Michigan updates tagged with 'Medical Malpractice'

Surgery can be a very invasive procedure requiring focus and discipline by the surgeon. Of course there are many types of surgeries out there, from a simple mole removal to a more...

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Dr. Robert Stokes was a Grand Rapids dermatologist who had been serving the community for many years until recently. However, his career was halted recently after it was determined he was defrauding the government, as well as insurance companies, out of nearly two million dollars in fraudulent medical services. In addition to health care fraud, Dr. Stokes also reused medical equipment, such as...

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The Lansing State Journal recently reported that Patrick Cavanaugh was only 39 years old when he died about two weeks after being admitted to Sparrow Hospital. His chief complaints upon admission were shortness of breath, weakness and a fever that lasted ten days.Cavanaugh was a construction worker and died from a fungal infection, histoplasmosis, to which he had been previously exposed while...

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Dennis Quaid appeared on 60 Minutes on March 16, 2008, to talk about the near death of his twin children who were given a dose of heparin one thousand (1000) times greater than they should have received. Quaid's children were in the hospital being treated for a staph infection when they were given ten thousand (10,000) units of heparin, rather than the ten (10) units they were supposed to...

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A jury in California returned a verdict in favor of two doctors, a radiologist and cardiologist, who provided treatment to John Ritter prior to his death. John Ritter died in 2003 following a torn aorta while filming a television show. The lawsuit alleged the torn aorta should have been discovered prior to his death during a radiological exam. Additionally, a claim was made against the...

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Late last month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the drug manufacturer Baxter International would be recalling all of its remaining Heparin products. Earlier in February, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory warning doctors and other health care providers not to use Baxter Heparin products. According to the FDA, there have been hundreds of reports of serious side...

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A vacuum extractor may be used by a physician to enhance delivery of a baby's head in a vaginal delivery. However, the doctor attempting to use the extractor must be prepared to abandon the procedure when it is not working, according to operational guidelines for use as noted by the manufacturers instructions.The FDA in may of 1998 issued a public health advisory titled "Need For Caution When...

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No one likes admitting they made a mistake, no matter what it is about. According to a recent study, doctors are just like everyone else in this regard. Except the problem is, when a doctor makes a mistake people can die. Mistakes in medical treatment by doctors are only serious when there is a failure to acknowledge that a mistake was made. This deprives the medical community of an...

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On October 16, 2007, Medtronic issued a recall of approximately 268,000 Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads. The reason for the recall is that after 30 months, the Sprint Fidelis leads had a fracture rate that was about twice as high as the previous model, the Sprint Quatro. Fractured leads can result in repeated unnecessary shocks, or worse -- failure to detect a potentially fatal Cardiac...

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Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17 year old California resident, passed away on December 20, 2007, due to liver failure. She developed liver complications while recovering from a bone marrow transplant. The most remarkable part of this story is that her health insurance company, CIGNA, reversed a decision to pay for a liver transplant only hours before she passed away.Nataline's doctors wrote to CIGNA...

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In the United States, it is estimated that 1.5 to 2 million people have cerebral palsy, with an annual diagnosis rate of approximately 10,000. Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that causes a defect in the ability of a persons brain to control their muscle movement. There are three general categories of cerebral palsy: spastic, ataxic, and athetoid/dyskinetic. While there is no one...

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We have read in the past about horrible surgical mistakes and operations on the wrong part of a person's anatomy. Incredibly, a Rhode Island hospital has just been fined for performing its third operation in 2007 on the wrong side of a patient's brain. In one case, the patient died after a second surgery. If a patient suffers harm and additional surgical treatment as a result of a wrong side...

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Starting January 1, 2008, Physicians practicing in Wayne County will see a 13% drop in medical malpractice insurance rates.Statewide and Wayne County malpractice rates will decrease by an average of 6.5 percent in 2008, making Michigan lower than Illinois and Ohio, according to data from the American Physicians Assurance Corp., the largest malpractice insurance company.The decrease is a clear...

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"Our apologies go out to the family," said Henry Ford Macomb Hospital spokeswoman Suzanne Schut. "We are assuming all accountability for the incident."An elderly woman who was recovering from a heart attack in the ICU at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township, Michigan suffered severe burns to her face while being treated at the hospital. While in the hospital awaiting surgery, she...

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