El Dorado Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Are Hospital Based Infections Preventable?

Frank Bailey — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:45:58 GMT

Commonly called nosocomial or hospital based infections are on the rise in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in U.S. hospitals alone 1.7 million patients get infections while hospitalized resulting in 99,000 deaths each year.

Up until recently, it was thought there was little that could be done to win this kind of case. Now, medical science has established that some of these infections are preventable. Take for example catheter induced bloodstream infections which can be eliminated by taking five simple precautions.

The CDC publishes many standards of care for preventing infections. Standard precautions such as hand hygiene, use of gloves, gown, mask, and eye protection or face shield are simple lifesaving measures that can be taken, but are often not used.

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study form a group of 108 intensive care units where the incidence of catheter related bloodstream infection was reduced to zero. The safeguards were; hand-washing, using full-barrier precautions during insertion of central venous catheters, cleaning skin with chlorhexidine, avoiding the femoral site if possible, and removing unnecessary catheters.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

Medication Errors Lead To Injury And Death

Frank Bailey — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:09:53 GMT

Several years ago we represented a young man who had received Phenegen via the wrong route. The medication error resulted in brain damage. At trial the hospital claimed it had a very low rate of medication errors. The judge ruled that opened the door and ordered the hospital to produce all reports of medication errors for the last several years. We were suprised there weren't more reports, but now realize many of thise mix-ups don't get reported.

Dr. Charles Homer of the National Initiative for Children's Health-Care Quality has found that simply relying on hospital staffers to report such problems was not accurate. His new monitoring method lists 15 triggers on young patient's charts that suggest possible drug related harm. The study found an alarming rate of medication errors occurred with 1 in 15 patients.

This new finding is consistient with the findings by the National Institute of Health which found that preventable adverse events exceed the number attributable to the 8th leading cause of death nationwide. The study found that deaths due to preventable adverse events exceed the deaths attributable to motor vehicle accidents (43,458), breast cancer (42,297) or AIDS (16,516).

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

DURAGESIC PATCH RECALL

Frank Bailey — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:10:35 GMT

The Duragesic Fentanyl transdermal system is fatally flawed. There have been thousands of deaths nationwide associated with Fentanyl overdoses from defective patches.

The Duragesic patch is manufactured by two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries, Janssen Pharmaceutica,L.P. and Alza Corp. The patch was put on the market in 1991. Shortly there were numerous cases of Fentanyl overdosing from the patch.

As early as 2001, the companies knew there was a problem with the manufacturing process. Types of defects that have been found include, foldovers in the backing of the patch system, gel in the seal, seal breaches, corners of the patch system cut off, holes in the drug reservoir, slits in the patch's pouch and system, air bubbles in the adhesive layers of the system, no gel in the system, and lack of adhesions in the patch system.

In June of 2005, the FDA issued a public health advisory on the Duragesic patch and announced that it was investigating deaths and serious side effects from Fentanyl overdoses related to the patch.

On February 12, 2008, all lots of 25 microgram/hour DURAGESIC CII patches sold by PriCara were recalled. The patches had expiration dates on or before December 2009 and were manufactured by ALZA Corporation.

It is important that drug manufacturers stop putting profit before safety and become accountable for the harm they cause. You can help by alerting your family and friends of this dangerous product. If you have questions concerning DURAGESIC patches we will be glad to provide answers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

Infections: Are They Preventable?

Frank Bailey — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:09:45 GMT

Everyday we hear about hospital acquired infection. MRSA has moved to the top of the list as a leading cause of death or prolonged hospital stay.
Health care is not as safe as it should be. According to the Institute of Medicine, a substantial body of evidence points to medical errors as a leading cause of death and injury. What can be done to prevent the spread of infection and medical errors in hospitals?
Prevention of the spread of infection could be as simple as having health care providers wash their hands between patients. A recent article stated that where doctors in a hospital were required to do a culture of their hands, the doctors were amazed at the results. Hospitals could remove door handles and use foot pedals to open and close doors. Recently there has been talk about insurance companies not paying for the care required by medical mistakes. Will that help improve patient safety?
Trial attorneys believe that only by airing medical errors will the medical industry be forced to put an emphasis on patient safety. We at the Bailey and Oliver Law Firm believe we have had a positive effect on the medical profession by airing medical errors. We all have to work together to make patient care safe and affordable. When preventable adverse events are a leading cause of death in the United States...at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors, something has to be done.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

$16 Million Awarded to Widow in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:39:07 GMT

The family of a man, who died over a decade ago, has been awarded a medical malpractice settlement of over $16 million by a Superior Court Jury.

This is one of the largest wrongful death verdicts in Connecticut's history, to date.

The jury awarded the settlement to the widow of Gary Carlson, 49, of Stamford, a truck driver who died in 1994. The suit was against Dr. Robert Goldsmith and Stamford Medical Group.

The lawsuit claimed the Stamford Medical Group failed to diagnose and treat his cardiac disease.

In 2003, a jury awarded the family $10 million, but the defendants appealed. The defendants deny there was any medical malpractice.

"It's a validation of the injustice that was done by the negligent taking of a good man's life," Koskoff said. "This was going to be time to enjoy the fruits of all those hard years working."

For more information on this topic, please visit our section on Medical Malpractice.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole