For consumers of healthcare services, safety is the top priority. Likewise, one aim of tort law is to create incentives to improve safety. If healthcare providers profit from unsafe practices, they are likely to continue. Tort law imposes a tax on unsafe practices that acts as a disincentive. The Center for Disease Control's recent National and State Healthcare-associated Infections Standardized Infection [...]
Medical errors are all too common for consumers of healthcare services. I previously reported that approximately 1,503,323 people die or are injured annually as a result of medical errors [The $17.1 Billion Problem: The Annual Cost of Measurable Medical Errors, Health Affairs, April 2011, 30:4]. This data is consistent with findings contained in the Institute of Medicine's To [...]
Injury lawyers in Ohio shuddered with disbelief and concern when the Supreme Court of Ohio decided National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Wuerth (2009), 122 Ohio St.3d 594. Prior to the Wuerth decision, injured Ohioans could bring suit against an employer, its employee or both when seeking compensation for injuries caused by the employee while [...]
IVC (inferior vena cava) filters can be implanted to protect patients against pulmonary embolism. Complications from the procedure are rare. However, we have learned of instances where the filters are placed in patients who do not need them or where they are left in patients far longer than they are needed. Under Ohio law, a medical negligence claim can arise out of [...]
The New York Times reported yesterday about a 12 year-old who died from infection after abnormal test results were ignored in a New York City hospital. The boy had a known and treatable infection that progressed over a few days to sepsis and shock. Had the boy's test results been heeded, antibiotics would have undoubtedly saved his life. [...]
Cardiac stents can be life-saving devices when used judiciously. However, evidence is mounting that this lucrative procedure is being overused by physicians, both in Ohio and nationally. When complications arise out of use of an unnecessary stent procedure, and harm results, a potential claim for medical malpractice may exist under Ohio law. The New York [...]
A recent article appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that medication errors are surprisingly common after hospital discharge. The article reports that medication errors were found with about one half of the patients studied. About 20% of the errors were deemed to be "serious," while 2% were actually judged to be "life-threatening." When a medication [...]
I recently published an article entitled "Think Before You Sue" It was published in a local monthly magazine called the Beachwood Buzz, a monthly magazine circulated to all homes and businesses in the eastside suburb where my office is located. In that article I addressed some of the topics and concerns that many people have [...]
One common type of surgical error occurs before the operation is even scheduled. Like the Abraham Maslow saying "if you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail," surgeons are sometimes criticized for over-prescribing surgical fixes to medical problems. Poor patient selection may rise to the level of medical negligence if (a) the patient isn't [...]
Add to the obvious tragedy of medical negligence -- death, injury, disability, lost independence, lost dignity, financial ruin, etc., etc. -- another torment: guilt. Virtually every client that I have had goes through an endless round of "if only I had ...." In truth, this guilt is misplaced. No matter who you are, how smart [...]