Medical Malpractice Matters – “Tort Reform”

Monday, April 19, 2010

During the legal career of an experienced Michigan personal injury lawyer, it is common to represent a number of clients who have sustained severe personal injury as a result of medical malpractice or a doctor’s negligence. Throughout the country, some legislators are trying to push for so-called “tort reform” that puts a cap on the amount that patients can receive from medical malpractice lawsuits.  Michigan has long had “tort reform” which places such caps on recoveries.  However, as many news sources have pointed out, this system leaves no safety net for people. Blogger Andrew Cohen commented, “A system where doctors are rich, patients have no guarantees, and only patients have to make sacrifices is unacceptable.”

The most important people to listen to are the millions of people who have suffered personal injury or died as a result of a doctor’s negligence or medical malpractice accidents. After going through the complex legal system, some of these people victimized by the results of “tort reform” in their particular state.   Such caps should be banned, including  “proposals like ‘caps’ on compensation for families who need funds to survive; one-sided use  of clinical guidelines as a means of removing accountability for providers; and proposalsl to involuntarily  remove cases from the jury system.    Keeping informed, and opposing these arbitrary and unfair limits is important. 

The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell supports the victims and the families of victims of medical malpractice. A negligent doctor can cause lfie changing consequences for patients, including severe personal injury or death. Because medical malpractice can have such extreme outcomes, it is essential to contact a hard-working Michigan personal injury attorney for legal advice and legal representation immediately.  Call us today.

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Medical Malpractice Matters

Friday, February 12, 2010

For a long time, claims have been made that medical malpractice awards drive up health care costs. However, a recent study shows that the idea of big payouts for their mistakes has caused many medical practicioners to reduce the amount of hours that they are working.

According to the Journal of Law and Economics, when medical liability is increased by just ten percent, doctors end up working approximately 1.7 hours less per week on average. Economists Eric Helland and Mark Showalter try to keep these numbers in perspective. “This is roughly equivilent to one in thirty-five phsyicians leaving the workforce entirely, or about 21,800 physicians,” they commented.

The study is comprised of data from insurers about the medical liability risks in each state, divided by medical specialty. Additionally, the study has surveys from medical practicioners regarding their workload and income. The results of the study showed that when the risk of liability changes, doctors will alter their workload accordingly. One would assume that this is done in order to see fewer patients, and ultimately minimize the risk of a medical malpractice accident. However, it could also mean that physicians are reducing their availability in order to be more careful and thourough with their patients.

Some state courts, such as Missouri and Georgia  are challenging existing medical malpractice caps that are in place. For example, these two states limit the amount that can be awarded for pain and suffering to $350,000 regardless of the circumstances of the case. Legal representatives and patients alike are fighting against caps such as these around the nation. The intention of the study is to shed light on the trends surrounding that very debate. However, they highlight the importance of taking each state’s individual characteristics into account. Showalter explained, “If the cost of providing medical care varies by state, why should we have a national, one-size-fits-all approach? The same cap would have very different effects in Kansas than in New York.”

Medical malpractice injuries are particularly devastating because they are caused by those in which whom we place the utmost trust–doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other medical practicioners. An experienced personal injury laywer can help provide answers to the many questions a person injured in a medical malpractice accident will certainly have. Sustaining personal injury as a result of doctors mistakes can be life-changing and have irreverseable consequences. For these injuries, you may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering. To find out your options, seek legal advice from a hard-working and trustworthy personal injury attorney immediately. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell has years of exerience fighting for the rights of injured persons,  and are ready to provide the best legal representation possible for your personal injury claim.

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Personal Injury – Negligence Suits after Hurricane Katrina

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The amount of responsibilities that public service providers, such as hospitals, have during a natural disaster is likely to be increased. A current case could make hospitals across the nation held liable if they experience a power outage during a natural disaster. It will also effect the way that medical communities prepare and respond to emergency situations, including both natural disasters and viral pandemics.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a civil lawsuit has been filed against Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Althea LaCoste, 73, died just a few hours after Hurricane Katrina killed the emergency power at the hospital. At the time of her death, she was at the hospital recovering from pneumonia and required a ventilator to breathe. When the emergency power was cut, so was the ventilator, and LaCoste died shortly afterward.

The personal injury lawyer for LaCoste’s family, Laurence Best, maintains that the hospital owners were negligent because they failed to adequately prepare for a natural disaster of Katrina’s magnitude. According to Best, the hospital “knew or should have known, it had to be prepared for catastrophic flooding.” Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital had a generator on its roof, complete with a fuel tank supplying the building with emergency power. However, the storm caused a fuel pump to become disabled on the ground level–and consequently, the generator on the roof stopped working when the fuel pump flooded.

