An interesting Canadian study has revealed the vast majority of never events in opioid administration to children were avoidable. Many American studies of a similar nature have arrived at the same conclusions. Root causes tended to fall into one or more of four categories: communication, policies/procedures, training and equipment/environment.
The most common reasons for opioid medication errors were: a lack of clear guidelines either for the infusion adjustment rate or for weaning the patient off the medication; no standard opioid concentrations; no existing policies in place to follow for administering opioids; and no guidelines on properly monitoring and charting pain levels, level of consciousness and/or vital signs.
There were other factors involved, such as medical personnel’s level of fatigue and the number of patient transfers between units. Although the focus of the study was to fix what could be fixed to address patient needs, staff fatigue and patient transfers were mentioned as a concern, albeit one that could not necessarily be fixed, or changed.
The study itself was not one to just identify problems areas without also proposing solutions. In their report, researchers suggested several ways to improve patient safety, hospital-wide. They included implementing system wide monitoring, proper documentation, a reduction in paperwork errors and putting clear policies in place dealing with opioid administration, weaning and conversion in paediatric transfer cases to various locations, promoting further education in how to handle acute pain management for children, and understanding how opioids interacted with other drugs and ensuring proper acute pain management care.
This is not the only study on the potentially error-riddled task of administering pain medications to children. Another Canadian study, released in 2012 in Pediatrics (2012;129:916-924) focused on an alarming trend in medication errors affecting children. The most common causes pinpointed for mistakes in that study included patient transfers, programming more than one infusion at a time, being distracted while setting up an infusion and not programming the infusion equipment properly.
A hospital is a busy place to begin with and adding in overworked, overwhelmed staff simply increases the likelihood of a medication error, whether it is for a child or for an adult. Medical malpractice comes in many forms, and medication errors are higher on the list than many people realize. If you have been the victim of a medication error, or your child has been given the wrong medication, the wrong dose at the wrong time, a double dose or did not receive opioids when they needed them, speak to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. When mistakes are made, someone must be held accountable for them.
Learn more at http://www.mellinorobenalt.com
The post Opioid errors tend to affect many children first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Fundal pressure during delivery is the act of manually pressing on a woman’s abdomen to assist in delivering the baby. It can be done if delivery complications are present such as if the baby’s position isn’t normal or if labor has slowed or stopped.
It may also be done in an effort to avoid performing a Cesarean section. Or there might be other alternatives that could be less harmful, such as using assistive delivery devices (forceps or vacuum extraction). Keep in mind that even these options could present complications.
There may be risks with using this maneuver. With the mother it could result in a perineal laceration (tear in area between vagina and anus). But there are also potential complications involving the child such as fractures or uterine rupture (tearing in the wall of the uterus).
If shoulder dystocia is present, fundal pressure may worsen the condition. Shoulder dystocia may lead to brachial plexus injury, where the nerves in the baby’s hand, arm and shoulder can be permanently damaged.
Women who suspect delivery complications are associated with medical malpractice can consult a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer for help evaluating legal options. Set up a consultation with Mellino Robenalt LLC to discuss a potential negligence cause involving fundal pressure during delivery.
The post Fundal Pressure: When It Is Used and Its Associated Risks first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>If the state is the result of medical negligence, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer may help families of brain damaged patients pursue compensation for these damages.
It helps to first compare some of the similarities between these states. For instance, in both states there are times when the brain damaged patient will open his/her eyes and experience sleep/wake cycles.
With these two levels of consciousness, there are differences that families of these brain-damaged patients should discuss with the doctor caring for the patient. As an example, there is no visual tracking when the person is vegetative, but there may be when the patient is minimally conscious.
In a vegetative state the person won’t:
But this may occur in a minimally conscious state; however, it may occur inconsistently.
The severity of a brain injury can impact the level of consciousness. If it’s a mild injury, there may be only minor problems, such as disorientation or confusion. But in a severe injury, it can result in unconsciousness that lasts a short period of time to indefinitely.
Recovery from a severe brain injury may involve different phases, but may not progress to full recovery. If someone has been in a coma or vegetative state, consciousness may start to return. But this is different for each person. Generally, chances of full recovery may be lower for severe injuries than mild ones.
Some may eventually regain the ability to communicate by using gestures (hands, head) or even words. Simple instructions may be followed and the person may be able to perform basic tasks, such as holding an item, using a straw or combing his/her hair.
Even those who do recover from a traumatic brain injury and regain consciousness may experience challenges and complications. It’s not uncommon for brain-damaged patients to sustain permanent impairments cognitively and physically.
As these injuries can cause serious and long-term complications, families of these patients may consult a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer if they believe that medical negligence is the cause of the brain injury.
When someone is in a vegetative or minimally conscious state, the recovery process can be lengthy. The person can spend weeks, months or even longer in a hospital. If he/she does eventually regain consciousness and recovers, there may still be numerous physical and emotional challenges ahead.
A severe brain injury could result in permanent disability. Between the escalating medical bills and lack of income, it can create a significant financial burden. But if the injury was caused by a medical professional’s negligence – such as during surgery while under anesthesia – families of brain-damaged patients may consult with a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Mellino Robenalt LLC can consult with families whose loved one has been injured and is at one of these levels of consciousness and requires treatment and care.
The post Are there different levels of consciousness for someone in a vegetative state? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Families of malpractice victims can pursue a variety of medical malpractice damages if a medical professional’s negligence is found to have caused the injury. A Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer can provide guidance to Ohio families pursuing compensation for damages in a vegetative state case.
Economic damages include reimbursement for all financial costs paid in order to treat the injury and resultant medical condition:
Continuous care for individuals in a vegetative state is necessary, and compensation may also address these expenses. In Ohio there are no caps on economic damages, which means that if a family has $250,000 in medical bills, that is the amount of medical malpractice damages that may be pursued in a Cleveland case with medical malpractice lawyers in Ohio.
Non-economic damages are things that do not have a definitive monetary value. Also called emotional damages, they include pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Families should go over the non-economic damages that might be included in a Cleveland malpractice case with medical malpractice lawyers in Ohio.
In Ohio, a person can is limited to how much non-economic damages can be recovered. The damages are limited to the greater of $250,000 or triple the amount of the economic damages, whichever is higher. The usual limit is $500,000 per occurrence or $350,000 per plaintiff. However, in extreme cases of deformity or physical injury, the caps increase to $1 million total or $500,000 per plaintiff.
In cases of intentional acts of injury or cases of gross negligence, punitive damages may be awarded. These potential medical malpractice damages are to punish the offender for the wrongdoing.
Punitive damages are rare in medical malpractice cases and when they are awarded, they are done so by a judge, not a jury. They are limited to twice the amount of total compensatory damages, which is the sum of the economic and non-economic damages. A Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer can help Ohio families determine if punitive damages apply to their cases.
In Ohio, Mellino Robenalt LLC can help families of patients in a vegetative state because of medical negligence establish and pursue medical malpractice damages. Families of victims can call (440) 333-3800 to set up a consultation with a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer so they may review the details of their vegetative state case and begin talking about legal action.
The post What damages are obtainable in a case of medical malpractice causing a vegetative state? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It is important pregnant women know the warning signs so they can seek appropriate treatment. A Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer may help Ohio families whose doctor failed to properly address the condition or any childbirth complications of the mother or child.
It is not easy to determine who will and who will not develop this condition because the root causes are not fully understood.
It is believed, however, that certain factors may contribute such as:
In addition, the following women are known to have been at higher risk in the past those:
In addition to seizures that characterize eclampsia, symptoms may include agitation or unconsciousness.
Women should seek immediate medical care if they notice:
Women should also be aware of symptoms of preeclampsia, of which eclampsia may be a serious complication.
Women with preeclampsia may have:
In some cases, the placenta may separate or the child may be born prematurely, which can put the child at risk for compilations. This is why it’s so important that these conditions and any childbirth complications of the mother are properly addressed. If they are not, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer can review an Ohio family’s case with an expert to determine if proper care was given.
For best results, treatment should be started while the woman is in the mild stages of preeclampsia. Once the woman’s condition advances to eclampsia, complications are more likely to occur. Anti-seizure medication, such as magnesium sulfate, may be given to those who suffer from seizures. Steroids may be given if the fetus is fewer than 32 weeks old. Those with high blood pressure may be given appropriate medication as well.
To prevent eclampsia, some women with severe preeclampsia may be advised to deliver the child; still, the goal is to keep the baby in the womb for as close to 40 weeks as possible. This may reduce the risk of complications caused by premature delivery. The baby may be delivered at around 32 weeks if the condition is severe. For milder cases, delivery at 36-37 weeks may ideal.
Many women who experience eclampsia have a good prognosis, while some may have elevated blood pressure after delivery. The babies often also fare well. If born prematurely, they will likely need to stay in the hospital for monitoring.
Although many babies and their mothers live fairly normal lives after eclampsia, some mothers and babies experience serious complications. Many complications present in the babies are attributed to premature birth. A condition called HELLP, which negatively affects liver function and causes anemia and low platelet counts, may cause complications and could increase risk of maternal death.
Failure to diagnose this condition or failure to provide proper treatment can result in liability issues for medical providers. Mellino Robenalt LLC can help clients who have suffered injury as a result of negligence related to childbirth complications for the mother or child. Victims and their families can set up a consultation in Cleveland with a medical malpractice lawyer in Ohio to review the details of their case related to diagnostic failure or poor handling of eclampsia or preeclampsia that causes childbirth complications for the mother or child.
The post Eclampsia During Pregnancy Must Be Properly Addressed first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It was 2005 when the plaintiff took her young daughter to a pediatrics center to see her regular doctor. That physician was not available and another doctor looked at the plaintiff’s daughter. The mother was concerned about her daughter’s fever, headache and sore neck. The new doctor, who had only just completed her medical residency, diagnosed allergies, and sent the child home with allergy medication.
According to trial records, the plaintiff asked the defendant if there were other tests that could be done, as she did not think her child was having allergy issue. Apparently, the doctor said no further tests were necessary. Still concerned, the mother asked the physician to take a blood sample, just in case her daughter might have meningitis, an inflammation of the brain tissue caused by an infection in the brain. Classical symptoms include a stiff neck, headaches and fever. Untreated, it may lead to permanent brain damage and/or death. The doctor supposedly ruled out that possibility.
Two days later, the plaintiff discovered her daughter having a seizure and rushed her to the hospital. Emergency physicians informed the mother her child had meningitis, had a stroke and was in a coma. Three weeks later, the child woke up at a different hospital with severe brain damage. She is no longer able to speak, eat or walk and will need to re-learn all of these skills in order to function as best as she can. It is expected that she will never have full adult functioning and will need care for the rest of her life. Calculations relating to the child’s life expectancy and cost of medical care amounted to approximately $14 million.
Further evidence included in the case showed that the child’s medical file had a notation in it made by the defendant doctor that said she suspected the child had viral meningitis. Despite her suspicions, she did nothing further and did not order a spinal tap. Due to the negligence of the defendant doctor, the child has ended up with severe brain-damage.
This medical malpractice lawsuit is about many things, not the least of which is compensation for the child to care for her for the rest of her life and hold the doctor responsible for her negligence. It is also about sending a message to raise awareness about viral meningitis and for people to insist on a spinal tap if they suspect they may have the disease. What begins as a lawsuit founded in medical malpractice may have other repercussions in the future, particularly if the case acts as a warning to another doctor faced with similar symptoms in a patient, and that doctor then goes the extra mile to diagnose a suspected disease correctly.
If you are faced with a situation in which you feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice, you need to speak to a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Not all bad medical outcomes are classified as malpractice and you need to know if you have a case before proceeding. Only a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer can evaluate your case.
Learn more at http://www.christophermellino.com/
The post Misdiagnosis leaves child brain-damaged first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a wide ranging story that includes at least ten whistleblower lawsuits filed in numerous states. The qui tam suits suggest Amgen defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other government health care programs, by promoting off label uses for Aranesp or darbepoetin alfa, which is used to treat anemia as a result of chronic renal failure. Aranesp is apparently not the only drug the company was suggesting that doctors use off label either. Their campaign was to encourage physicians and other health care professionals, to prescribe Aranesp and Sensipar, among other drugs, and pay kickbacks to them.
The whistleblower in this case, United States ex rel. Cantor v. Amgen, Inc., Civil Action No. CV-04-2511 (E.D.N.Y.), is Tom Cantor. His suit alleges Amgen, in essence, bribed doctors to boost the sales of six of their drugs, the two already mentioned and four others, Neupogen, Neulasta, Engrel and Epogen. The idea was to get doctors to prescribe their drugs for off label uses, earning the physicians cash back in the deal. Using a drug off label means it is utilized for a different disease/condition than the drug was created to treat, is given in a different manner than suggested or given in a dose that differs from what is approved on the FDA approved drug label.
The suit was filed under seal in 2004 in New York City and just recently, all the lawsuits were unsealed, with the government, who had joined the suit, announcing the settlement with Amgen. Typically a defendant will settle out of court if they feel they stand to lose more by going to court. It provides them some measure of damage control. While they suggest a settlement is not an admission of guilt, 9 out of 10 people would think otherwise. Amgen also pled guilty to illegally introducing Aranesp, a misbranded drug, into the marketplace, which is a misdemeanor. Overall, their legal leg to stand on was not that solid or convincing.
Paying someone to make a decision based on how much money they stand to make for prescribing a drug is not only illegal, it is immoral and unethical. Drugs are supposed to be prescribed based on medical reasons and medical necessity, not in the anticipation of greenbacks. While off label marketing and drug usage is sometime done in the medical field, the fact is that doctors should prescribe their patients drugs that will help them. If doctors do that with integrity and honesty, that is one thing. If they do that with an eye on their bank account, that is another.
Without whistleblowers filing qui tam lawsuits, the federal government would continue to be ripped off for millions of dollars every year. There appears to be an attitude that the government is fair game when it comes to taking money for fraudulent activities. Whistleblowers are slowly leveling the playing field.
Are you in a situation where you have evidence of fraudulent activities being perpetrated against the federal government? Contact an experienced and knowledgeable Cleveland whistleblower lawyer. You will need one to file suit.
Tom Robenalt is a Cleveland whistleblower Lawyer specializing in Cleveland whistleblower cases cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit www.mellinorobenalt.com.
The post Off label drug use and kickbacks to doctors become the foundation of a whistleblower lawsuit first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It seems various states, and groups, are mulling over a variety of ways to deal with medical malpractice compensation, rather than leave justice to an independent court and jury. People don’t seem to recognize that capping medical malpractice compensation is making a plaintiff a victim twice, or that if the victim is short-changed in terms of compensation, they will not be able to care for themselves properly. Someone needs to be held accountable for medical errors, and it’s not the victim that should be paying for those mistakes.
A Georgia-based group, Patients for Fair Compensation, is suggesting a medical liability structure based on the workers’ compensation system. Their reason for suggesting a change is that such a system brings down health care costs, as physicians will no longer practice defensive medicine. It makes one wonder if advocates for this type of a system truly understand the horrendous situation seriously debilitated victims find themselves in when people suggest they should take less money as compensation for the outrageous injustice of medical negligence.
With a philosophy like taking less for medical malpractice injuries, it should not come as too much of a surprise to learn that Patients for Fair Compensation is not a group of actual medical malpractice patients. It is headed up by a man who runs Jackson Healthcare. Jackson Healthcare provides hospitals with medical care professionals. On reflection, this group would hardly be in favor of pro-patient compensation.
According to their stated goals, they promote an advocate to guide a patient through the system. The main question here would be who that advocate is really working for – the insurance industry or the patient? Chances are it would be the insurance industry, which indicates a distinct bias. Once the claim has been filed, the idea is that it would be forwarded to a Medical Review Department to gather facts.
From there, it would move to an independent medical panel in charge of reviewing the claim once again and determining if it was an avoidable medical mistake causing injury. Once again, the concern is who does this process really protect, if the goal is to reduce compensation for medical malpractice victims?
The next step in the process would involve a compensation department, in charge of determining a fee schedule that addresses non-economic and economic damages. If a patient is eligible, they would be awarded damages according to a pre-determined schedule. Who determines the fee schedule? Not an independent jury. Who determines if a patient is eligible? Not an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. While this process may sound like it makes sense, the whole goal is to short-change the injured victim. Where is the justice in that?
The long and short of a compensation system, such as the one proposed by Patients for Fair Compensation, is that it makes the patient a victim twice, under the guise of trying to help the settlement process. What is really going on is that the insurance industry wants to save money on the backs of innocent people, injured by medically negligent health care professionals. Hope this system, or anything else like it, does not come to a state you live in. The determination of compensation for medical malpractice should rest solely with an independent jury – period.
Tom Robenalt is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit www.mellinorobenalt.com.
The post Will a medical malpractice compensation system patterned after workers’ compensation work? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The practice of using binding arbitration agreements in advance of medical treatment is being used in Pennsylvania. Many doctors, clinics, hospitals and nursing homes are not only attempting to use binding arbitration agreements, but also enforce them. While alternative dispute resolution agreements need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis, a ruling in Philadelphia provides ammunition to get these agreements set aside. The judge in one case held that an alternative dispute resolution agreement, signed by a plaintiff’s mother, was not enforceable.
The case is an interesting one, and worth reading: Walton v. Kindred Hospital Philadelphia. The plaintiff, Watson, is suing the hospital for negligent care she received while there. According to the statement of claim, she developed bedsores while hospitalized at one hospital, and in a coma, which grew worse on her transfer to the Kindred Hospital.
The plaintiff first ended up in hospital after gastric bypass surgery to deal with a bowel obstruction and a perforated gastrointestinal tract. She passed out, developed an infection, her kidneys quit working and she was intubated, and hooked up to a ventilator.
The plaintiff’s mother voluntarily signed an alternative dispute resolution agreement, roughly at the halfway point of her daughter’s treatment at Kindred. The form was tucked in with other documents to be signed, including Medicare rights forms and consent forms.
While the mother did sign the agreement, the judge ruled it as invalid, and that she did not waive her right to sue, as she did not have a medical power of attorney, and was not her daughter’s agent. Therefore, there was no authority, express, implied or otherwise, for the mother to sign the alternative dispute resolution agreement for her daughter.
Furthermore, the hospital could not offer any evidence showing that the patient was aware of the alternative dispute resolution document, or gave her permission for her mother to sign it, or to submit to any type of arbitration process. She was in a coma when admitted and was not asked to sign the agreement. The mother, once she discovered what she had signed, indicated that document had not been explained to her, or brought to her attention. Had she known what it was, she would not have signed away the daughter’s right to a jury trial.
Each case is different and not all alternative dispute resolution agreements may be challenged in court. It would depend on the facts of the individual case, and this is why it is important to contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer if you feel you have been the victim of medical negligence.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Alternative dispute resolution agreements may not be binding in medical malpractice cases first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is an interesting story involving a deputy jailer, who feels he was retaliated against for conducting an investigation into alleged corruption at a county detention center. Some of his findings, which appeared in his report, included the discovery that contraband smuggling was almost a way of life in the facility, and that there was a deputy having intimate relations with an inmate. This particular case happened in Kentucky, but it could easily happen in any other state, including Ohio.
Bound by duty and a strong moral code, the deputy jailer filed a lawsuit asking for protection and damages under Kentucky’s Whistleblower Act. He is further seeking lost benefits, and punitive and compensatory damages, attorney fees and costs. The Kentucky Whistleblower Act, like most whistleblower legislation in other states, bans retaliation against workers who report bad conditions or practices occurring in their workplaces.
Named in the lawsuit was the head jailer, who was accused of not properly investigating the claims made by the deputy jailer and who demoted the deputy jailer after he passed the serious information in his report on to the Kentucky State Police. As part of the statement of claim, the deputy jailer stated the chief jailer told him to put a lid on the investigation, telling him he wanted no part of the report in any way, shape or form. Shortly after the report was handed in, the deputy jailer began to receive disciplinary write-ups and was subsequently stripped of his investigator duties and demoted to a floor deputy.
In Kentucky, the whistleblower law does not dictate that an individual with serious concerns, like the ones in this case, follow the chain of command. Even though he attempted to do so, he was made painfully aware that the deputies at the local jail repeatedly turned a blind-eye to smuggling. Based on the nature of the report filed by the deputy jailer, and his further observations and allegations, the State Police launched an investigation into the facility.
They were less than impressed with the jailer who was having sexual relations with a female inmate – a flagrant violation of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. Interestingly, the jailer accused of having sex with an inmate, even though later cleared of the allegation, was ultimately fired when he refused to resign. He filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.
If you are in a situation where you see something illegal going on around you, reach out and contact an experienced Ohio whistleblower attorney. These cases are difficult and you will want to know what will happen when you file suit and what the possible outcome may be.
Tom Robenalt is a Cleveland, Ohio whistleblower attorney To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Whistleblowers are protected by the law even if they are the law first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Tort reform is something that has many people, including patients, doctors and medical malpractice lawyers up in arms. It is unfair to the patient, and not just unfair, it is unjust. The patient is penalized for a medical professionals error that seriously harmed, or killed them. To this point, the debate over what to do for patients that suffer at the hands of negligent doctors, rages on, with a wide variety of ideas being thrown out for consideration. Some states have come up with a partial and not completely just solution, but many consider that to be a step in the right direction.
Massachusetts for instance has recently introduced a new law that may have the potential to be implemented in other states, in other forms and other incarnations. The law mandates that doctors are required to divulge their mistakes, and promptly apologize to their patient. While that may sound good, the not so good part is that by promptly saying they are sorry, that admission of an error cannot be used against them in a medical negligence lawsuit. Good news, bad news.
Of interest is the new law also has a provision that means defensive medicine must be closely examined. Defensive medicine is the concept that doctors go overboard and order excessive and unnecessary tests, so they can avoid a potential lawsuit. That being said, even if some doctors do indulge in this practice, if they are negligence in the face of too many tests, then they are still negligent, and liable to face a lawsuit.
What are doctors thinking about the possibility of this new law? Some think it is a good thing. Others are not so sure. Will medical malpractice lawsuits decrease because of bills like this one, and others that are similar? Not necessarily. The only thing that will decrease the number of medical malpractice lawsuits is fewer instances of doctors committing medical negligence.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post New Law Comes to Massachusetts, Mandating Doctors Admit their Mistakes first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Tort reform is something that has many people, including patients, doctors and medical malpractice lawyers up in arms. It is unfair to the patient, and not just unfair, it is unjust. The patient is penalized for a medical professionals error that seriously harmed, or killed them. To this point, the debate over what to do for patients that suffer at the hands of negligent doctors, rages on, with a wide variety of ideas being thrown out for consideration. Some states have come up with a partial and not completely just solution, but many consider that to be a step in the right direction.
Massachusetts for instance has recently introduced a new law that may have the potential to be implemented in other states, in other forms and other incarnations. The law mandates that doctors are required to divulge their mistakes, and promptly apologize to their patient. While that may sound good, the not so good part is that by promptly saying they are sorry, that admission of an error cannot be used against them in a medical negligence lawsuit. Good news, bad news.
Of interest is the new law also has a provision that means defensive medicine must be closely examined. Defensive medicine is the concept that doctors go overboard and order excessive and unnecessary tests, so they can avoid a potential lawsuit. That being said, even if some doctors do indulge in this practice, if they are negligence in the face of too many tests, then they are still negligent, and liable to face a lawsuit.
What are doctors thinking about the possibility of this new law? Some think it is a good thing. Others are not so sure. Will medical malpractice lawsuits decrease because of bills like this one, and others that are similar? Not necessarily. The only thing that will decrease the number of medical malpractice lawsuits is fewer instances of doctors committing medical negligence.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>How many people do you know who have dreamt, and maybe even tried, to rip the government off when it comes
to filing taxes or for performing work they did not perform? Stories abound about it. Movies are made featuring
big wheels with lots of money, trying to hide it “somehow”.
Lately, the “somehow”, is to attempt to defraud the federal government by helping other commit tax evasion
and committing other forms of fraud, such as Medicare overbilling, by using the wrong codes, or performing
unnecessary procedures, or billing for procedures not performed. The possibilities for ripping the federal
government off are legion, and whistleblowers have many an opportunity to blow.
Call it under reporting, or fiddling with the numbers, or an indirect fabrication about the facts, but the fact is, fraud
is alive and well, and living in the U.S. As Cleveland, Ohio whistleblower attorneys, we are seeing an increase in
cases such as this.
Sometimes perpetrators get away with it, for a period of time, and then, the government catches up with them.
Consider the latest story to hit the media; a record breaking $104 million award to an IRS informant. There is more
to this story, but the salient point is the informant was a former banker, who revealed a scheme commonly used
by banks, which helped clients to evade paying taxes.
The former banker, now a convicted felon, was paid one of the largest rewards in history by the IRS for his
information. The tax cheat facilitator turned himself in, offering information to prosecute himself, and his now
former client. On prosecution, the IRS and their attorneys acknowledged they could not have succeeded without
his information and cooperation. Said banker ratted on a tax cheat he was helping, went to jail and will come
out 40-months later a millionaire. Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction. Not all cases are like this one. This is an
exception to the usual rule of thumb.
Can anyone turn in a tax cheat or reveal a scheme to defraud the government? Yes, however there are some
rules and regulations you need to know about. Documentation of the scheme is king, as is confidentiality. The
whistleblower program has been revamped and there are several criteria: the large awards program and the not so
large awards program, with the distinction being the percentage of reward an informant may garner later.
