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Category: Surgical Errors

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New England Medical Malpractice Blog

What to Do After a Surgical Error in Rhode Island

When you trust a surgeon with your health, you have a right to expect professional care. However, mistakes in the operating room can change your life forever. Whether a surgeon operated on the wrong body part, left equipment inside you, or made another serious error, knowing your next steps can protect both your health and your legal rights.

What Should You Do Immediately After Discovering a Problem?

The hours and days following a surgical complication are critical. Your priority should always be your health and safety. If you’re experiencing pain, unusual symptoms, or if something feels wrong after surgery, don’t wait to see if it gets better on its own.

Contact your doctor immediately or seek emergency care if symptoms are severe. While it might feel uncomfortable to question medical professionals, speaking up about your concerns could prevent further harm. Ask for a detailed explanation of what happened during your procedure and request copies of all medical records related to your surgery.

Document everything you experience after the surgery. Write down your symptoms, take photographs of visible injuries or complications, and keep a daily journal of how the error affects your life. You should also be sure to save all medical bills, prescription receipts, and any correspondence with healthcare providers.

How Can You Tell if Your Surgeon Made a Preventable Mistake?

Not every surgical complication means someone was negligent. Surgery carries inherent risks, and sometimes complications arise despite excellent care. However, certain situations strongly suggest that the medical team did not follow proper standards.

Red flags that may indicate surgical negligence include:

  • Wrong-site surgery: This happens when a surgeon operates on the wrong body part, the wrong side of the body, or even the wrong patient entirely.
  • Retained surgical items: Sponges, instruments, or other materials left inside your body after surgery can cause serious infections and require additional operations.
  • Anesthesia errors: Problems with too much or too little anesthesia can lead to awareness during surgery, brain damage, or other serious complications.
  • Unnecessary surgery: Some patients undergo procedures they don’t actually need due to misdiagnosis or failure to try less invasive treatments first.
  • Post-operative infections: While some infection risk exists with any surgery, severe infections may result from unsterile conditions or poor follow-up care.

What Are Your Legal Rights in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island law recognizes that patients deserve competent medical care. Injured patients have the right to seek compensation when healthcare providers fall below accepted standards and cause harm. Unlike many other states, Rhode Island doesn’t limit the amount you can recover for medical malpractice.

However, Rhode Island does have strict time limits for filing surgical error claims. You generally have three years from when the injury occurred or when you reasonably should have discovered it. Missing this deadline could mean losing your right to pursue compensation forever, regardless of how severe your injuries are.

Should You Get a Second Medical Opinion?

Seeking another doctor’s perspective serves two critical purposes. First, it allows you to get the appropriate treatment for any complications from the surgical error. Second, an independent medical professional can provide valuable insight into whether your original surgeon’s actions fell below acceptable standards.

When choosing a doctor for a second opinion, look for someone who specializes in your type of surgery but isn’t affiliated with the original surgeon or hospital. Be honest about why you’re seeking their opinion, and bring all relevant medical records to your appointment.

Contact an Attorney Today

If you’ve suffered harm from a surgical error in Rhode Island, DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd., can explain your options. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys are on your side, and we will manage your case so that you don’t have to. We handle all cases on a contingency basis, which means you won’t pay anything unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your situation.

What to Do if You Experience Complications From a Surgical Mistake

If you experience complications from a surgical mistake, knowing what steps to take can be crucial for strengthening your medical malpractice lawsuit and maximizing your compensation.

The first step is to recognize the signs of a surgical mistake and seek medical care. Then, it’s important to document your injury and avoid discussing it with insurance adjusters. And finally, you must consult an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who can represent your best interests.

Signs You May Be the Victim of a Surgical Error

If you notice any of the following signs, it may indicate that you are the victim of a surgical error that could jeopardize your well-being:

  • Persistent or worsening pain in the area where your surgery was performed
  • Signs of infection, such as excessive redness, inflammation, or persistent fever
  • Abdominal pain or other signs of organ dysfunction
  • Nerve damage, including numbness, tingling, or weakness in the affected area
  • Lumps caused by foreign objects being left in your body post-surgery

If you experience these symptoms or your condition is deteriorating, it’s vital that you take additional steps to protect your health and strengthen your case against the at-fault medical provider.

