Posts by Christopher Nace
Allergan Breast Implant Recall Issued Due to Cancer Risk
CNN reported on July 25, 2019, that Allergan “issued a worldwide recall of Biocell textured breast implants and tissue expanders that have been linked to a rare cancer. The move came after the US Food and Drug Administration requested the manufacturer voluntarily recall the products.” Allergan claimed the recall was in response to global information…
Read MoreSuing for Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Cases that involve a failure to diagnose cancer can include various forms of negligence. In some cases, a doctor may fail to conduct the tests necessary to detect cancer such as a biopsy or mammogram. In other instances, a pathologist or radiologist may act negligently by mishandling the patient’s medical file. For example, a radiologist…
Read MoreWhy Using a Surgical Checklist Helps Doctors Provide Better and Safer Treatments
Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently profiled how surgical checklists are making a difference in reducing mistakes and improving medical outcomes. The HBR report profiled a surgical team at a South Carolina medical facility which reduced its mortality rate by a third, increased productivity, and saved more than $4 million a year since instituting the use…
Read MoreCan a Judge’s Ruling on Stem Cell Treatments Really Put a Stop to Them?
In 2015, a Miami woman with macular degeneration, an incurable disease leading to permanent vision loss, visited a clinic which promised the extraordinary: a treatment designed to slow down, or even stop, the progression of the disease. The treatment would use stem cells from the patient’s own belly fat. Instead of gaining her vision back,…
Read MoreElectronic Health Records and Medical Malpractice Claims
In May 2019, Medical Economics reported that there is a rise in medical liability claims involving electronic heath records (EHR). An EHR system should help keep patients’ information current and readily accessible, thus helping to avoid mistakes. While these databases have numerous benefits, electronic health record systems only work as well as the software that…
Read MoreDelivery Room Dangers: Unnecessary Episiotomy Procedures
A major USA TODAY study found that hospitals are performing much too may episiotomies despite nationwide guidelines that call for the procedure to only be used in the case of emergencies. Since 2006, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has advised performing the procedure sparingly. “Mothers who receive episiotomies – an incision at the…
Read MoreWhy Do So Many Wrong-Site Surgeries Occur?
It seems simple enough: take diagnostic images and an oral history. Conduct a physical exam. Read the reports of the treating doctors and nurses. There shouldn’t be any reason then for operating on the wrong part of someone’s body, removing an incorrect organ, or even operating on the wrong patient. And yet, this particularly egregious…
Read MoreWashington, DC Area Hospitals Are Failing to Prevent Infections
It is no secret that the hospitals in D.C. need some work. According to Hospital Safety Grade, an initiative launched by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group, out of the six hospitals located in Washington, D.C. proper, half have earned a “D” rating. The hospitals were evaluated in the following categories: Infections Problems with surgery Practice to…
Read MoreNew Study Reveals Many Veterans Are Suffering Spinal Surgery Errors
A recent study by Clinical Spine Surgery disclosed an alarming and tragic finding. VA surgeons, all too often, are operating on the wrong part of the spines of our veterans. This study revealed that the major causes for this inexcusable type of medical malpractice were mistakes in standard imaging studies. Common errors include mistakes when…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice and Older Patients
As we age, we spend more time with doctors. Maybe we need blood pressure medication. Perhaps we’ll develop arthritis in our fingers. Maybe there’s an increased risk of cancer, or stroke, or any of the many, many conditions and illnesses that seem to affect the elderly population a bit more. We have every right to…
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