The large awards program is applicable when taxes, penalties and interest on a fraud case are in excess of $2
million or, if the taxpayer is an individual whose gross income is in excess of $200,000. Under this program, the
award percentages run from 15 percent to 30 percent of what is ultimately collected after prosecution. The not so
large awards program is for those who do not qualify under the large awards program, and offers 15 percent of the
actual collected proceeds.
You definitely need expert legal assistance from a Cleveland, Ohio whistleblower attorney, to file a whistleblower’s
case. This is because the IRS wants any submissions to make sense, come complete with legal evidence and an
attorney’s memorandum spelling out the law. If it is easy for them to pick up the complaint and run with it, the
chances are higher it will be pursued to conclusion.
Keep in mind whistleblower cases are not about keeping things short, sweet and simple. They typically are lengthy
matters: however, new rules have been passed to expedite the process in certain cases. Your attorney will explain
the situation.
Tom Robenalt is a Cleveland, Ohio whistleblower attorney To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Ratting out a tax cheat may be lucrative first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Once the full force of the Affordable Care Act kicks in, there will be at least 20 to 40 million more Americans with access to health care. The system is already overburdened trying to keep up with the number of people currently using it. Add 20 or 40 million more people, and a strained system may break down completely.
Medical professionals will face very few options when the influx of people begins, and one of them is to rush patients through to get the work done. Inevitably, haste causes medical mistakes and hospital errors, and those cause injuries and/or death. It is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to think medical malpractice suits may increase as a result of the new Act. However, having said that, given the fact that many states have medical malpractice caps in place, this may shape up to be an untenable situation for plaintiffs who are not able to get the compensation they deserve.
The influx of newly insured patients may not happen all of a sudden, but over time, between 2014 and 2015, those who did not have health insurance will realize they can go to the doctor, a revelation likely to be met with appreciation by patients and with trepidation by physicians. As it is, most medical malpractice lawsuits that go to court are the result of doctors and other medical professionals being overworked and overwhelmed with patients.
It is obvious that the health care system needs more medical professionals, and doctors may want to consider expanding their staff to meet the soon-to-be-higher demand for their services. However, this begs the question of where the people to fill those roles will come from to enroll in schools to train them. In the meantime, patients who feel they have been the victim of medical malpractice have very little recourse open to them, other than to consult with an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Medical malpractice attorneys are the watch dogs of injustice, ready on the sidelines to help those whose lives have been turned upside down by a medical error. It is important to understand that not every bad outcome with a medical professional is necessarily medical malpractice. In speaking with a seasoned Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, this is one of the things covered in the initial case assessment. Do not hesitate to ask questions. You need to know your legal rights.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Supreme Court ObamaCare Decision Will See Increase in Medical Malpractice Cases first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The state of California is in an interesting battle of wills, with a ballot up for consideration that, if passed, would mean patients get the identical level of protection against health insurance premiums considered unfair as doctors get through their practice. In plain English, the rate regulation being proposed would drop the current insurance rates by $21 million. This is great news for patients but not so good news for insurance companies who make good money on overcharging medical health professionals for malpractice insurance.
The likely upshot? Even though the insurance companies may be forced to reduce rates, you can be sure they will find a creative way to hike rates some other way. The way this is supposed to work is that the state’s Department of Insurance will use a prior approval rate regulation authority to drop premiums for medical negligence insurance for a group of 20,000 medical health professionals.
It is not just this latest group to get lower rates; as six other medical malpractice insurers had also been told, in no uncertain terms, to cut their premiums by $44 million. The state appears to be deadly serious about putting the brakes on overcharging, a refreshing change to say the least, as it is illegal in California for insurance companies to charge excessive or unfair premiums for medical malpractice. Next on the proposed ballot? Seeking protection for premiums paid out by patients for their health insurance.
The vote on this issue is not until November, and many are viewing it with eager anticipation. Who wouldn’t want to pay less for their health insurance, more so now given the fact the Supreme Court just handed down an endorsement of Obama’s health care reform mandating Americans have health insurance by 2014. If the ballot passes, it would potentially affect 5.5 million people. If this were to be implemented in other states, insurance companies would receive the comeuppance that many feel is their due. Americans are tired of being gouged on health insurance premiums.
Not surprisingly, insurance companies are not happy about this potential turn of the screw. Most insurance outfits loathe to publicly justify or prove their need to hike rates before they go into effect. It is only fair that patients get the same kind of protection.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies May Be Forced to Drop Premiums for Medical Professionals first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that an accurate diagnosis of a patient involves being completely present and with it – meaning not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Doctors are human, and therefore prey to addictions, just like the rest of us. However, since they have a higher standard to live up to, given the nature of their jobs, they need to do their work with a clear head. If they don’t, bad things happen to good people.
It’s a given that drugs, alcohol and even lack of sleep slows response time and messes with judgment. Most of us clearly recall those times when we have crossed the line by having too much to drink and then not recalling what did or didn’t happen next. We may also recall some of the dumb decisions we made while under the influence. Fortunately, we were not dealing with patients’ lives.
Recent statistics have shown that boozing while on-call and on-duty is a shade short of being out of control. Addiction to prescription narcotics also plays an enormous role in medical health professionals lives. Is this due to the long and arduous hours they work? Possibly. However, the danger of doctors and other medical personnel using substances that alter how their brain’s function is patently obvious; impaired judgment leads to serious injury or death.
Under the influence physicians are prone to making mistakes in various moments such as during the birth of a child, prescribing medications, while performing surgery, while assessing patients in the ER and when delaying or missing a patient diagnosis. The long and short of it is that if you smell alcohol on your doctor’s breath, think twice about what you have been told and seek a second opinion if warranted. It’s your health and your life.
If you have sustained an injury as the result of dealing with an intoxicated health professional, now is the time to call an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer for help. His job is to make sure you get fair and equitable compensation. Be aware that there is a statute of limitations on filing medical malpractice lawsuits, and if the deadline passes, your action is barred and cannot be continued.
Also keep in mind that every interaction that does not make you a happy patient is not considered to be medical malpractice. Merely being dissatisfied with the doctor does not mean they have been negligent. If you have questions about a situation you may have experienced, call a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and ask questions. It is entirely possible that while you may be just fine right now, some complications might make their presence known later.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Think Twice About a Doctor Diagnosis If You Smell Alcohol on His or Her Breath first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Not everyone is going to be thrilled with the outcome of a medical event. Perhaps they needed gallbladder surgery, a broken arm reset, an angiogram or cancer surgery. All medical procedures come with a certain level of risk for the patient, and in most instances, they are fully aware of what those risks are in having the procedure done, just as they are aware of what may happen if they do not have it done.
Most medical procedures and treatments go without a hitch. There is the odd one that does not go as planned and the challenge at time is to figure out whether or not the patient was a victim of medical negligence or just a bad outcome, something the doctor may not have any control over. This is why patients are asked to sign informed consent forms prior to any treatment or surgery, acknowledging they are aware of the nature of the treatment, what other alternatives there are and what risks they may face.
There certainly are instances where an informed consent form was not given to the patient, was given to the patient when they were under the influence of mind-altering drugs or handed to them just before they hit the operating room. Under those circumstances, there may well be a case made for medical malpractice. However, the patient must also be aware that signing those consent forms does not guarantee them results and that they are additionally agreeing that their procedure does have risk and that the results may not always be what they expect.
To initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit, the patient needs to show that the doctor was negligent. In legal terms, that would mean that the doctor’s conduct fell way below the accepted standard of treatment by others in the same area of practice. For instance, medical malpractice may be present if the doctor gives a patient the wrong blood type, removes the wrong leg while amputating, leaves a surgical instrument inside a patient or operates on the wrong patient.
Stranger things have happened, and some of them are the direct result of negligence. Some of them are a bad outcome to a situation in which everything else was done correctly. The difference between medical negligence and a bad outcome is something you need to speak to a qualified Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer about. Their job is helping people who have been harmed by medical negligence. If you suspect you may have been a victim of a medical error, do not hesitate to call a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and find out what your rights are.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Dissatisfaction with Your Doctor’s Treatment is not Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Not too many people realize that medical malpractice does not just involve a misdiagnosis, wrong site surgery, misinterpreted x-rays or failure to diagnose. Medical malpractice can come in the extremely dangerous form of illegible handwriting on a prescription. It happens often, as the doctor hurriedly scrawls out something for your aches and pains, quickly ripping the top paper off the prescription pad. You can’t read what it says, but shrug your shoulders and figure the druggist will know all the jargon.
The problem is the pharmacist cannot always read the scrawl any more than you can, which leaves them in a position of guessing what the doctor meant. Yes, they should call the doctor to confirm, but many times that does not happen, as the doctor is too busy to call back, or the druggist thinks they know what is required. There are times they do know what is required, based on a patient’s history, but taking that chance can backfire. If the drug store is unable to interpret the scrawl, they may well end up handing out the right drug with the wrong dose or the wrong drug entirely.
Statistics show that drug related mistakes were to blame for just about one quarter of all preventable injuries to patients. Those same statistics reveal that just about 10 to 15 percent of prescriptions are in error. Fifteen percent is a large number when you stop to consider how many prescriptions are handed out across the nation on a daily basis. For example, in 2010 there were 4 billion prescriptions written for ten common drugs, ranging from hydrocodone to Norvasc and from Prilosec to Hydrochlorothiazide. If you do the math, 15 percent of 4 billion prescriptions being in error is a frightening thought.
While it may seem odd to think that a doctor or pharmacist could make an error when they are working with computers, many doctors still cling to the old fashion way of handwriting prescriptions out on their pads. Unfortunately, if they tend to be sloppy writers, those scripts may reflect the misuse or misspelling of a drug’s trade name, the wrong abbreviation for dosages and confusion over the timing of when to take the medication.
Interestingly enough, the U.S. and Canada are considered to be the least developed in terms of using e-medical records for various medical tasks, procedures, patient information and prescriptions. While many think that is related to the cost of running this kind of a specialized system, the reality is that many doctors are just plain sloppy and are fine with that.
The bottom line though is that mistakes made as a result of lousy handwriting, abbreviations that don’t look right and dose errors could be wiped out by inputting this information into a computer program, one that would make the physician double-check what they just ordered. Once in the system, the drug store would get a printout of the order in plain text, not a squint-worthy scrawl. There would be fewer errors made using this process and more lives saved.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice has Many Faces first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The woman in this medical malpractice case went through hell and back. Thanks to a $3.9 million award, she may just barely be able to keep up to date with her around the clock medical care. Her life is nothing like it used to be. She has great difficulty walking and needs help with all her daily living tasks, like getting dressed. Her family and two kids were in complete shock and anguish, as they did not think she would live at all.
It started in December 2006, when the woman went to the E.R. at her local hospital with a nagging, horrendously painful headache, and blood pressure just about out of sight. She had been getting treatment for M.S., which included high doses of steroids. Steroids do tend to cause high blood pressure. The doctor misdiagnosed a brain bleed as a migraine, and sent the woman home with pain medications.
In the morning, the woman’s headache had vanished, but she could no longer walk or talk. Her family had an ambulance take her back to the hospital, where not much could be done to help her, as the damage had already been done. She had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.
The medical malpractice trial was long and arduous, but the results were clear; the doctor was negligent and his insurance carrier was required to pay for his medical malpractice. The hospital itself was not found to be negligent, because E.R. doctors are not hospital staff. They are contract staff.
The upshot of the case is that a patient that trusted the doctor to know what he was doing, no longer has a normal life, has to learn to write left-handed as she is completely paralyzed on her right side, and struggles through every day. She is no longer able to snowboard, ski, ride a bicycle or inline skate, and if she wants to go to her kid’s school, they have to help her walk. Apparently the doctor retired just shortly after the trial.
Not every medical malpractice is as devastating as this one, but it should be noted that medical malpractice cases that go to a jury trial are not in the least frivolous. Medical negligence lawyers do not take just any medical malpractice case to court. They take the ones with merit; the ones that cry out for justice. They take those where the victim’s life is catastrophically altered, and will never be the same again and the ones where medical care is enormously expensive, because a doctor did not know what he or she was doing.
If you suspect you have been the victim of medical malpractice, contact an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. If you want your voice to be heard, to tell your story and what you are suffering through because of medical negligence, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer will be your voice; a voice that will obtain justice.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post When Migraines are not Migraines, but a Brain Bleed, the Results are Catastrophic first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It doesn’t take much to understand the nation is still in a crisis, in more ways than one. While the economy is paramount, so is immigration and health care. Or to be more precise, medical malpractice is still a major issue, despite the many programs being launched to apologize for, explain and settle a case. The plain fact is that the less money we have as an economy, the more stress it places on all the systems we use. And, the more stress there is, the more defensive and adversarial the medical system becomes.
These days, physicians, patients and hospital staff are subconsciously on tender-hooks, waiting for the other shoe to drop. They are aware that on any given day that something may go wrong with a medication or procedure and that someone may sue them. Patients are aware they may be harmed. It’s a revolving door of explosive blame, waiting to go off. And implode it does some days when the most bizarre things happen: the case of the mother with sepsis, not diagnosed in time, resulting in both hands and feet being amputated; the case of the man who went in for hernia repair and died of an internal injury caused by the surgery that was not caught in time to save him.
A snapshot of the health care system would show understaffed hospitals and clinics, overcrowded waiting rooms, overbooked doctors with no time to spend with patients, and the people just keep coming in. Lack of time, under diagnosis, under treatment, over diagnosis, too much treatment, too many people and prescriptions written in haste has also led to pharmaceutical malpractice.
Where do all these issues leave a patient? Mostly up in the air, not knowing who to trust; the Internet or the real doctor. Doctors are now seeing more patients who regard their recommendations and prescriptions with sincere mistrust. Many patients have second thoughts about filling their prescriptions. It’s a scary world out there and yet, we still need to rely on doctors for their training, skill and expertise to help us with medical issues. And what is something does go wrong? What recourse does the patient have?
Thankfully, the patient still has, in most states, recourse to sue a medical professional for medical negligence. Unfortunately, there are some states that believe in tort reform and cap medical malpractice damages, which results in serious repercussions for the victim who must try and live the rest of their lives with compromised health, thanks to medical malpractice.
Perhaps the question we need an answer to, both as medical malpractice lawyers and as patients/victims, is what happened to turn the health care system into what it is today? We can’t fix anything, until we understand the cause, and that goes for doctors trying to diagnosis a patient. Instead what we have is a flawed medical care system, which at times chews up patients, who in turn sue with the assistance of medical malpractice lawyers.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Throwing Money at the Health Care System Will not Fix the Medical Malpractice Issue first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This case revealed some highly distressing information about the medical health system in the county where the 14-year-old boy was born. He is confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak, but he can think clearly and understand what is being said to him. Nonetheless, he requires around the clock care that is currently provided by his mom.
During the process of bearing her child in 1997, the young mother was given drugs to stimulate her labor. However, she was given far too much of the drug, which virtually starved the baby of oxygen. The hospital did not initiate prompt corrective action either, and as a result of the difficult birth and oxygen starvation, the baby boy was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy.
Fast forward to 2012 and the Florida House panel approving the boy’s $31 million claim. In a 12 – 1 vote, the Civil Justice Committee passed the claims bill. HB 965 will be the largest claim paid out in the history of the state, and will mandate the publically run health system and hospital where they lived to pay the award to the family.
The defendants in this case are not happy, as they state they did not cause the boy’s condition. But the information that angered many is that the hospital system involved in this case does not have insurance. Does not have insurance, what a shocking revelation. What hospital in their right mind operates without liability insurance?
In fact, a spokesperson for the system without insurance suggested the state should pay between $2 and $6 million, and the system would contribute the same amount towards children’s health care. Asking the state to pay for their screw up was, without a doubt, an audaciously dumb move.
Hopefully this kind of disturbing revelation isn’t just the tip of the iceberg. The very thought of other hospitals in other states not having liability insurance is a deeply frightening thing to contemplate. What that says about hospital administration, medical malpractice liability issues and patient’s rights is even more distressing.
In order to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit, you would need the assistance of a qualified Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. These cases are often time consuming, convoluted, fraught with setbacks and filled with anxiety for the plaintiffs. With the compassionate assistance of a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, the process is not as difficult to handle.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Landmark Victory of $31 Million for Medical Malpractice Victims first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>If you have ever been the victim of medical malpractice, you will know how passionate you have become about making sure the medical professionals who harmed you are held responsible. It becomes a quest for many patients that have been victims of medical malpractice, and they hope what happened to them will never happen to someone else.
If the Florida Legislature gets its way, holding doctors accountable for medical malpractice will become a virtual impossibility. This is not good news for any state, not just Florida, for what passes there, may well be passed in other jurisdictions like Ohio. As a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, this type of Draconian legislation makes the blood run cold.
The Florida Bill is supposed to reduce the medical malpractice liability of medical professionals in that state. It is deeply disturbing for many reasons. It acts as a shield for doctors from liability for harming a patient. For example, if a physician is negligent in not ordering necessary tests, the result could seriously harm or kill a patient. If there is a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, a patient may not survive. This bill states the patient needs to show clear and convincing evidence that the doctor was negligent in not performing other tests.
Most patients are not doctors. Putting them in the position of having to clearly prove the doctor was negligent is like handing a stick of dynamite to a toddler and telling them not to play with the matches sitting on the table in plain sight. No one in their right mind would risk a child’s life like that, but the state of Florida is willing to risk an innocent patient’s life to continue to let a negligent doctor practice. What is wrong with that picture?
Patients went to the doctor because they trusted them, needed care and expected, because of the doctor’s higher standard of training, that they would be helped. If they are seriously harmed or killed by the very person they trusted, they would be hung out to dry by this proposed bill. Patients just do not, and in most cases never will, have enough evidence to satisfy such a high legal burden.
If this bill passes, they will not be able to receive the compensation they would deserve if they were harmed by their medical doctor. That means patients may face catastrophic injuries, at the hands of a doctor, that they have to pay for, for the rest of their lives. How is this fair?
A serious warning note is being sounded by another provision in this same bill; the drive to discourage doctors from ordering tests that would pinpoint grave illnesses before they got to the point of no return. If doctors are being encouraged to not order tests that could prevent a needless death, more people will die for no good reason. It makes you wonder what legislators regard as good medical care and if they needed tests, would they expect them? Likely they would, but they don’t want you to have them.
If it isn’t bad enough that the bill wants to rip away patient’s protection against medical malpractice, it also invades their privacy. It proposes letting a doctor’s lawyer interview the patient’s other doctors without the patient or the patient’s lawyer being there at the same time. This is a clear violation of patient rights. It gives defense unfettered access to health information that is not relevant to a lawsuit, and provides defense attorneys with an unfair advantage. It is the patient, harmed by the doctor that is to be protected, not the doctor who negligently committed medical malpractice. Attacking tort victims as if they were the enemy makes no sense. Hopefully Florida comes to its senses before passing something that will set patient’s rights and protections back to the Dark Ages.
Christopher Mellino is a <a href=”http://www.christophermellino.com/”>Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer</a> specializing in <a href=”http://www.christophermellino.com/”>Cleveland Medical Malpractice</a> cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com
The post Beware Florida Medical Malpractice Legislation that Skewers Innocent Patients first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This reported medical negligence case strikes close to home for many Americans who do not like getting needles, or who are afraid of something bad happening after they get a shot. That is precisely what happened in this instance; a young teen lost both arms and legs as the result of a vaccination error made 13 years ago.
Here is what happened. When Jane Doe was born, she had intestinal problems. As a result of that, her spleen and some other organs were removed. This meant that since the spleen filters bacteria and incipient viruses, she needed medications to prevent infections. With that information, her mother took her daughter to the medical school’s pediatric unit for a checkup in 1998.
A medical assistant injected her daughter with a special concoction designed to protect those without spleens. Unfortunately, the vaccine had expired five months before it was given. In other words, this case boiled down to medical negligence, a medication error. Eight months after the injection, the little girl became deathly ill with a bacterial infection; an infection that promoted the formation of blood clots in her arms and legs. This led to gangrene and the emergency amputation of her arms and legs above the joints. The girl contracted the very disease she was supposed to have been inoculated against.
The jury awarded $12.6 million, an award that will be cut nearly in half, as the jury also found the mother to be 40 percent at fault. The reason the jury assessed a 40 percent fault to the mother was based on an argument made by defense counsel that suggested the baby would have become sick despite the expired vaccine. A medical expert testified the mother had not given her enough medication to help her fend off the infection.
Medical negligence comes in many forms, and medication errors are just one of those forms. For any individual who has had a bad outcome in a medical situation, they need to speak with a qualified, competent Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Medical malpractice cases are exceedingly difficult for everyone, and often take a long time to be resolved. This case took 13 years to be determined.
However, one thing should be noted, and that is not all instances of a bad medical outcome are classified as medical malpractice. This is the main reason why it is crucial to discuss your case details with an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to get an idea if you have a case. The lawyer is able to explain what constitutes malpractice and whether or not your situation may be one of malpractice or not.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Teen Loses Four Limbs to Stale Vaccine Given as a Child first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It is no secret that medical malpractice lawsuits can be very long and drawn out, costly, and frustrating. This drawback has frustrated plaintiffs and attorneys alike, who have often been heard to say that something needs to be done about the long delay between the injury and the denouement of justice.
There have been attempts over the years to shorten up the time lag, but nothing has really been successful. You may recall that one of the efforts to speed things up was capping damages, aka tort reform, and we all know how well that did not go over since the victim gets hurt twice by the system in the process. However, there may be some hope that the process can be sped up into a shorter time period.
Typically, when a medical malpractice case is being built, the discovery process and evidence gathering may take years and involve more than one judge. Settlement talks usually do not take place until a trial is about to go to court. However, with the innovation of a new program in New York launched by a Bronx County Supreme Court administrative judge things may be expedited for such cases.
In this particular program, one judge takes care of the whole case from start to finish, with an eye on commencing negotiation talks early in the process to save time and money. This is referred to as judge-directed negotiation, and it started as an agreement in 2002 between the judge and a collective of New York hospitals and the city Health and Hospitals Corporation.
What happens in this program is that a judge with medical malpractice experience assists negotiations but does not mandate or impose any settlement figures. If those taking part in the process are not happy, they have the choice to have their case proceed through the courts in the usual way. Over time, it has been demonstrated that the parties participating in this program have found a faster resolution and financial payout very appealing.
In 2010, the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality gave them a $3 million grant and expanded the program, which is now being regarded as a viable model for a national litigation program. It’s nice that someone has been thinking out of the box to address problems. But, does this process work? It seems that it does, as by and large, medical malpractice lawsuits take up to three years and sometimes longer to resolve. Cases that were put into the New York program were handled within six to nine months. That’s a phenomenal savings of time and money.
Think this program has a place as a national medical malpractice litigation program? Let’s hope it does come to pass for the sake of those who need it the most, the victims.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Judge-directed Negotiations Show Promise to Expedite Medical Malpractice Lawsuits first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are times in just about everyone’s life where they need a trip to the ER. The thing is, once we get there, we have no control over who we get for a doctor and sometimes we do not even have a chance to give our consent in some instances. Emergencies do happen and sometimes the niceties of life are not observed when a life hangs in the balance.
With an emergency going on, it is not too surprising that mistakes can be made. Those mistakes may result in further serious injury or death. There are a variety of emergency room errors, but there are three fairly common ones: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose or messing up test results. Mistakes in these areas have really serious consequences.
An example would be if you fell down a flight of stairs and hit your head. At the hospital you complain of tingling in your left arm, a sore neck and headache and your pain is not diminished with medications. You are sent home with some pain medications and told to rest, and that you likely wrenched your shoulder badly.
Overnight, your speech starts to slur, you have trouble walking and by morning you need an ambulance. Your diagnosis, given by another doctor, is internal brain bleeding, the result of traumatic brain injury. You need immediate surgery and may or may not lose the ability to walk.
The night before when you were in the ER, you did not display the usual signs of traumatic brain injury. The doctor did not order an MRI or any other test that would have detected traumatic brain injury. Not giving you the right type of tests that would have been indicated by the fact that you fell and hit your head would be a misdiagnosis. And, because of the misdiagnosis you may sustain irreparable brain damage or die if the surgery does not go well due to the 24-hour delay.
For those who have been in a situation similar to this, you have more than enough reason to seek experienced legal counsel from a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. This is the person you need to discuss the details of your case with so the lawyer can ascertain if you have a legitimate claim as not all bad outcomes are medical malpractice.
To find out where you stand legally, make that first phone call to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Put your mind at ease and your future in the hands of experienced counsel.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Negligence Can Occur When Things Happen Too Fast in the ER first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Heart attacks are as individual as the person experiencing them. No two people have the same symptoms, and in fact they may not have the classic signs that one is occurring. Take the case of a woman who went to the ER because her chest felt tight. The doctor ran many tests but could find anything wrong. He advised her to start taking aspirin and handed her a prescription for anxiety medication. Three days later she died of a heart attack. What happened to cause her untimely death?
The heart attack was misdiagnosed, something that happens far more frequently than we even know. In fact, just about two percent of all cardiac events are misdiagnosed. That number, which was derived from a study done by the New England Journal of Medicine, may not seem that bad. However, two percent adds up to 1.2 million people dying every year as the result of a heart attack.
It is no secret that heart attacks, coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease is caused by blood being blocked from getting to the heart. Once that happens, the main event is typically a heart attack, heart failure or cardiac arrest.