Seek Medical Care

After identifying signs of a surgical error, it’s essential to seek immediate medical treatment. By seeking treatment, you will not only prevent your condition from worsening and complications from arising, but you will jumpstart your legal case.

When you get medical care, your treating doctor will note your condition in your medical records. These notes are crucial for proving that the doctor who performed the surgery made a critical error that caused you harm.

Later on, when you retain a lawyer, they may speak to your treating doctor to learn more about the injury you sustained due to the surgical mistake and have them testify on your behalf.

Document Your Injury

It’s essential that you keep detailed notes on your condition over time. This includes writing down your daily pain levels and the impact your injury has on your ability to work and your personal life.

These notes can be vital for proving the severity of your injuries during your case. For example, if the at-fault doctor’s insurance company attempts to claim that you didn’t suffer harm due to the error, you can show that the complications caused by the botched surgery impacted your ability to earn an income.

If your injuries are visible, it’s also important to photograph them over time to document their healing or worsening.

Avoid Discussing Your Case

The at-fault surgeon’s insurance company may contact you for a statement about the surgery that harmed you or your condition. You should politely decline to speak with them and instead direct them to your lawyer.

The insurance adjuster’s job is to get you to say something they can use to deny or devalue your claim, so it’s best not to engage with them at all.

It’s also a good idea to lock down your social media accounts and avoid posting on them until your case is resolved. The insurance company will monitor your accounts and may even take your posts out of context to harm your case.

Contact Our New England Medical Malpractice Lawyers

If you sustained injuries caused by a surgical mistake in Rhode Island or Massachusetts between Cape Cod and Boston, contact DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd., for a free consultation about your case. Our firm has a proven track record of helping victims recover the compensation they need for more than 30 years, including one case resulting in a $21 million award for our client.

We’ll help you understand your options for seeking compensation and walk you through what to expect from a medical malpractice lawsuit. Don’t wait. Let our team help you get started today.

When Surgeons Forget Items During an Operation, Patients Suffer

Surgery is often the best treatment available for certain medical conditions. It may be the only option for certain maladies. Patients who undergo surgery have to put their full faith in the medical professionals providing their care.

The vast majority of surgical procedures are successful or at least do not involve major mistakes on the part of the professionals involved. However, sometimes doctors make mistakes during surgery that have life-altering consequences for their patients. Some surgical issues are so easily preventable that other professionals refer to them as never events. These mistakes should never happen in a modern medical environment. A surgeon leaving tools in a patient is one of the more common and concerning never events that could take place during surgery.

Modern systems should prevent major errors

In theory, the best practices for modern surgeons include filling out paperwork accounting for every tool brought into the operating theater. The surgeon and the other medical professionals supporting them during the procedure should account for every item to ensure that the patient does not have any retained foreign bodies left in their incision.

Unfortunately, dozens of surgeries every week end with someone retaining items in their body that they should not. Those items can cause immediate medical risk for the patient. If the item is a hard or rigid tool, such as clamps or a scalpel, the item itself could do extreme damage to someone’s body. Even soft items, like gauze, can be incredibly dangerous. They can cause infections and severe inflammatory responses inside the body that can worsen someone’s underlying condition or endanger their health.

Typically, someone with retained foreign objects in their body after a surgical procedure must undergo revision surgery to remove those items as soon as possible. They may experience a much longer recovery time, including more time away from work. They may have additional medical expenses beyond just the surgical costs of the revision procedure.

When doctors do something so grossly negligent that it is deemed as something that should never occur, the patient affected may have reason to claim that they experienced medical malpractice. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit after a major surgical error can help cover the expenses generated by substandard medical care.

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How and When to Select the Right Medical Malpractice Attorney?

It is important to know when and how to find the best medical malpractice attorney if you have suffered an injury as a result of the negligence of a medical professional or facility. At DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd., we are your dedicated advocates to help you obtain the compensation you deserve if you have suffered medical malpractice.

