Category: Medical Malpractice

Patients place immense trust in their medical team when undergoing surgery, expecting competent care and diligent supervision. Still, situations can arise where an attending physician fails to adequately supervise residents in surgery, potentially leading to medical malpractice.

Violating a standard of care

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional deviates from the standard of care, causing harm to a patient. In the context of surgery, the standard of care mandates that attending physicians, who are experienced and fully licensed doctors, oversee the activities of residents who are doctors but still in training. The role of the attending physician is crucial, as their expertise, experience and judgment guide the residents, ensuring patient safety and the operation’s success.

Consequences of an absent attending physician

An absent attending physician raises significant concerns. This carelessness or neglect may lead to errors that otherwise could have been prevented. Common errors include:

• Improper surgical techniques
• Mismanagement of anesthesia
• Failing to address complications promptly

If such negligence causes harm, the affected patient may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Elements of a medical malpractice claim

To establish a successful medical malpractice claim against an absent attending physician, the patient must prove several elements:

• Duty of care: The patient must show that the attending physician had a duty to provide a standard level of care, including supervising the residents during surgery.
• Breach of duty: The attending physician breached this duty by failing to be present or adequately supervise the residents.
• Causation: The patient must establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the harm suffered, proving that the attending physician’s absence or lack of supervision directly caused the injury.
• Damages: The patient must provide evidence of the harm suffered, including physical injuries, emotional distress, additional medical expenses, or loss of income.

Legal proceedings for medical malpractice are complex and often require expert testimony to substantiate claims. Medical experts can attest to the standard of care expected and how the attending physician’s absence deviated from this standard, thus harming the patient.

Effective legal guidance is key

Patients considering such lawsuits should consult with experienced medical malpractice attorneys even when the facts are on their side. These legal professionals can evaluate the specifics of the case, gather necessary evidence, and navigate the complexities of the legal system to seek justice and compensation for the harm endured. Proving medical malpractice typically requires legal skills and courtroom experience. In holding negligent healthcare providers accountable, patients can seek redress and advocate for improved medical practices.

Spinal cord injuries are among the most feared injuries people can develop. The average person cannot imagine living their life without full control of their body. A spinal cord injury disrupts the brain’s ability to communicate with the body below the injury site. A loss of sensation and issues with motor function are both common symptoms of spinal cord injuries.

The right medical care can prevent a spinal cord injury from worsening and can help someone adjust to life with the limitations caused by their injuries. Unfortunately, improper medical care could generate or worsen a spinal cord injury. The following are the most common ways that healthcare providers contribute to the causes or severity of spinal cord injuries.

Improper birth interventions

There are two different scenarios in which labor and delivery medical support might lead to a spinal cord injury. An anesthesiologist administering an epidural could potentially cause a spinal cord injury to the pregnant woman with a placement mistake or similar error. A doctor assisting the labor and delivery process with the use of forceps or vacuum extraction could cause a spinal cord injury to the unborn child. Both scenarios could cause major challenges for the family affected.

Failure to properly stabilize a patient

One of the first questions that paramedics ask when responding to an emergency call is whether someone may have suffered an injury that affected their head, back or spine. Patients can sometimes have incomplete spinal cord injuries that are one rough movement away from where worsening. If healthcare professionals do not properly stabilize someone before transporting them to the hospital, vehicle motions during transit could lead to injury worsening.

Rushing through the diagnostic process

People who have fallen or gotten into car crashes often go to emergency rooms or urgent care facilities for medical evaluation. The professionals there have access to equipment that can identify spinal cord injuries, including advanced imaging technology. Unfortunately, when demand is high or when a patient does not seem credible to medical professionals, they might turn someone away without properly evaluating them. Those patients could then experience some kind of secondary trauma that worsens a spinal cord injury that they may otherwise have been able to treat and control.

If there is a direct connection between the medical care that someone has received and the spinal cord injury that they have developed, they may have grounds to take action against the healthcare providers who failed to offer proper support or who used the wrong interventions. In this way, connecting a serious traumatic injury with medical mistakes or negligence could give someone grounds to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Ever since medical professionals and industrial facilities have begun using antibiotics and a widespread basis, tiny organisms that cause disease have begun changing in response. For example, there have been records of methicillin-resistant streptococcus aureus (MRSA) infecting people since the 1960s.

Such resistant strains of bacteria have become a major cause of secondary infection and death. According to modern research on MRSA, quite a few of the cases where people contract this treatment-resistant infection start in medical facilities.

How do people catch MRSA at medical facilities?

Patients in hospitals and those staying at rehabilitation centers may have injuries or may have undergone surgery. Any kind of open wound or recent illness can increase someone’s likelihood of contracting an infection while staying in a medical facility. However, wounds aren’t necessary. MRSA often develops on unbroken skin and will slowly develop into an abscess.

