Maryland Medical Malpractice Blog

Malpractice Cap On Damages Overturned

2010-06-25T17:15:49Z

Maryland Malpractice LawyerAn Illinois law that capped verdicts in medical malpractice case was recently ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court. Doctors and hospitals are certainly disappointed in that ruling. Physicians claim that keeping caps on verdicts help reduce medical malpractice insurance premiums. Unfortunately for physicians, the facts do not justify that argument. The reasoning behind the decision was based upon a separation of powers theory. The court felt that lawmakers had interfered with the right of a jury to determine damages. Maryland also has a cap on medical malpractice damages. It has been found to be constitutional in Maryland. There is a sliding scale used to determine the cap in Maryland depending on when the injury occurred.

Medical malpractice causes paraplegia

2010-06-14T20:28:38Z

A California jury recently awarded a man $16.5 million in a medical malpractice claim. A man had been taken to a hospital with spinal injuries. The neurosurgeon who was scheduled to perform the surgery on the injured party delayed the surgery by 48 hours. The spinal injuries developed into paraplegia. Apparently the doctor failed to even examine the patient until the following day and by that time it was too late. The damage to the spine had progressed so far by the time of the operation it was irreversible. Under Maryland law there would be a cap on pain and suffering damages but there is no cap on economic damages for future medical care and future lost wages. Medical malpractice causes paraplegia

Reporting Sentinel Events

2010-06-11T11:47:49Z

A hospital is expected, although not required, to report what is known as a sentinel event. This is an event that produces an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or physiological injury or the risk thereof. These events suggest a need for proper investigation and response. If a hospital is accredited, they are strongly encouraged to report these events to the accrediting body (JCAHO). If JCAHO is either told of a sentinel event or discovers such an event through other sources, it will require the hospital to determine the root cause of the event and establish a plan of action to avoid further such events. There are time limits within which the plan must be implemented. This process is intended to avoid further incidents of the same kind. Maryland Malpractice Lawyer

Damages awarded for faulty breast surgery

2010-06-10T20:30:58Z

A New York jury recently awarded damages in the amount of $3.5 million to a Staten Island woman who claimed a plastic surgeon negligently performed a breast augmentation surgery. The breast lift apparently left the patient with what is called "double-bubble deformities". She had to have two corrective surgeries to fix the condition. She also claimed the surgeries ruined her 17-year marriage because she was too embarrassed to undress in front of her husband. Maryland malpractice lawyer

Soldier Surgery

2010-03-05T13:34:34Z

A South Carolina jury recently awarded $ 1.1 million to a man who lost virtually all use of his right arm during a surgery performed in 2004. It was known as soldier surgery. The jury also awarded $ 500,000 to the plaintiffs for loss of consortium. Maryland does have caps on what are called non economic damages. These damages include pain and suffering. The amount of the cap on non economic damages depends on the year of the injury. there is a sliding scale. There is no cap for economic damages such as future lost wages, future medical bills, home care treatment and the like.Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Jury awards $4 million in perforated bowel case

2010-02-18T19:20:03Z

A Texas jury recently awarded $ 4 million to a man who suffered significant injuries from a wrongfully performed bowel operation. The physician failed to detect a leaking bowel. As a result, the patient had to have most of his small bowel removed. If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, please call one of our attorneys for a free consultation. Remember, a bad result does not necessarily mean there was medical malpractice. Medicine is not a perfect science. However, if there is a breach of the standard of care required for a particular procedure and damage results, one is entitled to file a medical malpractice claim. If you or a friend has suffered injury as a result of medical malpractice please call one of our attorneys for a free consultation. Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Emergency Room - Heart Attack

2010-02-04T14:28:25Z

Heart Attack. A jury in Texas recently awarded $ 1.3 million to the family of a woman who died of a heart attack shortly after going to the emergency room. There are various protocols that a hospital emergency room must follow in order to properly diagnose and treat patients. Because emergency rooms are often under staffed, shortcuts are sometimes taken which can lead to serious consequences. It is the responsibility of a physician to consider what is called a differential diagnosis whereby all reasonably possible causes for the physical complaints are at least considered. Record keeping becomes an important issue for emergency rooms because so much of their work involves seriously injured parties. If the physicians and nurses do not properly document what they do for the patient, what diagnostic tests were considered, the results of physical examinations, complaints of the patients, then mistakes can follow which could lead to liability. If you or a loved one has been the victim of negligent medical treatment please call and discuss your possible case with one of our lawyers.