You may need the services of a medical malpractice attorney if:

  • Your doctor failed to diagnose or misdiagnosed your injury or disease
  • You suffered an injury during surgery
  • You were provided the wrong prescription that caused you a health issue
  • You acquired an infection in a doctor’s office or hospital
  • You were not told by your doctor of the possible risks or consequences
  • You were given anesthesia in a wrong manner that caused a health problem

Now, how do you find the right medical malpractice attorney? Consider the following factors about a prospective attorney before making your choice:

Team Approach

An experienced medical malpractice attorney knows that it takes a team of experts and legal professionals with an in-depth understanding of medical issues to successfully litigate a medical malpractice case. It all starts with a client’s first call. At DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd., Ltd, we have put together a successful medical malpractice team that includes on-staff nurses who will help us understand and establish the cause of the injury you received. We also enlist the help of medical specialists and medical experts who can explain to a jury the medical standards that apply to your type of care and who are specialists in the treatment of your type of injury. If we can show that the medical care was below the standard of care, that the injury was permanent and significant and that the injury was caused by the substandard care, then we have a case.

Experience

At DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd., our devoted, knowledgeable attorneys are dedicated to helping restore the lives of injury victims and their families. We take a strategic, resourceful, and hands-on approach to helping clients recover the financial compensation they need and deserve. With over $100,000,000 recovered for our clients and their families, the lawyers at our firm have been widely recognized throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts for their excellence in client representation and trial advocacy. Sadly, large insurance companies are able to spend large sums of money on legal defenses. Our experienced legal team has the experience to counter these defenses effectively and know how to maneuver your case to a successful outcome on your behalf.

Aggressive Representation

Our reputation says it all. At DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd., Ltd, we have been serving victims and their families across the United States for over 40 years. We are known for our comprehensive intake and case review process, our meticulous investigation techniques, and our aggressive courtroom litigation that ultimately provides our clients to receive the compensation they deserve.

Our medical malpractice attorneys at DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, Ltd. are here to help you secure the compensation you are owed if you have suffered an injury or illness as a result of medical negligence or malpractice. To arrange a free case review, call our office today at 401-453-1500 or use our contact form.

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Understanding sepsis and why it can occur during labor

Giving birth can present many complications, and every delivery is unique. Some complications simply cannot be predicted by medical professionals. However, your health history, as well as factors such as your weight, age and blood pressure, could give clues about potential risks. It is the job of doctors and nurses to make the entire process of pregnancy and birth as low-risk as possible.

If complications arise during your delivery, this can put you at a higher risk of developing an infection. Infections can occur when equipment is inserted into the body that has not been fully sterilized. Sepsis can occur when bacteria enters your body.

What is septic shock and sepsis?

Septic shock can occur as a result of severe sepsis. Sepsis arises when bacteria enters the bloodstream. For pregnant women or women giving birth, sepsis can arise through a uterine infection, an abdominal infection or a kidney infection. It can also arise if the amniotic sac becomes infected.

What are the symptoms of septic shock?

When a person has septic shock, they usually get a high fever. Occasionally they get an extremely low body temperature and become hypothermic. Symptoms also include having a rapid heart rate and low blood pressure, and the patient will often feel restless and disorientated. They may also have difficulties with their breathing and may suffer shortness of breath and coughing.

How is septic shock treated?

Medical professionals will first make sure that the patient’s blood is circulating properly by administering fluids. Antibiotics will then be given to fight the infections. It may be necessary to operate to remove organs that have been infected.

Can I take action as a result of negligence?

If you believe that you acquired sepsis because of unprofessional care from doctors and nurses, you may want to consider taking legal action. Medical providers have the legal obligation to have high hygiene standards to prevent infections, and it is likely that your care fell short of this if you contracted sepsis.

It is important that you conduct thorough research on the law on medical malpractice in Rhode Island as well as the damages that you may be able to gain if you are successful in your claim.

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Doctor sues his own hospital over patient misdiagnosis

For many in Providence County, the value placed on a second medical opinion may not be high due to the assumption that doctors may tend to support each other’s diagnoses no matter what. It should be remembered, however, that a doctor’s first responsibility is ensuring the well-being of his or her patients, not protecting a contemporary’s reputation. In fact, some patients may find other doctors to be among their strongest advocates in remedying any wrong done to them.