Many of the symptoms include, but are not limited to:
– Nausea
– Shortness of breath
– Chest pain
– Discomfort in the chest, either mild or severe
– Discomfort in the stomach, neck, jaw, back or arms
As you may have noticed, many of these symptoms could also signal something like the flu or pneumonia. More often than not, the patient knows something is wrong and insists something is wrong, only to have a doctor rely more on tests than how the patient feels.
Tests doctors run when they suspect a cardiac event include:
– Chest x-rays
– Stress tests
– Cardiac markers
– Blood tests
– ECGs
– CT scans
– Heart catheterization
Misdiagnosis may happen by misreading results from these and other tests. If the doctor does not take any action, or does not order the right test, this too may end in a misdiagnosis along with the wait and see attitude that often comes with uncertainty about test results.
To put it bluntly, if a possible heart attack victim does not get the appropriate drugs right away or have emergency surgical intervention, he or she may not live to see another day. Frankly, most people would not want to be a doctor faced with trying to determine if a patient was having a heart attack or not. It is a tough job, but those that are in the medical field must be accountable for any errors they make.
Have you been in a similar situation? Did you have a heart attack that was diagnosed as something else? Make a call to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Find out what your legal rights are, and what constitutes medical negligence.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Misdiagnosed Heart Attacks Can Lead to Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death Lawsuits first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Recently there was a rather bitter controversy over whether or not a doctor’s disciplinary information should be available, and if so, how much information should be available. Those embroiled in the debate are the American Medical Association (AMA) and consumer rights groups and journalists. The reason the debate exploded was in response to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department taking disciplinary information out of their online database.
Why was the disciplinary information removed in the first place? They removed it because news organizations used the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) to point a finger of blame at doctors frequently accused of medical malpractice, but had not faced any discipline.
The very idea that a doctor was accused of medical malpractice but not disciplined may be viewed two ways. The first is that it was a one-time incident, and on examination of the facts, was not considered medical malpractice. To be fair, not all bad outcomes with a doctor are the result of medical malpractice. Some are genuinely unforeseen circumstances. However, if a doctor has been accused of medical malpractice more than once, has a history of patients complaining, and more than one lawsuit pending, this is a different scenario altogether.
The NPDB is the repository for information on payments in medical malpractice cases and keeps records on physician’s disciplinary actions. Congress created this data bank with the idea of improving health care. Health plans, state licensing boards, hospitals and other health care organizations use the database to determine if a doctor may be approved for a license, permitted to work, or granted admitting/clinical privileges. Journalists have used the information on the database, despite the fact it does not reveal doctors’ names or addresses.
Health and Human Services feels it was justified in taking the information down from the website to protect doctors’ anonymity largely because federal law says that type of intelligence must stay confidential. Of course, the AMA agreed. The burning question then becomes how the removal of the information will affect patient safety; something no one else but patients (and their attorneys) seem to be worried about.
The AMA, in its defense, says the database is not reliable and not an accurate indicator of a doctor’s qualifications or competence. What is worse? Knowing the doctor has a history of patient complaints and medical malpractice accusations and thus making an informed decision about seeing them, or knowing nothing and finding out later the doctor botched a procedure and caused you harm. Additionally, if the database is not reliable or accurate, why isn’t it reliable and accurate? That is a frightening thing. What does that say about the AMA’s attitude about patient care?
Do you want to know if your doctor has faced disciplinary action? Been sued for medical malpractice more than once?
Been sanctioned by the state licensing board? This is something to think about, particularly since it is your right to have quality health care. If you want quality health care, you would obviously want a doctor that has not been sued for medical malpractice.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Doctor Disciplinary Records Being Removed From Public Viewing Causes Patient Safety Concerns first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While it might seem odd to hear that a doctor and a lawyer could work together over issues like tort reform, it is happening more often on a larger scale. This can only be good for the eventual demise of tort reform. Many doctors see tort reform as necessary for a variety of reasons. They think it will reduce their medical malpractice insurance premiums. It won’t. And they think their liability should be limited. It should not.
Basically, the problem with tort reform, besides the fact that it is blatantly unfair and unethical, is that doctors do not really understand what it could mean to a patient that needs lifelong medical care. Their focus is limited to trying to deny or diminish liability for any medical errors. To be fair, some instances labeled medical malpractice are not, and not all bad medical outcomes are the end result of medical negligence. That is just the way it is.
The whole issue really gets right down to education. Educating medical professionals about what tort reform really means equals refocusing them from the desire to pay less in medical malpractice premiums to considering how a catastrophic injury caused by medical negligence can seriously affect the victim. Certainly there needs to be some willingness on the part of the medical professionals to admit when a mistake is a mistake. That does not happen too often.
Now there is a divided camp of sorts between the American Medical Association (AMA), who insists tort reform is needed to reduce medical malpractice premiums and open the door for more people to have access to medical care. Frankly, it would seem the AMA is buying into the hype insurance companies sell them – that the number of malpractice cases is the reason for high premiums. Actually, it is the insurance industry wanting to make more money that drives premiums up.
In the other camp is the American Association for Justice (AAJ), who states simply that limits are unfair to the victims and do nothing to lower medical malpractice premiums. In other words, the relatively few high verdict medical malpractice cases has nothing to do with increasing insurance rates, but the economy, greed, low interest rates, the recession and lack of compassion do.
This argument has been around for years. It will continue. In the meantime, if just one doctor at a time can be converted to see the real issue relating to medical malpractice insurance and tort reform, then that may be considered to be progress.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Lawyers and Doctors Spar Over Medical Malpractice Concerns first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is quite welcome news to medical malpractice lawyers – that regulating insurance rates is crucial to preventing medical malpractice insurance companies from taking thousands of dollars from doctors and allowing patients better access to health care. This observation comes from the author of California’s insurance regulatory reform law.
There is a bit of history involved here, and that is referring to Proposition 103, enacted as insurance reform in 1988. That law mandates prior approval for various requested hikes in insurance, meaning that insurance companies must justify and get an approval from state regulators before any new rates could be introduced.
What is interesting about this, is that in the first three years after the reform was introduced, California medical malpractice premiums dropped by 20 percent, then stabilized. This happened despite premiums across the nation fluctuating wildly. The national average showed an increase in medical malpractice premiums of 127 percent across the nation. California doctors were only paying 24 percent between 1988 and 2009. Quite the difference.
What do these numbers mean for every state and every doctor in the U.S.? They mean that California’s medical malpractice insurance industry was slamming doctors with high rates because they could, so they could make obscene profits for themselves, while blaming rising premiums on injured patients. In other words, the only reason why California held the line on reasonably priced medical malpractice insurance was because of Proposition 103. Do other states need a similar Proposition? It would seem so, or doctors in other states may not see any savings from malpractice insurers without something like it.
Another interesting provision in Proposition 103 created a process where interested groups, or the general public, could ask for intervenor status to challenge excessive rate hikes. Thanks to that group, they were able to stop a $66 million rate hike for doctors and other medical professionals. Sounds just like what the doctor ordered. Stop the bleeding where it begins, with insurance companies gouging doctors to make as much money as they can.
The number of serious medical malpractice cases across the country is not high enough to justify the outrageous prices insurance companies charge medical professionals for coverage. Having said that, by no means should a doctor guilty of medical malpractice not be held accountable for their negligence. What is going on in the insurance industry is a mindset being stoked by the lust for more and more money to feed their bottom line.
Medical malpractice insurance is not about settling up with an injured patient and making things right. It is not about admitting that a doctor made an error and is willing to pay for it. It is about dismissing, denying or diminishing a claim to avoid paying out too much money. In other words, medical malpractice victims are at the mercy of the negligent doctor and an insensitive insurance company, who is far more interested in not paying on claims than in doing what is right.
If something like this were introduced in the state of Ohio, or any other state for that matter, it would be a welcome relief for patients, victims, doctors and medical malpractice attorneys. Perhaps this would get rid of medical malpractice caps, which only benefit the insurance companies, not the victims.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Insurance Companies Should Be Reined in from Charging Excessive Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Not all doctors face lawsuits, and typically, there are some specialties that get sued more than others, but that is not common knowledge. That information, or at least a snapshot of that information, was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their study covered close to 41,000 medical malpractice claims against doctors across America from 1991 to 2005. Most doctors in the study were an average age of 49 years old, with the low end being 30 and the high end being 70.
Of the 41,000 doctors sued, those that had a closed complaint relating to medical malpractice, just about 7.4 percent were sued regardless of what kind of medicine they practiced. Out of that number, at least 1.6 percent had to pay out on the claim. Overall, the New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that the most lawsuits were filed against the following specialties, from the most number of lawsuits to the least number of actions:
Most sued:
– Neurosurgery
– Thoracic-cardiovascular surgery (paid the most in plaintiff claims)
– General surgery (paid the most in plaintiff claims)
– Orthopedic surgery (paid the most in plaintiff claims)
– Plastic surgery
– Gastroenterology
– Obstetrics and gynecology (paid the most in plaintiff claims)
– Urology
– Pulmonary medicine
– Oncology
Least sued:
– Psychiatry
– Pediatrics
– General practice family medicine
– Dermatology
– Pathology
– Nephrology
Doctors paid out in only 20 percent of the filed lawsuits. The average payout was $247,887. One fact worth noting is that pediatric physicians, who do not get sued that often, paid out the highest amounts (likely due to the fact their patients are not adults and the harm caused is more significant), and neurosurgeons, who do get sued more often and had lower payouts (which may be due to the complexity of proving something went wrong).
The bottom line is that if you have been in a situation involving any of the various medical specialties we discussed in this article, and you feel it is medical malpractice, you will want to make a call to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Not all bad outcomes with a doctor are classified as medical malpractice, and by consulting a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, you will know if you have a case and whether or not you may move forward with that case.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Journal Highlights Frequency of Doctors and Specialties With Medical Malpractice Cases first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>When bad things happen to good people, they need help from the justice system, not a cold shoulder.
This reported case is disturbing because of what it says about lawmakers and politicians, as well as people’s inability to understand how the tort system should work when medical malpractice is involved. The story is about a 17-year-old young man who has to face significant life challenges thanks to medical malpractice.
The mother knew there was something wrong with her twins. Once active, the twins’ movement gradually decreased over time. The mother grew concerned about her pregnancy and went to her doctor. The doctor sent her home, saying there was nothing to worry about. Two days later, her babies stopped moving completely. At that point, doctors ordered an ultrasound. It showed the twins were in major distress.
When they were delivered, neither baby was breathing. Tests on one of the twins indicated he was not getting air and had suffered major brain trauma. The mother was then told that most children born like that died within a year or so due to complications. The good news is that both babies survived, but their paths in life became dramatically different. The baby with brain damage began his life as a special needs baby and at 17 years old, still requires intensive, constant care. This is an expensive condition to say the least.
The family did file, and win a medical malpractice lawsuit against the ob-gyn. The jury awarded $5.6 million for the boy’s lifetime medical expenses and his pain and suffering. The state where he lives, Nebraska, has a medical malpractice cap that limits the amount a doctor is responsible for, which means that the boy and his family will only receive $1.25 million. They will not be left with enough monies to care for the boy should something happen to them. Where is the justice in that?
In order to care for the young boy for the rest of his life, it would take roughly $12.4 million. The initial award was $5.6 million, which would have helped significantly, but when the medical malpractice cap is applied, that number drops to just about negligible in terms of providing care for their son. Do not forget that they will also still need to pay legal bills.
Unfortunately, a doctor’s negligence destroyed a young man’s life and the doctor will only have to pay a mere fraction of what the actual damages are. The Nebraska Medical Association is fine with the cap, because they think medical malpractice claims in states without them means higher insurance rates and health care costs. When the Association was asked what they thought about this particular case, they said the cap served the state well, and there were always a few exceptions.
A few exceptions? That is a major understatement. And how does a medical malpractice cap serve the state well when someone’s life will never be the same because of a medical mistake? When doctors and insurance focus more on saving money than paying for medical malpractice, something is wrong with the system.
No matter where you live, if you feel you are the victim of medical malpractice, seek expert legal counsel. If you live in Ohio, contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and find out how the system works. Find out what to expect if you choose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and what it may mean in terms of an outcome. Your Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer will have all the answers.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Cap In Catastrophic Case of Negligence Harms Young Man first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Sometimes a doctor that keeps making medical errors gets his name in the paper. At least this one particular doctor certainly did, and while he is not necessarily representational of all doctors, he does serve as a bellwether for patients and other doctors. Many doctors do a fine job under difficult and often trying circumstances. But unfortunately is just takes one bad doctor to affect patient lives.
Dr. Stefan Konasiewicz has almost seen as much media time as Octomom. Just last month, he was on trial in Minnesota for negligently doing a brain biopsy that ultimately resulted in the patient sustaining a severe brain injury. The patient was left with cognitive defects, impaired speech and lost the ability to walk. This is not the only medical misstep the doctor has been accused of either.
While still living in Minnesota, and before he moved to Texas, this doctor had nine medical malpractice lawsuits filed against him between 1997 and 2008. He was reprimanded by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, and settled five of the lawsuits for roughly $3.2 million (two of the cases involved wrongful deaths).
The Minnesota Medical Board took the unusual step of publicly reprimanding him for unprofessional and unethical conduct in four cases that ended in patients sustaining injuries, becoming quadriplegic or dying. The medical board in Wisconsin also commented on him, as he had a license in Wisconsin too.
However, this doctor moved to Texas, whose state medical board did not feel there was any reason to put any restrictions on him. In other words, he has a clear medical license and can do what he pleases. Should this doctor’s current and potential patients be concerned that he is allowed to practice, given his track record in other states?
They definitely should be extremely concerned. It is their lives on the line. What patient would choose a doctor branded as unprofessional and who was responsible for many horrific injuries to his patients in other states? What would make the Texas Medical Board think this doctor had suddenly changed?
The bottom line is that if the state medical board in Texas is not going to be cautious about a doctor with flagrant cases of egregious medical malpractice, the public is on its own. Their only recourse would be to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, with strict medical malpractice caps in place, thanks to the legislature, the public is unprotected from medical negligence. What happened to the concept of justice for all?
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post State Medical Boards Need to be More Cautious When Doctors Move to Escape Medical Malpractice Claims in Another State first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It is public knowledge that medical negligence in the USA (and other countries) is, quite frankly, rampant. Recent statistics show that medical mistakes happen in one third of hospital admissions, and it will get worse as the population grows, the health care system gets overtaxed, the number of doctors dwindles and the pressure cooker that medical professionals work in continues to get more stressful.
What is completely incomprehensible is the fact that politicians, and authorities in other industries like insurance, insist on trying to reduce accountability and the legal rights of seriously hurt or dead patients that the medical profession failed. It is actually not much of a surprise that politicians and the insurance industry are holding hands in trying to reduce legal accountability. Their bottom line is keeping the dollars they make on insurance, not giving it out to patients.
Not all insurance companies are avaricious vultures. In fact, there is the odd insurance carrier that has decided to take a progressive step forward by suggesting to hospitals that they implement a comprehensive patient safety program. This particular program, rolled out in the labor and delivery unit at one of New York’s largest hospitals, saw insurance claims drop.
What did they do? Among other things, the program required training teams with the aim of improving communication, implementing e-medical record charting to eliminate any mistakes in reading doctor’s handwriting, revamped on-call scheduling, set up new drug regimens, ensured physician’s assistants were used appropriately and held obstetric emergency drills. This is innovative and really, these steps should be implemented when a mother delivers a child.
The results of these changes indicate that the program significantly reduced adverse events and, in turn, had an immediate impact on compensation payments. By educating the obstetrics team, making lines of communication clearer, making safety changes for patients and improving how patients were treated, the number of medical malpractice claims dropped. Why are politicians and other authorities not speaking up about this?
If people truly paid attention to this issue, they would recognize that penalizing medical malpractice victims twice – once when their doctor fails them and twice when the courts unjustly diminish an equitable award – does not help the victim. It does not help the system reduce medical malpractice claims. Instead, the claims remain at an all-time high and more awards (at a lesser amount) are being paid out for medical errors.
On the other hand, teach medical professionals these steps and they can then protect and save lives more. Teaching a medical team how to work with and for their patients, and fewer medical errors are made and compensation claims drop. That is what saves money. Stealing the bulk of a medical malpractice plaintiff’s jury award for an egregious act committed by a doctor does not save money, unless you count the money the insurance company kept. Never forget that a victim’s life was completely ruined by medical negligence – the kind of medical negligence that doctors seem to think they should not have to pay for, in any way, shape or form.
In other words, what happens to the victim in all this? This is an issue that people need to take a prompt, close look at. As a nation that prides itself on justice for all, it is stunningly ironic that governments and insurance companies think denying medical malpractice victims their due justice is an okay thing to do. It is not – period.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Innovative Health Care Safety Programs Do More to Reform Medical Malpractice Claims first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a really hard story to read about, and many others may have had something similar happen to them. The story involves a young boy, full of promise for the future and happy. This boy could figure out just about anything for himself, even at the age of three years old. Then one day, the unexpected happened, and the little boy fell face first onto a sharp stick that drove itself into the right side of his mouth, face and sinus cavity.
When the young boy was taken to hospital, the surgeons operated and repaired the damage, discharging the boy to home care after they had taken cultures to test for any bacteria that might have been present. All was well for a few days, until the little boy developed a high fever, became lethargic and was taken back to the hospital for help. The parents asked for a brain scan as they thought his brain may be injured as a result of the stick that pierced his sinus cavity. The doctors rejected that idea and that is when things went wrong for the little boy. He was diagnosed with meningitis, which was a wrong diagnosis that would eventually result in the boy being sent into a medically induced coma.
What had actually happened? It turns out that young boy had an undiagnosed and ruptured abscess in his brain that was caused by the accident. He was left severely brain damaged, blind, and unable to do anything other than the simplest and most basic of tasks because earlier cultures were not read sooner and the medical experts overruled the parent’s request for a brain scan. Treatment would not have been delayed nor would it have been the incorrect treatment if time had been taken to truly analyze his injury.
This case went to trial and the jury awarded the family $7.1 million, but the award was capped at $250,000. And how does this help to care for a child with such catastrophic problems? It does not, period. His parents have no idea how he will be cared for in the future and feel what money he did receive will run out, and he will not get proper or adequate care in the future.
The medical pundits that made the errors that cost this young boy a promising life will not be held responsible for the full extent of the boy’s injuries. He has been wronged by the medical malpractice capping in his state. Over time, from the age of 2-years-old to his current age of 21-years-old, he has had at least 23 various surgeries. He needs almost around-the-clock supervision and his movement is limited due to the cerebral palsy from the brain trauma.
The family faces a real dilemma every day – will their son’s money for care run out before he passes away? Will they pass away before him? While dealing with those and other questions, they became aware of the medical malpractice capping debate. They were particularly angered by people – insurance companies and politicians – who told them the cap would be helpful for them as a family. To this day, they vigorously disagree with that line of thought. It certainly has not helped their son, nor will it ever benefit them in the future.
This is an issue that has the potential to touch many lives and to also harm many. If you have been in a situation like this or feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice, do not hesitate to pick up the phone and call an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Find out what the law is in your state. Advocate for the right to receive what you truly deserve in a situation like this one. Speak out for those who have nowhere to turn and who will not get justice. Medical malpractice caps are inhumane, unethical, and punitive – an anathema to the justice system.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Caps are Unfair and Inequitable for Affected Individuals first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>According to The Journal of General Internal Medicine, there is a hike of up to 10 percent of fatalities during that summer month. Why would that be? Turns out that is when new doctors-to-be, also known residents, are starting their training. The definitely should make patients pause about when to schedule surgery.
To be fair, the figures are not exclusively pointing at surgery as being the main cause of deaths during that month. Instead, there is a potpourri of reasons, including mistakes in prescribing and giving medication, in addition to messing up during a surgical procedure. If you stop to think about this, it should not really come as too much of a surprise. There are close to 100,000 deaths every year as a result of medical mistakes in the USA. About one in seven patients suffer from medical malpractice that causes serious harm, permanent injury, or death.
What do you do with these kinds of statistics? Is there something that can be done to protect your health, now and, yes, even in the month of July? There are a number of things patients can do to be proactive. These days, if you do not stick up for yourself, ask lots of questions, do your own research and make sure you understand what treatment(s) you receive, you run the risk of being on the wrong side of a medical malpractice experience. Asking questions and being informed may save your life.
Before you take a trip to a hospital for a surgery or anything else, ask them about their infection rate. While that may seem strange, the fact is just about 31,000 patients die every year from infections they caught while in the hospital. Hospitals measure their infection rates by something called catheter days. In other words, this is the number of 24 hour periods where a patient has a tube in them. Ideally, you want a rate of 0 in one thousand catheter days for a year or more. If it is higher than three days, book into another hospital.
There is no harm in asking your doctor how many times they have done the procedure you are booked to have. It is your body. If the doctor just says that they are the doctor and to just trust them, shop around for another more compassionate physician, with a better bedside attitude. If you are asking these questions on a Friday, then you might want to think twice about agreeing to take that slot. Elective surgery done on Fridays typically means the operating room staff are drained from a long week and running on residual energy. If they are tired, mistakes happen. In fact, avoid going to a hospital on a weekend, as staffing levels are not what they should be, labs are slower and doctors on call are out of the hospital at home.
Prescription errors and improperly prescribed medications are major causes of hospital deaths. In institutions with e-records, the error factor dramatically drops. Choose a hospital that uses electronic records, as it acts as a safety back up for you to protect you from drug interactions, wrong doses and wrong prescriptions.
Still find yourself faced with a sticky situation that you feel was the result of medical malpractice? Call an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and find out precisely what you are dealing with and how to file a lawsuit. Not all bad medical outcomes are classified as medical malpractice, so it is best to consult with an attorney.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Statistics Show the Worst Months and Days for Surgery Errors first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This reported case happened in Norwalk and the jury handed down a $58.6 million award. The case involved an obstetrician who waited too long to do a C-section. The end result was a severely and permanently brain damaged baby, who is now 8 years old and must be fed through a tube, cannot walk or talk, lives life in a wheelchair and is incontinent.
The day the baby boy was born, he was non-responsive, blue and limp. He had seizure activity and was placed on a ventilator. None of this was good news for the parents. The baby has lost oxygen to his brain during the birthing process; a process that the parents said was fraught with medical errors. In their medical malpractice lawsuit, they stated the doctor did not do incision in time in the upper uterine area, delayed the birth by C-section and didn’t allow for space for an atraumatic delivery, typically used in cases of a very low birth weight fetus.
The jury took all the evidence into consideration and handed down $8.6 million in economic damages for past and future are of the child. Additionally, at their discretion, they also awarded $50 million in non-economic damages. If tort reform had been a factor in this case, the damages would have been capped at about $250,000. How would the family have paid for the child’s care? The answer is they would not have been able to pay for his care, and the injustice of being the victim of medical negligence would haunt them every day.
Medical malpractice cases are never easy and many of them take a long time to be resolved. Often the defendants deny they are liable, even if the evidence says otherwise. It’s a long road to justice for many people in situations like this and the trauma of having to sue, combined with the trauma of a severely disabled child, is overwhelming. If tort reform wins the day, people like the parents in this case and their son will suffer every single day for someone’s medical mistake. Where is the justice in that?
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post There Are Still Cases Of Medical Malpractice With Higher Jury Awards first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Just a quick recap will bring you up to speed on this proposed Act. H.R. 5 was designed to pre-empt most medical care lawsuit across the nation. The uproar over this was stunning, but rightfully so, as that act would breach the right of the individual states. But more than that, it would attack the most vulnerable – the victims of medical malpractice or medical negligence.
There is more than one point of view regarding H.R. 5, and many of them have caused heated debates, but one thing is painfully clear. The federal government cannot demand strict limits on federal power and then try to mandate federal control over state tort laws. The bottom line being that by trying to federalize all med mal litigation, it will not accomplish tort reform – in fact quite the opposite, often dubbed as tort deform. It’s a plain and simple concept that if Congress attempts to deal with med mal law, it slams into the brick wall of mega-serious federalism controversy and problems.
The thing you need to understand is that most med mal lawsuits move forward in state courts under the auspices of state laws. If Congress wants to try to impose a rule on those suits, like capping damages for pain and suffering, it has to have the answer to this question: “Which of the government’s constitutionally prescribed powers allows it to act?” is there an answer to that question? Likely not, as so far no one has come up with an authority to do this.
What is the real issue here? The issue is, in plain English, that Congress has no authority to implement tort reform, because this is within the purview of the states. Some even say that trying to ram through federal tort reform is an abuse of the Commerce Clause. Now that is food for thought. Suffice it to say that even more lawmakers, legislators, judges and lawyers state that H.R. 5 is unconstitutional – period. Constitutional experts all seem to agree on this one; a rarity in itself indeed.
Where is this flap going to end up? That’s a good question, and without a crystal ball, it would be hard to answer. Right now things are up in the air and on stall, which may well be a good thing. State wise, many legislators are taking a hard look at med mal capping/tort reform in light of some really egregious med mal lawsuits.
The prevailing question arising out of the horrendous cases, are why should the innocent victim suffer, why should the medical professional get away with committing negligence and not be held accountable for it, and why should the victim be victimized twice; once by the medical professional and once by the justice system? Those questions are what keep those who advocate justice for med mal victims awake at night.
