Medical Malpractice

• Misdiagnosis Malpractice Lawsuit Settled

  Staff Writer | January 21, 2006 8:52 AM | 0 CommentsColorado Springs, CO

  The Department of the Air Force recently settled a malpractice lawsuit with a woman whose burst appendix was origianly diagnosed as a sexually transmitted disease. Michelle Reed went to the Peterson Air Force Base medical clinic on September 15, 2003 complaining of abdominal pain. It wasn't until six days later that it was determined her appendix was the problem. By the time she had surgery,...

• Doctor Faces Manslaughter Charges in Death of Abortion Patient

  Kyle Bachus | July 22, 2008 5:59 PM | 1 CommentDenver, CO

  In a rare move, a Cape Cod grand jury indicted Dr. Rapin Osathanondh on a charge of manslaughter, following the October 13, 2007 death of 22-year-old patient, Laura Hope Smith. While, as Dan Slater...

• Surgeons Fail to Report When Stuck With Needles

  Jenny Albano | June 29, 2007 11:47 AM | 0 CommentsGrand Junction, CO

  A study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that most surgeons who have accidentally stuck themselves with needles while performing surgery, failed to report their injuries. This is a major problem because this lack of reporting is putting many patients and doctors at risk for blood-borne illnesses, such as AIDS and hepatitis.Most surgeons say the main reason for needle...

• Are You Paying For Your Doctor's Mistakes?

  Linda Snyder | March 05, 2008 3:38 PM | 0 CommentsColorado Springs, CO

  Imagine going to the hospital for a routine hernia operation. Imagine you wake up and find two incisions instead of one as expected because the surgeon operated on the wrong side and had to start over.Imagine getting your insurance statement a few weeks later and find your insurance had been billed for both operations!This is the true story of Kevin Baccam, a 33-year old school district...

• Suits over hernia mesh patch on the rise

  Staff Writer | December 27, 2006 9:33 AM | 0 CommentsColorado Springs, CO

  Earlier this month a law firm out of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, announced that they are filing suit on behalf of their client against Davol, Inc., the manufacturer of Composix Kugel Mesh Patch, which as been used in a number of hernia repair surgeries. The defective medical device has been known to cause serious complications in patients who have undergone hernia surgery in which is was...

• Half of Doctors in U.S. Report Medical Errors

  Linda Snyder | December 07, 2007 3:28 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  Recently, researchers found that only half of all U.S. doctors report medical mistakes or unethical colleagues. Only 46 percent of physicians surveyed stated that they knew of a serious medical error and didn't report it. The U.S. Institute of Medicine surveyed more than 1,600 physicians in 2003 and 2004; only 31 percents had undergone a competency review in the past three years. About 98,000...

• Longer Stays in Hospice Cause Financial Problems

  Linda Snyder | November 27, 2007 11:47 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  Numerous hospice providers nationwide are facing financial problems due to their patients living longer than expected. You would assume this would obviously be a positive development, yet the effects on hospices' aren't.Over the last eight years, the federal government has had to demand that hospices exceeding reimbursement limits repay hundreds of millions of dollars to Medicare.A 2006 report...

• Defibrillator Manufacturer Warned by the FDA

  Staff Writer | August 09, 2006 10:19 PM | 0 CommentsGrand Junction, CO

  Medical device manufacturer Cardiac Science Corp. received a formal warning from the FDA demanding that they correct safety procedures used to manufacture defibrillators. The automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are used in public locations such as government offices, sports stadiums, shopping centers and schools. They are designed to treat heart attacks by restoring healthy heart rhythms....

• Medical Malpractice Crisis Myths(2)

  Darin Schanker | June 20, 2008 4:00 AM | 0 CommentsFort Collins, CO

  The Center for American Progress has a series of short articles on medical malpractice, and it is worth giving a read. As the election shifts into overdrive, you can expect to hear a lot about this...

• New bill to help health care workers

  Staff Writer | February 06, 2007 11:03 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  An interesting article in The Denver Post yesterday addresses administrative problems in hospitals that could be to the detriment of health care workers and patients, possilby leading to medical malpractice.The article tells the story of a hospital cleaning crew supervisor who was fired after repeatedly asking for more staff members to help them do a better job. Nurses and others complained that...