Posts Tagged ‘ medical malpractice ’

Post-Op News You Don’t Want: Oops! Hospital Errors Still Happening

November 17th, 2010. By LucyC

Stories about hospital screw-ups and medical malpractice suits—you know, mistakes that nearly cost someone his life—are typically good coffee break fodder and undoubtedly the stuff of urban legend. However, I came across this news story today and it was a bit of a wake-up call. According to a report by United Press International, 12 California hospitals were recently fined between $25,000 and $75,000 each “for medical errors that caused, or were likely to cause, injury or death.” Twelve hospitals. 

One of the facilities that screwed up and got caught, according to officials with California’s Department of Public Health, is Southwest Healthcare System in Murrieta, CA. They were fined $25,000 for leaving a surgical instrument—”a metal device roughly 10 inches long and 2 inches wide used to hold tissue during surgery—inside a woman who had a baby in 2008.” I’m going to assume that that means the surgical team left the device inside the woman following her Caesarean section. Nobody noticed until the woman complained of pain. So she underwent exploratory surgery and the instrument was found. Apparently the report that was written about the incident listed one of the possible reasons for the mistake as unfamiliarity between the two doctors who were operating—meaning the docs didn’t know each other. Isn’t that why procedures were developed?

Again, to cite the UPI story, this particular facility has been fined by the state seven times. And, Southwest Healthcare System is not alone in its stunning lack of adherence to procedure: California Pacific Medical Center, Pacific Campus Hospital, San Francisco, was fined $50,000 and $75,000 for negligence involving two different patients; Citrus Valley Medical Center in Covina, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Hospital Error, medical malpractice, Veterans Hospital, veterans medical malpractice
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Veterans: Understanding Veterans Medical Malpractice

October 19th, 2010. By Kristine B

Anyone who has dealt with Veterans Affairs can tell you that the system can be complex and maddening, much like so many other government-operated systems. Dealing with Veterans Affairs medical malpractice can be an exercise in frustration, for many reasons. Today, Pleading Ignorance aims to shed some light on VA medical malpractice.

First, the lawyer stuff: not every attorney will take medical malpractice claims against the VA. Why? Because when you sue the VA you are suing the federal government, and such a lawsuit has its own special rules and regulations. So, if you feel you have a medical malpractice case against the VA, you have to choose an attorney carefully. (Note, when you fill out a claim form here at LawyersAndSettlements.com, the claim form goes to an attorney who specializes in that area of litigation.)

Now, you might think that only incidents that occur at VA medical centers are covered by VA medical malpractice, but that’s not necessarily true. If you were sent by a VA doctor to an off-base provider, you would still be filing a case against the VA because the medical care was provided off-base pursuant to a VA directive. So, if the VA played a role in your medical care—even if it was to send you to an off-base provider—you might still have a VA medical malpractice claim.

To be eligible, the victim—the person who suffered the medical malpractice—must have been registered with the VA system, received treatment from the VA (or had the VA direct them to off-base treatment) and suffered injury or death because of negligence in the system.

It is not only veterans who fall under the VA directive, however. Any of their dependants Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: medical malpractice, Veterans, Veterans Disability
Posted in Veterans | 3 Comments »

Pelvic Exams without Consent: Medical Malpractice Suit?

March 1st, 2010. By janem

Imagine you’re unconscious and several men insert objects into your vagina. Many women would consider this gang rape. At the very least, sexual assault. Guess what, it may have happened to you—without your knowledge!

How would you react if you underwent surgery such as a routine hysterectomy and found out that right after you were anesthetized, a team of medical students performed pelvic exams—without your consent? I believe that is a violation of our basic rights, to say the least. Where’s the respect? 

I know what I’d do: file a medical malpractice suit, pronto.  As a matter of fact, I’m actually scheduled for routine surgery in a few months—at a university hospital—and that rang my alarm bell. I called my gynecologist and spoke with her receptionist. “Under no circumstances do I want a student poking around my private parts,” I said, or probably yelled. She replied that I had to take that up with my gynecologist, who of course is never available for a phone call. 

