Medical Malpractice

If Mothers only Knew- Revisited

August 27, 2009

News-Medical.net also reports on the trial confirming the neuro protective effect of magnesium sulfate I earlier discussed in “If Mother Only Knew.”  This report misses the point that many physicians still think the standard of practice still does not require that magnesium sulfate be administered to mothers threatening preterm delivery prior to 32 weeks.   Rouse [...]

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Hospital Conceals Airway Accident Resulting in Brain Damage of Child

August 18, 2009

The mother heard speaking in the above ad was present when a teenage driver recklessly careened down a quiet street striking her young son.  The teen pulled into the nearby driveway of his home not even having realized he had hit and dragged the child.  Miraculously, the child had only suffered severe scrapes and bruises. [...]

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Healthcare: Crisis in Quality-Not Cost

August 4, 2009

I believe the public at large has for decades laboured under the impression that here we enjoy the best medical care available (Untrue. By most measures both Germany and France do better).   Perhaps this is the reason that despite the real problems Americans have faced because of the increasing cost of health care the [...]

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Defensive Medicine is Bad Medicine

July 24, 2009

Ordering tests that are considered medically unnecessary is not defensive medicine but simply thoughtless medicine. I am a lawyer of 35 years experience in representing patients and their families who are victims of medical malpractice. My clients are harmed by thoughtlessness and failed communications and not because an unneeded medical test was not performed. The [...]

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The Electronic Medical Record-Better Medicine?

July 16, 2009

In a previous post I briefly discussed how communication failures in the transmission of test results are common.  Many people think that widespread use of electronic medical records systems throughout all of our health systems will improve medical care. You cannot improve a physician’s standard of practice simply by altering the means by which records [...]

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Malpractice Lawyers Make A Difference On Patient's Safety

May 8, 2009

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, May 2, 2009, Volume 200, Number 5, publishes the results of a study conducted in partnership by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Reproductive Science, Yale University School of Medicine, and Yale-New Haven Hospital. This study was designed to determine whether a comprehensive patient safety strategy to prevent [...]

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The Effect Of Creating And Using A Safety Checklist In Conjunction With The Performance Of Non-Cardiac Surgery

March 5, 2009

In January of 2009 the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston reporting the effect of creating and using a safety checklist in conjunction with the performance of non-cardiac surgery. Eight hospitals in eight cities as [...]

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MGUS (Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance)

June 5, 2008

Each year many die of multiple myeloma. It is a cancer principally affecting bone but capable of metastasizing to the lung and soft tissue. A man or woman in their 40’s or 50’s suddenly suffering a fracture of some spinal element without any precedent trauma that they can recall is certainly a possible victim of [...]

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Failure to Understand Allergy Leads to Woman's Death

May 27, 2008

Communication is essential between health care providers but sometimes communication fails because of the arrogance or carelessness of the persons involved in the needed medical communication. Several years ago, a female client about to enjoy an important anniversary was admitted to a University affiliated hospital for the purpose of having a colostomy wound debrided (cleaned [...]

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Death Due To Anesthesia

May 15, 2008

According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists1 mortality rates for conditions studied were from 0.11% to 1.2%. While these percentages may seem small when one considers the hundreds of thousands of surgical cases performed annually under anesthesia an ominous picture emerges. The average for all patients is 0.38%. This means that out of every [...]

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