And, the prosecution has evidence that the hospital simply chose not to act and fix the problem. In 2002, a senior hospital administrator wrote an email to a city official concerning the cost of elevating generators. “The first question is, do we have generators placed to accommodate an emergency flood with fifteen feet of water. The answer to that question is no, while one of our main generators  is on the roof of the East Tower of Methodist Hospital, the other is next to the power plant and would be nonfunctional at about two feet of water around the generator,” Barr explained.

Similar negligence and wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against numerous other New Orleans hospitals. Included in those being sued is Memorial Medical Center, where a total of thirty-four people died in the few days after Hurricane Katrina. Despite that, this particular case will set the tone for the other cases awaiting in federal and state courts. The accused hospitals will be paying very close attention to what the verdict comes to, and how the jury reacts–if only to better prepare themselves for trial.

The consequences of wrongful death accidents are life-changing. An experienced personal injury attorney can help guide the family of the deceased through the complex legal process. Depending on the case, your family may be entitled to collect damages for the wrongful death of your loved one. To ensure that you receive the best representation for your losses possible, contact a hard-working and aggressive personal injury lawyer immediately. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell are ready and waiting to help your family receive the compensation deserved.

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Over Two Decades of Med Mal Information Closed to the Public

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Over twenty years ago, Congress created a database compiled with incompetent and unprofessional medical doctors. The massive database, put together by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes over 460,000 medical malpractice lawsuit records.  The database also includes information on 23,788 deaths, 8,100 major permanent injuries, and 3,896 that resulted in some sort of catastrophic injury. There is a major problem with the data base: much of this medical malpractice database is closed to the public.

The public can only view limited portions of these records, such as the lawsuit’s allegation and the patient’s health. Hospitals, managed care facilities, and state licensing agencies, however, can view the entire record. At the same time, the doctors names stay hidden, preventing the public from looking up information on their physicians. For years, the American Medical Association has argued to keep these medical malpractice records closed to the public, insisting that they are incomplete and provide unreliable information. However state medical boards reference this database on a daily basis to make decisions about individual partitioners.

If this database is reliable enough for the state to use, then why not the public? Medical malpractice accidents often come with life-changing and irreversible consequences. It is the right of the patient to know the background of their doctor prior to seeking medical attention with that physician. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a doctor’s negligence, you will need an experienced and hard-working medical malpractice attorney to represent you. Please contact The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell immediately for legal assistance.

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Rhode Island Hospital Has a History of Botched Surgeries

Friday, October 30, 2009

When seeking medical attention a great deal of trust is placed in the doctor and the surgeon. As patients, we hope that the medical practitioners know exactly what they are doing–it truly is a blind faith. It is disheartening when care providers at  a specific medical center has a history of making grave mistakes during surgeries. Since 2007, this Providence, Rhode Island has had five operating room errors, the last occurring just a few weeks ago.

According to the Associated Press, the health officials from the State Department of Health are  looking into the most recent case, during which a surgeon accidentally operated on the wrong area of the patient’s hand. The operating room error happened late last week, in which the surgery that was meant for a joint on one finger, mistakenly occurred on another.

It was also noted by the Associated Press that the same hospital was fined in 2007 after there were three separate cases of brain surgery operating room errors. In each, the brain surgeon operated on the wrong side of the patient’s head. In two of the most recent instances, the patient was a senior citizen, who ultimately suffered severe injuries as a result of the mistake.

An eighty-six year old man was brought to the hospital three days after a fall, and it was determined that he was internally bleeding between his brain and his skull. The attending neurosurgeon never checked the CT scans to see which side of the patients head to work on. Instead, he began operating based upon his recollection of the case. After realizing his mistake, the neurosurgeon switched  sides, but to no avail. The man died shortly afterward, resulting in the removal of the neurosurgeon’s license and hospital privileges.

It is disappointing to see that a place of medical expertise and practice, such accidents are so reoccurring. Emergency and operating errors are serious, and can have fatal and life-changing consequences. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell have years of experience fighting for those who have been severely injured in emergency and operating room errors. Should this apply to you or a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Fatal Fall in Operating Room Results in Wrongful Death Suit

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Following  hip surgery at Boston Medical Center, patient Catherine O’Donnell died when she fell from the operating table. The family sued the hospital for wrongful death, and was all set to go to trial. However, a settlement of $900,000 was reached and halted the proceedings. This also rescued Boston University’s teaching hospital an embarrassing trip to a superior court. Although the Boston Medical Center refused to comment, the counsel for the plaintiff’s maintain that this victory will promote further change in health care policy and protocol.

O’Donnell was eighty-six years-old when she died on October 13th, 2007. As she was being transferred from the operating room to her hospital bed following hip surgery, she fell off the table causing massive head injuries–including fracture of the skull and severe internal bleeding.