In other words, med mal and tort reform is not just about constitutional issues, turf wars and insurance money. It is about the victim whose life has been ruined by someone’s negligence. That bears some sober second thought.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Where The Rubber Meets The Road On Tort Reform first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This hot button issue is making the rounds all across the nation. States wanting to reduce the dollar amount of liability to plaintiffs in cases of medical malpractice. In other words, promoting or passing legislation that protects doctors from being fully accountable for their mistakes.
Imagine if you will a totally disabled woman, confined to a wheelchair as the result of back surgery gone wrong, when her surgeon made a mistake and cut through her spinal cord. Imagine this woman only being able to recover $250,000.00 for her shattered life. How will she pay for her total care for the rest of her life with $250,000? More to the point, the actual award would be less than $250,000, to cover legal and other expenses, which would leave the woman with virtually nothing. And yet, she is a quadriplegic, thanks to a surgeon’s negligence. Is this justice?
If you’re saying “no,” then you get the idea of what is behind tort reform. Many say it is a good thing to reduce frivolous lawsuits. As any medical malpractice lawyer with a good number of years of experience will assure you, medical malpractice cases that go to court are anything but frivolous. In many of them, the lives and wellbeing of a severely injured patient hangs in the balance. Could you carry on with your life if you were disabled and had no money, and the doctor who harmed you only paid $250,000, when caring for your disability may run into the millions?
It appears that there is a hint that at least one state. Oregon is re-thinking its position on this controversial move, or at the very least, reconsidering pushing such reform through. Whether that will mean they ultimately do not introduce the bill or not isn’t clear. However, if there is at least a pause from the pell mell rush to doing a deal and some sober second thought, perhaps this will help reinforce the point of the true injustice to the victims by capping med mal damage awards.
Oregon has a history of trying to introduce a bill that would cap non-economic damages and one that would create a panel of experts to review pending malpractice cases. Both of those bills died before they saw the light of day. Unfortunately, there is still the prevailing attitude that if there were such a law in place, it would reduce the costs of defensive medicine and lower the cost of med mal insurance. Of course, there are two sides to these issues and it largely depends on which side you are on, as to which point of view you espouse. Sadly, no one is asking the victims for their thoughts.
At some point, the powers that be will need to carefully listen to those who have been victims of medical malpractice; those whose lives will never be the same again. Why victimize them twice by not allowing them full compensation for their injuries, caused by the negligence of a medical professional?
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Jackpot Justice Is An Interesting But Erroneous Concept In Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This reported case is extremely interesting in the precedent it may set. It involved a settlement for $7 million; the result of a malpractice lawsuit against four medical professionals, including a genetic counselor. The gist of the case is that the wife did not get proper prenatal genetic counseling before having her baby. As a result, the child was born with a rare genetic syndrome referred to as “Cri-du-chat.” The plaintiff’s child is now three years old and has severe mental and physical disabilities.
This genetic syndrome is the result of lost or misplaced genetic material from the fifth chromosome, and was discovered in 1963. The name of this disorder is based on the sound that babies and youngster make when crying – similar to a crying cat – hence “Cry of the Cat” or “Cri-du-Chat.” The actual cause of the cry is an abnormal larynx.
These children do not just have an unusual cry, they have a set of distinct facial features, such as the turned down corners of their eyes, varying levels of being mentally handicapped, webbed or fused toes/fingers, small heads, low set ears and small jaws. The cry alone can alert the doctor to the presence of the syndrome, without needing chromosome analysis. While some cri-du-chat children are able to go to school, many more require specialized education and long-term care.
The key argument in this case was that if the chromosomal abnormality been detected earlier, through amniocentesis, the wife could have made an informed decision to abort her child. The defendants denied liability, pointing out that the hospital had offered amniocentesis, but that it was declined. The plaintiffs said they were not told they could have the procedure. The upshot of the story is that the judge approved a $7 million settlement, with $4 million to be placed into a trust for the child’s future care and medical treatments.
Cases like this are never easy, particularly when they involve a newborn child. The parents were hoping for a full term and healthy baby. It was their opinion that they did not receive the right kind of genetic counseling to avert a situation such as this. In other words, that the medical professionals looking after them were negligent in their advice, by not informing the wife she had the option to undergo amniocentesis to check for genetic abnormalities.
Pediatric medical malpractice? The court certainly thought so, and the hospital and the various parties to the case settled on the basis of the facts of the case. While it is not common to run across pediatric malpractice, it does happen, and usually far more often than we would like. Aside from the involvement of the child, there is also the question whether or not the wife was subject to medical malpractice. There is certainly a case to be made for that as well, with a focus on her not receiving enough information or being offered a vital test to make an informed choice about her medical care.
For those in tricky and difficult situations like this one, make your first phone call to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and ask for advice. The first consultation is free, and you can find out whether or not you do have a case worth pursuing. It is important to know that not all cases of a bad outcome with a doctor, or other medical professional, are the result of medical malpractice. The Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer will explain the difference to you during your conversation.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Pediatric Malpractice May Also Involve Genetic Counseling first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This case was heartbreaking and resulted in the birth of a severely brain damaged baby. The little boy had a bright future ahead of him and just had to be born to realize it. His mom went to hospital in the early hours of the morning in the initial stages of labor. Testing indicated the baby was normal and healthy.
Eight hours later the baby’s heart rate dropped from 140 beats per minute to 60 beats per minute. The labor and delivery nurses did not call the doctor. When he arrived 22 minutes later, he waited for about an hour before he ordered an emergency C-section.
They discovered that the drop in heart rate was caused by a compressed umbilical cord, which resulted in a profound lack of oxygen for the baby. The baby was severely brain damaged and will require full time care for the rest of his life. The medical malpractice lawsuit award in this case was $8.5 million, as the child, now 5 years old, cannot see, walk, hold his head up or eat without being fed through a straw. The named defendants were the doctor, the medical center, a delivery room nurse and her supervisor. Part of this award, $2.5 million, was earmarked as damages for pain and suffering. This is hardly what anyone would call a frivolous lawsuit.
Birth injuries can happen in the blink of an eye, as this reported case demonstrates. If this is something that has happened to you, you will want to discuss your case with an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. It is important for families dealing with birth injuries to have someone be held responsible for those injuries. Contact a knowledgeable Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and find out what about your options and rights.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Intervened Causes Child To Be Born Severely Brain Damaged first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There is a lot of controversy over medical malpractice lawsuit caps, with most of it focusing on the raw deal an innocent victim gets if they have been harmed at the hands of a medical professional, or by a medical product. This is an issue that has taken on a life of its own, and shows no signs of slowing down. And, really, why would it when every day someone suffers the consequences of medical malpractice?
This issue is vitally important to everyone in this nation, as at some point in time, we may need medical care. Will we come out of the process in one piece? Will be have a successful outcome with the doctor? Or, will we wind up debilitated, with our whole life turned upside down, because of an error? More often than not, this is becoming a question patients contemplate before they take a trip to the hospital for any type of medical procedure.
Just recently, President Obama suggested he wanted to look at reforms to medical malpractice and other options to tweak health care, rather than repealing the health care reform bill. The premise behind that is a quest to find other ways to bring down health care costs. So far, so good. Unfortunately, he then commented he would put med mal reforms up front and center to “rein in frivolous lawsuits.” You may recall the House suggesting legislation that would put into place a $250,000 cap for pain and suffering caused by health care goods/services or any medical product.
This med mal cap suggestion put the fire of outrage under patient advocate groups, and rightly so. The term frivolous lawsuit in the same sentence as medical malpractice is unconscionable. Most med mal patients are seriously harmed, and have no way to live their lives without financial compensation. They are victims of catastrophic medical malpractice, and someone has to be held responsible for the mistake that turned them into a shadow of their former self; for ruining their lives, compromising their health and possibly killing them.
There are at least 35 states with some form of med mal caps on damage awards. The House is making noises about a law similar to Texas and California, but they are trying to stretch it another step further, and limit damage awards for injuries caused by drugs and medical devices. Think about that for a minute. How far reaching would something like that be? Would it mean medical device makers could get off paying limited damages for a defective product? Would it mean the drug makes would get off paying limited damages for a dangerous drug?
On one side of the debate are doctors, who think caps will keep malpractice insurance rates affordable and keep doctors in their practices. On the other side of the debate are those asking about the victim, who suffered significant harm or death due to a medical error. Why should they pay for the doctor to keep on making mistakes? Why should they accept a damage cap of $250,000, if the actual award may be closer to $3 million? Med mal lawsuits can be very ugly and graphic, but why shouldn’t they be if a medical professional messed up? No lawyer takes an infected hangnail case to court.
When it comes to medical malpractice, there is really no such thing as a frivolous lawsuit. If you want a prime example of one, just think about the woman who was texting as she walked, and fell into a fountain. She wanted to sue the mall where it happened for not putting up railings around the fountain. Whatever happened to looking where you were walking? Since she was supposedly a mall employee, it would hardly be a surprise the fountain was where it was when she fell into it. No, medical malpractice lawsuits get to court because they have real merit.
There are further arguments that med mal caps are unconstitutional. That aside, the real concern here is the victim. Who is speaking for them? Will you speak up for yourself if you have been in a situation where you had to take a capped damage award and cannot pay your medical bills? You need to speak out and speak up. This is not just about your life; it is about the lives of others that may also be affected by medical malpractice.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Caps Are A Pain In The Anatomy first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Medical products liability is an issue that scares a great number of people, and rightly so. We trust that the makers of these products have done a good job, have tested them, made sure they will not harm us and that we can rely on them to help us with whatever condition we have. Imagine the shock and horror if we find out our pacemaker offers electrical shocks that disrupt the heart’s rhythm or stops the heart or that our hip implant shreds metal into our joints and necessitates more surgery.
What does a patient do when they find out that something implanted in their body, supposedly medically safe and designed to help them, actually causes more problems, serious injury or even death? Typically, the best thing to do is to contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and discuss your case with him. Each case is different and not all bad outcomes with a doctor are medical malpractice. Your situation would need the skill of a highly trained med mal lawyer to assess your circumstances and the outcome.
Before proceeding with a medical malpractice or product liability lawsuit, you need to find out what are acceptable grounds for filing a claim. For example, you may file if the cause of your injury had a design defect, a manufacturing defect or defective or inadequate warnings.
Do not wait too long to talk to a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, because every state has a statute of limitations that dictates when you need to file your claim. If you miss that deadline, your action is barred. Also remember, the sooner you file, the more time the lawyer has to research and build your case.
Whom do you name in your lawsuit? Often that is a difficult question to answer right away, at least until the lawyer has time to assess your case. There may be more people than you would expect. For instance the lawsuit may be filed against the doctor, the nurses, hospital, the maker of the product, the distributor of the product and the seller of the product. There may be more, but the lawyer will be able to sort that out based on the case details.
Of course, the most critical question is how is product liability proven? In many states, cases like this are founded in the doctrine of strict liability. Your lawyer will instruct you on what that means should it be applicable to your case, but it basically boils down to him or her proving the defect in the medical product was the cause of your injuries.
One question that most victims ask relates to damages, as in what damages may they expect should they have a case and it goes to trial? Should the case go to court and product liability is proven, the plaintiff may typically recover compensatory damages, which would include medical expenses, lost wages, physical, mental and emotional pain as well as punitive damages.
The one thing to remember with medical malpractice cases, and particularly those involving a defective medical device, is that claims like this generally need the testimony of experts. This may mean the case takes months or years to be resolved. If you go into the process of filing a lawsuit with the right kind of knowledge, you will understand the process and be able to cope with how the case is proceeding.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Products Liability An Increasing Issue Across America first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a case that garnered a number of headlines in 2009, as it was a spectacular example of a senseless crime committed for no apparent reason. A 38-year-old man who was shot to death at close range was first reported missing by his wife, who called police to say he had not come home after a company function. The man worked for a trucking company.
When the police arrived on the scene, they found the man’s car parked in the office parking lot, but there were no signs of the man himself. Fellow workers started searching the building and eventually located the man on the second floor of the office building. Unfortunately, he was dead.
Later, as more details about the case came to light, the police discovered that the man had gone to work that fateful day to meet a 47-year-old co-worker, ostensibly to talk about some kind of presentation schedule for a seminar to be held later in the day. No one knows what happened next except for the killer, but the younger man was shot and killed. The killer was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
The young man’s wife has chosen to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the killer to seek compensation for her family to be able to get on with their lives and deal with their financial affairs. The reality of many wrongful death lawsuits is that there is insurance money at stake and the family typically needs the funds to be able to handle the drastic changes in their lives since losing the main breadwinner in their family.
While many seem to think it is wrong to file for compensation for the death of a loved one, those left behind need something to be able to move forward with their lives. There is usually no other way to secure funds without filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Truthfully, wrongful death lawsuits are also often about closure and a final acceptance of what happened the day they suddenly lost their family member.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Wrongful Death Lawsuits May Be Filed Against Those Facing Criminal Charges first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are a number of ways for someone to lose a limb. Many of them are common daily events that we would never expect to harm us. For example, you could lose an arm as the result of a car wreck or workplace accident. You may even face amputation because of a defective product or a dangerous situation on another’s land or property.
You may even lose a limb as the result of medical malpractice such as wrong limb surgery or wrong patient surgery. If your accident was the result of someone else’s negligence, you may have the right to recover compensation for your injuries by hiring a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Typically, there are at least two types of amputation injury – lower and upper limb. If the lower limb is amputated, it typically means removing a portion of the leg or foot. If the leg is involved, it would be removed either above or below the knee. Some amputations are done at the hip. If an upper limb needs to be removed, it will typically be above or below the elbow.
As mentioned earlier, there are a number of ways that an amputation may come about. One of those was premises liability – meaning there is a dangerous condition on a property that harms someone. Most conditions that harm someone relate to poor maintenance, a hazard on a construction site that was not taken care of or overlooked or the poor design of a building. In cases such as this, the term premises liability refers to the duty the owner of the land owes to those who visit. They are bound by law to keep their property safe so that it does not put someone in danger or harm them.
If an accident on the property was the result of poor maintenance, etc. and the end result is an amputation, the plaintiff or entrant may recover compensation for their injuries. If your injuries are the result of a defective product, you may be able to recover from the maker or the seller of the product.
You should know that many product liability lawsuits are based on the doctrine of strict liability. This simply means the maker or seller of the product had a duty to ensure it was safe, that your injury/amputation was caused by the product due to a design or manufacturing defect and that you did not substantially alter the product from its original state.
Given that many amputations are the result of car wrecks, the key to filing a personal injury lawsuit would be the presence of negligence; specifically that the other driver was reckless or careless and caused the injury accident resulting in your loss of a limb. In cases like this, the plaintiff shows the defendant owed them a duty of care, that the duty was breached by their negligence, the breach actually caused the amputation and the plaintiff was the victim of some kind of damage – personal injury or property damage or both.
By now, you get the idea that there are many instances in which someone may lose a limb due to the recklessness of another. If you are in a situation like this currently or have been in a situation like this, do not hesitate to contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, particularly if your amputation was the result of wrong body part surgery or wrong patient surgery or the result of a misdiagnosis.
You should be able to recover past, present and prospective medical treatment costs, loss of earnings calculated on all lost wages and loss of future earnings and for pain and suffering from the devastating emotional damage of a lost limb and drastic change of life circumstances.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Loss Of Limb May Result From Many Types Of Accidents first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The last thing anyone would want to happen is to find out that their newborn sustained traumatic brain injury while being born. Sadly, this does happen and far more often than we would like. Brain damage may happen after the birth or before birth. In the case of after birth injuries, you would be dealing with non-traumatic injuries, acquired brain damage or traumatic brain injury. Before birth, any injuries to the brain are typically referred to as congenital brain injuries.
After birth brain trauma is often caused by someone else, perhaps an individual who was negligent in performing their medical duties, typically a doctor and/or nurses. If this happened to your child, you may be able to hold the hospital, doctor and nursing staff responsible for the brain damage to your child. Even if you are not sure whether or not you have a case, speak to a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, have your case evaluated and find out what your legal rights are and what could happen if you choose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Just to give you some idea of the differences between congenital and other types of brain damage, let’s take a quick look at congenital brain injury. In cases like that, the damage may be the result of trauma, anoxia, poisoning, infection, hypoxia or a genetic defect. Any of these circumstances will present themselves in the form of Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol syndrome, dyslexia or epilepsy.
What causes cerebral palsy? There are a number of causes that include premature birth, infection, birth trauma, a poor blood supply to the baby or inadequate oxygen levels. There are also infant diseases like meningitis and encephalitis. In other words, there is no one definitive cause for cerebral palsy. It is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
An example of another birth disorder is Down syndrome, indicating the presence of an extra chromosome in every cell. This may lead to heart conditions, gastrointestinal difficulties and mental retardation. This is generally a genetic defect. Fetal alcohol syndrome is usually the result of the mother drinking during her pregnancy – a disastrous scenario for the fetus that may present with low birth weight, retardation, CNS problems and growth and behavioral challenges.
The whole point is that giving birth is an endeavor full of challenges and potential problems. One untoward slip of the hand by the doctor, the administration of the wrong drug at the wrong time, a delayed response to fetal distress, a delayed C-section or a botched delivery using forceps and a child may be left mentally impaired for the rest of his or her life. In cases like that, only a seasoned Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer can get you the justice you deserve.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Traumatic Brain Injury May Happen Before Or After Birth first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are a lot of symptoms that rear their ugly heads after a victim has sustained a traumatic brain injury. While most people associate this type of injury with just the brain being “hurt,” there are other repercussions people do not even think about. One of the other side effects of a TBI is inner ear problems – most commonly hearing loss and ringing in the ears.
You are probably aware that the other name for ringing in the ears is tinnitus. The latest research shows that the ringing is not actually in your ear, but is caused by misfiring neurons in your brain. It is not too much of a stretch to understand why you might experience tinnitus after sustaining a TBI. It is also not so mysterious that you may lose your hearing, as nerves damaged in the brain that affect hearing may have been compromised.
There are also other types of hearing problems that TBI victims may have to deal with. These may include finding that everyday, normal situations are overly loud (hyperacusis), having difficulty sorting out one group of sounds from any background noise and/or a type of deafness where the individual cannot recognize what certain sounds mean.
TBI injuries usually cause various difficulties physically, mechanically and neurologically; problems that result from the inner ear and/or temporal lobes being bruised, damaged or crushed. Obviously, TBI hearing repercussions are no picnic and may be permanent.
If you think those particular problems would be bothersome and frustrating, consider what it would be like to also have to learn new information, because what you did have or know is gone; having to relearn spatial orientation, how to complete tasks, how to control your impulses and how to have a sociable conversation. If this sounds like starting all over again, you would be pretty close in your assessment. TBI injuries are far reaching, devastating and for survivors, supremely aggravating and frustrating.
If you have suffered a TBI and are facing situations like the ones we just discussed, you will want to talk to a skilled Cleveland lawyer. How you got your TBI is likely the result of someone else’s negligence and to be able to live life as best as you can with your injury, you will need fair compensation.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post TBI Does Not Just Affect the Brain first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The problem with doctors making mistakes, even though they are human, is that their mistakes may have very serious ramifications to a patient; serious enough to alter or take their lives. This is, by and large, the major reason why “failure to diagnose” lawsuits are quite common. If there was injury to a patient, that doctor could be found guilty of medical malpractice in court later thanks to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Typically, most failure to diagnose med mal suits are the result of the physician not correctly diagnosing a disease; something that moves fast and may have drastic consequences, like necrotizing fasciitis or meningitis. Necrotizing fasciitis can look and mimic cellulitis and meningitis, being the sneaky disease that it is, and can manifest in two ways: bacterial or viral meningitis.
Bacterial meningitis and necrotizing fasciitis move fast, take no prisoners and leave behind a body in shock. Some survive, some do not. The vast majority of med mal lawsuits that involved failure to diagnose usually involve bacterial meningitis; a distinction made quite clear at trial by a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
To combat the bacterial version of this inflammatory disease of the membranes protecting the spinal cord and brain, medical personnel have to differentiate what they are dealing with fast, and hit it hard, to avoid the patient sustaining permanent injuries. Put another way; time is of the essence.
There is only one way to truly identify what type of meningitis a doctor is dealing with and that is to perform a spinal tap and send the fluid to the lab for testing. While the signs and symptoms may be signals of what the doctor is dealing with, the tests need to be done in order to accurately pin down a correct diagnosis.
Those red flags for a doctor are a severe headache, high fever, inability to handle bright light or loud noises and the inability to flex the neck forward. However, without the tests, the treatment prescribed may not work and the patient will be behind the eight ball, having lost several days to the wrong treatment for the wrong type of meningitis.
There is a narrow line in the diagnostic process when dealing with the possibility of meningitis that doctors must cross to get an accurate picture of what type of disease is ravaging their patient. That line is to err on the side of caution and call for tests. Not having those tests may ultimately result in the doctor being sued for medical malpractice later.
If someone you love or you have been in a difficult situation like this, then speak to a well qualified Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. It is one call that you will be glad that you made.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post The Correct Diagnosis May Save a Life first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are a number of reasons why medical malpractice isn’t quite as prevalent as it could be. One of those reasons is that people don’t always recognize what medical malpractice really is. They trust their doctor to always to the right thing, that they won’t be harmed and that their medical outcomes will be beneficial and not cause them serious injury or death.
Unfortunately, and sometimes despite their best intentions, doctors and other health professionals cause pain, injury and death as a result of intentional or unintentional negligence. It can be something as little as the wrong pill, the wrong time or the wrong dose and someone could be dead or gravely harmed. Awareness of what medical malpractice actually is goes a long way towards understanding when a medical negligence case is applicable after a bad medical outcome.
Keep in mind that not every bad outcome in a medical situation is due to medical malpractice or negligence. Sometimes, bad things just happen and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Do not let that stop you from talking to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, as you may have a case and not realize it.
In what areas do you tend to find instances of medical malpractice? One typical area is birth injuries. In many instances, these types of cases are defined by actual physical trauma or illness before, during or after birth. If the injury is life altering, meaning changes the course of the baby’s life at birth, the parents may be able to seek compensation to cover the cost of future treatments.
Medication errors are way up there on the list of things that can and do go wrong when dealing with a medical situation. These happen when a health professional knowingly prescribes or gives a patient the wrong medication, medication that the patient is allergic to, or gives the wrong dose of the right medication. The key here is the term “knowingly prescribes or gives” the medication, because in some cases the doctor and the patient may not know that they are allergic to a certain medication.
Along with medication errors, another category of medical malpractice that stalks the halls of hospitals and clinics is the failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis. Some people think they are the same thing, but in court, they are different. Misdiagnosis is when the doctor gets it totally wrong and, for instance, diagnoses lung cancer as asthma. Failure to diagnose is when an illness or condition just is not caught at all.
This is a fine line to walk in court, and there are cases where there is an overlap between failure to diagnose and misdiagnosis. Understand that the bottom line typically tends to be the same – harm to the patient or death. For cases like this, speak to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Comes In Many Forms first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>There are almost as many ways of sustaining a brain injury as there are grains of sand on a beach. It occurs in many ways, but typically speaking, it is referred to as any type of trauma to the structure of your brain that interferes or prevents normal brain functioning. Brain damage may happen to a teen, an adult, a senior and to infants. The kind of brain damage that happens at birth is usually separated into two different categories; injuries after birth and injuries before birth.
Brain injuries after birth are referred to as acquired, non-traumatic or traumatic brain injuries. Those that happen before birth are generally classified as congenital. Virtually any injury that happens after a birth is caused by an injury of some kind. While that may not always be the case, it is the case often enough that it usually winds up being a medical malpractice case.
Many “at birth” injuries are sadly the result of accidents, most often caused by the negligence of the attending physicians or other hospital staff. A word of caution here though, not all injuries are the result of medical negligence. This is the major reason why it’s wise to consult with a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer who can assess your case.
In a suspected case of brain trauma caused by the medical negligence of health care professionals, you need to know what your rights are, what to expect should you choose to file a med mal lawsuit and how you may be able to recoup financial compensation for the injury. Not all cases of medical negligence are the fault of the attending physician. Negligence may happen at any time during the birthing process, including the pre-natal routines before labor, during labor, after labor and well into post-natal care.
It is also important to be able to distinguish which type of brain injury you may be dealing with should your baby be diagnosed with brain injuries. For instance, congenital brain trauma may be the result of a genetic defect, hypoxia, anoxia, infection or poisoning. The results are not pretty and may present in various forms that include fetal alcohol syndrome, epilepsy, dyslexia, Down syndrome or cerebral palsy.
One needs to be cautious about assuming that cerebral palsy is a congenital birth trauma, as it has also been linked to birth trauma, premature birth, a poor oxygen supply, infection, poor blood supply to the fetus and diseases such as meningitis or encephalitis. Neurological disorders like these can be quite life-altering and debilitating.
No matter what situation you face with your baby, you can always consult with an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to find out if you have a case or not. Attorneys with this kind of experience know what you are going through and are there for you every step of the way, to mitigate the consequences of what may be a med mal case.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post The Vagaries of Brain Damage Make Lawsuits Challenging first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a nightmare that a great number of people suffer from: going into hospital for surgery and either waking up with injuries you never expected, or you don’t wake up at all. Despite the fact that most anesthesiologists are caring, well-meaning and skilled medical professionals, bad things sometimes happen. And when those bad things do happen, it’s time to talk to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to find out if you have a case.
Surgery isn’t a group of people getting together to assemble or take apart Lego building blocks. It is intervening in a person’s life to hopefully help them and make them better. While the intentions may be admirable, the execution of the surgery or administration of the anesthesia may not always live up to accepted standards of care.