So does uninformed consent qualify for a medical malpractice suit? Well, not quite, but then again, I haven’t spoken with a medical malpractice attorney…What I did discover online is that “A medical practitioner may also be legally liable if a patient does not give “informed consent” to a medical procedure that results in harm to the patient, even if the procedure is performed properly.” In my opinion, psychological harm fits the bill. 

In Canada, you aren’t even asked for consent, unlike the UK and the US—or so Americans and Brits were led to believe. Some ethical medical students have been asked to perform pelvic exams in Canada (and in British and American hospitals) without the patient’s knowledge, and they have refused. And that’s how the public knows about Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: medical malpractice, Pelvic Exam
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 18 Comments »

What does a Legal Nurse Consultant do? Katie Morales explains…

February 26th, 2010. By Kristine B

This past week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Katie Morales, a legal nurse consultant and nurse. Since it was my first time speaking with a legal nurse consultant (LNC) that I know of, I thought I would share with you what legal nurse consultants do.

How does a Legal Nurse Work with a Lawyer? 

“Legal nurse consultants help attorneys with any case that might be medical-legal, for example, medical malpractice, Katie says. “We help an attorney identify the issues: is there merit in this case, is there an issue with standard of care, are there issues for development? 

Usually, we are contacted by the attorney and our work can be both up front or behind the scenes. Say someone was in the hospital for an appendix problem and died. The family member might say, ‘Something is not right, here.’ An attorney will look for an expert to review the case. So the LNC would review the case and determine if there were deviations from the standard of care. If there are deviations from the standard of care, the LNC will give an affidavit to start the process of a medical malpractice suit. The LCN might then be called on to testify. 

Another case is where a hospital is being sued. The hospital might ask the LCN to come in and determine if there is a deviation from the standard of care. The LCN might say there are no deviations or might say, ‘Yes, there are deviations and this is where they are.'”

What made you decide to become a Legal Nurse Consultant?

“I was always interested in the legal part of nursing, but I didn’t want to be part of the group that was crucifying nurses. Since 1999, nursing has been the most trusted profession, except in 2001 when it was firefighters. I’m proud of this profession and I know we are doing our best. But, if we don’t define the standard of care, it will be defined for us. I don’t want someone dictating it for us. 

Legal nurse consultants know the system and we know where to look for information. For example, when attorneys request documents, they have to ask for exactly what they want. I am able to tell the attorney what documents to ask the hospital for. I know where to look for information and what information to ask for.” 

Katie Morales, RN, C, LNC, BSN, has been a nurse for 25 years and a legal nurse consultant for five years. In addition to being a nurse and legal nurse consultant, she also works for a company giving flu shots, and has helped set up a service, set to launch on International Nurses Day [May 12] that involves community learning and patient simulators. 

Her legal nurse consulting business is called DisceRNment, LLC, and can be found online at discernment.biz.

Tags: DisceRNment, Katie Morales, Legal Nurse, medical malpractice, Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Pleading Ignorance | 8 Comments »

“Oops” Not Welcome Here (your Hospital…your Drug Store…)

November 20th, 2009. By Hunter West

There are some jobs that should be held to a higher standard. Like holding public office, or serving as a priest, or acting as someone’s surgeon. Maybe you’re about to amputate a limb…and the patient assumes you know the correct one to remove. 

Well, as experience has taught us—not always. 

Here’s a couple of examples of ‘oopsies’ that are unforgivable. Imagine if this happened to you… 

Oops #1: Wrong Kerry, Wrong Test

Kerry Higuera was three months into her pregnancy when she started to bleed. Fearing a miscarriage, she headed to her local emergency room. It seemed the prudent thing to do. 

According to CNN she was put in a room that February morning last year in Arizona and was told to wait until a nurse came by to get her. 

Soon enough a nurse poked her head in and said, “Kerry?” Kerry said yes, she was Kerry. Well, off they go to the CT scan room. “Is this really what I need to have done,” asks a reluctant Kerry, assuming that radiating her abdomen containing a three-month-old fetus can’t be healthy. The answer was yes. “This is what the doctor wants…” 

You can imagine Kerry’s panic when, soon after having the CT scan on her abdomen Higuera was visited by the emergency room physician, two radiologists and someone representing the Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: hospital errors, medical errors, medical malpractice, pharmacy errors
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 4 Comments »