Medical Malpractice

• Justin Lapham Recovering From Being Struck by Car After Game

  Ryan Nute | December 20, 2006 12:07 PM | 0 CommentsOlympia, WA

  12-year old Justin Lapham was struck by a car outside of Qwest Field in Seattle last Thursday. Fortunately, he appears to be on the mend.Justin was struck by a car going 35 mph. He landed on the windshield and hit his head on the road. Luckily the driver who hit Justin stopped and a police report is expected.While at Harborview Justin had the chance to share a room with San Francisco 49er's...

• Physician Accused of Operating Needlessly

  Michael Myers | December 20, 2006 12:07 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A Seattle physician's medical license has been suspended over allegations that he performed spinal surgeries on three patients who didn't need them, permanently injuring them.Dr. Solomon Kamson is an anesthesiologist who practices at the Spine Institute Northwest in Bothell. Did not inform the patients that he "did not have the same training, experience and knowledge as a surgeon," nor did he...

• Paxil Suicide Risk

  Ken Margolin | December 20, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Earlier this year, GlaxoSmithKline, agreed to add a new warning to its anti-depressant drug, Paxil, and its controlled release version, Paxil Cr. The generic name for Paxil is paroxetine. The warnings will focus on young adults ages 18 - 30, and reads:"In some children and teens, antidepressants increase suicidal thoughts or actions. Young adults, especially those with depression, may be at...

• Fibromyalgia Is Real

  Bob Carroll | December 20, 2006 6:41 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  The pain of fibromyalgia is real, and doctors need to take patients' complaints seriously, concludes a review paper by University of Michigan Health System doctors.Evidence Shows Fibromyalgia Pain Is Real: Experts"It is time for us to move past the rhetoric about whether these conditions are real, and take these patients seriously as we endeavor to learn more about the causes and most effective...

• Medical Group Hires Firm to Review Medical Malpractice Rates

  Christina Cole | December 19, 2006 10:29 PM | 0 CommentsChico, CA

  The Florida Medical Association has hired a firm to review medical malpractice insurance rates that a state consumer advocate has accused as being too expensive.The South Carolina firm, Bartlett Actuarial Group, was asked to review the finding of the consumer advocate, according to the Medical Association. "We are obviously worried about the rates," said Lisette Mariner, spokeswoman for the...

• Doctor Must Pay $5M to Patient

  Christina Cole | December 19, 2006 8:59 PM | 0 CommentsTucson, AZ

  An Albany woman has been awarded $5M in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The lawsuit involved Albany gynecologist, William Sewell over a surgical procedure performed back in 1998.Thursday, a Dougherty County State Court returned a verdict in her favor. The Doctor's layers are appealing the hefty verdict. Benita Davis Parker, 27, went to her gynecologist Dr. William Sewell, for a tubal ligation six...

• Rituxan Deaths

  Ken Margolin | December 19, 2006 12:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Biogen Idec, Inc., the manufacturer of the drug, Rituxan, just issued to an alert to doctors, warning that two patients taking Rituxan died of the fatal brain disease, "progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy" (PML). Both patients who died were being treated experimentally with the drug, for lupus. While Rituxan is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, only for treatment of rheumatoid...

• Gottesman's Daughters Filing a Medical Malpractice Suit

  Christina Cole | December 19, 2006 2:01 AM | 0 CommentsSpringfield, MO

  The daughters of the late fire chaplain, Rabbi Aaron Gottesman, are filing a medical malpractice suit against Sharp Memorial Hospital and the doctors who treated him the days before his death in April 2005.Judith and Ziva gottesman, the rabbi's only children, claim the hospital and primary doctor, the doctor's partner and the emergency room doctor at Sharp Memorial were negligent in the caring...

• Increasing Concern Over Sealed Files

  Ryan Nute | December 18, 2006 9:33 AM | 0 CommentsTacoma, WA

  As you may know, the Seattle Times has been investigating a number of instances where it claims judges improperly sealed files in a number of medical malpractice and other court cases.There is often tension between litigants' desire to keep court records out of the public eye and the fact that our court system is the "third branch" of government whose records are public. Plaintiffs often face...

• Medication Errors Due to Dangerous Abbreviations

  Ken Margolin | December 18, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The pharmaceutical industry and medical profession have known for years that the misinterpretation of medical abbreviations can cause injury or death. Fixing the problem is much more difficult than identifying it. Medications are manufactured by any of numerous pharmaceutical companies, and are dispensed by tens or hundreds of thousands of health care professionals. Names of completely different...