An example of this appears to be unfolding at a Kansas hospital, where a doctor employed there has taken the drastic action suing the facility itself. The driving force behind his decision was due to an error made by a colleague that resulted in a patient not only being erroneously diagnosed with cancer, but also having an organ removed unnecessarily. In his complaint, the doctor goes on to say that steps where then taken to cover up the error, even to the point that the patient still does not know about the misdiagnosis. His lawsuit goes on to say that after bringing the error to the attention of the facility’s chief medical officer, nothing was done. He ultimately chose to inform the Joint Commission of the situation, a decision which later allegedly led to the hospital president retaliating against him.

Relying on a doctor’s opinion after having been potentially misdiagnosed by another may not be easy. Yet it may provide one with the clinical evidence needed to confirm such an error. Using such evidence to successfully pursue a claim of medical malpractice may still be difficult, yet not impossible of one has an experienced attorney on his or her side.

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Parents of teen killed in Tesla crash file a lawsuit

Last May, a deadly crash involving a Tesla occurred in Fort Lauderdale, FL. According to the Associated Press, an electric Model S collided with a wall and then burst into flames. Edgar Monserratt Martinez and the driver, Barett Riley, were both killed in the accident. Another young man was thrown from the car and survived.

Parents claim the battery was defective

Martinez’s parents, Edgar Monserratt and Esperanza Martinez de Monserratt, allege the Tesla battery pack was faulty, and that is why the car caught fire. They also claim the battery was not protected properly, so that made it defective. The parents have filed a lawsuit against Tesla.

Speed control device was removed

Their lawsuit also states Riley’s parents had a speed control device installed on the car by Tesla. The device was removed when the vehicle was serviced, and his parents were not notified.

The vehicle was going 116 mph

The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation determined the car was going 116 mph before it hit the wall. It slowed only to 86 mph when the airbags inflated. The car had been travelling around a curve, which it missed. The vehicle hit the wall twice and then caught fire.

Driver lost control

Witnesses stated the driver was passing another vehicle and lost control when trying to get into the right lane. At the curve in the road, a sign is posted listing the speed limit as 25 mph with a flashing light.

Tesla claims the battery has no problems, but blames high speed for the outcome.

Car burst into flames twice more

The lithium ion battery reignited twice after the flames were put out. These batteries are known to catch fire and burn quickly. The electric car company claims their batteries catch fire less than batteries in other types of vehicles.

The Martinez family alleges Tesla is negligent and is seeking damages.

Defective products are negligent

In a product liability claim, you must prove you or a family member were harmed, the product was defective and that defect caused the harm. You must also show you or your family member was using the product as intended. The defect can be caused by a manufacturing error, a design flaw or a failure to warn about the danger.

Anyone harmed by a defective product can file a product liability case and hold the negligent party responsible.

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Electronic Medical Records May Increase Risk of Error

Electronic medical records have been widely touted as a way to maximize efficiency in the American health care system. Indeed, the push to abandon paper records is so strong that the federal government is spending $27 billion over the next 10 years to induce hospitals and doctors’ offices to purchase electronic record-keeping systems.

However, concerns are emerging that this transition may not be in patients’ best interests. Rhode Island medical malpractice lawyers and patient advocates are warning Americans that electronic medical records could subject them to increased risk of medical error.

Hospital errors kill between 44,000 and 98,000 people every year. Electronic medical records were initially sold as a way to reduce this number – for example, they can automatically notify a doctor who attempts to prescribe a drug a patient is allergic to and can warn of potential dangerous interactions between medicines.

Unfortunately, little evidence exists to suggest that electronic medical records have lead to increased safety across the American medical system. To the contrary, the Institute of Medicine recently published a report warning that electronic medical records systems add a layer of complexity to an already convoluted health care delivery system.

Technical glitches, software incompatibility and user error can lead medical professionals to overlook signs of a fatal illness and make medication errors. Problems with electronic medical records can also cause delays in needed treatment.

How Can Patients Protect Themselves?

The Department of Health and Human Services is developing a safety and surveillance plan to monitor issues with electronic medical records. However, this will take at least a year. Even then, the system is not expected to be without risk of error.

