Surgical errors may result from the decision to perform unnecessary surgery. A recent study performed by the Mayo Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery reports that thyroidectomy -- surgical removal of the thyroid gland -- is often performed unnecessarily. According to the Mayo Center, surgical removal of the thyroid has more than tripled in the [...]
Medical errors arising out of missed test reports are surprisingly common at VA facilities, according to a new report published in JAMA Internal Medicine. As a medical malpractice attorney, I am always interested in public perceptions about healthcare. One popular opinion is that the care provided at VA medical centers is often poor quality. My experience tells [...]
Medical errors frequently arise out of use of anticoagulants such as Heparin, Warfarin and Coumadin. These errors cause harm when the level of anticoagulation is either too high, leading to bleeding complications, or too low, leading to clotting problems. Either type of complication can have catastrophic consequences, such as hemorrhagic stroke, thromboembolic stroke, pulmonary embolism, HIT [...]
The root cause of most cases of nursing negligence is, in reality, hospital negligence in failing to properly staff its units with an adequate number of experienced registered nurses. A new culprit is the electronic medical record, which is prone to medication errors and creating fields of useless, unreliable and inaccurate data in a patient's hospital chart. Following is a [...]
The main role of emergency medicine specialists is to decide whether to admit a patient to the hospital for treatment, observation or further investigation. However, a critical function of the ER doctor is to interpret early test results to decide whether the patient's condition is life-threatening or not. In this regard, ER physicians must be able to [...]
For patients injured by medical negligence, there is often a burning sense of betrayal by the doctor with whom they entrusted their health and well-being. This sense of betrayal is stoked when a physician who has caused harm skulks off into the shadows without acknowledging that mistakes were made or that unnecessary harm was caused. Betrayal and suspicion lead many [...]
We can handle cases occurring in other States in the circumstances described below. If we cannot represent you, we still may be able to help. We belong to a national network of medical malpractice attorneys who share information and resources with one another. We would be pleased to refer you to a capable attorney who practices in your [...]
Strokes or cardiovascular accidents (CVAs) often give rise to medical negligence cases. There are a number of factors behind this basic fact: (1) Prophylactic measures are available to prevent many CVAs. For instance, patients with atrial fibrillation may benefit from preventative anticoagulation, depending upon their age, blood pressure, past medical history and related factors. (2) Time is of [...]
Emergency medicine is a subspecialty of medicine that deals with the urgent evaluation and disposition of all types of medical emergencies. Though ER doctors face the whole breadth of medical scenarios, they are trained to make quick decisions and get specialists involved when warning signs warrant. I had the pleasure of speaking with a brilliant Harvard-educated [...]
Many medical errors would be avoided with some simple changes in habit by healthcare workers, according to a 2013 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsored an initiative to add recommendations for improving healthcare to their 2001 publication "Making Health Care Safer." These new recommendations are meant to prevent surgical [...]