Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

A patient went in for a simply thyroid surgery and instead woke up with her chin gone, her nose deformed and her mouth so damaged that after a dozen reconstructive operations, she still has trouble eating, drinking and breathing. The jury in her medical malpractice suit awarded her $4 million. The doctors told her that an electrosurgical tool had ignited oxygen inside a mask under surgery drags during her operation which sparked flames that left second and third degree burns from her chest to her head. It turns out that surgical fires affect between 550 and 650 patients a year, including 20 to 30 who suffer serious, disfiguring burns. Every year, one or two people die this way. In one state, fires occur in one in every 87,646 operations. That amounts to 28 fires a year in that state alone. Experts estimate that fewer than half of the hospitals in the country conduct operating room drills to prevent and control fires. About 70 percent of surgical fires are ignited by electrosurgical tools that use a high-frequency electric current to cut tissue or stop bleeding; twenty percent are sparked by hot wires, light sources, burrs or defibrillators and 10 percent are touched off by lasers. It is outrageous that a person can walk into a surgical room without burns and exit with burns, and hospitals must do something to reduce this medical malpractice. To read the full story, click here.

A top government health official rejected pediatricians’ calls for an immediate ban on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children, saying it might cause unintended harm. The pediatricians said they were uncomfortable with the lack of solid scientific data to support continued use of OTC remedies with youngsters, particularly from ages 2-6. The FDA believes a ban might only drive parents to give adult medicines to their youngsters. Pediatricians are urging the government to demand a recall of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children younger than 6. They claim the effectiveness of the medicines in children was never proven, and problems with the drugs send thousands of kids to the emergency room every year. The pediatricians say that over the counter products are ineffective for treating coughs and colds in children under 6, and should not be given because of the risk of serious side effects. Everyone agrees that these medications should not be given to anyone under the age of 2. To read the full story, click here.

A new report found that one of six liability claims against health care entities is associated with infections, injuries and other conditions acquired at the hospital. The 2008 Hospital Professional Liability Analysis found that hospital-acquired infections, hospital-acquired injuries, objects left in the body after surgery and pressure ulcers represent more than 12% of hospital liability costs. After Oct. 10, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will no longer reimburse providers for 10 categories of hospital-acquired conditions and medical errors because they are considered preventable and should never happen. To read the full story, click here.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Public Health Service doctors who willfully fail to render appropriate diagnosis and treatment may be sued in constitutional tort action under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. They agreed that the district judge that the Federal Tort Claims Act does not provide an “equally effective remedy” for such violations, the panel affirmed an order denying a motion by three officers and two civilian doctors employed by the service to dismiss on the grounds of absolute immunity. The complaint in question alleges that the victim died as a result of the defendant’s unwillingness to conduct diagnostic procedures that would have resulted in timely discovery that lesions on his penis were cancerous. The victim was a state prisoner and was told that while surgery “might be recommended long-term” the government did not consider his condition to be “threatening to life, limb, or eyesight” and therefore would not provide the operation. The public health service defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that they were absolutely immune because the plaintiffs had an equally effective remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act, but that motion was denied. To read the full story, click here.

A patient had undergone a colonoscopy during which a benign polyp was excised and developed rectal bleeding at home. The patient claims he called the doctor twice and he told him it was nothing serious, but the doctor alleges he informed the patient to go to the emergency room. The patient reported to the emergency room the next morning and in addition to the bleeding he was found to have abdominal tenderness. X-rays showed free air and he underwent a partial colectomy and colostomy and eventually had the colostomy closed. The patient then developed a vernal hernia which required a third operation, and ended up settling his medical malpractice lawsuit. This medical malpractice case is amongst colonoscopies because bleeding and perforation are two major complications. Doctors need to explain this to all their patients in the pre-op colonoscopy. It is important to understand all of the complications when undergoing a colonoscopy. To read the full story, click here.

A Chicago suburban family says they will never know for certain if a tumor removed from their daughter two years ago was cancerous, since Children’s Memorial Hospital lost the tumor. A negligence medical malpractice lawsuit was filed this week in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of Kara Morris by the lawyers at Levin & Perconti. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the surgeons removed a tumor and lost it before a biopsy could determine whether it was cancerous. The 16 year old patient was informed that she would never know whether or not the tumor was malignant. In addition to the stress of the situation, the teen will most likely face great difficulties obtaining individual insurance as she moves into adulthood because of her uncertain health status. To read the full story, click here.

Federal health officials said that they were reviewing a higher rate of deaths among patients treated with a Johnson & Johnson anemia drug in a study of stroke patients. Sixteen percent of patients who were treated with the drug, Eprex, had died three months after the study began, compared with 9 percent who were given a placebo, the FDA said in a statement. The study was testing whether Eprex could improve brain function in stoke patients which is an unapproved use of the drug. Expex is known generically as epoetin alfa, which is also known as Procrit. The drugs are part of a class called ESAs which are approved for treating patients with kidney disease and cancer. The safety of ESAs came under scrutiny after studies found tumor growth or shorter survival for some patients given high doses. The higher death rate in the study “suggests the need to closely monitor patients enrolled in other ongoing trials for adverse outcomes and to evaluate whether the potential benefits for enrolled patients outweigh the risks in these trials. To read the full story, click here.

A federal judge announced that Oregon Health and Science University has settled six medical malpractice suits. The settlements average more than $6 million, totaling $38.5 million, each which is well above a statewide liability cap recommended to state lawmakers. The University and the state’s trial lawyers agreed earlier this month to a $2 million cap on medical malpractice suits. The judge who presided over the settlements included $9.3 million to the family of a boy who suffered permanent brain damage because of a mistake made at the university. The $200,000 liability cap that had protected the hospital from paying out large claims was lifted as a result of the family lawsuit. This case exemplifies that legislative determined damages caps are unable to address the individual needs of victims. To read the full story, click here.

A state Supreme Court declined to hear a case on whether or not medical malpractice damage caps violate state constitutional rights. The state’s legislature approved caps on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, yet still allowed direct appeals on constitutional questions. The patient in the case had contended that the $250,000 cap violated constitutional provisions such as the right to due process, equal protection and jury trials. The state had capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits at $250,000 and death suits at $1.6 million one of the lowest caps in the country. Since the act’s enactment, hundreds of medical malpractice suits have been filed in the area, and many of them claim that the caps are unconstitutional. Legislative determined caps do not allow a jury to look at each case individual and deny victims their due process in court. To read the full story, click here.

An East Chicago hospital misdiagnosed a man in 2003 and the man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit. The personal injury lawsuit claims that the East Chicago man went to the hospital complaining of breathing problems and underwent tests. The doctors at the East Chicago hospital informed the medical malpractice victim that he had lung cancer. Later in 2003, the medical malpractice victim was told that the doctor had switched his tissue samples with another patient, resulting in a misdiagnosis.

For the full article.