Prior to any operation, there must be consultation on what is the best and most appropriate method of anesthesia for the patient. In some hospitals, the day before the surgery, the anesthesiologist pays a quick call to the patient in their room and tells them what to expect and asks if they have had any problems with going under before. This is a smart move that may be even smarter if more hospitals practice this highly humanizing component of having patients actually meet the person who will put them under, rather than just being put under by a pair of eyes they have never met.
There are a number of ways anesthesia administration can go awry and they include being under too long, delayed delivery of the anesthetic, administration of an incorrect dose, poor monitoring of the patient while they are out, bad reactions to the anesthetic, complications with intubation, negligent doctors, impaired doctors and communication errors. That’s a lot of things that have the potential to go wrong. It is no wonder people are leery about having surgery. There is an enormous amount of trust placed in professionals like this to do the right thing, do it the right way and do no harm.
If anesthesia has been misused, just what are the consequences? The damage an improper dose can do may range from serious to catastrophic and includes coma, tracheal damage from improper intubation, brain damage (often irreversible), cardiovascular injuries and the final arbiter of those who make deadly errors, death. If any of these situations has happened to you, you need to find out what your rights are and how to proceed by consulting with a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Unfortunately, the numbers of people harmed as a result of anesthesia errors is far higher than we would like to know about. For instance, these figures, from the National Practitioner Data Bank, show that from 1990 to 2002 alone there were 5,691 med mal payments made as a direct result of anesthesia related accidents. If you do some math, you’ll see that the average median for med mal payments was $245,935. Can this happen to you? Yes, it could. If it does, make an appointment to talk to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer about getting compensation for your injuries. It’s your right.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Anesthesia Errors More Common Than First Thought first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Delivering a baby is a major deal, to the parents, the baby about to arrive and the staff on hand for the birth. The unfortunate thing is that giving birth may also be ripe for complications; complications that may backfire and hurt the baby. Forceps delivery – often used when the baby is large, labor is prolonged or when the baby is in a breech position – is tricky and may end up causing a lot of harm to a newborn.
While forceps delivery is an accepted and recognized method of assisting delivery, if it’s not done properly, birth injuries such as brain or nerve damage may be the end result. Typically, this instrument isn’t used until there are indications the baby is in distress. For example, when its position in the birth canal is not right or when the mother is having difficulty pushing. If the forceps are used, they are designed in such a way as to clamp on the sides of the baby’s head, thus giving the delivery team a good grip.
However, having said that, the grip may be too tight, not in the right position and may cause damage. If you suspect your baby was injured as a result of a forceps delivery gone bad, take your case details to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and find out what your rights are and what you can do to recover compensation.
Quick delivery, precise positioning, care taken to protect the skull and a gentle but persistent grip executed with supreme care often saves a baby’s life and keeps it from suffering severe oxygen deprivation. It’s almost perverse to point out that the same techniques and procedures may also permanently hurt the baby; temporarily or permanently. Incorrect use of the forceps may result in cerebral palsy, a fractured skull and possible nerve damage.
When dealing with facial nerve damage, what tends to happen is that permanent facial asymmetry is the result of misusing the forceps. Damage like that is noticeable when the child cries or laughs. Cerebral palsy is the result of a damaged cerebrum, which controls motor functions. There is no known cure.
Did you know that the average lifetime cost to care for a child with cerebral palsy is close to $921,000? You can see why filing a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover expenses would make some sense. No family could shoulder that financial burden without a great deal of suffering and this is why they need to discuss their experience and any injuries to their child with a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Many think it’s only the baby that is at risk for injury during a delivery. This isn’t the case, as the mother may also sustain rectal injuries, urinary tract infections and lacerations. Giving birth is definitely not an easy endeavor and if the doctor or another medical professional was negligent in performing their duties or in the care the mother and baby received, before and after birth, there may be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. This is something you need to discuss with a seasoned Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, because some cases with a bad medical outcome are not always classified as med mal.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Forceps Delivery May Cause Cerebral Palsy first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Over the years that I’ve been practicing law, I’ve seen a fair number of traumatic brain injury victims. Each one has their particular story and each one manifests their injury in a different way. Typically speaking, some of the similarities amongst victims are loss of short-term memory, cognitive impairment, slowed reaction time, inability to make quick decisions, inability to express themselves and for some, slurred speech that may sound like they are drunk,” said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Sounding inebriated is just the tip of the iceberg, as people who are not familiar with traumatic brain injury may mistake the person as being under the influence and treat them accordingly. Take the case of a Nova Scotia, Canada man who was involved in an extremely serious car crash 25 years ago. It left him with slurred speech and brain damage.
This now 52-year old gentleman was boarding a bus and the driver ordered him to the back, then turned to the rest of the passengers and made a comment about how he normally boots drunks off the bus. The man tried to explain he was not drunk, but instead had a speech impairment. No one on the bus listened and he was shunned for the remainder of his trip. This isn’t the first time the man has had difficulties making himself understood to others.
“As you may have already guessed, he has spent a night or two in a police lockup being ordered to take repetitive breathalyser tests and has had his car impounded for drunk driving. However, he doesn’t drink. People are not taking the time to realize what’s going on and instead jump to conclusions. There is a valuable lesson in this for juries who hear traumatic brain injury cases; that what you see is not necessarily what you get and you need to look deeper than the surface injuries,” Mellino said.
Chances are, if there were more awareness of the consequences of traumatic brain injury in areas where it counts – such as first line responders, police officers, teachers and other health care professionals, people would get a true picture of what a brain injury involves.
“There are at least 1.5 million people in the US alone who live with brain injuries and that means you may run into someone trying to deal with their radically altered life at any time,” Mellino said.
“If you have been in an accident and have sustained traumatic brain injury, call my office and we can discuss your case. There are many things you will need to know to move forward, and that’s my job; to help you get fair and equitable compensation for your injuries,” he said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Malpractice Lawyer Mellino Asks People To Be Mindful of TBI Victims first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In terms of medical malpractice cases, this one likely takes the cake. Not only is it unusual, but it highlights the fact that doctors are all too human. But when they make mistakes, those mistakes can have drastic consequences.
While this case happened in Italy, there is nothing to say it can’t happen in the U.S. or that it hasn’t already happened and no one reported it. It started out as a fairly normal delivery for the woman in labour. It ended badly, as surgeons had to remove her uterus and her newborn son was diagnosed with heart and brain damage.
Evidently, the two doctors got into a disagreement over whether or not the woman needed a C-section, and they started throwing punches at one another. This sort of behavior is hardly professional, but more than that, it delayed the C-section by over an hour. That hour caused complications for the woman and her son.
If nothing else, this case highlights how vitally important it is for doctors to be professional and act in the best interest of the patient. Egos and other disagreements need to be set aside to provide only the best of care for those who need it. There is a lesson inherent in this incident as well, and that is medical malpractice may happen on the spur of the moment, and its consequences are often long-term and life altering.
If you have been in a similar situation and your child has sustained birth injuries that you feel were caused by medical malpractice, call a skilled Cleveland malpractice lawyer to discuss your case. This is a tough area of the law and you need to be well prepared to face a long road ahead if you choose to file a lawsuit. Know your rights. Knowledge is not only power, but gives those seeking justice the will to keep going when they are certain of their case and the expertise of their lawyer.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Outrageous conduct by doctors while delivering baby results in birth injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“If you were around in the ’70s, you may recall a study done on medical malpractice insurance. It was actually commissioned by the California Hospital and Medical Associations. It revealed that one out of every 20 patients suffered injuries as a result of med mal and furthermore, that one in 10 died. It was hoped at that time that the numbers would go down over the next 10 years or so,” said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Unfortunately, the numbers crept up instead. When a similar study was done in New York by a Harvard team in the ’80s, it was found that of the 50 hospitals surveyed and the 31,000 medical records examined in detail, that one in four patients presented with possible medical injuries. “If you’re thinking the numbers are likely even higher now, you’d be right. Just about 100,000 people across the U.S. die every year as a result of med mal,” Mellino said.
The most common forms of med mal include birth injuries, surgical injuries, infection, septicemia, bleeding, failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis and medication errors. “That’s pretty scary stuff when you stop to think about it, because it covers a whole gamut of things that could go wrong when you are under the care of a doctor,” Mellino said.
Birth injuries are not just injuries to the baby; they also include the mother and may happen if the doctor does not provide adequate care prior to, during or after the birth. It may be that no blood tests were given to detect abnormalities, that fetal distress was not recognized in time, that a necessary C-section was delayed or that in a rush to deliver the baby, bones were broken.
“Any one of those errors or a combination of them could end in the baby being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, a clavical fracture and facial paralysis. It’s not much wonder that mothers worry themselves sick over what may happen during birth,” Mellino said. “For the most part, doctors do a fine job of delivering babies. It’s just that sometimes, bad things happen, and when they do, something needs to be done about it.”
Operating room injuries are the subject of horror movies and indeed, many people who have been injured as a result of a surgical error certainly feel like they’ve been in a horror movie. After all, they trusted their doctor and thought they would get better. Instead, they may end up in worse condition than when they went into surgery or die on the table.
There are many things that can go wrong in the OR, such as the anesthetist giving the wrong dose of anesthesia at the wrong time, puncturing or cutting an internal organ, operating on the wrong body part or patient, leaving instruments or sponges in the patient on closing or failing to treat infections that may arise after an operation. This isn’t to say this happens all the time, but the numbers do indicate things like this happen with a greater frequency than we might like.
“If you’ve been there and done that and feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice, you will want to find out what your options are and what kind of compensation you may be eligible for from the courts. I’d be happy to talk to you about your case if you wish to call for information,” Mellino said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer Warns Medical Malpractice More Common Than Most Think first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While the results from the project the Navy is planning to work on over the winter won’t be known for some time, the possibilities of their research making a difference to those with traumatic brain injuries is truly exciting. The Navy hopes this will also help combat veterans handle any post-traumatic stress disorder. The ramifications this may have for non-military folk may open a whole new vista of medical treatments that would help accident victims. Traumatic brain injury is a very real concern when people have been involved in an accident where they have hit their head; no matter how inconsequential it may seem.
The initial idea behind this new computerized test is that it will eventually act as a tool, in an arsenal of many other tools, to identify mild brain injuries on location in the fighting theatre or other remote areas. The intention is that if mild brain injuries are caught earlier, the wounded may be allowed to recuperate and then return to battle.
Military personnel will have a thorough cognitive workup before they deploy, designed to act as a baseline for any field applications later should they sustain a head injury. The 20-minute evaluation was developed in the early 1990s by ImPACT Applications to assess and track concussions and subsequent patient recovery.
The workup is meant to be used as a companion tool, not to replace field medics with hands-on experience. Former hospital corpsmen will get focused training with the new program and will still do the physical exams and health histories. Further to their usual jobs, they will also evaluate wounded personnel for brain injuries, then complete a new assessment that includes what the next step should be in their recovery; either rehabilitation or evacuation. This new tool will also allow those with brain injuries to be pulled off the battlefield to regroup and recoup, rather than try to continue fighting with a traumatic brain injury.
The whole key to this new method to detect brain injuries is that cognitive testing will show subtle changes or injuries to the brain that could result in reduced or impaired performance. Those with concussion may suffer from headaches, ringing in the ears, dizziness, slower reaction times and short-term memory loss.
While this might be something non-military people could experience without too many consequences, the results of reaction timing impairment on the battlefield could be deadly. Because many of changes in the brain after a concussion – such as slower processing times – are not always detectable or noticeable, this new assessment tool hopes to catch problems sooner rather than later.
The number of mistakes a person could make as a result of a brain injury could be reduced with this new procedure, because early identification of a problem means they can get the treatment they need quicker. Even with a 50 percent to 60 percent assessment of the extent of a brain injury, this new tool is one more asset in diagnosing problems. The possibilities for using this for accident victims is especially hopeful for those who have been injured and know there is something wrong, but can’t pinpoint what it is. Again, it could be used as a tool along with a wide range of other methods to diagnose brain trauma. Earlier detection; earlier treatment – a win-win situation for many.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Treating traumatic brain injuries may be easier in the future first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Complete information about licensed doctors in the state of Illinois used to be on the state’s website. It was a popular site, getting at least 130,000 visitors per week. Obviously, people wanted to know about the doctor they were seeing, and for two years, they could do just that. Much to the chagrin of very interested patients, they can’t do that anymore. The information was taken off the site by the state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Why? Unfortunately, politics is the answer. The Legislature and the Supreme Court have Democratic majorities.
Detailed records were required to be posted in 2005, but the clause mandating that rule had a caveat; if the court struck down med mal caps, the doctor’s records would be removed. The Illinois Supreme court did strike down med mal caps and so went the physician’s records. This is highly unfortunate, as that online information showed if a doctor had been committed of a crime, was fired from a hospital or had made a med mal payment in the past five years. Patients appreciated knowing this information. Chicago medical malpractice lawyers found it illuminating as well. If you go looking online today, all you can find is if the agency has disciplined a doctor.
Despite the fact that Democrats say they are aligned with the working people and the less fortunate, removing this type of vital information says more than words could possibly say. The old saying; “Actions speak louder than words,” is highly relevant here. Removing the kind of information people need to know about their doctors is putting patient safety in jeopardy. Can you imagine taking your kids to a doctor who had been found negligent?
Since when has medical care become a close second to playing Russian roulette? Even though the vast majority of physicians do a fine and outstanding job, Chicago medical malpractice lawyers have seen more than enough bad things happen to fill a book. Mistakes happen, people are negligent, doctors are humans and doctors may be negligent.
In defense of the removal of doctor’s complete records, the Illinois State Medical Society says they would drain restricted state resources. And if patients want to know about their doctors, they can find more information from commercial websites, insurers or medical associations. If patients could find that stuff out from those areas, they likely would have been doing that in the first place. It’s also rather striking to note that those resources are all controlled by the medical profession.
The bottom line is, if the people truly want to be heard, they need to make some changes where it counts.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical malpractice records in Illinois are now behind closed doors first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In a 5-2 decision, Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to a statute that exempts med mal cases from the rule that statutes of limitation are tolled for the mentally incompetent. “This particular decision upheld an earlier ruling that a plaintiff’s med mal lawsuit was barred by the two-year limit. The major distinction here is that the case that resulted in this decision was a medical malpractice case and not a general civil action,” said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Ken Deen went to see a dentist in 2005, complaining of an infected tooth. He was sent to endodontist Dr. Randolph Stevens. Stevens indicated Deen needed a root canal and put him on antibiotics. Deen collapsed the next month and was diagnosed with brain infection. The infection left him mentally and physically incompetent. His wife, Linda, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging professional negligence in 2008, and Deen died in 2009.
The endodontist’s lawyer asked for the case to be dismissed, as it was filed after the two-year statute of limitations for med mal actions expired, and that a section of the statute being argued by the plaintiff also applied to people who are legally incompetent. “The plaintiff’s attorney argued another section of the statute, which tolled the applicable statute of limitations due to mental disability, and further argued that applying the non-tolling statute was a violation of her constitutional right to equal protection by discriminating against the mentally incompetent,” said Mellino, a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Unfortunately, the section of the statute the plaintiff was relying on is only applicable in general civil actions.
The court’s ratio is best summed up by one of the justices, who wrote that Georgia state law typically tolls statutes of limitation for mental incompetence – except for a 1976 statute that expressly excludes med mal actions. It was, according to the court, clear that the legislature enacted the med mal exemption to avert the possibility of the cessation of medical services, to assist in stabilizing insurance and medical care expenses, to put a stop to outdated med mal claims and to, in general, ensure public safety, health and welfare.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also weighed in on this issue by rejecting the notion that any legislation affecting mentally incompetent people differently than others should be reviewed by courts on a “stricter than rational basis.” “Typically, the fewer exceptions a statute of limitations has, the further it upholds the original intentions of the legislature,” Mellino said.
“For those facing situations similar to this case, it’s best to take your legal matter to a qualified medical malpractice lawyer. Find out what the Statute of Limitations is in your state and don’t wait until it’s too late or justice may never be done. If you have questions, call me, I’d be happy to assess your case,” Mellino said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Mental incompetence does not apply to med mal statute of limitations in Georgia first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Generally speaking, most consumer products are tested in many ways prior to being put on the market. Whether or not the testing is as complete as we’d like to think is another question. And, while dangerous products constantly stalk the marketplace, there are none more disturbing that those items made for kids. One wonders how hard it is to “think like a child,” and adapt toys or other product designs accordingly to be safer.
“Many of the product recalls for children’s items that we’ve witnessed over the past few years, weeks even, involve dangerous components or hazardous materials. Think small pieces detaching and choking a baby, sharp edges that shear fingers off, items with attractive cords posing a strangulation risk and toys with lead content so high it virtually sets off alarm bells,” said Christopher Mellino of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio. Just about any scary scenario is a reality these days. While millions of items are recalled every year because of safety concerns, it’s typical that a recall is not instituted until someone has been harmed.
Recalls that have been launched because a concern was caught shortly after product dispersal are dangerous for several reasons. There may have been no incidents reported yet, because the recall action was launched quickly. But even if the recall was initiated rapidly, there is always the chance that the product in question was purchased by someone who will not know or hear about any recalls.
There’s a lot to be said about doing things right the first time, before sending a product out for millions of consumers to buy. This concern is even more valid given the global marketplace of the 21st century, where many items are made in other countries for U.S. businesses, thus lacking the quality control of home.
Many consumers these days are label shopping, and who can blame them? With the number of unprecedented recalls of items, it’s frightening to think that our lives are at the mercy of someone who makes a product with a potentially fatal flaw. It’s even more worrisome that product manufacturers, in their haste to make money, don’t stop and check things twice before promoting their products.
“For those who have been in a situation where a product you thought was safe wasn’t and it harmed you or your family, bring your case to me for an initial assessment. I’ll be able to explain product liability law to you as we discuss the details of your case,” Mellino said. “You may be eligible to obtain compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and, in extreme cases, the wrongful death of your child.”
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Be alert for dangerous products when shopping for children first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The Food and Drug Administration isn’t famous for having teeth when it comes to enforcement, but in this instance, it’s a step forward for them against a precocious drug manufacturer who is promoting a leukemia drug, Tasigna. The manufacturer, Novartis, is advertising and promoting its product under the auspices of Facebook Share, a social media widget, on their drug website. Evidently, the FDA sent Novartis a warning letter about its actions.
Here is how the whole setup works. The Tasigna website, set up by Novartis, has the ability to share online content about their leukemia drug through a widget/gadget called Facebook Share. The user can choose to share drug information with friends through the Share widget. If a user clicks the share button, the widget program automatically sends a post (under the name of Novartis) to the user’s personal Facebook page, where it is visible to all of the user’s friends.
This post contains information about the name of the drug, its uses, a picture of it and a link to the Tasigna website. The content is created from Tasigna website metadata. This is important, because the metadata is used by search engines to mine online information, but it is not visible to the website user. Before a Facebook user posted/shared this info, he or she could add an original comment, but could not change any of the Novartis product info.
The bottom line is that the FDA sent the warning letter to Novartis, as they felt the drug company was misleading people using Facebook Share. Basically, this was all about Tasgina being misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act because of four violations in using Facebook Share. Those violations included the fact that Novartis didn’t outline any risk information for patients in a clear and upfront manner and that the company implied Tasigna could treat all patients with leukemia and not just a particular subset. They also found that Novartis’s statement that the drug was “Next Generation” was misleading as it implied superiority over other similar products (an unproven claim) and that Novartis didn’t comply with a mandatory call to submit labeling and advertising info to the FDA before they sent information out.
What does this all mean? It means the FDA has a particular take on using social media and Web 2.0 technology and if a drug company doesn’t want to run afoul of it, they need to put proper procedures and policies into place to make sure they’re compliant. One hopes this will ultimately protect Facebook users from the onslaught of unproven – possibly improperly tested – questionable drug company promotion of various drugs. But time will tell.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Drug makers using Facebook to promote drugs face enforcement from FDA first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“I’ve had a number of clients that were taking a medication that caused them some serious side effects and/or drug interactions. Initially, it looked like the fault was with the doctor or the pharmacist. Further probing indicated it was the drug manufacturer at fault,” Christopher Mellino explained. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Being human, we tend to blame drug reactions on the doctor for prescribing something that harmed us. Or, we may blame the pharmacist for not knowing enough about the drug to know that it could hurt us. Silently, under the cover of diffuse blame, lurks another entity that carries blame for defective/dangerous drugs – Big Pharma. Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals with nasty, unsettling, disturbing and/or fatal side effects are made every year, and every year they are prescribed to unsuspecting patients by (at times) unsuspecting doctors. And every year, many of the unsuspecting patients seek help from an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Consider the case of Fosamax and any of its other relatives that supposedly help battle brittle bones due to osteoporosis. Fosamax and its cousins, have bisphosphonates in them. This is a chemical found in laundry detergent.
“Yes, you’d be swallowing something in laundry detergent. Imagine what that does to your stomach and esophagus? Bottom line? This drug causes something called “Dead Jaw” and makes having dental work virtually impossible. Dead jaw is also called osteonecrosis and it means your jawbone rots away after dental work if you are on this drug. Many dentists won’t treat patients taking Fosamax, particularly if they require extractions or other dental surgery,” observed Mellino.
Did the doctor know about the side effects? Possibly, but doctors don’t have a lot of time to read all the drug cautions on every drug they prescribe. In addition, the drug companies are often less than honest about the side effects of their drugs in the name of profit. Did the pharmacist know about the side effects? Again, possibly, but they deal with more drugs than a doctor does and although they are up-to-date on what new drugs are on the market, this doesn’t always mean they intimately know the drug’s action for the short or long-term.
“More to the point in this kind of situation is the question of whether or not the drug company knew about the side effects. In many instances the answer is yes, they knew and did not adequately warn patients. Many are guilty of understudying or trialing drugs in order to rush them to market. As you can see, this raises some very interesting legal questions when it comes to culpability for drug side effects. Who holds the drug companies accountable for their less than ethical approach to drug making and marketing?” asked Mellino.
For those who feel they have been a victim of a defective/dangerous drug, contact a seasoned Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Someone has to take the responsible parties to task over drugs gone wrong.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post When Medications Go Wrong, Fault Must Be Determined first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“In my line of work I see many cases of traumatic brain injury, usually as the result of an accident: motorcycle crash, car wreck, truck collision, slip and fall or even sports related injuries. Unfortunately, mild cases are not always detected right away, which can cause a lot of problems later – up to a year later in some cases,” added Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases and traumatic brain injury in Ohio.
In the U.S. alone, there are over 1.5 million victims of accidents of one sort or another who will end up in the hospital with non-fatal traumatic brain injury. “Other figures I have seen also indicate that at least 3 million sports related traumatic brain injuries never get sent to the hospital. This is an enormous problem if you stop to think about it. Undiagnosed brain injury completely messes up the victim’s life and they may not even know why they are having problems,” added Mellino.
Speaking of sports like football, soccer, polo, jai-alai, hockey, volleyball and basketball, etc., victims who suffer brain injury while playing often fall into the category of mild traumatic brain injury. In these cases, the victim rarely loses consciousness and the changes in their brain are so microscopic they will not be detected by doing a CT scan or an MRI. The further bad news is that sometimes symptoms won’t manifest until two weeks later and in some cases, a year later.
“The delayed onset of traumatic brain injury symptoms has enormous consequences for lawsuits as you may well imagine,” Mellino added. “This is one of the major reasons I tell clients to never underestimate a head injury and insist on medical follow-up no matter how trivial they may think their accident was. The problem is not everyone recalls hitting their head at the time of the accident and the medical staff may overlook checking the head in favor of fixing the visible broken bone instead,” he observed.
Just because mild traumatic brain injury does not manifest right away, or it can’t be “seen” means that many people who have this will go undiagnosed, facing multiple problems that range from the inability to express themselves properly as they once did to suffering from impaired reasoning skills. The difficult thing is that if they don’t recall hitting their head, they may fear for their sanity.
“If their brain trauma was the result of someone else’s negligence, this is yet another reason to ‘not’ sign anything an insurance company hands you. Most insurance companies are trying to settle the case fast and cheap,” commented Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases and traumatic brain injury in Ohio. Traumatic brain injury is a silent enemy and rapidly becoming an epidemic in the U.S.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Traumatic Brain Injury Is Not Always Immediately Apparent first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Unfortunately, because doctors are human, they make mistakes. This isn’t what anyone with a medical problem or needing surgery wants to hear, but it’s true. The statistics show that close to 98,000 American patients die every year because of medical mistakes. If they survive the error, whatever it may be, they may never again be the same person and be able to live their lives as they once did. This type of scenario should prompt the victim to speak directly to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Take the case of Irving Johnstone (names have been changed to protect the victim’s identity). Irving went into hospital to have his left testicle biopsied. No one told him it would likely be removed, whether there was cancer present or not. When he awoke in his hospital room, he discovered the surgeons had removed his “right” testicle, leaving behind his left one – the one with the internal growth suspected to be cancer.
To say he was dismayed would be an understatement. He didn’t waste much time hiring a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to sort the situation out either, as he had to have a second operation to remove the left testicle. His life would never be the same again, and at the age of 37 years old, his ability to have a family was destroyed.
