations improved. Although the cord blood gas showed a normal pH, a blood gas that was obtained just prior to the re-intubation showed a pH of 6.5 and a pCO2 of 130. The neonatologist arrived in the SCN at 7:15 p.m., and he arranged for the baby to be transferred to the NICU at defendant hospital #2 for brain cooling, with a diagnosis of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. An MRI on July 19, 2008 showed injury to the basal ganglia and hippocampi.

Plaintiff alleged that, since the FMS was normal on admission to the hospital, the baby’s hypoxic injury occurred during the delivery and immediate neonatal period when the ETT was likely misplaced and caused further hypoxia and metabolic acidosis. The mother likely had oligohydramnios and chorioamnionitis, which led to decreased placental function and a depressed infant at birth. Proper resuscitation would have improved the outcome.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

The following blog entry is written to illustrate how a brain injury lawsuit could develop and resolve. Reviewing this summary should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this brain injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

FACTS/CONTENTIONS

According to Plaintiff: Plaintiff, a 33-year-old physical therapist, was living in Sacramento and was an avid snowboarder. She had a season pass for Snowstar (defendant ABC Land Company). On January 9, 2007, she finished snowboarding for the day around 3:00 p.m. She waited on the deck of Snowstar’s Mid-Mountain Lodge for a friend who was still snowboarding. Around 3:00 p.m., she moved inside because she was cold. She noticed heat vents in front of a retail counter. She sat down on the floor in front of the retail counter in a location where the counter worker could not see her.

At some point in the next five to twenty minutes, the counter worker closed a manual overhead security gate so he could do a register count and close for the day. He closed the gate from inside the counter and did not notice plaintiff. The gate struck plaintiff on top of her head. Ski patrol responded and plaintiff declined medical treatment. Her friend came and helped her back to her rental cabin. She drove herself back to San Francisco the next day.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Marison had a fractured jaw, which he claimed did not heal properly. He sought medical attention, which he claimed was denied to him and allowed his condition to worsen.

Facts:

In 2002, plaintiff George Marison was an inmate at ABC State Prison in Sacramento County. Jim Perry was a medical doctor at the prison. Marison alleged that he had a fractured jaw that had not healed properly, but was denied care and treatment.

He sued Kim Ainswork, Devon Darr, Perry and James Klerk, M.D. Summary judgment was granted to all then defendants, but the Ninth Circuit reversed only with respect to Perry.

Marison asserted that Perry was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical need and failed to provide adequate medical care for his transfer. He also purported that Perry failed to execute a “medical hold” to prevent his transfer from ABC to the XYZ prison on June 19, 2002.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a medical malpractice case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court. It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco General, California Pacific Medical Center, or St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Based on Serri’s claimed disability, his vocational rehabilitation and hand experts opined that he would be unable to return to his trade and his only vocational options were as an apartment manager or a service station attendant.

Facts:

On April 7, 2006, plaintiff Simon Serri, 53, a millwright, underwent surgery by orthopedic surgeon Aaron Stevens at San Francisco Hospital to correct flexor tendonitis, or trigger finger, in his right middle finger.

On May 26, an MRI confirmed that the flexor digitorum superficialis and the flexor digitorum profundus had ruptured in his right middle finger approximately 2.4 cm from the metacarpal joint.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the San Jose area, such as Kaiser Permanente, Regional Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, or O’Connor Hospital.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

FACTS/CONTENTIONS

According to Plaintiff: The minor plaintiff’s mother entered defendant hospital #1 on July 14, 2008 for induction of labor at 40 3/7 weeks gestation, after an ultrasound by her obstetrician showed a low level of amniotic fluid. The mother was 38 years old. She had a normal amniocentesis and was seen by a perinatologist during the pregnancy as a precaution, but no problems or complications were noted.

After admission to the Labor & Delivery unit at 11:30 a.m., the fetal monitor strip showed a normal reactive tracing. Cervidil was placed at 1:35 p.m. to soften the cervix. At 3:30 a.m. on July 15, 2008, Pitocin was started. At 7:50 a.m., the obstetrician (“OB”) ruptured the membranes and found no amniotic fluid. The exam at that time showed 1 cm dilation, 50 percent effacement, and – 2 station. Pitocin was increased over the next several hours, and an exam by the OB at 2:00 p.m. showed 6-7 cm dilation, 100 percent effacement, and 0 station. The FMS was still reassuring.

At 3:57 p.m., a vaginal exam by the nurse showed complete dilation at a 1 station. However, the mother’s temperature was now 101.3 degrees. The nurse called the OB at his office and he ordered antibiotics. The OB returned to the hospital at 4:15 p.m. but proceeded with a vaginal delivery of another patient. At 4:40 p.m., the nurse had the mother start pushing. The OB returned to his office to see other patients.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Garson ultimately had an open laparotomy to wash out the infection. He also had to remain in the hospital an additional six weeks. He claimed that he did experience pain and suffering despite being in a comatose state and having no memory of the event.

Facts:

On Aug. 22, 2004, plaintiff Rod Garson, 18, a student, was taken to UC Davis Medical Center while in a coma, following a catastrophic brain injury resulting from a car crash. He was either in a persistent vegatative state or a minimally conscious state and hooked up to a gastrostomy feeding tube.

On Oct. 10, Garson was scheduled to be discharged home, although still comatose. As part of the discharge plans, the gastrostomy tube was replaced, and a new tube was installed. However, the new tube was improperly positioned outside of his stomach. Garson was then fed through the malpositioned tube on five separate occasions over the next 12 hours and the feedings went directly into the abdominal cavity, causing him to become septic.

Garson sued the hospital through the Regents of the University of California, alleging medical malpractice. He claimed that the defendant’s caregivers were negligent in malpositioning the tube; in failing to confirm its proper position before administering feedings; and in feeding him through a wrongly placed tube.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a medical malpractice case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court. It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco General, California Pacific Medical Center, or St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Harris contended that due to the delay in placing the suprapubic catheter, he suffered permanent loss of urinary function.

Facts:

In September 2008, plaintiff Pete Harris, 48, an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison in California, sued the California Department of Corrections and Dr. Casey Larth, the prison health care manager, alleging that Larth had exhibited indifference to his serious medical need over a period from June 2004 to December 2007, in violation of his Eight Amendment rights. Harris also alleged retaliation.

Harris claimed that Larth had deliberately delayed in the diagnosis of a neurogenic bladder dysfunction condition, as well as replacement of an indwelling Foley catheter, emplacement of a suprapubic catheter and allowing Harris to follow up with contract urologists.

Harris further alleged that in retaliation for his civil complaint, Larth ordered prison official to search his cell and strip him of authorized medical supplies. Additionally, Harris claimed Larth denied his request to be taken to an emergency room after a suprapubic tub became dislodged from his abdomen.

Harris also sued Dr. Gary Remmy, an emergency room doctor at SVSP who treated Harris when his suprapubic catheter became dislodged, and nurse Derek Jason, who treated Harris at various times.

The plaintiff’s emergency medicine expert opined that the prison medical staff should have reacted quicker to Harris’s complaints of urinary tract problems and that the delay especially caused complete loss of use of his bladder.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Continue Reading ›