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 " »

A Colorado woman who became partially paralyzed after doctors misdiagnosed her brain bleed as a migraine filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in 2008. Last month the jury returned their verdict. They awarded $3.9 million to Krissy Myatt finding her doctor guilty of medical malpractice.

In 2006, Krissy went to the emergency room at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado complaining of intense headaches. There, staff took her blood pressure which was a dangerously high 204/97. According to the National Heart Lung & Blood Institute, a blood pressure reading of 140/90 is considered high. A blood pressure reading of 160 systolic or 110 diastolic is considered severe. Krissy had been receiving treatment for multiple sclerosis, including high dose steroids that can cause high blood pressure. However, doctors diagnosed Krissy with a migraine and sent her home with pain medication. The following day, Krissy woke up without a headache but she could not walk or talk. Krissy's medical malpractice lawyer successfully argued Krissy paralysis was caused by an undiagnosed brain bleed which caused her to suffer a hemorrhagic stroke.

Continue reading "$3.9 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict For Misdiagnosis" »

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" »

Earlier this month, a Chicago couple settled a tragic wrongful death case involving their newborn because of a medication error at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. The medication error occurred when the hospital mistakenly gave a newborn an overdose of medicine that was sixty times stronger than intended. As a medical malpractice lawyer experienced in medication error lawsuits, I was pleased to learn that the hospital actually admitted its mistake early on in the case.

In the US, 7,000 people die every year from medication errors. According to one study, 1 in 50 patients who are admitted to a hospital experience a preventable adverse drug reaction. Preventable adverse drug events are not only cause unnecessary harm to patients and, at times, even death, they also are costly to the healthcare system. According one study, preventable adverse drug events cost the healthcare system $2 billion dollars annually. The most common source of medication error is manually programming infusion parameters, such as infusion rate and dosage, incorrectly into the device. This is a type of human error.

On September 6, 2010, Genesis Burket was born prematurely at 24 weeks gestation. The typical gestation period is 40 weeks. In many instances, children born at 24 weeks do not survive but Genesis made remarkable progress in the hospital. Doctors even suggested to the couple they could take their son home in time for Christmas. However, things went tragically wrong before after that.

Continue reading "Malpractice Case Involving Fatal Medication Error Settles For $8.25 Million" »

Are poor people more likely to sue doctors for medical malpractice than wealthier people? Are men more likely to file medical malpractice lawsuits than women? Which state had the highest total of medical malpractice payouts in 2011 than any other? Which state had the highest average medical malpractice payout per lawsuit and which one had the lowest? The answers to these questions may be quite surprising in many.

Who is more likely to sue for medical malpractice: rich people or poor people. Contrary to popular perception, the answer is wealthier people. Is that because wealthier people are more motivated to sue their doctor than poor people when things go wrong? Probably not. So why are wealthy people more likely sue their doctors than poorer ones? According to a recent study, two reasons might explain this phenomenon.

Continue reading "Surprising Medical Malpractice Demographics By Wealth, State, And Gender" »

A Maryland court of appeals recently affirmed a $4.1 million dollar medical malpractice verdict involving an alleged birth injury that resulted in brain damage to a baby boy. Assuming there is no additional appeal, the money will be used to provide for the child's basic needs over his lifetime. The medical malpractice lawyers who argued this case are to be commended, as they overcame a significant obstacle to winning the case based on the baby's underlying premature birth.

The child's mother was admitted to the University of Maryland Hospital while just 26 weeks along in her pregnancy. According to the family's medical malpractice lawyers, doctors should have performed an emergency cesarean after based, in part, on the mother had an infection. This was not done. As a result, they argue the baby suffered hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or HIE--at type of oxygen deprivation. In doing so, the lawyers for the family convinced the jury that part, if not all, of the child's brain damage occurred as a result of oxygen deprivation from a delayed delivery rather than preexisting damage from prematurity.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Verdict Of $4.1 Million Affirmed On Appeal" »

A New York family recently settled a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of their child for $8.5 million after he suffered a birth injury that left him brain damaged. There was no evidence of any significant problems during the pregnancy. After labor began, the baby's heart rate was normal early on but then dropped to 60 beats per minute. This is less than half the rate of a normal heart rate for a full term baby before delivery. That is when things went down hill.

For thirty minutes, the labor and delivery nurse monitoring the baby failed to sound any alarms as the baby's heart rate remained at 60 beats per minute. Finally, the nurse decided to contact the obstetrician on call. Twenty minutes later, the obstetrician arrived. Despite apparent strong evidence of prolonged fetal distress, the obstetrician did not order an emergency cesarean section.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Case Settles After Alleged C-Section Delay" »

Statistics show that six out of every 1,000 babies will be born with some type of birth injury. Often the most devastating birth injuries are those involving brain damage. When a baby suffers a brain injury, the expenses needed to care for child through adulthood are usually astronomical. For this reason, medical malpractice verdicts involving brain damage can also be very high since a substantial portion of these damages are for providing a lifetime of care to the child.