That’s just one example of surgical error. Another, and this is something we do hear about now and again in the media, is wrong person surgery. Hard to believe, but it happens. Consider the case of Nixon Zoster (names have been changed to protect the victim’s identity). Nixon went into the hospital to have his gallbladder removed. In the bed next to him, Norland Zane, was in to have his leg amputated. To make a long story short, Zoster had his leg amputated because the surgeons operated on the wrong person.
What on earth are the reasons behind some of these horrendous mistakes? The answer to that is a mixed bag of things that typically involve the surgical team (doctor) being tired, not having enough experience and/or miscommunications that lead to misunderstandings. While none of these explanations are acceptable when it comes to having harmed another person, they are things that happen, because this is real life and in real life, people make mistakes, whether they are a trained surgeon or not.
The bottom line is that no matter what the reasons may have been for operating on the wrong person, wrong patient surgery is completely unacceptable – period. If this has happened to you, you need to speak to a skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. You need to find out what your options are, how to proceed, and what types of damages may be assessed as potential compensation for your case.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post When the Wrong Person Gets Surgery, You Get Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>If you’ve ever been in a hospital for surgery of some sort, you’ve likely had to talk to the anesthesiologist just prior to your surgery – the faceless entity behind the mask by the machine in the OR that you don’t see when you get there. Most often they visit you before the surgery and let you ask questions.
Sometimes though, this does not happen and you never know the person’s name. Sometimes, the results of having anesthesia are not good. Sometimes, the results change your life drastically enough that it will never be the same again. These are the times when you need advice from a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
In most cases, things go well when you are put under with anesthesia, particularly if it is used properly by a caring and qualified expert. There are relatively few major side effects and most things continue just as they did before your surgery. However, if a mistake is made and the anesthesia is not managed properly, you just might wind up experiencing pain, numbness, difficulty with breathing and mental confusion.
When people think of anesthesia, they tend to think “operation,” a big one where the person is knocked out. That isn’t always the case though, as there are a variety of types of anesthesia used for different types of surgeries. For instance, local anesthesia is for surgery on one part of your body. If this is not given in the correct manner, systemic toxicity may occur. Translation: your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing may drop precipitously, necessitating emergency medical care.
Regional anesthesia carries many of the same risks of local anesthesia. However, this anesthesia is injected next to a nerve of the spinal cord in order to numb the region. The long-term potential side effects stemming from a regional anesthesia error include weakness, numbness, and pain. So many things to worry about; so many questions to ask your doctor, or Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer if something goes wrong. Never think that you should not ask a question. It’s your body and you are entitled to know any information you need in order to make informed decisions about your medical choices.
The other category of anesthetic is the complete lights out variety referred to as general anesthetic. By and large, this is usually considered to be the riskier of the three types, simply because it knocks you right out. Errors in this area may lead to strokes, heart attacks, liver damage, heart damage, lung damage, panic attacks and possible death. This isn’t to say this happens all the time, because it doesn’t. It’s just to let you know that there are certain risks inherent in having anesthesia.
If you suspect that you may have been harmed physically or mentally because of an anesthesia error, you really need to speak to a knowledgeable Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer quickly. Don’t let it go and decide a year or more later to do something about it. If you do, you may miss the statute of limitations and be barred from taking any legal action.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post When the Lights Go Out You Want to Be Safe first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>More and more these days it’s pretty common to see news stories about someone dying as a result of being shocked with a Taser for too long. Their heart rhythm is interrupted and quite often, without prompt medical help, they will die. “There have even been stories of suspects and citizens ‘asking’ to be shocked, because they wanted to see what it felt like. Unfortunately, police in some instances have obliged them and they died,” commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Wrongful death may come in many forms, but typically we tend to read about the deaths that are more newsworthy and spectacular; the deaths caused by being shot or Tasered. Sadly, it seems that Taser deaths are getting to be almost as common as gunshot wounds (GSW). Statistics have shown that more than 80 Americans die every day as a result of GSW – eighty people who met an untimely and wrongful death; death that was brought to them with malice aforethought.
“Granted that people who kill with guns generally get charged with homicide, a criminal offense, they could also face the civil charge of wrongful death filed by the victim of the family. Such is also the case when someone dies as a result of being Tasered for too long,” Mellino pointed out. “Certainly, cases that involve the use of a Taser by law enforcement that results in death are difficult, but lately, many of them have been settled by the police department and/or their local governments, which does point out that someone recognizes that the overuse of the Taser isn’t a good idea,” he observed.
“The bottom line here is that if you have been in a situation like this, or are currently in a situation like this, you will want to speak to a highly experienced wrongful death attorney. Someone needs to fill you in on what your rights are and what compensation you may be able to expect in a case such as this,” he added. “And that won’t happen unless you contact an attorney as soon as you can and start asking pointed questions. As I mentioned earlier, these kinds of cases are tricky, and you need a good attorney to help you get compensation.”
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Shot to Death or Shocked to Death first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Generally speaking, brain damage may happen in a number of ways, but it’s mostly any kind of injury to the integrity of the brain (structure) that interrupts/disrupts its normal function or development. What many people don’t realize is that brain damage may happen after birth (traumatic brain injury, non-traumatic brain injury or acquired brain injury) or it may also happen before birth in the form of congenital brain injuries,” outlined Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio.
Brain damage can occur in a variety of ways, but is considered to be any type of injury to the structure of the brain that disrupts or prevents normal brain function or healthy brain development. Brain damage may occur after birth (acquired, non-traumatic or traumatic brain injuries) or before birth (congenital brain injuries). “But in the final analysis, most brain damage that does happen after birth is the result of an injury of one sort or another. In reality, many of these traumas are caused by someone’s negligence,” observed Mellino.
Brain trauma injuries that happen before or during the birth process may also be caused by someone’s negligence; a physician or another medical professional making a mistake and causing an injury, or making an injury worse. “If this is something that happened to you, you need to talk to a skilled medical malpractice attorney and find out what your legal rights are and ask for help to claim compensation,” Mellino added.
Knowing the different categories of brain injury will help you understand how they occur. Congenital brain injuries may be the result of trauma, hypoxia, anoxia, infection, a genetic defect or poisoning. “The forms these injuries manifest may be cerebral palsy, dyslexia, fetal alcohol syndrome or Down’s syndrome. Since many of you may have heard about cerebral palsy, you might want to know that it’s been linked to premature birth, birth trauma, infection or a poor blood/oxygen supply as the baby develops,” commented Mellino.
Down’s syndrome usually appears in babies born to mothers over the age of 40, although this is not a hard and fast rule. The extra chromosome present may cause heart and gastrointestinal issues as well as mental retardation. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is unfortunately, an incurable brain disorder, the result of a mother drinking while pregnant. Most FAS babies and adults have behavior problems and central nervous system difficulties. “And the list goes on. Giving birth is certainly not without its hazards, although in most cases things go well. It’s when they don’t that you want to talk to a Cleveland medical malpractice attorney to find out where you stand,” advised Mellino.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Brain Damage May Occur After Birth or Before first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>If you stop to think about it, you have likely been to the doctor and been diagnosed with something you don’t have. It could be as simple as the doctor saying you have a sinus infection, when you may have an abscessed tooth. While that is a minor example of something that may happen, if your doctor misdiagnoses something like cancer, a health attack, stroke or mistakes allergies for something else, you could be in a whole world of hurt.
Think about being misdiagnosed if you have cancer and your treatments got started too late or conversely, you were diagnosed with cancer and started treatments, only to find out you did not have cancer. It happens and when it does, it’s time to talk to an experienced Cleveland malpractice lawyer. Most doctors provide outstanding medical care and diagnosis, but when bad things happen, as they tend to do from time to time, they need to be talked about and dealt with directly.
The disturbing facts about failure to diagnose are that it affects at least 155 people out of every 1,000 patients. What is most commonly misdiagnosed? Cancer, stroke, heart attacks, sleep disorders, osteoporosis, toxoplasmosis, ovarian cancer, thyroid disorders and hypertension. While these are commonly misdiagnosed conditions or events at a doctor’s office, they may also happen in the ER.
Along with the above conditions that get missed are several others that often get tagged as being the wrong thing in the ER; for example, meningitis and appendicitis. Granted that ER docs do give ECGs to see if a person did have a heart attack; but unfortunately, they are not always accurate.
The bottom line here is if you are not properly diagnosed, you will wind up getting worse which costs you more money for more tests. Furthermore, you may get the wrong medications which may not work, may result in dangerous side effects, and may mask the symptoms of the “real” disease. It may also mean the original disease progresses to the point where it cannot be treated or even cured.
If you have been in a situation like that or are currently in that position, speak to an experienced Cleveland malpractice lawyer about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover compensation. It’s your life and you need to take control of it and find justice.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post The Doctor Didn’t Diagnose Me Until Too Late first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>If you stop to think about it, it’s more than possible for thieves to use your health insurance information to get medical care, surgery and even prescription drugs. Frightening thought, but it’s not only possible; it’s a reality and I’ve seen it during my practice as a Cleveland malpractice lawyer.
Lately there have been more and more cases of rip-off artists working in a medical milieu using “your” personal information to fraudulently bill insurance companies. This not only impacts on you financially, but it directly affects your health for the services you are “not” getting or didn’t get.
How in the heck do you know if someone pinched your identity and then used it to get medical services? Apparently, there are some red flags to be aware of and they include things like receiving a statement for medical services you didn’t get; you are denied insurance because your medical records say you have a disease you don’t have; you get dunning phone calls from a bill collector about medical bills you don’t owe; you go to file a legit health insurance claim and the plan tells you that you have maxed out your benefits, or when you call for a copy of your credit report, there are medical collection notices on it that are completely strange to you.
Think this doesn’t affect you? Think again, because the theft may change all of your medical and health insurance records. What happens here is that each time the con artist uses “your” identity to get medical care, a record of that treatment etc., is created with the thief’s medical info. The dangerous thing here is that the “thief’s” info could provide the wrong blood type, the wrong allergies, state you abuse alcohol (and you don’t drink), have an inaccurate diagnosis for a condition you don’t have and show test results for tests you never had either. If you ever are the victim of medical malpractice, you would need to consult with a Cleveland malpractice lawyer to sort this mess out and find justice.
The dangerous results here could be that the “real you” may get the wrong treatment based on those false record entries which could mean the real you is injured, becomes ill or may die as the result of a wrong treatment or drug. How in the world do you avoid this?
While there is no totally fool proof way to avoid this type of scam, there are some things you might want to consider doing. For instance, don’t share your personal or medical information on the phone or by mail unless you know 100% who you are talking to when you give out that information. Try to stay away from offers that say they will give you free health products or services and then ask for your health plan ID number.
There have been many cases of unscrupulous cons pretending they work for an insurance company or pharmacy or doctor’s office and people will fall for it, giving out their medical information, etc. What happens once the thief has your identity and health plan info is that they send in false claims for things like Medicare reimbursement.
If you happen to have copies of your medical information and identification lying around, lock them up. If you are about to throw out medical papers, shred them. If you are asked while you are online to provide your social security number or insurance account info or other personal details, ask why it’s needed, where that information is going and who sees it. Check the site’s privacy policies and as best as you can, stay safe and hold on to your personal and very private information that is no one else’s business. If you have any questions about medical malpractice claims or medical identity theft, speak to an experienced Cleveland malpractice lawyer.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post A Twist on Identity Theft Makes Medical Information Vulnerable first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In order to effectively treat a disease, the doctor has to accurately diagnose it in the first place. If that doesn’t happen the consequences may be disastrous. “Consider the fact that if a disease is not properly diagnosed it would mean a person being sick even longer, perhaps getting worse and developing unnecessary complications. In the worst case scenario, the person may die. For instance if cancer is misdiagnosed,” observed Christopher Mellino, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Yes, being a doctor is a difficult job and diagnosing a disease means being able to accurately note the symptoms, having accurate and effective lab tests, and two other vitally important things: how much the doctor knows about the condition and how well the patient communicates. “As you may well appreciate, it is quite possible to have a break down at any one of those points in the diagnostic process,” Mellino explained.
How common is misdiagnosis? It happens quite frequently and may take several forms that range from only delivering a partial diagnosis to missing an illness entirely. In the case of a partial diagnosis, the doctor would likely nail down the subtype of a disease, but miss the mark on related conditions or complications that may arise with the disease. On the other hand, if the physician entirely missed the boat in identifying the disease, that is a failure on their part; or a misidentification.
In the final analysis, some diseases are far more difficult to diagnose than others, some symptoms are almost too vague to be helpful, and some medical settings actually lead to misdiagnosis. “For example, working with infants is challenging because they don’t communicate well. Behavioral problems, mental and emotional disorders are complex and seem to morph from one thing to another, and digestive diseases are always a challenge to assess accurately,” remarked Mellino.
“Interestingly, the one environment where the highest rate of misdiagnosis exists is the ER. This makes sense if you stop to think about it due to the high volume of patients and the pressure to move them in and out quickly,” Mellino pointed out.
The bottom line is that a great number of med mal cases happen because the doctor failed to diagnose the patient properly. Most often doctors misdiagnose lung cancer, colon cancer, myocardial infarction and breast cancer. Once this has happened, the whole medical scenario rapidly goes from bad to worse as the proper treatment is delayed. “Patients might want to consider getting more than one opinion if they are ill. This is often a good way to get a decent assessment of a tricky condition,” Mellino said.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Sick or Not – Knowing the Difference Is Crucial first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>One of the most important events in many people’s lives is the birth of a child. If the child sustains injuries at birth because of negligence on the part of the doctors, this may cause severe harm to the child or the child may die. “Neither of these outcomes is acceptable. However, things happen. If they have happened to you, now is the time to speak to a medical malpractice lawyer,” remarked Christopher Mellino, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Unfortunately, birth injuries are far more common than we would like to think. They are usually caused due to a variety of things such as difficult labor, or problems with the birth itself, baby’s height or weight putting them at a higher risk for injuries, a small pelvic arch, and how the baby is positioned. For example, if the baby is not head down in the birth canal, this is called a breech birth.
“Given the number of things that can go wrong during a birth, one of the most important things the doctor needs to take into consideration is when and how to perform the delivery,” noted Mellino. “For instance, if the doctor tries a vaginal delivery for a breech baby, there is likely going to be problems,” he added. Usually if the baby is breech, this is when a C-section is needed – and fast. If the baby suffers harm because of a mismanaged delivery, the mother may be entitled to compensation.
Other injuries that may happen during birth may include broken bones, cephalohematoma, subconjunctival hemorrhage, skull fractures, lacerations and brain injuries. The skull fracture usually results from a forceps extraction that didn’t go as planned. “There are many things that may go wrong during birth and if something does, the parents are in total anguish. They honestly need to talk to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to find out what they can do,” Mellino pointed out.
Many of the injuries that happen at childbirth may not only affect the child and their family at birth, but for the rest of their lives. “If your child has been severely injured and those injuries will affect them for the rest of their lives, give me a call,” suggested Mellino.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Avoidable Birth Injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Someone had the bright idea in the 70s to do a study on medical malpractice insurance. The results left many with their mouths hanging open in sheer surprise; one out of every 20 patients were medical malpractice victims and one out of every ten died.
A similar study took place in the 80s, but this one focused on hospital records for 50 institutions in New York. In the 31,000 files reviewed, close to 8,000 people had possibly suffered from medical negligence. If you do the math on those figures, it will tell you that one patient in four had a problem. In ten years the ratio dropped from one in twenty to one in four. Now, the stats show that over 100,000 people die every year from med mal errors. When will it stop?
Typically, the most common med mal errors are birth injuries, surgical injuries, bleeding, septicemia, infections, misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and medication mistakes. In the case of birth injuries, if the doctor doesn’t provide adequate care to the mother at any time during her pregnancy, complications may happen during birth. If you have had this experience, you need to discuss your situation with a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Some examples would be not performing the proper blood tests to check for abnormalities, not recognizing respiratory distress, improper prenatal care or failure to provide it, not doing a C-section when necessary, and not taking proper care of a premature baby.
If any of the above does happen, the baby may be born with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, facial paralysis or sustain a clavicle fracture. All of these accidents can be avoided with proper and attentive medical care.
Numerous med mal injuries take place in the OR, largely due to poor pre-op planning and care. Unfortunately, this may lead to severe and irreparable harm or death. Surgical injuries may involve leaving foreign objects in the patient, performing surgery on the wrong body part or patient, cutting or puncturing internal organs, improper administration of anesthesia, and poor surgical technique.
If any of those incidents happen, it may cause suffocation, paralysis, spinal cord injuries, amputation, coma, cardio problems and brain injuries. These injuries may also be avoided by taking precise care and double checking every step of the surgery.
When it comes to surgery, it’s vitally important that the surgical site be kept sterile. This goes without saying for the OR as well. If the site and/or rooms are not sterile, there is a high risk of infections or bleeding. By law, hospitals are required to have an infection protocol. Sadly, not all of them follow it to the exact letter of the law.
If you think you have been the victim of med mal, speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to find out if you have a case and what your rights are under the law.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Surgical Injuries Stalk Many Hospitals first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>More and more seniors want to maintain their independence. It’s a good goal and keeps them healthy and in good spirits with a positive outlook on running their own lives. Along with this independence though comes a few risks that need to be taken into consideration; the risk of falls or other seemingly small accidents that may mean an end to living independently. One of the first things seniors need to do is protect themselves from traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Statistically speaking, falls are one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injury and in people over the age of 75 years old, the chances of sustaining a fall while at home are quite high. In fact, if you are over 75 you have the greatest probability of being hospitalized after a fall; a fall that may result in death or traumatic brain injury. Prevention for falls can’t be stressed enough when it comes to the elderly living alone; that and fast access to help and prompt care.
Not all falls result in severe brain injury, but may manifest themselves as mild TBI (also referred to on occasion as a concussion). If your loved one has fallen, be on the lookout for some of these symptoms: blurred vision; a lingering headache that isn’t a bad one, but annoying; dizziness; sensitivity to light or sound; constant ringing in the ears; memory problems; difficulties concentrating; and changes in sleeping patterns.
Moderate TBI has similar symptoms, but may also have slurred speech; seizures; pupil dilation in one or both eyes; nausea; a bad headache that won’t quit; numbness in arms or legs; and loss of coordination. If you see any of these signposts of TBI, don’t wait; get the person to a doctor right away for treatment. If the older person is on warfarin, it is paramount you seek medical attention fast, whether the person is experiencing the above symptoms or not. Warfarin is nothing to fool around with.
While it’s nice that seniors want to live on their own, they really need help when it comes to medical problems that may arise if they fall. Time is critical. Being isolated and alone means those who have fallen often aren’t discovered until it’s too late. These observations are also applicable if you have a much loved senior in a nursing home and they take a fall that no one responds to appropriately. Medic alert systems may save the day in situations like this.
Know the signs and symptoms of TBI. Know your senior’s habits and how they normally react to things. If something changes, take them to a doctor. If your senior has fallen in a nursing home as result of negligent care, speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post TBI and the Elderly a Dangerous Combination first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In this day and age of very unusual incidents involving product liability, we can now seemingly add food to this long list. If it weren’t for product recalls, things would seem rather quiet. Think tainted cat food, dog food, baby’s milk, defective cars, cribs, baby slings, and a whole host of other products we thought were safe and weren’t.
The latest recall deals with elevated histamine levels in Yellowfin tuna. What makes this recall slightly more prominent is that not only is the company issuing a recall for their tuna steaks, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also on the bandwagon. It’s not that often the FDA gets mixed into a food recall or drug recall for that matter.
The frozen tuna steaks in question have higher levels of histamines which would manifest symptoms called scombroid poisoning, anywhere from within a few minutes up to an hour later. The steaks have a ‘best used by’ date of December 5th, 2010, and are sold in “12 ounce bags with Lot Code: 4853309157A with the following UPC code: 0-99482-42078-9 Whole Catch Yellowfin Tuna Steaks (Frozen) 12 oz.”
“This particular allergic reaction may cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, itching skin and hives, a rash, facial swelling, and a tingling or burning sensation in the mouth. This is quite similar to anaphylactic shock and quick medical intervention is crucial. Unfortunately, no two people react the same way to ingesting higher levels of histamines,” indicated Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.
In this particular case, the company and the FDA took action quickly and there have seemingly only been two reported reactions. Nonetheless, if a person was a victim of ingesting this lot of tuna steak, they would be well advised to speak to an attorney with experience in handling products liability cases.
In Ohio, a product is considered to be defective if it does not offer the level of safety that the public is entitled to expect. This does vary in each case, with the final arbiter being the court. For all intents and purposes, the court considers a variety of things to determine if a product is defective. “They consider how the product is marketed and what its purpose is; how the product is packaged; any trademark considerations; any warnings or instructions related to the product; what may reasonably be expected to be done with the item; and when (the timing) the product was supplied,” Mellino outlined.
Put another way, product liability provisions apply to companies that make a product, import a product or sell their ‘own brand’ items made for them under license. There have even been cases where the store that sold the item (the retailer) was deemed to be the manufacturer of the product, making them liable.
“The bottom line is that if you are not sure if you have a product liability case on your hands, speak to an experienced lawyer who will explain what kinds of loss may be compensated and how to go about filing a personal injury lawsuit,” added Mellino. Knowledge is power and knowing what product liability is goes a long way toward understanding the legal process to obtain justice. “There is one other thing people should know,” he said, “and that is in ‘some’ cases the manufacturer may not be liable for the defective product.”
Those circumstances involve the defect in a product not genuinely being their fault; that the product turned out to be a part of a whole completed product and the defect is only applicable to the design of the completed product (making the company who finished the goods liable); when the defect could not have been known at the time the goods hit the market because there was not enough technical knowledge; or the product maker complying with a mandatory standard that caused the defect.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post When Eating Fish Could Be a Deadly Product Liability Issue first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a rather unusual case that we heard about; an instance where the doctor being sued for medical malpractice took off for parts unknown, which meant he could not be served within the 120 day period required by the law.
The story behind this odd case is that the obstetrician was a confirmed drug addict, just about to admit himself to a drug treatment facility, when he delivered a baby. The mother, Dawn Storer (names have been changed to protect the identity of the family) sued the doctor for severe nerve damage to her son’s left arm; a result of the baby’s shoulder being jammed under the mother’s pubic bone while being delivered.
Unfortunately, the results of the baby’s arm being caught during his birth left him with a weak, atrophied appendage, with a limited range of motion. The lawsuit stated the doctor was addicted to hydrocodone and Valium. When the suit was filed, the Storers had 120 days to serve the doctor with the findings of their medical expert. Despite numerous attempts to find him, he had seemingly vanished into thin air.
As the search for him continued, it came to light that this physician had lost his license to practice in 2000 as a result of drug abuse and had also lost his home and been evicted from two other places he lived. Even the doctor’s lawyers couldn’t locate him. Things were not looking good for the court case to proceed in any manner and a settlement was obviously on thin ice as well, as there was a question about whether he had paid his medical malpractice insurance.
The doctor’s attorneys asked to have the case dismissed since the deadline would not be met. The court denied the request because it was not the Storer’s fault they couldn’t find the doctor. This case went on appeal where the Appellate Court said no time extensions and no exceptions would be made in the matter. The Storer’s are now appealing to the Supreme Court in their home state.
“In most instances, things in a medical malpractice suit won’t get this wild. While they may get complicated and the case is time consuming and involves medical experts, it will still eventually make its way to settlement or a jury verdict. In addition, in most med mal cases, the doctor’s insurance company will be fighting to keep the expenses down, provided the doctor ‘did’ keep his malpractice insurance current,” said Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Cases such as this one are thankfully rare, but that doesn’t address how the Storers will obtain justice for the harm done to their son at birth. “There may be other options open for them, but they would need to discuss that with their med mal attorney. For instance, it may be possible to sue the hospital instead if they were not initially named in the lawsuit in the first place,” added Mellino.
When in doubt about what happens when a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, take the time to speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to find out what options there are, what alternative may exist, and what the expected outcome of a medical negligence case may be.
“There is one thing that is important to remember,” stated Mellino, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio, “and that is not every bad outcome to a medical event is considered to be medical malpractice.”
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Suit Threatened by Vanishing Doctor first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Generally speaking, the most common type of cerebral palsy, spastic cerebral palsy, affects from 70 to 80 percent of patients diagnosed with it – including babies at birth. Unfortunately, if your baby has a difficult delivery, or something went wrong during the labor, the child’s cerebral cortex may wind up being badly damaged. This means not only that you need to speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer immediately, but that you need information on how to cope with your child’s disability.
This kind of a disability may mean around-the-clock care for the rest of your child’s life; something that is a significant financial burden to most families. If negligence played a part in your child being born with spastic cerebral palsy (and not genetics) you may have cause to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. If that is indeed the case, a lawyer will outline the types of damages you may be able to claim in your lawsuit.
Spastic cerebral palsy is usually widely recognized and defined by how it affects the muscles in the body. Typically, muscles tend to work in pairs, as a team if you will, and when one group contracts, the other loosens. This lets the person move whichever way they choose. With spastic cerebral palsy, the movements are not normal because the brain can’t send the right signals to the body’s muscles to tell them how to properly coordinate. Since the muscles don’t work the way they are supposed to work, they are constantly tense, otherwise referred to as spastic.
Interestingly enough, despite the fact that the muscles are involved, this condition is a brain disorder and will not change over the course of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the muscle tension does get progressively worse, meaning those with this disorder must have therapy to keep them from becoming more rigid. These are the kinds of facts that you will find out when you are talking to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer; whether or not your child acquired spastic cerebral palsy as a result of a birth injury.