Medical Malpractice Myth - Reform Issues

2010-02-02T19:02:50Z

Maryland Malpractice Lawyer. The Republican are trying to negotiate away patient's rights in the medical malpractice arena with health care as the bargaining chip. Health care is about making sure every American has access to low cost health care, not about limiting the rights of innocent patients harmed by medical negligence. As of this date, 48 states have passed some type of medical malpractice legislation. Interestingly, none of the legislation has had an effect on health care delivery, reduction in costs or helping innocent victims harmed by the negligence of health care providers. The Institute of medicine estimates that 98,000 people die each year in the United States from preventable health care errors. This is the 6th leading cause of death in America. Both the GAO and CBO question the prevalence of defensive medicine and have outlined how tampering with the legal system will like save little if any money. They have further indicated that some so-called defensive medicine may be motivated by profit more than liability concerns.

Liability for Emergency Medical Care/Good Samaritans

2010-01-29T13:58:12Z

In the case of Mayor and City Council of Baltimore V. Chase, 360 Md. 121, 756 A. 2d 987 the Court of Appeals held that Fire and Rescue Company Act which provides immunity to fire and rescue departments for any act or omission in the course of performing its duties with the exception of willful or grossly negligent act, applies also to municipal fire and rescue departments and their employees. Whether a fee was charged for the service does not appear to matter under the opinion. See Section 5-604(a) of the Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article of the Maryland Code. A similar provision regarding good samaritans providing assistance can be found at Section 5-603 of the same article. Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Wrongful death from misdiagnosis

2010-01-20T17:40:55Z

A Wisconsin jury has awarded $ 3.7 million to a man that was misdiagnosed with pneumonia but died from a fungal infection. The staff at the hospital failed to run routine tests that would have demonstrated that the patient was suffering from blastomycosis as opposed to the pneumonia. It is required under the standard of care for a medical provider to consider what is called a differential diagnosis. This means that the attending medical personnel should consider all likely causes of a medical problem and rule then out to the extent possible by routine testing, particularly if they have possible catastrophic consequences. A physician cannot simply put blinders on and fail to see what a reasonably competent physician would see under normal circumstances. If you or a love one has been misdiagnosed by a medical provider please call one of our attorneys for a free consultation. Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Filing a Maryland medical malpractice claim

2010-01-12T20:12:30Z

A Florida man was awarded $ 14 million because of a medical malpractice claim whereby he was left paralyzed because of a punctured artery caused by a doctor during surgery. The physician failed to live up to the required standard of care during the procedure. The negligence caused severe bleeding in the brain. Most medical malpractice lawsuits are lost at trial. There is a general misimpression that these lawsuits are bankrupting the medical system and/or many are frivolous. In Maryland, there is not much chance of having a frivolous lawsuit. Indeed, in order to proceed with a medical malpractice claim in Maryland, an attorney must file a certificate of merit from a physician who states under oath that there was a departure from the standard of care, the nature of the departure and that the departure resulted in damage to the claimant. If you or a loved on has been the victim of what you think is medical malpractice, contact one of our attorneys today for a free consultationhttp://www.foranlaw.com/resources/maryland-medical-malpractice-lawyer/maryland-medical-malpractice-lawyer.html.

Malpractice resulting in amputation

2009-12-21T18:38:25Z

A Connecticut hospital and physician recently settled a medical malpractice claim for $ 5.25 million. The lady went in for a routine back surgery. Complications arose after the surgery. Her leg turned gangrenous but that was not diagnosed properly or timely. As a result, the lady's leg was amputated. Although it may not have been malpractice for complications to arise post surgery, it is malpractice to fail to observe what is there to be observed. The failure to observe this problem timely led to a cascading of events that ultimately ended in an amputation, something that should not happen as a result of back surgery. If you or a loved on has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact one of our attorneys for a free legal consultation.

Hospital negligence resulting in a child born with cerebral palsy

2009-12-14T23:15:31Z

A California hospital recently settled a case involving medical malpractice. Apparently a baby was born with cerebral palsy because of negligence on the part of the hospital. Prior to delivery, the child had a lack of oxygen and demonstrated signs of acute distress. This was essentially ignored by the medical providers. A C-Section should have been performed immediately. Any time a medical providers does something they are not supposed to do or fails to do something they are supposed to do under the relevant standard of care procedures, they are guilty of negligence. Unfortunately, this child will suffer for the rest of his life because of the failure of the hospital to react promptly.

If you or a loved on has been the victim of medical malpractice please contact one of our attorneys for a free consultation regarding your claim and your rights.