Good communication is the key to patient safety. Patients shouldn’t take it for granted that their doctor knows everything about their health history. They should be sure to tell their doctor about all the medicines they are taking and all the symptoms they are experiencing. Patients should not be shy about asking questions to ensure they fully understand their medical treatment.

Most importantly, if something doesn’t seem right, speak up. Many times, a patient will recognize an error that a doctor won’t.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a medical error, you may have legal recourse. Contact an experienced Rhode Island medical malpractice lawyer who can advise you of your options.

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Catastrophic accident caused by DWI driver in stolen dump truck

It is an unfortunate reality that drunk drivers cause a disproportionate number of the vehicle accidents in the United States. Their carelessness leads to over 10,000 deaths each year and tens of thousands of injuries. It is critical that drunk drivers be held responsible for the pain, emotional trauma and monetary damage they inflict on law-abiding drivers and their families.

Such was the case early last month when a drunk driver caused a multi-car collision near the heart of Providence, when a drunk driver ran a red light and struck two other vehicles. The driver of one of the vehicles did not survive; the passenger of the same car was rushed to a local medical facility for serious injuries.

Early morning accident

Brian Pagan Torres was driving a landscaping dump truck just after midnight when he T-boned another vehicle at the intersection of Atwells Avenue and Valley Street. A third vehicle was involved, but no injuries were reported.

Pagan Torres survived the accident with minor injuries, but WPRI reported that the driver of the T-boned vehicle, Frank Perry Jr. was killed on impact. His passenger, Donald “Bo” Hahn, was rushed to the hospital and put into an induced coma with multiple broken bones. Both Perry and Hahn are young fathers. Perry leaves behind two children, ages 8 and two.

Witnesses told police that Pagan Torres fled his vehicle after the collision and ran into a gas station. Multiple bystanders tackled Pagan Torres and forced him to remain on the scene until law enforcement arrived.

Pagan Torres, 25, was charged with several crimes according to Patch, including:

  • Driving to endanger resulting in death
  • Driving to endanger resulting in personal injury
  • DWI resulting in death
  • DWI involving bodily injury

Police also suspect Pagan Torres stole the landscaping dump truck he used to cause the accident. In addition to this, Pagan Torres was also recognized as a probation violator on two previous crimes. A Superior Court judge called him a danger and ordered that he be held without bail.

Life after an accident

A vehicle accident this serious makes an impact that will not go away soon. Perry’s young family is left to contend with a wrongful death while Hahn’s loved ones will face significant medical bills. This is not to mention emotional trauma all may experience, loss of income and companionship and several other strains.

If you or a loved one experience a situation like this, being an advocate for yourself and speaking with a skilled attorney is one of the best things you can do. Flagrant disregard of the law and the safety of others is unacceptable. Individuals that commit these kinds of acts need to be held responsible.

Some things cannot be undone, but a professional can help you seek justice and the resources you will need to get back on your feet.

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Woman awarded over $24 million in medical malpractice case

For most families in Rhode Island, the birth of a child is a time of celebration and happiness. Unfortunately, the aftermath of delivery turned into a nightmare for one family in another state. A medical malpractice lawsuit filed against the hospital as a result of the harm the woman suffered recently resulted in a significant financial award.

The woman was admitted to the Tripler Army Medical Center in July 2013. She was 37 years old at the time and delivering her third child. Several hours after she arrived at the hospital, she was reportedly experiencing a fast heart rate and low pressure and was clammy and pale.

After the baby was delivered, reports indicate that her condition deteriorated with signs apparently indicating that intravenous antibiotics were needed. However, such care was not provided, and when a rapid response team responded, she was already experiencing sepsis. She experienced the failure of many of her organs, and she required a ventilator. Although she was released from the hospital in late August, she was readmitted in September. She has since undergone a kidney transplant and will likely face yearly hospitalizations for the rest of her life.

The hospital reportedly admitted liability in the case, and the judge awarded the woman $24.7 million to cover future medical expenses and to compensate her for lost wages. Even though most hospitals are equipped with medical professionals dedicated to their patients, incidents such as these happen in facilities in Rhode Island and across the country. Often, the only way to ensure that victims of medical malpractice can afford the ongoing medical care they require is to pursue compensation through civil litigation.

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