Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

As we all know, hospitals can be a loud place. Medical device alarms seem to be going off constantly. Whether from hospital beds, medication pumps, and other medical devices, hospital staff can become so desensitized to these sounds that they no longer hear alarms or begin to ignore them. This is commonly referred to as "alarm fatigue." According to investigations conducted by the Boston Globe in 2011, hundreds of patients may die every year from alarm fatigue. The Food & Drug Administration is also aware of the problem. Just recently, the FDA announced new measures to reduce alarm fatigue including more intense pre-market reviews of medical devices equipped with alarms. As a medical malpractice lawyer that has prosecuted an alarm fatigue case that resulted in a patient's death, I know alarm fatigue can have deadly consequences. Although the FDA's new efforts should reduce the risk of alarm fatigue, I believe hospital and nursing staff must also do more.

About ten years ago, I represented the family of an Alzheimer's patient who, while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, triggered a stairway alarm at an Illinois nursing home. The alarm had gone off numerous times that day. After my clients' father triggered the alarm that lead to the third floor stairway, no one conducted a head count or initiated any other safety protocols such as locking down all exits. Instead, the alarm was simply re-set and the staff went back to what they had been doing. In the meantime, my clients' father proceeded to down to the first floor, walked through the lobby and out the front door of the nursing home without anyone noticing. Once the nursing home staff later realized he was missing, it was too late. Despite an intensive search by local authorities, family and friends, my clients' father remained missing for nearly a week before he was found dead a in a wooded area one mile from the nursing home. He had died from exposure.

Continue reading "Avoiding Patient Deaths From Alarm Fatigue: Technology & Training" »

The family of a former Chicago Sun Times owner recently reached a $10 million dollar medical malpractice settlement against the University of Chicago Medical Center where he died. In March 2011, James Tyree was undergoing treatment for stomach cancer at the University of Chicago Medical Center. When hospital staff removed a dialysis catheter from Tyree, air bubbles entered his blood stream which ultimately led to his death. According the Cook County Medical Examiner, the death was "accidental." The family's lawyer maintains the death occurred because of medical malpractice. Of the $10 million dollar settlement, half will go to the James Tyree Charitable Foundation and the other half will go to the family.

At the time of his death, Tyree was just 53 years old. He had been a board member of the University of Chicago Medical Center and was involved in numerous local charities. In 2009, Tyree had previously led a partnership that acquired the parent company of the Chicago Sun Times out of bankruptcy and other local papers. Tyree left behind a wife and children.

Continue reading "Family Of Former Sun Times Owner Reaches Medical Malpractice Settlement" »

On May 4, 2012, a Philadelphia jury returned a $78 million medical malpractice verdict involving a severe birth injury suffered by a now three year old boy with profound brain damage. Although the amount of the jury verdict is extremely high, the amount of medical expenses needed to provide a life time of care for the little boy is also very high. The type of medical mistake made by the hospital may have also contributed to the large verdict where hospital staff inadvertently concluded the baby had died while in utero only to later learn the baby was alive.

In August 2008, Victoria Upsey arrived at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center for labor and delivery. Early on, hospital staff determined there were signs the baby was suffering from signs of fetal distress. An ultrasound was performed. However, according to the medical malpractice lawyer for the family, the hospital failed to provide a trained ultrasound technician and the equipment used was antiquated. As a result, hospital staff mistakenly assumed the baby had died in utero. Later, another ultrasound was performed which showed the baby was, in fact, alive but struggling for oxygen. This prompted an emergency cesarean section but it was too late to avoid brain damage. Based on hour plus delay between the first and second ultrasound, the baby's condition continued to deteriorate. Had a proper ultrasound been performed from the beginning, the family's malpractice lawyer argued the baby would not have suffered severe brain damage.

Continue reading "Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Verdict $78.5 Million " »

On April 3, 2012, an Argentine mother was grieving the death of her baby after hospital staff declared her girl dead at birth. When Analia Bouguet went to view her daughter in a coffin at the morgue, she collapsed to the ground when she discovered her baby was in fact alive. In all my experience as a medical malpractice lawyer, I have never heard of such a case in the modern era.

Although thrilled her daughter is alive, Analia is still overwhelmed over being told her daughter is dead and then seeing her alive in a coffin. Analia has aptly named her girl Luz Milagros, which means "Miracle of Light." The case gained national attention when the Argentine deputy provencial health minister announced five medical professionals involved in the misdiagnosis have been suspended. Analia does plan on filing a medical malpractice suit. A week after her daughter's birth, Analia still only had a death certificate for baby Luz rather than a birth certificate.

Continue reading "Shocking Malpractice Suit Planned After Baby Found Alive In Coffin" »

Thousands of patients go to emergency rooms every day in the US. Due to a variety of problems including understaffing, many emergency departments are overcrowded and chaotic. Based on a New York area survey of doctors from February 2007, many patients have died because of delays in receiving urgently needed medical treatment. In some instances, these emergency room wrongful deaths led to expensive medical malpractice lawsuits, not to mention unnecessary heartache for many families.