Last year, a Connecticut family filed a medical malpractice suit against their obstetrician after their son was born with cerebral palsy, a type of birth injury. Through their medial malpractice attorney, the family proved to the jury their obstetrician violated the standard of care in several ways during their son's delivery which included failing to deliver their son earlier based on reduced amniotic fluid or oligohydramnios. As a result of the obstetrician's negligence, the jury determined the baby suffered severe brain damage and returned a verdict of $58 million.

Continue reading "Birth Injuries From Medical Malpractice Challenge Everyone" »

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" »

A Kansas couple has recently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit, claiming two physicians and a hospital negligently cause a birth injury to their son, Jaxson, resulting in severe brain damage. Christy May was admitted for delivery at 38 weeks gestation. Her pregnancy had been unremarkable. After May was given medications to speed up delivery including Oxytocin, Jaxson began experiencing severe bradycardia or slowed heart rate. The May family contends Jaxson's heart was bradycardic for 40 minutes before he was eventually delivered by cesarean section. With a heart rate of 60 at delivery, medical staff began emergency measures to help Jaxson including chest compression. Before Jaxson was airlifted to another hospital, Jaxson was diagnosed with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy--at type of birth injury that causes brain damage.

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (or HIE) is a condition where the brain does not receive enough oxygen. This condition often refers to a lack of oxygen in newborns associated with labor and delivery complications, resulting in a birth injury. Within as little as five minutes, HIE begins killing brain cells. Once brain cells begin to die, brain damage ensues. This can cause intellectual disabilities, development delays, seizures, and cerebral palsy. However, damage from HIE is not necessarily limited to the brain. HIE can also affect other organs, including the heart, liver, kidneys, and muscles.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Alleging Birth Injury After Oxytocin Given" »

According to a recent survey, some doctors have a hard time telling their patients the truth. One-third of doctors think they should not disclose serious medical errors to their patients. Only two-thirds of doctors say they should disclose these mistakes to their patients. As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, this study is hardly surprising and, in fact, only tells part of the story.

An estimated 100,000 deaths occur every year from medical errors. A medical error is a preventable medical mistake that adversely impacts a patient. When a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the ultimate test is whether the doctor deviated from the "standard of care." In most jurisdictions, the standard of care is what a reasonable doctor would have done under the same or similar circumstances.

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An Oregon jury recently returned a $3 million dollar medical malpractice verdict to a family for the "wrongful birth" of their Down syndrome daughter. The family filed this unusual malpractice lawsuit against Legacy Health claiming the health provider negligently performed prenatal testing during the first trimester, resulting in a false negative finding for Down's syndrome. At trial, the family testified that, although they love their daughter, they would have terminated the pregnancy had they known she would have Down syndrome. Because of the false negative, the jury agreed Legacy Healthy should be responsible for paying the medical, therapeutic, and educational costs needed for the Down syndrome child.

A "wrongful birth" lawsuit is where parents of a congenitally diseased child claim a health provider failed to properly warn them of the risk of conceiving a child with a serious genetic or congenital abnormality. In this type of medical malpractice claim, the parents assert the health provider prevented them from making an informed decision over whether to have a child. In addition, the parents must generally show that had they been advised of the genetic abnormality or risk thereof, they would have terminated the pregnancy. Finally, the parents must prove the damages that result from the wrongful birth. In the Oregon case, the parents sought economic damages needed to care for their Down syndrome child.

Continue reading "Debate Over Malpractice Suits For "Wrongful Birth" Heats Up" »

According to a new study, women suffering from a heart attack are less likely to receive immediate treatment and more likely to die in the hospital than men. As a medical malpractice lawyer that has handled heart attack cases, I was initially shocked when I began reading this new study. However, after looking deeper into this and other similar studies, there appears to be at least one seemingly understandable explanation why women are less likely to receive immediate heart attack treatment: women are less likely to exhibit the classic sign of a heart attack, chest pain.

Many are familiar with the Hollywood heart attack depicted in the movies, which begins with sudden crushing chest pain. However, studies have shown that one-third of heat attack suffers had no chest pain whatsoever. For women, they are even less likely to exhibit chest pain from a heart attack compared to men.

The classic sign of a heart attack is chest pain, usually around the center or left side of the chest. According to the National Institute of Health, other common signs of a heart attack may include one or more of the following: upper body discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or upper part of the stomach; shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness or sudden dizziness, or breaking out in a cold sweat; and sleep problems, fatigue or lack of energy. Unfortunately, not everyone having a heart attack has classic symptoms. Further, even with chest discomfort, many people confuse this symptom with angina rather than a heart attack.

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