Recently in hospital negligence Category

June 26, 2010

Lawsuit Filed Over Hep-C Infected Needle at Hospital

The first individual lawsuit filed by a hepatitis C infected patient at a Medical Center was filed in district court naming the hospital and anestesiologist. The patient underwent surgery and believes an operating rooom technician, an intravenous drug user with hep-c, left a dirty needle filled with saline in place of the narcotic intended for her.The patient alleges the hospital and anestesiologist failed to follow internal polices and controlled substance laws requiring that potent drugs be either locked up or closely monitored.
Her lawyer stated we have filed this suit on behalf of the patient because she is unable to undergo medical treatment for her chronic hepatitis C and has already developed liver damage. A class action suit against the hospital has also been filed and at least 18 other patients have been found to have the same genetic strand of hep-c as the operating room technician. The technician was sentenced to 30 years in prison.


If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice please call me for an initial free consultation at 800 320-0080 or for an appointmnet in Rockville or Baltimore offices.

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May 24, 2010

St.Joseph tells 169 more patients they may have had unneeded stent surgery


St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson is facing lawsuits and two federal investigations related to its cardiac care division has just informed 169 more heart patients received costly and dangerous treatments that were not needed.
These additional cases bring the total to 538 patients notified by St. Joseph's that coronary stent implants they received at the hospital may have been unnecessary. Officials at the Hospital also said more questionable procedures may be uncovered while an internal review continues.
The St. Joseph's announcement is the latest debacle in an issue that has spawned a class action lawsuit, required the removal of a prominent physician and interested the U.S. Senate. It could also result in a multi-million dollar fine for the hospital per court records.
The hospital began investigating its heart catheterization procedures after several warnings last year from federal investigators and quickly focused on stents implanted by a leading cardiologist and senior physician, Dr. Mark Midei.
Stents, which are mesh tubes placed into damaged arteries to open them up are generally implanted in patients with at least a 70% blockage. But hospital officials in their review discovered stents implanted by Dr. Midei had insufficient blockage. And that the amount of blockage was overstated in the medical reports.
"Leaders of (St. Joseph) felt it was their ethical responsibility to notify these patients to allow them to determine if medical follow-up was appropriate." The hospital said in a statement. They reiterated that Midei (who is no longer at the hospital) is the only doctor under investigation.
In 2008 Midei was recruited to lead the cardiac catheterization department at St. Josephs from his former employer MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates of suburban Baltimore.
Last month the U.S. Senate Finance Committee requested St. Joseph to turn over all the records of its financial relationship with stent manufactures and how the $10,000 procedures were billed to federal and private insurers.
"In addition to putting the patients lives at risk unnecessary medical procedures amount to wasteful spending of precious federal health care dollars." Said the U.S. Senate in a letter to the hospital.
If you or a loved one is the victim of a medical mistake please call my office at 1 (800) 320-0080.

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May 12, 2010

Lawsuit claims prescription drugs at fault for murder

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two sons whose father killed their mother, alleging that the steroids and drugs prescribed to their father were a factor in the killing. The suit alleges that a family nurse practitioner at a local clinic, began prescribing medications to their father in April of 2007. In May, she increased the doses for the two powerful steroids that she previously prescribed without consulting the physician supervisor or any other medical doctor. In July, the nurse added a prescription for a psycho stimulant with similar risks associated to methamphetamine.

On December 20, 2007, their mother obtained a restraining order against their father. The next day, their father returned to the Clinic and was experiencing toxic side effects from the combination of his prescribed medications. On January 2, 2008, their mother signed a petition for temporary separation from her husband. On January 6, their father shot their mother 13 times in a church parking lot, in front of their two sons.

The father plead guilty to aggravated murder but stated that he would not have killed his wife if he had not been on the medications he was on. The lawsuit claims that the nurse was negligent in not consulting with a medical doctor in prescribing and increasing the dosages of the medications and for keeping the patient on the medications despite signs of toxicity. The lawsuit also names the supervising doctor and the clinic and seeks general, special and punitive damages.


If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice please call my office at 1 (800) 320-0080 for a free consultation.http://www.maryland-attorney.us/lawyer-attorney-1112627.html

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May 5, 2010

Paralyzed Man Wins Negligence Award

A paralyzed man won $19.2 million in a negligence claim against a local Medical Center. The patient was admitted to the hospital after complaining of severe back pain. The hospital did not conduct an MRI or CAT scan until two weeks after he was admitted. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with a spinal abscess, an infection on his spinal cord, that quickly led to permanent paralysis. This injury could have been easily avoided had the hospital taken the proper diagnostic test to determine the cause of the injury. This Hospital's failure to take the necessary actions led to this Patient's paralysis.

The suit claimed that there was not a particular physician or specialist that was directing his care contrary to the established hospital standards. After the diagnosis, a neurosurgeon tried to reverse some of the damage but it was too late. The patient has been paralyzed from the chest down and has been living in a nursing facility for five years because he was unable to get around independently in his own home. This patient requires life time care and monitoring which led to a successful verdict.

If you or a relative or a loved one has been injured as a result of other people's negligence please contact me at my offices in Rockville or Baltimore to discuss your case free of charge at (800) 320-0080.

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March 7, 2010

Psychiatric Hospital Sued for the Deaths of 2 Children

A Hospital is being sued by the parents of two children who were killed by their aunt. The suit claims that the psychiatric facility provided inadequate care to psychiatric patient who was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, prescribed psychotropic drugs and released after 6 days. The plaintiffs claim that they were never told that patient might pose a risk to herself or others and never informed any officials or the people who come into contact with the patient.

In December 2008, unbeknownst to the parents of the two minor children the psychiatric paptient arrived at the home of the children around 8pm to pick up the two children, a 5 year-old and a 4-year-old, to spend the night at her home. They state that she was behaving normally when she arrived and took the children, however, earlier in the evening a State Police Trooper had almost detained her for a psychiatric evaluation when they found her acting erratically on the median strip of a highway, punching a motorist who had stopped to help her. The psychiatric patient told the tropper that she was having a debate between "good and evil." She calmed down and was released. After she picked up the children, she crossed the median of a highway, stopped her car going in the wrong direction, undressed herself and the two children, ran into traffic and was hit by a car which killed all three.

Psychiatric patient cases causing injuries require an indepth analysis and investigation of facts surrounding an injury and that condition must have been known to the person having the duty to inform others and as the result of such failure to warn the patient caused injury to others. Thes are extremely fact sensitive cases and appropriate fact witnesses and experts muust be employed to prosecute such cases.

If you or a person you know of has been injured or traumatized as a result of such injuries you can contact me at my Baltimore or Rockville, Maryland offices for a free consultation at (800) 320-0080.

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November 1, 2009

Hospital settles case from fall in operating room

A major Hospital settled a wrongful-death case with the family of a victim for $900,000. The case stemmed from the victim's death seven days after suffering a massive head injury due to a fall in the operating room as she was being prepared for transfer to her hospital bed. The fall caused a fractured skull and severe internal bleeding. The victim fell and broke her hip at home and was rushed to the emergency room. There it was determined that she would need surgery.
The next day, surgery was performed to repair her left hip. However, following the surgery, while the victim was still under anesthesia and had a breathing tube in her mouth, she fell as medical personnel were preparing to transfer her to her bed. A nurse had removed the belt on the surgical table in preparation to move her but did not announce that to others in the room. The family stated that they sued because they wanted to raise awareness about patient safety and to lead to changes in operating room procedures.

If you or a loved one are a victim of medical malpractice please contact my offices either in Rockville or Baltimore Md. at 1 800-320-0080 for a free consultation and case evaluation.


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