Delayed treatment and improper treatment by emergency rooms is not a problem unique to any one state. Just recently, a Florida jury returned a multi-million dollar verdict after an emergency room department failed to timely treat a young man's life threatening condition that began with a debilitating headache. The young man waited in the emergency room for over five hours in excruciating pain before any medical care was provided. By the time doctors diagnosed him with a brain herniation, a side effect of high intracranial pressure, and sent him for surgery, it was too late. His family filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. The jury agreed with the family, finding the hospital was negligently in failing to timely diagnose and treat the man's brain herniation.

Continue reading "Medical Mistakes In Emergency Rooms A Troubling Problem" »

Hospital-acquired infections are a serious problem in this country. Usually preventable, these infections routinely lead to unnecessary harm to patients, avoidable healthcare costs and needless medical malpractice lawsuits. Currently, 1 in 20 patients will develop a hospital-acquired infection while hospitalized in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, hospital-acquired infections cause and/or contribute to 99,000 deaths a year. These infections cost the healthcare system billions of dollars a year. Medical experts have concluded that most hospital-acquired infections are preventable. Recently, the federal government, through the Department of Health And Human Services, has launched a bold initiative, seeking to reduce hospital-infections by 40% over the next two years.

A hospital-acquired infection is an infection that a patient develops in a hospital usually from poor hygiene or sanitization practices by hospital staff. These infections can come from a variety of sources. Central lines, urinary catheters, bedsores, blood stream, and surgical sites are just a few examples from which hospital-acquired infections can develop. These infections can lead to serious medical complications and, on occasion, wrongful death.

Continue reading "Gov't Aims To Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections By 40%" »

When a child is admitted to a hospital, some will experience an adverse medical event in the hospital. An adverse medical event is any harm to a patient as a result of medical care. Of those adverse events, 60% are preventable according to a recent Canadian investigation. A preventable medical mistake is one where medical malpractice occurred, meaning the care provided fell below the standard of care. Despite these adverse events at children's hospitals, most are not even recorded in the child's medical chart.

The Canadian Medical Journal recently published an investigation into adverse events involving children at children's hospitals. The purpose of the investigation was to determine if Canada's adverse event reporting system incorporating families would result in any changes reported by healthcare professionals. The belief was that medical professionals would be more likely to report adverse events involving hospitalized children if parents were also documenting these events. However, the investigation showed medical professionals failed to report the overwhelming majority of adverse events involving children.

Continue reading "Hospitals Fail To Chart Most Adverse Events Of Hospitalized Kids " »

An Illinois woman filed a medical malpractice suite after losing both legs following weight loss surgery. Mary Beth Ruphard underwent bariatric surgery at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Illinois. She chose surgery because, at 278 pounds, and suffering from diabetes and hypertension, she was worried about her health. Weeks after surgery, on Thanksgiving, Ms. Ruphard went back into the hospital complaining of pain and tingling in her legs. She was diagnosed with blood clots in her legs. However, the hospitals did not get a surgeon in to operate on Ms. Ruphard until 36 hours later. By that time, it was too late according to her attorney. As a result, both of Ms. Ruphard's legs had to be amputated. The surgeon who performed the surgery was reportedly furious, stating "[w]hy was I not called earlier?"

As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled many hospital negligence cases including those involving complications from surgery. Of course, anytime a patient undergoes surgery, there are certain risks of the procedure. This includes blood clots in one or more legs. In patients with diabetes, these blood clots can be particularly dangerous in regard to vascular problems and requires even prompter attention.

Continue reading "Woman Loses Legs Following Weight Loss Surgery: Malpractice Suite Filed" »

According to a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health, the "worst" hospitals in the US are more likely to treat the poorest patients than the best hospitals. Of course, this is not surprising. However, under the new Affordable Healthcare Act, these worst hospitals will soon have a choice: 1) improve; or 2) fail. This will happen because the new healthcare law punishes bad medical care by withholding a portion of their federal funding. In contrast, hospitals that improve their patient care, even those now considered among the worst, will be rewarded with an increase in federal funding. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I think forcing bad hospitals to either improve or fail is actually a good thing.

The Affordable Healthcare Act provides that any hospital that fails to improve patient care will see a one percent reduction in federal funding, beginning October 2011. According to Dr. Ashis Jha of the Harvad School of Public Health, some hospitals already on the brink of closure could fail under the new law. Says Dr. Jha, "I worry they're going to get worse over time and possibly even fail. I worry that we're going to see a bunch of that happening over the next three to five years." Dr. Jha believes an unintended consequence of the new law could be "increased health disparities for minorities."

Continue reading "If Our Worst Hospitals Don't Improve, Should We Let Them Fail?" »

According to recent research, hospitals that have won the "Magnet Hospital" designation for high nursing standards were more likely to adopt safe patient care practices. A magnet hospital is one that has earned Magnet Recognition Status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (or ANCC) . As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I agree hospitals that have earned this recognition tend to provide safer patient care than those that have not but this should not be the sole basis upon which to choose a hospital.

