Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

The medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the family of a young woman who suffered brain damage while receiving out-patient hospital care was almost over as soon as it began.

Defense attorneys in the case of Milliun v. New Milford Hosp. had argued – successfully at first – that the plaintiffs had failed to produce the kind of expert witness testimony and evidence that would have adequately proven a causal link between the hospital’s treatment and the patient’s death. The trial court rendered a summary judgment in favor of the defendant, finding that the plaintiff failed to offer the requisite expert testimony that would be required. The appellate court, however reversed on the grounds that the trial court failed to admit certain medical records from treating doctors as evidence from experts of opinion on causation. The Connecticut State Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s ruling.

Similar to the underlying principal in the Miliun case,Lauderhill medical malpractice attorneys know that, perFlorida Statute 766.102 any person claiming negligence of a health care provider has the burden of proof. The plaintiff has to show that the prevailing professional standard of care for any given health care provider was breached. This means showing that the injury was not within the reasonably foreseeable or necessary results of any given medical procedure. In order to reach that burden of proof, expert medical testimony will be required.
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The use of technology in medicine has enhanced the way that patients are treated and in many cases, improved results. A new technique using robotic surgery has raised hopes for medical professionals and patients to perform otherwise invasive surgeries with only one incision through the belly button. The robotic technology has been used to perform a range of surgeries including hysterectomies and gall bladder removals.

While any scientific advancement in medicine raises hopes for doctors and patients, the risks are often unknown until it is too late. In this case thousands of patients are suffering because of damage caused by robotic surgery. Our Fort Lauderdale medical injury attorneys are experienced with complex claims, including cases involving negligent doctors and hospitals. We are dedicated to protecting Florida’s patients and in preventing future injuries caused by dangerous medical devices or malpractice.

The surgery is performed by robotic device while a doctor stands on the sidelines at a console which allows for the virtual performance of the surgery. What was once considered a “breakthrough” in robotic surgery is now being scrutinized for the number of injuries caused to patients. Over the last few years, the surgery has been promoted and marketed, even as a number of patients suffered injuries and complications between 2008 and 2011.
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One of the primary known factors of hospital related injury involves germs and bacteria. Healthy individuals have been known to enter the hospital only to be kept days, weeks or months to treat an infection they caught while under hospital care. Despite the known risks of infection in hospitals, a new study suggests that hospitals struggle to get staff to wash hands.

Studies have shown that without support and pressure from management, hospital workers may wash their hands less than 30 percent of the time, even when interacting with multiple patients.

At a hospital in Long Island, New York staff workers are tracked by motion sensors and video cameras where they are observed to see if doctors and nurses are washing their hands. While the measures can seem extreme, hand-washing remains the most important way to prevent hospital infection. Our Fort Lauderdale injury attorneys are experienced in cases involving hospital negligence and injury, including those involving infection.

Like the systematic efforts made in Long Island hospital, hospitals throughout the nation have made hand-hygiene a priority. According to a recent report published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug resistant superbugs are on the rise and hospital-acquired infections cost nearly $30 billion per year.

In addition to the costs, patients are at extreme risk when exposed to infection. Every year, there are nearly 100,000 patient deaths involving infection. The high-stakes risk of infection has made hospitals willing to take extreme measures to ensure that doctors, nurses and staff are washing their hands to reduce the possibility of infection.

In addition to monitoring workers by surveillance cameras, other hospitals nationwide have hired trained coaches, created incentive programs, and punished workers with “red cards.” Some hospitals have ID chips that note when a doctor passed a sink without washing hands. Other monitors track whether workers are completing the required 15-second wash.

New federal regulations may also create an incentive to prevent infection. According to the new rules, hospitals can lose Medicare money if a patient acquires a preventable infection while under hospital care.

One of the reasons that hand-washing is so problematic may be related to the hospital culture itself. Under extreme pressures, with limited staff and a shortage of time, many workers are forced to cut corners. Doctors, who are the most resistant to hospital authorities, tend to perform the worst when it comes to following hand-washing guidelines.

Other theories suggest that hospital workers are on overload, having to memorize hundreds of complex procedures. When under cognitive pressure, many of these workers forget the simplest steps—like washing their hands.

Research suggests that high-tech hand-washing surveillance can improve results. When workers were not told of the surveillance, they only washed their hands less than 10 percent of the time. With knowledge of the reports on their own behavior (caught on film), the rate of washing rose to 88%.

