Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Methicillin-Resistance Aureus (or MRSA) is a potentially deadly infection typically acquired in hospitals. The Centers for Disease Control (or CDC) estimates that 18,000 people die every year of MRSA in U.S. healthcare facilities. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I am pleased to see that Chicago's Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine brings attention to this serious health hazard every year by holding its annual World MRSA Day and Global MRSA Summit. This year's event will be held at the medical school on October 1, 2011 at 10:30 AM, which is free to the public.

MRSA is caused by a strain of staff infection. Unlike other staff infections, MRSA has become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat staff related infections. The infection is commonly acquired during invasive procedures like surgery or invasive devices like tubing and artificial joints that have bacteria on them. In addition to objections, MRSA may be spread through skin contact.

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On September 27, 2011, prosecutors began their opening statements in the criminal trial against Dr. Conrad Murray for the death of Michael Jackson. Dr. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter. With this charge, prosecutors are not claiming Dr. Murray intentionally killed Jackson. Instead, prosecutors must essentially prove Dr. Murray unintentionalyl killed Jackson through illegal or reckless behavior. Specifically, the behavior at issue is the surgical drug, propofol, which Dr. Murray administered to Jackson to help him sleep. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I only handle civil (rather than criminal) cases against doctors and hospitals. Nonetheless, I am fascinated to see how this case will be prosecuted and defended.

In their opening statement, prosecutors previewed the evidence for why the jury should find Dr. Murray responsible for Jackson's death. They claim Dr. Murray abandoned "all principles of medical care" when he used the drug propofol, a surgical anesthetic, to put Jackson to sleep each night for months. They also went into detail about the grave dangers surrounding the drug propofol and its intended purposes--which does not include giving it to help someone to sleep.

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On September 13, 2010, Sharese Pointer took her asthmatic son to St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, Illinois after he began experiencing asthmatic symptoms. Shortly after arrival, the hospital told the family they did not have proper equipment to care for their 7 year-old boy, Aaron, and they advised he should go to their other hospital in Chicago Heights. Aaron was then taken by ambulance to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights. There, hospital doctors stated they, too, could not care for the child. The Pointer family did not have private health insurance and, instead, only had Medicare coverage. So, Aaron and was, once again, sent to another hospital--St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet--some thirty miles away during rush hour traffic. While en route to the third hospital, Aaron spoke his last words before dying "I...am...tired...of...breathing." As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I am sickened by this story. This little boy died needlessly, I would argue, after being shuffled off to three different hospitals in eleven hours.

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As we age or gain weight, some of us turn to cosmetic surgery believing it will make us look or "feel better about ourselves." Because cosmetic surgery is seldom covered by insurance, many shop around for the doctor or medical facility that offers the lowest price. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I see these cases all too often. Choosing the lowest priced doctor to perform a cosmetic procedure can have deadly consequences.

On February 14, 2010--Valentines Day--James Howard woke up excited to spend time with his wife Kellee Lee-Howard. Later that morning, when he walked into the living room, he found Kellee lying dead on the couch. The day before, she underwent a "minimally invasive" liposuction surgery. She chose the Alyne Medical Rejuvenation Institute after seeing their ad offering liposuction as a "safe" way to lose weight through surgery. Although the name may sound sophisticated or professional, this "Institute" was not registered as a surgery center. Nor was the doctor who performed the surgery board certified in any field.

A board certified doctor is one who has proven to meet all of the qualification required by the American Board of Medical Specialties, which includes taking and passing their medical specialty examination. Like many other doctors who perform cosmetic surgery, Dr. Alberto Sant Antonio was not board certified in any particular specialty let alone plastic surgery when he performed liposuction on Kathee Lee-Howard. Indeed, because of the lax nature of many state medical regulations, doctors in various fields including optometrists, radiologists and pediatricians have decided to open up their own cosmetic surgery practice. After all, cosmetic surgery can be very lucrative and requires very little training. How little training? Some liposuction courses are taught in just three days.