There are currently 383 Magnet hospitals across the country. These hospitals tend to concentrate on certain characteristics like nursing autonomy, evidence-based care, and job satisfaction (among other variables). As reported in the Journal of Nursing Administration, magnet hospitals had significantly higher composite safe practice scores than non-magnet facilities. The ANCC states on its website that "Magnet Recognition Program recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice." ANCC also claims patients rely on whether a hospital has been awarded Magnet status in choosing a hospital.

To be fair, Magnet hospitals have certain advantages that may explain, in part, their higher scores. For example, Magnet hospitals are more likely to have larger bed size, be nonprofit, and have reduced percentage of Medicare and Medicaid patients. In addition, they tend to have more advanced technology, have a greater percentage of RNs to LPNs and nursing assistants, and a higher level of nurse intensity (based on nursing hours per patient day). These and other characteristics may allow Magnet hospitals to be better able to adopt the safe practices outlined by the ANCC.

Continue reading "Magnet Hospitals Linked To Higher Nursing Standards & Patient Safety" »

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.

Continue reading "Chicago Medical School Hosts World MRSA Day" »

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.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Suit Filed After Asthmatic Boy Sent To 3 Hospitals In 11 Hrs " »

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.

Continue reading "MRSA Routinely Found On Medical Staff Clothing & Swipe Cards " »

How safe are our hospitals? Recent studies show 1 in 20 patients admitted to U.S. hospital develop a hospital-related infection. These infections contribute to 99,000 deaths a year. In terms of cost, hospital related infections add $33 billion annually to healthcare spending. However, one state, California, has initiated a program that has managed to both save lives and cuts costs. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I was very encouraged to read about this new California initiative which has the potential to save thousands of lives every year from unnecessary hospital infections.

Hospital acquire infections do not discriminate. New York's Time's columnist Maureen Dowd recently lost her brother after he developed a hospital infection. She described how her brother went into a hospital with pneumonia. While there, he contracted four different infections. According Dr. Peter Provonost, director of the Quality and Safety Research Group at John Hopkins University, "[t]he math...is pretty gruesome." About 100,000 people die each year "from infections we give them in the hospital."

Until the new California initiated, an estimated 12,000 patients died every in California hospitals from hospital-related in infections. Under a three-year campaign designed to reduce costs and save lives, the Golden State has seen a substantial drop in hospital-acquired infections. The program is credited with reducing urinary traction by 24% and ventilator infections by 41%. Indeed, 800 lives have been saved since the initiative. Lower hospital infections have also saved the state an estimated $11 million dollars in healthcare costs.

Continue reading "Deadly Hospital-Related Infections Drop Under One State's Plan" »

As first reported in Consumer Reports on June 7, 2011, many teaching hospitals receive low ratings at preventing central-line catheters. Chicago's Rush University Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital were among the teaching hospitals that received the second lowest ratings at preventing these infections. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, I am troubled to see any Chicago area hospital listed. That Rush Medical Center is listed as having the second lowest rating at preventing central line infections is particularly disappointing given the reputation it has in Illinois.

A central line catheter is, essentially, a tube placed into a large vein in a patient's neck, chest, or groin. The purpose of such a catheter is to deliver fluids, medication, and/or nutrition. Indications for a central line catheter include monitoring of central venous pressure in acutely ill patients, long-term Parenteral nutrition, long-term pain medication, and Chemotherapy. Unfortunately, when central-line catheter infection occurs, the consequences can be deadly.

In its study, Consumer Reports evaluated 1119 hospitals, which is about one-sixth of the total number of US hospitals. Surprisingly, teaching hospitals--widely considered to the best type of hospitals in the country--had central-line catheter infections rate 33% higher than the average for all hospitals. In addition to the Chicago hospitals listed, only one other Illinois teaching hospital, Springfield's St. John's Hospital in Springfield, was identified among the second lowest teaching hospitals at preventing blood stream infections. Putting a "second lowest rating" into perspective, only three teaching hospitals in the entire country received the lowest ratings for blood stream infections: Saint Louis University Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York; and Regional Medical Center at Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.

According to medical experts, there is some encouraging news on the topic of central-line catheter infections. These infections can be prevented provided. Through the use of a checklist, the hospital staff dramatically reduce, if not eliminate, central-line catheter infections and, by extension, patient deaths. Developed by critical-care specialist and patient-safety researcher Dr. Peter Pronovost of John Hopkins School of Medicine, hospital staff and caregivers should do the following when working with central-line catheters:

1. Wash their hands using soap and water or alcohol gel. Do so before and after examining the patient, inserting the catheter, and replacing, accessing, repairing, and dressing the catheter. Why it helps: It prevents bacteria from the caregivers's hands from entering the catheter directly or getting into the vein through the opening in the skin.

2. Disinfect the patient's skin. Use a 2 percent chlorhexidine-based preparation or other appropriate antiseptic before inserting the catheter and during dressing changes. Why it helps: It prevents bacteria from the patient's own skin from getting on the catheter and into the bloodstream.

3. Use full-barrier precautions. Maintain aseptic technique by wearing a mask, cap, sterile gown, and sterile gloves when inserting the catheter. The patient should be covered with a large sterile sheet. Why it helps: It prevents bacterial contamination from all sources when the catheter is being put in.

Continue reading "Two Chicago Hospitals Rated Low In Preventing Catheter Infections " »