While there may be some expense to these systems, hospitals could benefit financially by reducing costs of injury and treatment and ensuring that they continue to receive Medicare benefits. Victims of hospital injury, including infection, are also entitled to pursue compensation through a personal injury claim.
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The term “superbugs” sounds like something out of a horror movie, but in fact superbugs are very real. Superbugs are antibiotic resistant infections that are tough to kill. The most famous and well-known superbug is called MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant staph infection. However, there are also other superbugs and they may be in a hospital near you.

Our West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers know that thousands of patients are killed or made ill each year as a result of the presence of hospital infections. Unfortunately, hospitals may not have financial incentive to do anything about this problem. This is why it is so important to take legal action for malpractice if you or a loved one gets an infection because a hospital fails to provide reasonable care.

Superbugs Present a Danger To Patients

The risk of developing an infection in a hospital is a very real one for patients. In fact, a recent USA Today article indicated that one out of every 20 patients who goes to a hospital will develop an infection. Of the patients who develop infections, around 100,000 will die each year.

Hospital Infection.org suggests that these deaths are just the tip of the iceberg, as another 2 million people each year come down with infections that cause sickness but not death.

While there are a wide variety of infections that can develop in a hospital, some of the superbugs causing concerns in recent months include:

• Clostridium difficle (C-diff). This infection caused an estimated 14,000 deaths in hospitals in the United States just last year.
• A “nightmare” bacteria that has been found in more than 200 U.S. hospitals in recent months.

The germs that cause these and other infections may be found all over hospitals. No longer are concerns about infection restricted to dirty surgical instruments and unsanitary operating rooms. A contaminated television remote or a dirty bed rail can spread germs.

Are Hospitals Doing Enough?

With thousands dying and millions injured each year, the danger of developing an infection in a hospital could realistically be called a serious public health concern. Yet, the question is: what are hospitals doing to fix the problem?

USA Today reports health facilities are experimenting with some new technologies. Germ resistant copper bedrails and special machines that emit UV light, for example, are just a few of the technologies that hospitals are reportedly embracing in their “germ fighting” efforts.

Yet, embracing new technologies is not nearly enough and hospitals need to act swiftly and decisively to set and adopt policies that could cut the number of infections dramatically. Unfortunately, hospitals aren’t really doing this and there is a good reason why: the status quo is quite profitable.

Hospitals make an estimated $15,275 when a patient is infected and needs treatment. With millions of infections, this means around $30.5 billion in hospital profits each year result from infections.

Unless medical malpractice claims make it really costly for hospitals to allow infections to develop on their watch, hospitals have strong financial incentive to not really do quite as much as they should to make the environment safer for patients.
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For 67-year-old Palm Beach County Judge Nelson Bailey, a trip to the hospital nearly cost him his life. After undergoing abdominal surgery to address his diverticulitis, the Judge’s condition continued to worsen. For five months he suffered, returning to his primary care physician with complaints of abdominal pain and undergoing repeated CT scans, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Finally, the source of his ongoing pain was identified. A gauzy surgical sponge, approximately a square foot in size had been left behind, inside him, festering near his intestines. His body struggled to protect him by building a barrier around the sponge. Unfortunately for the Judge, this process caused part of his intestines to rot and a section needed to be removed

On average, physicians paid out $315,373 in Florida medical malpractice payments in 2003, WrongDiagnosis.com reports. From 1990-2003, 13,498 medical malpractice payment reports were made against Florida physicians and another 353 were made against Florida nurses.

Breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, heart attacks and appendicitis are the leading diseases garnering monetary malpractice awards nationwide. Malpractice allegations generally arise when diagnosis is delayed and treatment options are narrower in scope, more aggressive and less successful.

Meanwhile for the Judge, who has settled with the hospital and is now pursuing lawsuits against two radiologists and his surgeon, this experience has turned him into an advocate. He told the Palm Beach Post he’d like to see two things change about hospital care and malpractice. First, he believes all hospitals should have equipment that detects surgical gear left behind. Second, medical malpractice caps on the amount of damages a patient can seek should be lifted.

While the medical industry continue to scream about the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits, national studies continue to show that the cost of such suits represent no more than 10 percent of the cost of health care in America — or about the size of one annual increase in premiums. If doctors want to control the cost of medical malpractice, they need to do a better job of preventing negligence in the treatment of patients.
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