O’Donnell was lying on a surgical table designed for hip surgeries, according to court documents. This special table is designed to have boots at one end that secure a patients feet, while the other side has an opening that allows doctors to take X-rays. Nurse Harvinder Miller removed the belt on the table in order to prepare O’Donnell to move to the next table. However, as she walked around to the other side of the table, she witnessed the patient slip off the table. The nurse held her ground that there was nothing she could have done to prevent the fall.

However, the state Department of Public Health investigated this case in fall, 2007 and disagreed with the medical practitioner. It was determined that the fall led to O’Donnell’s death, and that there were errors in the procedure. The Boston Medical Center’s own investigations show that the operating staff was busy and/or preoccupied during the procedure. Additionally, the removal of the safety belt securing the patient was not verbally communicated, and therefore not recognized.

Dr. Carlos Guzman, an anesthesiology resident, Dr. John Pryor, an orthopedic resident, along with Nurse Miller and Nurse Ingrid Rush were all named as defendants in this wrongful death suit. The family insists that the medical staff present were negligent in keeping a close eye on O’Donnell, and they delivered below average care. Additionally, the hospital did not inform the family of the severe head injury until after they reported to the success of the hip surgery. In that way, the family of the deceased also felt that the Boston Medical Center was insensitive to their loss and grieving.

Wrongful death accidents are devastating, especially if they result from a simple accident that was preventable. It is even more disheartening when those we trust to take the utmost care of our loved ones are the ones who prove to be negligent. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell have years of experience handling wrongful death suits and are here to help you. Should such a situation have occurred to you and your family, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Deceased Farm-Worker’s Family Receives $3.7M in Med Mal Verdict

Monday, October 12, 2009

When injured or ill, we seek the help of doctors to help us regain our health. Mistakes, however can and do happen. And, it is especially devestating when injury and/or death comes because of the malpractice of a doctor or physician.

Last week, a verdict was released awarding $3.7 million to the family of a farm worker who passed away after being misdiagnosed by health care providers at Bellin Family Medical Center in Bonduel, Wisconsin. Gustavo Espinal-Santos, a Wisconsin farm worker and father of two, sought medical attention from the Belling Family Medical Center in December, 2003. After being evaluated twice by two separate physician assistants, he was diagnosed as having pneumonia. However, his illness was far more serious.

Espinal-Santos had blastomycosis, which is a fungal infection that is contracted through contact with contaminated water and soil. When the original diagnosis did not solve his illness, he was admitted to the St. Vincent Hospital later that same month. There, diagnostic tests and evaluations reported that he was in fact much sicker than originally thought. Unfortunately, this diagnosis was too late to save Espinal-Santos, and he died on January 1st, 2004.

The trial was long and hard fought between the two parties. It lasted four days, and took eight hours of deliberation before a verdict was finally reached on October 2nd, 2009. Espinal-Santos’ widow and two young daughters were awareded $3.7 million in damages against the Bellin Family Medical Center. Attorney’s for the deceased argued that basic X-ray tests, along with other routine diagnostic evaluations were either not properly performed, if at all. And, this Brown County, Wisconsin jury agreed.

Medical malpractice suits are devastating for all involved. It is especially tragic that those who we trust to properly treat and diagnose ourselves and loved ones can make such fatal mistakes. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell have years of experience fighting for those who have been injured/died in such accidents. If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation. Please do not hesitate to contact us immediately for help.

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In Washington State, Parents Can Collect Damages for Children’s Services

Saturday, September 12, 2009

This week, the Washington state Supreme Court redefined the relationship between dependency and collecting damages. Most specifically, if a disabled parent relies on an adult child for services, those tasks can be taken into account when totaling damages in wrongful death suits. This is exactly the same as if the child had paid for those services, as opposed to doing it themselves. This case has made it clear that parents have the ability to be dependent on their adult children for more than just money.

Josie and Warren Armantrout of Auburn, Washington were awarded $1.3 million, when the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the Court of Appeals in their medical malpractice case against Cascade Orthopedics. The couples 18 year-old daughter Kristen died in 2003 of a pulmonary embolism, shortly after having ankle surgery.

In the wrongful death suit, there was evidence that Joise, both blind and diabetic, relied on her daughter for various tasks she was unable to perform herself. These include: driving, reading, glucose monitoring, injections, and others. Additionally, Kristen contributed $588 monthly in disability checks to the household expenses. The jury found that the parents were “substantially financially dependent” and awarded them $1.5 million.