Medical professionals should identify those with higher risk, including those with compromised immune function and also those with open wounds. Proper sanitation practices between patients, careful seclusion of those known to have contracted MRSA and other best practices can drastically reduce the likelihood of MRSA transmission between patients.

Sadly, it is all too easy for a few small mistakes on the part of a doctor or other medical professionals in healthcare facilities to result in a patient’s unnecessary infection. The only thing worse than a patient contracting MRSA is when staff members don’t notice the infection in a timely manner and it progresses beyond the initial stages because of that negligence.

Medical facilities may be responsible for patient illnesses

In scenarios where someone can conclusively connect a MRSA diagnosis with a stay in a healthcare facility, it may be possible to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. Those diagnosed with MRSA will likely have a longer leave of absence from work than those who do not contract secondary infections when receiving health care and will typically also have larger total expenses for their care.

Pursuing a medical malpractice claim can help those sickened by poor sanitation and patient care practices cover their costs and potentially prompt change at medical facilities.

Birth injuries are some of the most traumatic medical experiences possible. Instead of a healthy delivery, parents may have to come to terms with unexpected medical issues for their child. Women can also suffer poor medical outcomes during labor and delivery.

Sometimes, the issues arise that are outside the control of anyone. However, many poor medical outcomes in labor and delivery settings are the results of improper medical practices. What are some of the most common causes of birth injuries in modern medical settings?

Improper fetal monitoring

Fetal heart rate monitoring is the first and most crucial line of defense against severe birth injuries. When used properly, fetal heart rate monitors can detect signs of distress in an unborn infant quickly enough for medical intervention to prevent permanent damage.

An emergency C-section may not be the ideal delivery, but it is certainly preferable to a child suffering brain damage due to oxygen deprivation during labor. Nurses and doctors may fail to utilize monitors, may not check them even when they show irregularities or may use damaged equipment that doesn’t produce accurate results.

Unnecessary intervention

It is common for obstetric professionals to medicalize the birth process even when a woman is capable of handling it on her own. Doctors may try to speed up the process or otherwise intervene unnecessarily.

Sometimes, the attempts to speed up or manipulate labor can result in serious injury to the mother or child. For example, most practices have transitioned away from the use of forceps and vacuum assistance in all but the rarest of cases because of the possibility of causing neck injuries or damage to the eyes of the baby.

Understaffing

Hospitals unfortunately often operate primarily to generate profit, which can lead to practices that prioritize frugality over the quality of patient care. Having the least number of staff present possible is a common practice that may lead to facilities ending up overwhelmed when there are surges in demand.

When there aren’t enough staff members on hand to properly support all of the women in labor at the same time, someone may go without the assistance they required, possibly with tragic consequences. Families coming to terms with the financial consequences of a birth injury may need to look into a medical malpractice claim as a means of recouping their losses.

Holding a facility or medical professional responsible for a birth injury can limit the losses your family has to suffer.

Medical professionals, especially those that work in hospital settings, are often highly aware of how drug addiction and alcoholism can both lead to major medical issues. While you might imagine that the combination of their medical training and their hands-on experience would keep them far away from addiction and substance abuse, the truth is that substance abuse is a well-known issue in the medical profession.

The pressure involved in making life-and-death decisions for others and the stress that comes from working long shifts and spending time away from family can contribute to substance abuse disorders. Additionally, the easy access that professionals have to narcotic pain relievers and other addictive substances might allow them to quietly struggle through addiction without anyone knowing.

Unfortunately, nurses, doctors and other medical professionals with substance abuse disorders might make mistakes that lead to harm to their patients.

Intoxication and withdrawal both affect job performance

Someone who comes to work while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or who ingests mind-altering substances at work could make any number of mistakes while performing their job. While they may view themselves as a functional addict, the truth is that they will have impaired decision making, reduced memory function and even motor function issues related to their chemical impairment.

Standards for the medical profession mandate sobriety. Even those taking prescribed medication may have no choice but to take a leave of absence until their symptoms improve. Those rules may also limit the treatment options for medical workers struggling with addition. When hospital workers don’t get treatment for their addiction, their patients may suffer the consequence.

Medical mistakes can lead to malpractice claims

Obviously, trying to provide medical care while under the influence of alcohol or another mind-altering drug is a major deviation from best practices for the industry. Whenever a patient who suffered a poor outcome can show that the behavior or negligence of a medical professional was directly to blame, they may have grounds to file a malpractice insurance claim or civil lawsuit.

Although addiction may explain why a medical professional made a mistake, it will not undo the harm they caused. Filing a medical malpractice claim can help you reduce the negative impact of a medical mistake and either push a facility into better safety practices or a professional into seeking substance abuse treatment.