Law Blog
The VA Willingly Hires Doctors with Malpractice Claims Against Them
Back in October, USA TODAY published a piece about their investigation into allegations of medical malpractice at the VA hospital in Togus, Maine. They discovered that a podiatrist named Thomas Franchini was responsible for mistakes that harmed veterans in 88 different cases. Instead of firing Franchini outright, the VA “let him quietly resign and move…
Read MoreThe Vulnerability of Medical Devices to Cybersecurity Breaches
You have likely heard of, and may well have been a victim of, a cyber security breach where sensitive, personal information was hacked from the servers of a bank, a credit bureau or even a major health care insurer. Medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps are now connected to wireless networks so that…
Read MoreNurse “Burnout” Leads to Dangerous Medical Mistakes
Nurses are often the unsung heroes of health care. They work long, grueling hours carrying out the doctor’s orders, they interact with doctors, patients and peers in often chaotic and emotionally exhausting environments and they often do this difficult work exhausted. Fatigue, burnout, exhaustion, overworked: regardless of how you describe it, due to their often…
Read MoreBaltimore Family Awarded Millions after a Medication Error Led to the Death of Their Loved One
Medication errors are a significant problem in modern health care. Also called adverse drug events (ADE), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that ADE’s account for nearly 700,000 emergency department visits and 100,000 hospitalizations each year. The AHRQ also reports that approximately 5% of hospitalized patients will experience an ADE making them…
Read MoreWhy the Obstetrics Ward Ordered to be Shutdown at Washington D.C.’s United Medical Center
Back in August, regulators from the Washington, D.C. Department of Health closed the Obstetrics Department at the United Medical Center, the only full-service hospital in Southeast Washington. The Washington Post obtained a letter to Luis A. Hernandez, CEO of UMC, from the D.C. Department of Health, advising him that they were restricting the hospital’s license,…
Read MoreWhy Are Children Dying in the Dentist’s Chair?
A story on the TV program “Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly” highlighted the recent string of deaths of children in dentist’s chairs across the United States. Many adults are afraid and anxiety about going to the dentist for a dental procedure, but we go, and we sit through it with just Novocain as a local…
Read MoreWhen Plastic Surgery Errors Lead to Medical Malpractice
Plastic surgeries are usually elective procedures women and men undergo to improve their personal appearance. Sometimes they are necessary to correct the consequences from a serious accident, such as a fire that caused disfiguring burns. When you go under the knife, you expect your surgeon to be competent and professional. A simple mistake before, during,…
Read MoreA Defective Pacemaker Can Cause More Harm Than Good
A pacemaker is a medical device, first used in Sweden in the 1950s, for patients with heart problems. The device sends electrical impulses that help stabilize patients who have irregular heartbeats. Implanting a pacemaker is usually performed by a cardiologist or a surgeon. Unfortunately, some pacemakers have flaws which can cause death, heart attacks, or…
Read MoreHow Cerebral Palsy Affects Patients as They Age
Cerebral palsy, often caused by medical malpractice at birth, affects the brain and the nervous system of newborns. The condition lasts a lifetime. It often requires extensive physical and emotional therapy. Cerebral palsy is not considered a degenerative disease—meaning that the condition itself generally does not worsen with aging. Having said that, though, as many…
Read MoreCataract Surgery Malpractice Can Leave Patients with Permanent Vision Problems
Cataracts are cloudiness in eye lenses that cause vision loss over time. The exact cause of cataracts is not known but they are very common for people over 65 years of age. In cataract surgery, an ophthalmologist removes the defective lens and replaces it with an artificial lens. The two types of cataract surgeries are…
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