Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Patient Awarded $40.1 Million In Burned Heart Case

Greg Webb — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:55:57 GMT

A Washington State Superior Court jury awarded $40.1 million, including $8.35 million in punitive damages, to Paramjit Singh who had to undergo a heart transplant because his was so badly damaged by a defective machine during an operation. The incident in question happened in October 2004, when Singh checked into Providence Everett Medical Center for cardiac bypass surgery. A monitor manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences Corp. malfunctioned causing a catheter to overheat and burn Singh's heart. Singh's lawyers also claim he now suffers other problems due to the faulty operation and anti-rejection drugs he must now take.

The lawyers for Edwards Lifesciences Corp. do not believe the award for punitive damages will withstand the scrutiny of the higher court when they appeal since this was the only reported incident of a faulty machine and the issue since then has been rectified. Edwards blames the Medical Center for the injury, claiming the staff used a damaged cable. The jury, however, did not see the Medical Center as the ones to blame and asked it to pay only .01% of the $40.1 million in damages.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Virginia Court Rules Doctors Liable Even If Affiliated With Charitable Foundations

Greg Webb — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:45:04 GMT

The Virginia Supreme Court recently ruled that doctors affiliated with charitable foundations are not immune from malpractice suits. The cases involved the University of Virginia Health Services foundation whose lawyers argued that since its doctors were working for a non-profit organization, they should be immune from malpractice suits. The court, however, ruled that although the work done by the physicians is admirable, the volume of the services was not charitable in nature. Therefore, doctors working with charitable foundations may be sued for malpractice. If the court had ruled on the behalf of the physicians, it could have created a giant surge of doctors working under the umbrella of a non-profit organization in order to avoid liability, thus ridding Virginia of a lot of medical malpractice litigation, denying the claims of many deserving patients. The name of the case is The University of Virginia Health Services Foundation v. Morris, February 2008. http://hamptonroads.com/node/456013

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

New Report Proves Perils of Physician-Owned Hospitals

Greg Webb — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:47:30 GMT

A new report, made by federal investigators, shows most physician-owned hospitals were not properly equipped to handle medical emergencies. This investigation took place due to the increase in physician-owned hospitals in the United States, where the number of facilities has increased from 110 in 2001, to 180 in 2007. The report shows 55 percent of the 109 physician-owned hospitals under investigation were equipped with only one bed in the Emergency Department. Fewer than a third of the hospitals in question had a doctor on-hand at all times, and 34 percent relied on dialing 911 to get help for a patient when needed. These hospitals also failed to meet requirements made by Medicare, which require a registered nurse be on duty at all times and at least one doctor be on call if none are in the hospital. The federal center for Medicare and Medicaid also state hospitals are not supposed to call 911 as a substitution for their own first-line emergency care.

Supporters of physician-owned hospitals argue the facilities not only give patients an alternative to traditional hospitals, they also offer a higher quality of care and have more nurses on hand at all times. The federal report, however, has shown physician-owned hospitals are significantly limited in their emergency care, thus resulting in many life-threatening situations. For example, at a physician-owned hospital in Portland, Oregon an eighty-eight year old woman had a heart attack after receiving an injection of pain medication due to her elective back surgery. Because no doctor was present in the facility, the nurses called 911 to have the patient taken to a nearby hospital for resuscitation where she died four days later.

A spokeswoman for the Senate Finance Committee said the panel will pursue enabling new patient protections and stronger laws governing physician-owned hospitals when lawmakers vote on Medicare legislation this year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010903140.html

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Study Shows Medical Malpractice Suits Tied Closely to Quality of Care

Bryan Slaughter — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:27:20 GMT

A new study of medical malpractice cases shows what ethical trial attorneys have always known -- medical malpractice settlements are closely tied to merit and quality of care. Although tort reformers have claimed settlements in malpractice suits are a "lottery", where fault and settlement are not related, a new analysis of eleven studies of medical malpractice settlements and claims have shown that the outcomes of settlements are derived from the patient's quality of care in the particular situation. The amount that is paid to the victim is also determined by the merit of the claim of negligence. This new analysis examined information from over twenty thousand malpractice cases and ultimately determined that strong cases are eighty five to ninety percent more likely to be settled than ones considered to be less meritorious. When compared to strong cases, settlement offers are also not only unlikely in weak cases, but if they are made they are for significantly less money. By proving that settlements are based on quality of care and not the "lottery" system, this study provides compelling evidence that the "system" is working.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bryan Slaughter

Nursing Home Oversight Lacking

Greg Webb — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:42:10 GMT

A report to be issued in late April 2007 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) states that the Department of Health and Human Services does not hold nursing homes with a long history of bad care of residents accountable. Nursing homes that have a history of harming residents often do not face sanctions, and when they are sanctioned the Bush Administration gives them a grace period in which to correct the problem, according to an article in the New York Times that quotes the report. The immediate sanctions of the nursing homes that are available to the federal government frequently are not "immediate" because a grace period allows the nursing home to escape.

Further, when the nursing homes are fined for inadequate or poor care of residents, the fines are typically so small that the nursing homes view them as a "cost of doing business" according the the GAO report. According to the New York Times article, "about 1.5 million poeple live in the nation's 16,400 nursing homes on any given day."

When attempting to find a nursing home for a loved one, this GAO report further validates the importance of conducting as much research as possible about the nursing home and its history of compliance, citations, and any legal actions against the home in the recent past as a result of poor care or the harming of residents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

New Study Finds Children Most at Risk for Surgical Medication Errors

Bryan Slaughter — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 21:05:24 GMT

A new study has found that the most likely victims of surgery related medication errors are young children. Mistakes are most likely to happen when the patient is transfered from the surgical team to the recovery room.

The study was confined to errors made on patients undergoing surgery, and the rate of harm, 5 percent, was much higher than is typical for medication errors. Among children it was 12 percent.
Most of the errors involved painkillers and antibiotics. Four resulted in deaths, and one death was of a child.

The study was conducted by the United States Pharmacopeia (an organization which sets standards for the pharmaceutical industry), the University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, and two nurses organizations

A 1999 report by th Institute of Medicine, entitled "To Err Is Human," estimated that preventable medical errors cause at least 44,000 and potentially as many as 98,000 deaths a year.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bryan Slaughter

Surgeon Wins Self Insurance Lawsuit

Christina Cole — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 03:08:22 GMT

In a ruling on Tuesday, a West Virginia Court upheld a Charleston surgeon's right to have his own medical practice insurance.

In a 2004 lawsuit, the doctor alleged that Charleston Area Medical Center took away his privileges after he attained $1 million worth of self funded medical malpractice insurance rather than going with a commercial vendor, according to court documents.

CAMC said Hamrick's fund was not financially sound, did not comply with the hospital's Medical Staff Procedures Manual and failed to meet the requirements of the state's Medical Professional Liability Act, according to appeal filings.
In September 2004, the Supreme Court granted an injunction restoring Hamrick's privileges while the case was argued in Kanawha County Circuit Court, according to appeal filings.
In June 2005, Kanawha County Circuit Judge James Stuckey granted summary judgment to Hamrick. CAMC appealed last September.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Stuckey's ruling in a 5-0 vote.

Since the start of the lawsuit, the CAMC has enacted an internal policy that will allow doctors to insure themselves and a 2006 state law allows for doctors to set up their own self funded trusts to cover medical malpractice lawsuits.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole