Medical Malpractice

• Wrong Sided Surgery Prevention

  Ben Glass | December 02, 2006 6:59 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Yesterday I wrote about a new report showing that wrong sided surgery is probably undereported in the medical literature. I found an interesting blog by a surgeon about this form of obvious medical malpractice. The key to preventing this form of medical error, he says, is communication. We agreeFor me, there are some fundamental issues that are at the heart of the wrong-side/wrong-site surgery...

• Orange Park Medical Center Sued

  Eddie Farah | December 01, 2006 7:47 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  An Orange Park, Florida family intends on filing a"> lawsuit against the Orange Park Medical Center for a do no resuscitate order.Hector Soto-Velez, age 82, went to the OP Medical Center hospital with complains of ankle pain. On Christmas morning 2005, three days later, he died of acute respiratory failure. Hospital records reflected he heart rate dropped slowly after given pain killer or...

• Judge Orders Doctor Into Court-Faces 110 Lawsuits

  Paul Grieco | December 01, 2006 2:40 PM | 0 CommentsCleveland, OH

  A Charleston West Virginia doctor was ordered to court by a judge and was instructed to bring with him various documents so that plaintiffs attorneys could review the documents with regard to malpractice suits against the doctor. The particular doctor has 110 pending medical malpractice cases against him arising out of care he provided to patients at Putnam General Hospital. The owner of the...

• Drug Coated Stents Prove Risky

  Joe Saunders | December 01, 2006 9:27 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  In a recent medical study released by the Cleveland Clinic, drug coated stents manufactured by such companies as Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson have shown an increased risk for clots. With the older bare metal stents, tissue grows around and reclogs bare metal stents. Drug-eleuting stents prevent this growth but are now believed to increase the risk of blood clots.

• Wrong Patient, Wrong Side, Wrong Procedure

  Ben Glass | December 01, 2006 6:28 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  According to a recent article in the Archives of Surgery, between 1300 and 2700 surgeries take place each year where either the patient, the correct body side or the actual procedure is mis-identified. Not surprisingly, reporting by the medical profession of these events of medical malpractice is almost non-existent, with most reports appearing in general newspapers and magazines.The report in...

• Herniated Disc Symptoms

  Bob Carroll | December 01, 2006 6:03 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  For those of us who have previously experienced a painful herniated disc it is not necessary to outline the symptoms. However, first-timers will benefit from the posting at MedicineNet.com and the links it provides.Health Tip: Symptoms of a Herniated Disc(HealthDay News) -- Stress or injury can cause spinal discs to become herniated, which occurs when these soft cushions between spinal bones...

• Pregnant Woman Warned Against Use Of Paxil

  David Lowe | November 30, 2006 10:09 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Pregnant woman are being urged to avoid taking the antidepressant Paxil because of the risk of birth defects. A committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued the warning based on two separate studies showing that children born to women taking Paxil during their first trimester have experienced nearly twice the incidence of heart defects.In December 2005, the...

• Surgeon Used Dirty Instruments

  Eddie Farah | November 30, 2006 7:46 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  A Navy wife in Jacksonville, Florida is preparing to bring a $5 million damage suit against the Naval Air Station where she recently had surgery for a herniaJennifer Backman claims she received a telephone call from the surgeon who advised her he recently discovered non-sterile instruments were used on her, and advised her to come to the naval hospital for blood tests and antibiotics.The Naval...

• Birth defects related to Paxil during pregnancy

  Rebecca Castell | November 30, 2006 1:30 PM | 0 CommentsCleveland, OH

  A year after Paxil manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline reclassified the drug to indicate a risk of birth defects, a group of obstetricians has declared that pregnant women and those who plan to become pregnant should steer clear of the drug. The antidepressant has been linked to heart defects when taken in the first trimester and other complications when taken later in pregnancy. Use of Paxil and...

• Medical errors are preventable: Tips to keep you safe at the hospital

  Rebecca Castell | November 29, 2006 2:00 PM | 0 CommentsCleveland, OH

  A recent article in the Washington Post points out some scary statistics regarding the rate of human error in health care settings. Human error -- whether it stems from overworked and exhausted medical interns or other causes -- is a leading source of medical errors that kill as many as 98,000 Americans a year, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The problem is particularly acute in...