Cascade Orthopedics insisted that dependancy should hinge on monetary support alone, and the Court of Appeals panel agreed. However, when the case reached the Supreme Court, they sided with the Armantrout’s. According to Justice Barbara A. Madsen, “Parents who received monetary contributions from their adult child to purchase valuable services would qualify as statutory beneficiaries, but parents who received those exact same services from their child would not…. Nothing in the statute indicates the legislature intended such a level of incongruity.”

In cases of dependency, it is important to know where one can collect damages from. This case redefined beneficiary relationship, giving the parents the ability to collect damages in wrongful death suits such as these. If you or a loved one have endured a wrongful death in your family, you may be entitled to damages. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell has years experience fighting for the results you deserve. Please do not hesitate to contact us immediately.

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Father Intends to Change Deceased Daughter’s Cause of Death to Homicide

Friday, September 4, 2009

Don Ayer’s daughter, thirty-eight year-old Julie Rubenzer died during a breast augmentation surgery accident in September of 2003. She stopped breathing during the surgery, and after three agonizing months, she passed away at a Wisconsin nursing home. During the procedure, Rubenzer was administered excessive amounts of propofol. This is the same anesthesia drug that is involved in the Michael Jackson death case. Ayer cites the Jackson case as grounds for changing his daughter’s death from accident to homicide due to medical malpractice.

The Waukesha County medical examiner’s office concluded upon examination that Rubenzer died due to a lack of oxygen because of a fluke complication during surgery. Furthermore, they listed her death as accidental.  However, medical records show that Julie received an extreme amount of propofol, demerol, valium, and versed during her surgery. Demerol is a pain management medication, while the others are sedatives. All three of the drugs have the ability to decrease respiration, as seen in this case. According to a administrative law judge, the attending surgeon, Kurt Dangl, lost his license as a result of the incident.

It is for those reasons that Ayer is fighting for his daughter’s death to be considered a homicide due to medical malpractice. Quoted from a letter he wrote to Medical Examiner Lynda Biedrzcki, he insists, “Julie’s death was a result of reckless and egregious malpractice. Had she been a prominent person, such as Michael Jackson, there would have been a criminal charge, and the cause of death would have been ‘homicide.’” Although Biedrzcki states that she will seriously consider his request, it is unclear whether it will be granted. No criminal charges have been filed at this time against Dangl, or against his cosmetic surgery center in Sarasota, Florida.

Ayer calls for homicide on the basis of medical malpractice. These mistakes by medical practitioners can have appalling results, and should never be ignored by victims and their families. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell has years of experience fighting for those injured in medical malpractice accidents. Should you or a loved one be injured as a result of medical malpractice, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately.

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South Carolina Dental Malpractice Case Reaches $2M Verdict

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Earlier this month, twenty-eight year old South Carolina woman, Elizabeth Smith was awarded $2 million in a dental malpractice case. The defense, the Sexton Dental Clinic had removed all sixteen of the patients upper teeth unnecessarily. 

In May, 2006, Smith sought dental care from the Sexton Dental Clinic for a cracked tooth. According to the court documents, there were three main doctors responsible for the accidental removal of all upper dentia: Dr. Robert W. Scott, Dr. Robert G.Jamison, and Dr. John R. Clark. It was determined that as a result of Smith’s initial cracked tooth, three teeth would have to be extracted. However, the dentists proceeded  removed the remaining thirteen teeth, without any medical basis. The dentists are further accused of falsifying medical records in order to cover up the mistake. Clearly, the dramatic magnitude of this “mistake” has left Smith permanently disfigured and catastrophically damaged. The plaintiff’s named the Sexton Dental Clinic, the CEO, as well as the three dentists of wrongdoing. 

According to The South Carolina Board of Dentistry, all three of the dentists have their licenses listed as active. While the all deny any wrongdoing in this case, further research has shown that one had previously confessed to negligent care. Dr. Robert G. Jamison admitted to violating the standards of care as determined by the state of South Carolina in the treatment of two patients. He was sentenced to disciplinary and corrective actions and was forced to pay a fine, undergo one year probation, as well as thirty-two hours of remedial education classes concerning removable prosthodontics. 

A Florence County jury found the Sexton Dental Clinic, CEO, and three associated dentists comitted dental malpractice and awarded Elizabeth Smith $2 million in damages. The lawyers representing the Sexton Dental Clinic likely will file an appeal of this decision to a higher court. However, it is unknown whether Dr. Jamison’s stormy past will create this a difficult task for the defense. 

Mistakes made by medical practitioners can have destructive consequences. When one seeks medical attention, it makes the situation even more dismaying when those we are trusting the most are negligent. The Law Offices of Bredell and Bredell are experienced in fighting for the rights of injured people due to medical malpratice mistakes. Should you or a loved one be injured as a result of medical negligence and malpractice, please contact us for help immediately.

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