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Last month, a Chicagoland dentist was arrested for allegedly driving his Porsche the wrong way down the Regan Tollway, crashing head on into another vehicle, killing a father and his daughter. Earlier this week, the lawyer for Dr. William Howe said his client has Huntington's disease and suggested this condition contributed to the crash. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer, I am concerned this argument may allow Dr. Howe avoid any responsibility for his (seemingly) reckless behavior.

Huntington's disease is a disease that is inherited and causes a breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. Most with Huntington's disease do not develop signs or symptoms until their they reach their 40s or 50s. The disease can cause movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Howe was reportedly diagnosed with Huntington's disease several years before the crash. According to his lawyer, the disease may have also contributed to Dr. Howe's decision to close his dental practice before the car accident.

Dr. Howe has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide. Generally, reckless homicide is killing one or more people through reckless behavior. Under Illinois criminal law, reckless homicide occurs when a person unintentionally kills an individual while acting recklessly acts (ie., acting in a way that is likely to cause death or great bodily harm).

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Researchers from Sweden have just issued an astounding report on adverse drug reactions. Roughly half of all adverse drug reactions are preventable. This is true whether the patient is in or outside of a hospital. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer that handles medication error cases, I was even shocked by these findings.

An adverse drug reaction is a negative, unintended response to a medication that causes harm. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Education and Research Therapeutics, over 2 million serious adverse drug reactions occur every year. Adverse drug reactions are the 4th leading cause of death--ahead of pulmonary disease, diabetes, AIDS, pneumonia, accidents and automobile deaths. The costs associated with adverse drug reactions totals $136 billion dollars a year. For purposes of this article, a medication error is a preventable adverse drug reaction (which should not have occurred had the healthcare professional acted appropriately).

In the most recent Swedish study, researchers used seven databases from across the world for articles on adverse drug reactions that occurred during hospital stays or outpatient care. Twenty-two articles were identified and utilized. The team found that 51% of outpatient care adverse drug reactions (which then required hospitalization) were actually preventable. For elderly patients, the number was even higher; 72% of adverse drug reactions involving the elderly were preventable. The numbers are not much better for hospitals patients. Indeed, 45% of inpatient adverse drug reactions in the hospital were preventable.

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As the presidential race gets into full swing, we are once again hearing complaints by some politicians that medical malpractice costs are behind our soaring healthcare costs. And that before we can begin to reduce healthcare costs, we must enact serious medical malpractice tort reform like caps on damages. Unfortunately, study after study shows that medical malpractice costs have very little impact on healthcare costs--less than 2%. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I bristle every time I hear statements that our healthcare system is falling apart because of medical malpractice lawsuits. Not only is this assertion false, it diverts attention to an important problem that should be tackled with diligence and integrity.

In 2009, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report regarding the relationship between medical malpractice costs and healthcare costs. Similar to the conclusion reached during the Bush Administration, the 2009 CBO report concluded medical malpractice costs (ie., insurance premiums, court verdicts, and defensive medicine costs) account for "less than 2 percent" of overall healthcare spending. Moreover, if the major tort reform measures requested were implemented (including caps on damages), "it would reduce total national healthcare spending by about 0.5 percent." Yet, despite these independent government studies, many in Washington continue feed the public false information on tort reform.

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According to a new study, potentially deadly bacteria including MRSA is regularly carried around hospitals by nurses and doctors through their clothing and swipe cards. Researchers in Israel found that 60% of doctor uniforms and 65% of nurse uniforms contained potential dangerous bacteria based on swab samples taken from their clothing. Many of the samples also included methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus areus (or MRSA). As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I am troubled by the fact more is not done to stop the spread of these potential deadly hospital-acquired infections which are usually preventable.

MRSA is a type of infection caused by a strain of bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics normally used to treat staff infections. MRSA really only occurs in people who have been in hospitals or other healthcare facilities. MRSA symptoms depend upon the body part that is infected. Although most of these infections are not life threatening, some can be fatal. MRSA is spread by contact--such as from a doctor to a patient.

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