Most children who have been born with spastic cerebral palsy don’t have deformed legs or arms. This does tend to develop over time though because of the muscles contracting. If a person with this type of cerebral palsy gets too anxious or over exerts themselves, their condition gets worse making stress and plenty of rest vital for them; all the more reason to keep their therapy and training sessions short.
While there are treatments out there for children and adults with spastic cerebral palsy, there is no cure for it despite extensive research being done in this area. One other rather controversial option is Botox injections in the spastic muscles, something that apparently lasts up to four months. Unfortunately, it only takes just one misplaced needle loaded with Botox to cause a whole host of other problems, including death.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Damaged Cerebral Cortex Causes Cerebral Palsy first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The important thing to remember is that not “all” incidents that happen at birth are the result of medical malpractice. The only way to determine that, if you have concerns about something that may have happened to your child, is to talk to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Many birth injuries impact the whole family, not just the child, and may have lasting complications for the rest of the child’s life. For this reason, if you suspect something went wrong during your labor or while you were being cared for while in hospital, speak to a skilled lawyer who will be able to advise you what types of incidents are normally classified as medical malpractice.
One well-known birth injury result, and also one of the most severe injuries, is cerebral palsy. Other injuries that follow closely behind in terms of severity are Erb’s palsy, petechial hemorrhaging in the eyes, broken bones, facial paralysis, bruising, brain damage, forceps and vacuum injuries, and temporary or permanent paralysis.
Statistics provided by a US National Heath Care Quality report in 2009 indicate that birth injuries have fallen since 2003, but there is still room for improvement. The 2009 report indicated 2 birth injuries take place in every 1,000 births, down from 7 in 2003.
If the injury to the baby was the result of medical negligence, the improper use of a medical device, the failure to make a correct or timely diagnosis relating to fetal distress, or not properly caring for the mother or the baby, the injured parties have the right to compensation for their injuries and the pain and suffering.
If a birth injury or subsequently a wrongful death could have been avoided but for the negligence of a medical professional, this is the time to consult a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Typically speaking, the general rule of thumb relating to medical malpractice cases is that doctors (and other medical professionals) are duty-bound to provide their patients with an accepted standard of care. If they fail to provide that care, they are in breach of their stated duty and the parents may be able to file a lawsuit.
Compensation that may be sought in a lawsuit of this nature may include funds for a permanent disability, medical expenses, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, special expenses related to caring for the disabled child, and special equipment to assist the child to live a relatively normal life.
Each state has its own rules and regulations when it comes to the amount of compensation that may be awarded in a medical malpractice case. This is also something you really need to talk to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer about, as there is something in place in many states called “capping” that means only a certain amount of money may be awarded in a case like this, despite what the injuries may be.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Not All Birth Injuries Are Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Birth injuries are one of the most disturbing areas of law in which to practice. The future of that child has been compromised by carelessness or negligence. Things like that tear a family apart emotionally, mentally and physically; the guilt they feel is tremendous and they want justice for their child,” outlined Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC in Cleveland,
Ohio.
Birth injury medical malpractice may happen for a variety of reasons, and one of them relates to the size of the fetus. Premature babies are subject to a number of illnesses because they are not fully developed in order to withstand the rigors of the harsh world in which they find themselves.
Larger babies may possibly have gestational diabetes and their size is an issue when it comes to attempting a normal, vaginal birth. It’s often safer if a large baby is delivered by C-section or induced earlier before they reach full term. “If neither of these two things happen, the results can be painful for the mother and catastrophic for the baby in terms of crush injuries, lack of oxygen during birth and other injuries that may happen due to medical intervention; e.g., shoulder dystocia, or Erb’s palsy,” said Mellino.
Another thing that has the potential to cause birth injuries is cephalopelvic disproportion, meaning the mother’s pelvis (shape and size) is not favorable to having a natural birth. Many women with this condition will ultimately have C-sections. “It is vital this disorder be diagnosed early so when the time comes for giving birth, preparations will be in place for a C-section rather than attempt to deliver naturally,” Mellino added.
Difficult and hard labor may cause birth injuries as well and the baby may begin to lose oxygen. When this happens, the child may suffer brain damage. It’s a touch and go situation for the mother as well, and at this point, if the doctor is not paying careful attention to the fetal monitor, they may miss signs of fetal distress. If prompt action is not taken, the end result may be brain damage for the baby.
The position of the baby prior to its birth needs to be head down in the womb. “If it is in another other position, there are a variety of ways to turn the child or adjust its position, but this has to be done with great care. Extraction methods may also cause a baby severe damage,” explained Mellino.
Most often a birth will go without a hitch and mother and baby will be just fine. However, if someone has had a child and their child was injured during the birth, it would be wise to speak to a birth injury medical malpractice lawyer. Not all birth injuries are the result of negligence. For instance, some brain injuries happened in the womb, as a result of an infection the mother may have had.
“Each case is different and speaking to a med mal lawyer will clarify issues about your case and give you a certain understanding about medical negligence and how a case would be built and proceed to settlement or court,” indicted Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC in Cleveland, Ohio.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Size Counts When It Comes to Birth Injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“The most common form of birth injury to babies may come in the form of three different kinds of palsy that develop over time: spastic cerebral palsy, athetoid (dyskinetic) cerebral palsy, and ataxic cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy usually is diagnosed by 3 years of age. Roughly 800,000 children and adults in the US have cerebral palsy,” explained Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC in Cleveland, Ohio.
Roughly 80% of those with palsy have spastic cerebral palsy, which simply means the muscles are stiff and movement is difficult. Within this category is spastic diplegia that affects both legs and causes the individual to walk with a scissor-like movement. Spastic hemiplegia affects one side of the body, usually one arm more severely than the involved leg. Spastic quadriplegia affects all four limbs, the face and trunk. These children can’t walk, are usually mentally retarded and subject to seizures, and have difficulty talking.
“Approximately 10% of people have athetoid cerebral palsy which presents in varied muscle tone, from too tight to too loose, causing uncontrolled movements ranging from writhing to jerky. Most children with this form of palsy are not able to sit or walk properly and may have trouble swallowing and speaking,” added Mellino.
Lastly, ataxic cerebral palsy affects roughly 10% of people who will have trouble with coordination and balancing and have trouble with certain motions needing precise coordination like coloring, writing or creating something.
Risk factors for babies to develop cerebral palsy include whether or not they are prematurely delivered, their mother had an infection during pregnancy, enough oxygen reached the fetus during pregnancy, blooding clotting diseases, severe jaundice, and asphyxia (lack of oxygen) during delivery.”Interestingly enough, it was widely thought that the most frequent cause of cerebral palsy was lack of oxygen during birth. Recent studies have shown that birth asphyxia only contributes to 5% to 10% of cases of cerebral palsy,” Mellino commented.
Caring for a child with cerebral palsy is an enormous expense, as their care means special equipment and tools. “It isn’t uncommon for the cost to be in the millions over a period of time, which is why, if your child has suffered birth injuries in a hospital that do result in cerebral palsy, that the damage award will likely be higher to include a child’s future income, pain and suffering, and medical treatments and special equipment that aids the child to live a reasonably normal life,” said Mellino. Health insurance and Medicaid don’t provide for these kinds of needs.
Some of the costs parents of children with cerebral palsy incur include a wheelchair with an adaptive seat ($3,500 – $10,000), a prone stander ($1,000 – $5,000), communication system to help them communicate (up to $4,000), and a special van to take the child places (up to $25,000).
Anyone who suspects their child may be a victim of birth injuries while at a hospital needs to speak to a skilled medical malpractice attorney immediately. “The attorney will be able to assess the case and help the parents understand the legal process involved should they choose to file a lawsuit,” suggested Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC in Cleveland, Ohio.
To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.
The post Lack of Oxygen at Birth May Cause Athetoid Cerebral Palsy first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is a very bizarre case that came out of Kansas just a while back, involving a doctor and his wife/nurse. Both were indicted for directly contributing to at least 21 deaths and 68 fatal overdoses as a result of writing illegal prescriptions. They evidently also had other illegal methods to generate revenue as well, which included money laundering and defrauding health insurance.
The upshot of this case is that the doctor and his nurse/wife gave patients prescription refills even if they had overdosed on the same medication before. Other questionable acts also included missing and incomplete medical records for patients, allowing inexperienced physician’s assistants who were not properly supervised to dispense medication, leaving signed blank prescription pads lying around and forging the doctor’s name on other prescriptions.
Evidently the doctor’s woes started as far back as 2007 when the doctor and his wife were arrested for illegally prescribing drugs, money laundering and defrauding health insurance programs and patients. Under investigation since that time, the recent indictment is the culmination of three years of hard work by local police. It’s also alleged that from 2002 to 2007 alone, patients of the doctor and his wife who died due to a drug overdose comprised 18% of all overdose deaths in that particular county and surrounding areas.
When things like this happen, it undermines the credibility of doctors as a whole. While they may be human, most doctors uphold a very high ethical standard and practice according to the Hippocratic Oath – “First, do no harm.” Although the actual words are not first, do no harm, but state “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.”
On the surface it does look like the doctor and his wife strayed way over the line of being ethical, responsible and trustworthy. If the facts of the case are as stated, they deliberately set out to harm patients in order to make money. It will be interesting to see how this turns out, as it appears that even though this doctor had a prior record, he wasn’t disciplined.
Based on statistics, it’s fairly reasonable to assume that at least 1% of US doctors deserve some serious discipline yearly. That means that as a conservative estimate, there would be roughly 7,703 doctors on the carpet every year, a number that way outstrips the actual number that do get reprimanded.
If you suspect something isn’t quite right with the doctor you see and you have overdosed on a medication only to get the same one again from the same physician, or you’ve had a procedure go wrong, a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, it’s time to talk to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. We will discuss your case and if there are the right elements to constitute medical malpractice, we will consider filing a lawsuit.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Illegal Prescription Writing Is Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Sports can be dangerous for a lot of reasons, and playing football perhaps best showcases the dangers of sustaining serious concussions. In this case that I read, a football player filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the team’s doctor for mistreating his concussions of two years ago.
The injured football player, who was a leading kicker in 2008, attests he received several blows to his head over the course of several games. Raymore, whose name has been changed to protect the identity of the victim, stated that the team doctor didn’t handle his series of concussions in a proper manner.
The team doctor indicates that his records show that Raymore was told repeatedly to not play or practice until his symptoms (dizziness and headache) went away. The usual standard of care for injuries of this nature is to ban physical activity until any and all symptoms subside, as returning to playing or training too soon will only cause much greater damage. Raymore insists the doctor only treated him for a headache and sent him back on the field without properly evaluating him.
As you can tell by the details involved in this case, it will be a contentious one. Medical malpractice is not easy to prove and in many instances, an expert witness or two is needed to give testimony about the alleged incident and the doctor’s handling of it. It should also be kept in mind that not “all” bad medical experiences classify as medical malpractice.
Just as an example, Muhammad Ali sustained many concussions over the course of his boxing career and while his diagnosis was not TBI, he does have Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is a disease that plagues individuals who have been subjected to severe head trauma, such as boxers and others who participate in high risk, high contact sports – like football. So, it may be that Raymore has Parkinson’s as a result of continuing to play without totally recovering from his string of concussions.
To be frank, the details that I read about do have some indications that there may have been a problem of some sort here. What that is or was will be at the heart of the case. Unfortunately, we don’t know what the permanent damage Raymore sustained is exactly. If the case is dealing with a traumatic brain injury, there is the potential for significant damages to be awarded to compensate Raymore for a life-altering condition, for which he will need permanent care.
If you have been in a situation like this, it would be a good idea to speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer and find out exactly what your rights are and whether or not you have a viable case.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Improperly Treated Concussion Leads to Permanent Injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The question of whether or not a concussion is a more benign form of head injury as compared to traumatic brain injury is a good one. By all reports however, concussion and traumatic brain injury are the same thing and merely distinguished by degrees
Put another way, concussion is a milder form of traumatic brain injury, but certainly nothing to be downplayed, as even though it may be a mild concussion, it may still have serious consequences.
Witness any football game in the US, or anywhere else for that matter, and one will see bone jarring hits and collisions that often result in players being trucked off to the hospital for observation. Blows to the head are especially problematic.
While many sportscasters and players refer to a head blow as a concussion, most medical staff call it a traumatic brain injury. Oddly enough, in the world of sports, a hit to the head is often regarded as being funny and couched in terms like “the player got his bell rung.” There is definitely nothing funny about a mild concussion or any form of traumatic brain injury.
For those who don’t understand the term traumatic brain injury, it occurs when the brain is smacked up against the skull resulting in temporary neurological impairment. Other cellular processes that routinely happen in the brain are also disrupted for days or weeks after the initial impact, largely depending on the grade of the concussion. Concussions range in grade from 1 to 3, and concussion and mild traumatic brain injury are the same thing.
Grade III concussions are considered to be any loss of consciousness due to a blow to the head or by something else like whiplash. Even with lesser grades of concussion, they may lead to things like epidural hematoma; the cause of film star Natasha Richardson’s death. Richardson’s death was the impetus for school athletes to stay away from sports for several “months” if they’ve sustained even “one” mild traumatic brain injury.
Playing sports like football, soccer and hockey come with inherent risks, and that risk relates to things like brain injuries. Nonetheless, if someone has been injured as a result of a slip and fall accident, a car crash or by playing sports without the proper safety gear, and negligence is present in the equation, consulting an expert personal injury attorney is a smart idea.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Concussions or TBI? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The great health care debate has actually dragged up more for discussion besides health issues, and one of those issues deals with the concept of tort reform. Tort reform sounds like not a bad idea until one really takes a close look at what it means to victims of medical malpractice whose lives have been devastated.
Typically, medical malpractice lawsuits that make it to court are the ones in which the victim has sustained serious injuries; injuries that have altered their lifestyles to the point where they need ongoing medical care of one type or another. They may also need therapy, medications, regular treatments, counseling, in-home care and renovations to make their house livable. In instances such as this, juries have been known to hand out high awards to pay for such serious damages.
Tort reform would stack the deck even further against the victims. Physicians and hospitals already have a significant advantage going into a medical malpractice lawsuit because med mal cases have the shortest statute of limitations for any case. Mounting a complex med mal lawsuit with only a year to get things together is nigh onto impossible. While the clock is ticking in favor of the defendants, the plaintiffs are struggling to get evidence together to prove their case.
In addition, a lawsuit cannot be filed against a doctor or hospital unless it has been certified by a qualified medical expert to be a lawsuit of merit so these are not frivolous lawsuits.
If these points are not enough to ponder, add in that any incriminating evidence or information uncovered by internal investigations into an injury or death cannot be discovered by the patient or the patient’s family. Talk about prejudicial actions.
Furthermore, insurance companies protecting the doctor and/or hospital have financial and other resources and access to experts that far exceed the resources available to most patients. Add to this that the primary evidence in any medical malpractice case is the medical chart, which is authored by the doctor(s) and other medical personnel at a hospital, and the patient has no say in what goes in that chart, nor any control over it. Once again, the deck is stacked in favor of the medical profession and the victim is left hanging out in the wind trying to make a case.
Unfortunately for the victims of med mal, jurors are usually more sympathetic to a doctor being sued than the patient, particularly if it is the patient’s family who has brought the suit to court. Even if a plaintiff/patient does stick to their guns and pursues the case, 48 out of 50 states have capped the limit on the amount of damages that may be recovered. This cap has no relation to actual injuries and is only in place so the insurance companies may have a “fixed” cost when insuring negligent doctors.
In a nutshell, tort reform means patients having to give up constitutional rights just to have access to health care, and insurance companies coming out ahead by limiting their claim payouts. The person who needs the most help is the patient, and tort reform does anything “but” help a patient who has suffered at the hands of the medical establishment. Victims of medical malpractice need to get an experienced med mal attorney to help level the playing field.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Tort Reform Hurts People first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>In actual fact, lawsuits are usually driven by plaintiffs. If that is the case, then it is reasonable to assume that medical malpractice lawsuits are a rapidly burgeoning sector within the total lawsuit industry. It appears that med mal lawsuits are beginning to play a greater role than they have ever played before, for a variety of reasons.
There are recent surveys that indicate medical errors are on the increase even in the face of new technology. The reasons for that vary, but by and large the main reason for the increase in errors is a lack of time. In the 21st century the American health system is in total shambles and seriously overburdened. Doctors and other medical professionals are overworked and dead on their feet from trying to keep up with the constant demand for medical services.
While it’s nice to have new technology, it takes time to learn that technology and what it is able to achieve. If there is no time because the physicians are running to keep up with non-emergency cases, the hospital ERs are jammed with people who should not be there and the clock is ticking, medical errors will still happen.
The more medical mistakes happen, the greater the potential for lawsuits, as it seems that today’s patients are more aware of what constitutes medical malpractice and are willing to file a lawsuit to seek justice.
Never assume that you do have a case of medical malpractice without consulting with a highly trained medical malpractice attorney. Choose one who has an extensive record handling all kinds of medical malpractice suits, who knows how difficult these cases are and who is prepared to ensure you receive the proper compensation for any injuries you may have sustained.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Malpractice Suits Driven by Plaintiffs first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It used to be that most people associated traumatic brain injury with car accidents or slip and falls. These days, however, it is occurring more often when people are playing sports. This isn’t too much of a surprise as traditionally boxing has indeed been a sport associated with a high degree of minor concussions (traumatic brain injuries) on a smaller scale.
Nowadays the spotlight is focused on hockey, football, soccer and other sports that see hard hits and even harder falls. In either case, the brain stands a high likelihood of being rattled around inside the skull and leaving the individual confused and dazed. Interestingly enough, many of these “mini-concussions” are going undiagnosed and over the course of a season, the player may suffer multiple traumatic brain injuries.
Another interesting fact is also beginning to emerge as professionals study this particular phenomenon. It seems that people who have already experienced at least one concussion are more susceptible to getting further, similar injuries during other playing seasons. The reason for this doesn’t seem to be entirely clear, but the theory is that once the brain has been shaken up badly enough, it doesn’t take much to disturb it again if it sustains a thump.
While these “smaller” concussions are often referred to as mild, the fact is if they happen often enough, multiple concussions are linked to dementia and other neurological diseases later in life. One of the more classic cases is boxer Muhammad Ali, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome in 1984, a result of the frequent concussions he sustained during his fighting career.
In addition, a report commissioned by the National Football League in the U.S. shows that former football players were struck down by Alzheimer’s or other memory-related diseases at an astonishing rate of 19 times the norm for men between 30 and 49 years of age. Sobering statistics to say the least and it poses the question of what will happen to the younger players coming up through the ranks.
It should go without saying that those who sustain a concussion during rough sports need to have “more” attention paid to them and a very thorough medical evaluation, mild concussion or not. The fact of the matter is that any blow to the head could be dangerous now and in the future. More particularly, cumulative concussions have the potential to alter a person’s life by bringing on dementia a lot earlier in life.
Does having helmets and/or the right safety gear play a role in reducing head injuries? This is one of the questions that should be discussed with a skilled personal injury lawyer if you have been the victim of a head trauma that may have been avoided if you had been provided and were wearing the right safety gear.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post TBI and Sports Go Hand-in-Hand first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Probably the most vital thing you will ever need if you are a victim of medical malpractice is a highly skilled attorney who specializes in this area of the law. Your whole life and future are on the line and you need to do something about it immediately. Do not wait, even if you are unsure as to precisely what happened.Discuss your situation with an attorney and learn what your rights are and whether or not you may be eligible for compensation. The bottom line is that you need someone who knows what they are doing on your side if you face going to court to recover damages for your injuries.
A med mal attorney works with the doctor’s office and/or the hospital to get all the information that may not be available to you. S/he knows how the medical system works and knows what your rights are and will fight to make sure you are accorded those rights. Working in two different systems like this means you will get the best benefits if you ultimately need to go to court. Your job is handling the devastating effects of malpractice while your attorney hears your story and mounts a case.
Discussing your case with a med mal attorney is the beginning point here. S/he will assess your case, do some background work and then determine if you do indeed have a legitimate malpractice claim. Ask questions and mention everything you think of to your attorney, even if you think it’s an unimportant detail. You never know what information will be valuable in a medical malpractice court case, but your attorney does.
The other very important thing you need to be aware of when dealing with medical errors or malpractice is that your rights as a patient come first. This is what your attorney will be fighting for should you go to court. S/he will ensure your case is heard and that your claim is taken seriously.
Once a med mal case is filed your attorney is with you every step of the way from gathering records and files to examining lab results and finding expert witnesses. If you have been the victim of a medical procedure gone wrong or are suffering from debilitating side effects as the result of a drug the doctor gave you, the lawyer will argue for compensation for the injuries, for the costs of treating those injuries, lost income from missing work and for the emotional and physical distress you face daily since the medical incident.
While these cases are not easy, your attorney knows how to find their way through all the potential landmines that might crop up. Don’t hesitate to consult with a medical malpractice lawyer if you suspect that your personal injuries are the result of medical negligence or malpractice. The only bad thing you can do if faced with this kind of a situation is to NOT ask questions.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post On the Line Over Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Nurses don’t go to work thinking about negligently performing their jobs. They arrive ready to do their shift and perhaps at some point during those 12 hours unintentionally commit a negligent act that results in injury or death to an unsuspecting patient. Sadly, it appears that nurse malpractice is on the rise thanks to the conditions in many hospitals today – overcrowding, understaffing, unrealistic deadlines, a steady stream of emergencies, and other factors that overwhelm even the best intentioned RN.
An overworked, overwhelmed RN makes mistakes; it’s just that simple. The results of those mistakes often mean a Cleveland malpractice lawyer is seeking compensation from the courts for damages a victim has suffered, including emotional, financial and physical.
The solution to nursing malpractice would seem to be more nurses. As simple as that may sound, it appears to be a difficult goal to achieve. While nurses are in high demand, there is a chronic shortage of registered and licensed nurses. That means that those working on the front lines are often tapped to work more and more overtime. The cumulative total of hours worked often leads to burn out and nursing errors. Many a Cleveland medical malpractice lawsuit has made mention of the nursing shortage at hospitals.
Statistically speaking if a nurse is working over 12.5 hours, they are three times more likely to make mistakes while on duty. In response to the, it’s no real surprise there is poor communication, carelessness and miscommunication. Many of these factors become part and parcel of a nursing lawsuit filed by a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Nursing errors may run the gamut from medication errors (wrong dose or wrong patient), not doing what a doctor instructed, not responding to a patient’s needs in a timely fashion, or going ahead and doing a procedure they are not properly trained to handle. While many of these mistakes may be explained by being overworked and stressed, the consequences of this inattention and negligence may result in a drug overdose, coma, infection, organ damage, an adverse drug reaction or death.
Patients who have survived what they feel was nursing malpractice should seek the expert legal counsel of a Cleveland medical malpractice attorney to discuss recovering damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of wages or the ability to work, loss of support (involving a death), etc.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Nurses Make Mistakes Too first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It really shouldn’t be asking too much to get the right medications when a patient is in a hospital or other clinical setting where medical treatment is being carried out. After all, that would be a reasonable expectation of the patient. Patients rely on caregivers to look out for them and not harm them by giving them something that either produces a bad reaction or ends up causing the patient’s death. Unfortunately, medication errors are far too common and in order to avoid them, health care professionals must take steps to monitor their actions or face a potential Cleveland medical malpractice lawsuit.
Generally speaking there are at least five things, or five rights that patients should expect from medical personnel. The first thing is that the patient is correctly identified. While this may sound like a fairly straightforward job, those who perform it typically also answer phones, screen calls, take refill information, sign in co-pays and other miscellaneous distracting duties. If this causes negligence on the part of the medical intake person, they may face a Cleveland medical malpractice suit.
Consider the ramifications if the patient is initially not identified properly. This could mean the wrong treatment, wrong surgery, wrong diagnosis or a multitude of other errors all compounded by the patient being given the wrong name, charts and other vital medical information. This admittedly is more of a problem on admission to the hospital if the patient is not able to communicate articulately.
A patient’s second well deserved right is that they get the correct drug. Unfortunately this is a real concern in many health care settings, as drugs are often prescribed, handed out and given to patients without any information about their potential allergies, their age, height, weight, lab results, actual clinical condition or diagnosis. This is a recipe for disaster.
Add to this physicians who write faster than they think and hand out prescriptions that defy all logic with creative names for drugs they can’t recall and doses that are, at best, questionable. Unfortunately, there isn’t always a check and balance system in place to keep track of what patient gets what drugs when everyone is under the gun to care for more patients than there are beds. The possibility of negligence in a hospital or other clinical setting may be very high given the overburdened health system, something a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer knows well.
Right number three deals with getting the right dose of a medication. This is a particularly difficult area, as trying to set the right dose for the patient is mostly done by an educated guess based on age, height, weight, what other drugs the person is taking and any known allergies. The art of different dosing for each patient is not one that everyone in health care settings understands well enough. Consider the case of a nurse crushing a time release capsule for a senior and finding out later crushing the tablet releases the whole dose at once with dreadful consequences.
Along with the right dose of medication comes patient right number four, the right route to administer the medication. In most instances, giving a pill or liquid is the easiest, safest and most cost effective route. However, there are other methods of administration such as intravenous, intradermal, subcutaneous and intramuscular that have the potential to go off the rails if done incorrectly. Other even more tricky methods of giving a drug include intracardiac, intrapleural, intraspinal, intraarticular and intrathecal. These are particularly dangerous routes of administration of a drug, as once the drug is injected there is no way to get it back.
Patient right number five relates to getting the right medication at the right time. If the required dose is delayed or forgotten, this becomes a medication error with the potential to cause significant problems such as making up doses and giving them too close together.
For a violation of patient’s rights, it is critical to speak with a Cleveland medical malpractice attorney to ensure justice is served.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post It’s a Matter of Being Right first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Traumatic brain injury is a real concern in Cleveland medical malpractice circles when someone has been in an accident. Whether that injury has been the result of a car crash, a slip and fall accident or other blunt force trauma to the skull (such as blasts from explosives), the consequences are life altering, if not deadly when not treated in a timely manner. Cleveland medical malpractice lawyers see instances like this quite frequently.
There are roughly 1.4 million cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the U.S. every year. Approximately 300,000 of those cases are classified as severe. The fact of the matter is that TBI is the number one cause of disability for those under age 35. This injury results in close to 99,000 cases a year of permanent disability. Fifty percent of those who survive a TBI sustain major impairment. These statistics alone speak loudly enough about the severity of this injury to prompt victims to hire a highly skilled Cleveland malpractice lawyer.
Lest we forget, there are hundreds of cases of military blast injury sustained by our Armed Forces personnel overseas, as a result of roadside bombs. There were approximately 360,000 military blast injuries 2002-2008. Those numbers have not decreased over the last two years. While we may be waging a war against terrorists, the real terror is stalking military personnel in the form of blast injuries. The incidence of deaths due to TBI from bomb blasts is also very high.
In most instances traumatic brain injury is “managed” in order to reduce the pressure on the brain from swelling and to ensure it is receiving enough oxygen. Any breakthrough in the medical field that offers promise for those who have sustained a traumatic brain injury is welcome news. Indeed, most Cleveland medical malpractice attorneys feel new therapy like this may assist their clients in recovery. While the proposed therapy and drug are pending trials in Israel and Switzerland, Oxycyte’s initial results appear to be promising.
This company focuses on pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the field of oxygen therapeutics and continuous substrate monitoring. Their latest offering to the medical community is Oxycyte, a perfluorocarbon therapeutic oxygen carrier and liquid ventilation product and an implantable glucose sensor.
Currently there are six treatment sites planned for each country with clinical trials slated to begin in the second quarter of 2009 and tentatively lasting anywhere from 12 to 18 months. There are many test subjects available, as the Israelis have been dealing with TBI and blast victims for quite some time. Their skill will enable them to utilize this promising therapy and provide clinical test results based on the therapy regime of a single infusion of one of 3 incremental doses of Oxycyte given within 12 hours of injury along with 50% oxygen and the usual care in cases like this.
The hope is that Oxycyte will play a crucial role in assisting in cases dealing with traumatic brain injury, wound care, strokes, heart attacks, surgery, etc.
From the point of view of a Cleveland medical malpractice attorney who deals with TBI as the result of someone else’s negligence, this latest medical news may change the outcome for TBI patients, and that could only be good.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post TBI Healing Hope first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While you may not have experienced a pharmaceutical error where you got the wrong drug, or the right drug but you reacted badly to it, or a new medication when combined with what you were already taking caused a serious side effect, errors like this happen every day. Some of these errors are not critical. On the other hand some of them may be deadly.
Not many people realize this, but medication errors are considered to be medical malpractice, largely because they have the potential to cause extremely serious injuries or death. Incidents like this can cost up to $72 billion every year – a staggering amount of money wasted on preventable pharmacy errors. Ask a Cleveland malpractice lawyer about the kinds of cases he deals with and you might be surprised at the answer.
A pharmacy error happens when a patient is handed the wrong medicine or given the incorrect dose of their prescribed medication. Other areas where mistakes happen are when the doctor writes out an illegible prescription, when the medication isn’t labeled correctly or when medicines that shouldn’t be mixed are taken together. Mistakes like this are quite easy to make if the pills are the same color, size or shape; if the names are similar or if the abbreviations on the prescriptions for the number of times or quantity to take them are wrong. If you think something like this has happened to you, contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
Let’s say a prescription required a certain number of units of the medicine to be given every four hours and the “U” looked like an O. Obviously this would affect how much medication the patient was given and perhaps have the potential to cause an inadvertent overdose. All it takes is one small oversight in handing out meds and the consequences could be a Cleveland medical malpractice lawsuit.
There are ways to reduce the likelihood of this happening and people need to be more alert and aware of everything they are ingesting. This becomes more of a problem with seniors who may not understand what they are taking and why, and place an enormous amount of trust in their caregivers.
The first place to start to prevent any pharmacy errors is to check and re-check the medication with your physician after you have a prescription filled. While it may seem like you’re a being nuisance, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Asking questions that may avert a potential drug reaction is far better than having to find a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to right a wrong.
If you can’t read the handwriting, chances are the pharmacist will have trouble making it out as well. Ask to have it re-written or clarified before heading to the drugstore. Even though you know what dose the doctor suggested and how many times to take it, write that down on another piece of paper to check it against what you get from the pharmacist. Don’t take anything you are handed until you check it against the information you have.
Just because you may get medications and are told to use them according to the directions on the package, doesn’t mean something can’t go wrong. If you have a bad reaction, then something is obviously amiss. If you feel you have been the victim of pharmacy error, contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your case.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post He Took the Wrong Medication first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It’s depressing, to say the least, to think that the insurance industry, one of the biggest money makers in the US with profits over $30 billion a year, have been known to stoop to engage in dishonest tactics and a flagrant lack of ethics to inflate their profits.
Given the tough economic times America faces currently, it’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination that those same insurance companies will jack up their rates even more and deny more claims. While this might be called a defensive position to support their bottom line, it certainly plays havoc with the industry as a whole. “Not only that, it seriously hampers consumers who ultimately suffer the consequences of denied insurance despite paying their contractual obligations monthly – meaning premiums,” commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer.
People might once have thought that the big name insurance company we all thought was the salt of the earth and had earned our family’s trust was above reproach. Nowadays people are finding out that the family friend has turned into Uncle Scrooge overnight and is not only denying reasonable claims for strange reasons, but is delaying payments, burying customers in insurance legal jargon and even refusing people retroactively who file claims. One might well ask, “What is wrong with this picture?”
“As horrendous as it may seem, there is evidence that those once friendly companies have gone out of their way to deny claims by actually offering rewards to employees who were successful in turning down claims, added Mellino. Workers who would not engage in that kind of behavior were fired. If denying claims didn’t work, some of these companies were not above perpetrating fraud to not pay claims.
While denying claims is bad enough, get ready for the worst stunt in the book – delaying claims until death. This has been done in instances by long-term care insurers whose rationale is simply this: if they don’t pay a claim they make money. Some of them have waited until an aged policyholder died to avoid paying. “This behavior is just the tip of the iceberg in an industry that is now also using credit reports to decide who gets insurance or not and how much they will pay,” said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer. Brings to mind another good question: “When will it end?”
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Insurance Company Tactics Really Bite first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Haven’t we all heard this one before: “Of course the number of lawsuits, including medical malpractice suits, being filed is just staggering.” Well, guess what? This is definitely not the case and hasn’t been true since at least 1985. “Just to throw around a few statistics here, consider this: personal injury cases dropped 79 percent between 1985 and 2003. This is the most interesting thing though – that in 1985 there were 3,600 trials floating around in US District Courts. By 2003 the number had plummeted to a modest 800 or so,” indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
While some might think these are old and out-of-date figures, the trend of fewer personal injury lawsuits continues, not only nationally, but at the state level. Sure, we all read about cases in the paper, but they are nowhere near as prevalent as the media makes them out to be. The ones that get reported are the big cases, and they are by no means representational of the number of cases actually tried per year.
Another prevalent myth that seems to make the rounds on what appears to be a daily basis, is that rising health care costs are making it insurmountable for doctors to practice because of all the lawsuits. “It’s true that the costs of health care are rising every year, the medical bills alone certainly prove that, but medical malpractice lawsuits don’t have anything to do with the cost of health care,” commented Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.
The truth of the matter is that med mal suits are roughly less than 2 percent of the total health care spending. In other words, call this a drop in the bucket. So rather than doctors dropping like flies because they are being picked off by med mal suits, the numbers of physicians is actually rising – a reassuring fact to say the least.
Everyone has heard about, or perhaps participated in a situation where a small business owner was driven out of his or her livelihood by a lawsuit, so to address this issue, legal reform is well past due. “This is not accurate either and lawsuits rank dead last as a concern for small business owners,” said Mellino. What really appears to be happening is that the larger concerns are trying to upset the legal apple cart to avoid being held culpable for malfeasance and neglect.
This last myth is rather counter intuitive if anyone bothers to dig past the initial impression the words create – that trial lawyers are driving corporations out of business. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. Justice is for everyone and wrongdoers need to be held accountable for their deeds, whether they’re a large corporation or not,” added Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Myths About Justice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>This is yet another great debate among trial lawyers, Cleveland malpractice lawyers, and the public in general, over the number of medical errors that were preventable. This subject inevitably comes up when anyone reads a story about medical negligence or is discussing how to reform the medical health system to prevent these errors. Actually, the core of the discussion is medical negligence resulting in medical errors.
It’s funny, but most people who wind up talking about this topic usually cut a wide swath around the issue of the inherent negligence, which is the underlying problem and causation of medical errors. Usually when this argument raises its ugly head, people dodge the real issues. When it comes to actually tackling negligence itself, there tends to be a resounding silence unless you have a chance to speak to a Cleveland malpractice lawyer well versed in the nuances of this debate.
Frankly, the only way to make a significant difference in the health care system today is to deal with the negligence that causes medical errors. If medical errors were reduced, many of the other companion problems would be addressed. This isn’t to say they would be one hundred percent resolved, but it would be a good start. Here is the real truth – if medical errors were decreased, the costs of health care would go down, medical malpractice insurance premiums would be scaled down and patients would remain healthy and safe. This is an opinion shared by many Cleveland malpractice lawyers.
If you seriously don’t think medical errors are that much of a problem, consider the fact that they cost the system close to $29 billion dollars a year. Yes, billion. A staggering number that is highly preventable if someone takes the bull by the horns about avoiding negligence and does something about it.
If you need further convincing, then do some research on the extent of medical errors as outlined by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Their numbers estimate 15 million people are medically harmed every year. Don’t stop there, ask a highly skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer what the real scoop is and be prepared for an honest and in-depth answer.
This is really just the tip of the iceberg that sank the Titanic. The unaddressed negligence issue will founder the medical care system if left unchecked. And yet, many Americans today remain unaware of the problem, and how all encompassing it appears to be. This is really quite odd when you consider that one in three people has personally experienced a medical error and one in five were seriously harmed or died. What is even more interesting is that the public generally estimates death by medical error to be about 5,000 yearly, and not numbers running into the millions.
The odd twist to this debate is that while Americans think medical malpractice negligence suits are rampant, the reverse is really the truth. The problem is preventable medical errors causing serious harm and taking lives.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Medical Errors Result in a High Death Toll first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The pain of losing a loved one suddenly due to the possible negligence of someone else is heart rending. At times like this, the family is not only coping with the wrongful death, but also wondering how they are going to be able to make ends meet. “Financial security becomes a very real concern for those left behind,” indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.
Although it is incredibly painful to function after the loss of a loved one, someone must take the first step forward and contact a highly skilled and compassionate wrongful death attorney for advice and guidance. This needs to be done as soon as possible, partially because of the statute of limitations and partly because filing a wrongful death lawsuit quickly, while the details are sharp and clear, makes the most sense.
“Never assume that just because the death may have been an unintended accident that something cannot be done to obtain compensation for the resulting death,” indicated Mellino. Even if the idea of filing a lawsuit seems foreign, and not likely to happen, contact an attorney and find out how a wrongful death lawsuit is handled and what it may mean in terms of financial compensation.
“Wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases, not criminal cases, and usually deal with emotional pain and material loss, not the question of guilt,” added Mellino. In these kinds of circumstances, it must be proven that another person or a company caused the death of an individual due to negligence. The person filing the wrongful death claim must also be a legitimate dependent or surviving member of the deceased, and the damages received are to financially assist the surviving family.
Be aware that each state has its own wrongful death statute and it is best to ask the wrongful death attorney what is applicable in the case being discussed. One such first rate wrongful death attorney is Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Tragic Wrongful Death first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>It is vitally important to have the correct type of car seat and harness for a baby when traveling anywhere in a vehicle. Actually, it is not only important to have the right car seats and harness for your child, it is the law. “The seat needs to be installed in the rear seat of a vehicle and for an infant, it must be rear facing,” explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.
Unfortunately, these days it seems there are a fair number of car seats tagged for a manufacturer’s recall. While the maker may send out an additional part for a seat that is already installed, it makes one wonder just how safe it is to be adding extra parts that weren’t there in the first place. It may somehow affect the integrity of the whole unit. Other manufacturers will choose to send a whole new car seat as a replacement.
If anxiety had a name, it would be called the child car seat. Installing it according to the proper safety instructions is often a task for a mechanic, not a mom or dad. “Cutting corners when installing it is not an option and having the installation checked by someone in the know is crucial. If any part of that seat happens to be defective, the consequences may be severe injuries or death,” added Mellino.
“When on the hunt for an approved child car seat, avoid car seats made before 1981 and seats that do not have a label on them clearly stating the date they were manufactured and the model number,” said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.
Never buy second hand child car seats and do not simply glue a part back on that comes off. Any child car seat that is falling apart has the potential to be dangerous. Take the time to invest in a replacement.
Typically if someone is dealing with a situation where they had problems with a child car seat, it was due to defective handles, weak construction, sudden and unexpected releases and unanticipated rotation. This is possibly due to the manufacturer’s negligence, and any situations like this need to be discussed with a dangerous products attorney. One such top-notch attorney is Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post The Problem with Defective Car Seats first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Atorvastatin seemed to be a dream drug, the answer to those who were diagnosed with high cholesterol levels. Pfizer marketed this drug like there was no tomorrow and made it a point to mention that Lipitor had very few side effects.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and many people across the nation found themselves talking to a dangerous drug attorney to assess their case. Lipitor is in a class of drugs called statins whose major function is to lower cholesterol.
Pfizer has a history of bringing out blockbuster drugs and you might recognize some of them because they are so popular: Viagra, Diflucan, Zithromax, Celebrex and Zoloft. They are also noted for the groundbreaking drug, Aricept, used to treat Alzheimer’s patients.
Lipitor/atorvastatin turned into a virtual success overnight, raking up sales of close to $12.9 billion in 2006 when it was first released on the market. From then on, sales have continued to soar and return healthy revenue to Pfizer.
Then, one day the roof fell in, and Lipitor patients were reporting rhabdomyolysis and severe liver damage. Lipitor sales plummeted to about $6 billion for the first quarter of 2007 compared to $6.2 billion in the same quarter in 2006.
Despite the damaging reports from Lipitor patients, statins are still in high demand, as more than 52 million people suffer from high cholesterol. Roughly one-third that number seeks treatment for it. The sales potential for this drug is virtually unlimited. The patent on Lipitor is good until 2010 even though the drug company wanted an extension until 2011.
Things were going well until the Food and Drug Administration started getting reports that people were dying from liver damage, heart problems and severe muscle deterioration as a result of taking Lipitor. It turns out that Lipitor’s side effects may be numerous, including diarrhea, muscle pain, headache, joint pain, memory loss, severe liver problems, and non-functioning muscle fibers (rhabdomyolysis).
Non-functioning muscle fibers means muscle breakdown, with the muscle cells purging their contents into the blood stream. This winds up in the liver and causes severe damage or death. This drug inhibits an enzyme needed to make cholesterol in the liver. It also blocks the manufacture of CoQ10 that benefits the heart.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the Division of Public Health Sciences found Lipitor to be one of the most dangerous drugs on the market. In fact, it ranked it as the eighth most dangerous drug with over 6,000 adverse events. That’s pretty hard to ignore.
If you have experienced Lipitor side effects, contact a highly skilled dangerous drug attorney and discuss your situation. Knowing your rights will help you decide whether or not to file a dangerous drug lawsuit.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Lipitor the Cholesterol Buster first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Appendicitis, the end result of an inflamed and diseased appendix, is referred to as a surgical disease, as it usually requires the removal of the organ from the body. Often it becomes irritated and enlarged and at that point becomes what doctors classify as a medical emergency. Removal of this organ is considered an emergency because if it bursts and spills out toxic contents into the system, the problem becomes even worse, if not life threatening.
The interesting thing about the appendix is that no matter what stage the appendicitis is at, surgeons still recommend its removal as soon as possible. Most of these operations are safe and go as planned; however, there is the possibility of developing post-operative complications thanks to surgical malpractice. In some instances, there have even been cases cited where a patient had an unnecessary appendectomy of a healthy appendix.
The more advanced the infection of this organ, the more difficult and risky the surgery. In these cases, patients have been known to develop either an abscess or sepsis after surgery. Sepsis is a dangerous condition that presents as a whole-body inflammatory state, also called a systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
These possible complications of performing surgery if an appendix is too diseased, is usually one of the things that prompts physicians to operate early and avoid the problem of advanced appendicitis. This isn’t to say that all cases of appendicitis are correctly diagnosed in the first place, as it tends to mimic many other illnesses and is thus hard to correctly diagnose. There are also cases of appendicitis patients who have no symptoms and no one knows that until the disease is seriously advanced.
Unfortunately there are still no reliable medical tests these days that are totally accurate in diagnosing appendicitis, and for this reason, if the surgeon suspects a diseased appendix; their first instinct is to remove it before problems develop. Yes, it’s a risk to remove a healthy organ, however given the alternatives most surgeons would err on the side of caution.
Removing an appendix in young children is another proposition altogether and surgical statistics indicate at least 9% of children who have an appendectomy had a healthy appendix. One of the reasons children’s appendixes tend to be healthy when removed is due to the fact that it’s a lot more difficult to diagnose appendicitis in kids.
If you feel you are the victim of medical malpractice, contact a highly qualified medical malpractice attorney and discuss your case. The attorney will be able to explain your rights and assess your case.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Appendix Removal Potential Medical Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>From studies done after surgical events, it appears that most of the errors could have been avoided. Records indicate there are stories of surgery performed on the wrong site, the wrong person and other mistakes. “These errors are a concern to people facing surgery, and for those who may have experienced this,” said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. Speaking to a highly skilled medical malpractice lawyer is a must in instances like this.
The surgeon has a high duty of care to the patient they are operating on, and on the other side of the coin, the patient has every right to place their complete faith and trust in the doctor to not do something wrong. However, if something does go wrong, it is the patient’s right to consult with an attorney.
“Generally speaking medical malpractice is the failure of a medical professional to use reasonable care to prevent patient injury or illness. And this is a normal thing to expect,” explained Mellino. Non-fatal errors of a surgical nature happen relatively often and may cause patients problems they didn’t have before surgery, including such things as permanent disabilities or paralysis. It’s definitely a cause for concern when one realizes that over 98,000 people die each year because of surgical medical negligence. Medical negligence is a good reason to hire a leading med mal attorney.
Patient consent forms allow surgeons permission to operate, but don’t cover what happens if there is an error in surgery. “We don’t anticipate there will be surgical errors. We “do” however anticipate that the surgeon is skilled enough to not make mistakes,” commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.
If faced with what appears to be a med mal situation that may have been caused by a failure to take a proper medical history, to note all drug allergies, inattentiveness, bad handwriting on patient charts, and poor pre-operative planning, contact an experience med mal attorney to discuss the possibility of filing a medical negligence lawsuit.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Startling Surgical Errors first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While many parents don’t want to think about the possibility of something happening to their child as it is being born, the truth of the matter is that birth injuries do happen. They may include injuries such as paralysis, brain injury, fetal distress, cerebral palsy, dystocia, breech presentation, and cephalopelvic disproportion. All of these particular injuries may occur as the result of the doctor’s negligence.
Is there a way to minimize things like this happening, and if so, what would you be able to do to avoid this happening to you during the birth of your child? The first thing is finding a doctor you are comfortable with and finding out if others have had positive experiences with that physician. This isn’t to say that something may not happen during delivery, but if the doctor has a good track record with other mothers, chances are you are in good hands.
Do your homework on what birth injuries are possible and make a list of questions to ask the doctor. Ask what is done to monitor you and the baby for any possible complications. In general, the most common cause of birth injuries is because the physician isn’t properly monitoring mom and baby. If this is discussed prior to the baby’s arrival, chances are the doctor will be more aware of his responsibilities.
While there is no need to feel paranoid about giving birth, it honestly doesn’t hurt to be as well-informed as you can about things that have the potential to go wrong. Talking to the doctor about those things is also one more step toward understanding what the physician goes through to make sure your baby arrives safely.
If you are in a situation where you are certain a birth injury took place as the result of the negligence of your attending physician, contact a top notch med mal attorney and discuss your case options.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Know the Risks of Birth Injuries first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>We all look up to doctors and other medical professionals because by virtue of their training, they have the skills and ability to make us feel better – to fix what is wrong. Most doctors, etc., take this responsibility very seriously and follow the “Do no harm,” oath of their profession. However, negligence does stalk the halls of many medical facilities, including physician’s offices, and the act of acting in error or failing to act, becomes a very serious matter.
In medical malpractice law there are two common oversights we see on a regular basis – the misdiagnosis of a medical condition or the failure to diagnose a certain medical problem. It’s a startling fact that roughly 40% of med mal lawsuits in the U.S. are the result of a doctor failing to diagnose someone promptly.
Let’s take a quick look at misdiagnosis. This is when a patient is told they have something that they really “don’t” have. Needless to say, subsequent treatment may cause any number of complications. The major point here is that the “real” condition is going undiagnosed and untreated. In reality, the patient then has two problems – the misdiagnosis of the real condition and the failure to diagnose the real condition.
If a particular illness is time sensitive, such as a viral heart infection or cancer, it is crucial that the proper treatment be started post haste. Not diagnosing the real condition results in leaving it untreated for far too long, causing the patient serious problems. Treatment given for the wrong thing may exacerbate the problem and/or cause another problem entirely, prescriptions given in error compound the original diagnostic error(s).
On the other end of the continuum, we see cases where doctors totally missed the boat in figuring out what is wrong with a patient, or managed to get it right too late. Again, with some diseases, time is of the essence and if treatment is delayed or not commenced, the consequences could be deadly. The sad thing is that in these cases, what was once possibly treatable then becomes untreatable if left too long.
If you’re faced with a suspected failure to diagnose or a misdiagnosis, contact a highly skilled med mal attorney and discuss your legal rights and options.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Misdiagnosis versus Failure to Diagnose first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Medical malpractice, or call it medical negligence, may also be the result of human mistakes; mistakes with the potential to end up with tragic consequences such as cerebral palsy,” said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. This kind of medical error/mistake may cost a child and their family permanent pain and suffering, as cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that is not curable.
In most cerebral palsy medical malpractice lawsuits, the damages may cover a wide range of areas from emotional and physical to monetary awards, or in other words, non-monetary and monetary damages. The toughest thing for the families to endure are the costs associated with cerebral palsy med mal that include physical therapy, surgery, special equipment, drugs, etc. “It’s not uncommon to hear of horrendously high bills when caring for a cerebral palsy patient,” indicated Mellino.
If the cerebral palsy was the result of negligence on the part of a doctor or other medical provider who did not follow the required standard of accepted medical care during a pregnancy, the delivery or very soon after labor and the birth, the victim and their family have every right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
“In any case where a person feels they have been the victim of medical malpractice, the first thing then need to do is speak with a highly skilled med mal attorney who is intimately familiar with these types of cases,” explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. Lawyers with a proven track record in these situations have more than a passing familiarity with legal jargon and know precisely how to evaluate these cases.
If the attorney feels there is a strong enough case, a medical malpractice lawsuit will be filed. “Parents of a child suffering from cerebral palsy may claim damages for things such as – the pain and suffering of the child (and family), medical bills, child care, cost of future care, and loss of future earning capacity,” added Mellino.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post Cerebral Palsy Malpractice first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Birth injury malpractice is not to be confused with birth defects, as these are two different things,” explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. A defect is usually something that happened before pregnancy or during gestation, causing something to go drastically wrong with the baby’s health and normal development.
A birth injury refers to something that happened during delivery – say shoulder dystocia – which was a direct result of a botched delivery. These things should never have happened in the first place.
“Most birth injuries are due to a fault of the physician (or other medical staff) who were working as a team to deliver the baby,” said Mellino. If something does go wrong and the personnel provide less than sterling care and skilled medical intervention, the conditions are ripe for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
“When dealing with a birth injury malpractice lawsuit, there are usually four elements that need to be present in order to proceed: proximate cause, injury, breach of duty, and the fact that a duty of care was owed to the patient,” outlined Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.
To show duty of care, the attorney needs to prove the doctor owed the patient a duty to provide reasonable care. “The breach of care aspect is relatively self-explanatory, in that it means the physician didn’t provide the professional/reasonable care anticipated and expected,” added Mellino.
These two elements must result in an injury or death to show there was medical malpractice. This leads us to proximate cause, which means that without the negligent act, the injury would never have occurred. Or, to put this another way, the harm would not have happened if the doctor had not made a mistake.
If someone has suffered the trauma of birth injuries, the best thing to do is to contact an experienced and highly knowledgeable birth injury lawyer. The attorney will assess the case and advise how to proceed to justice.
To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
The post The Tragedy of Birth Injury first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>