Results tagged “attorney” from Medical Malpractice Lawyers & Attorneys

A Connecticut doctor has been banned from practicing medicine in the state of New York after inseminating a fertility patient with the wrong sperm.  

The New York Board for Professional Medical Conduct agreed with the state of Connecticut's findings that Dr. Ben Ramaley, an obstetrician-gynecologist, conducted an "improper residential practice" following the insemination mishap.  In addition to losing his medical license in New York, he has also been banned from practicing medicine anywhere in the state and from reapplying for a new medical license.

"We don't want doctors who have been involved in unsafe or unprofessional practices in other states to practice in our state," said New York Health Department Spokesman Jeffrey Hammond. "Our goal is patient safety."

The incident came to light after the couple gave birth to twin baby girls, who both had fair complexions compared to their black father. It was later discovered that Ramaley inseminated the woman with his own sperm instead of her husband's. A paternity test later confirmed that Ramaley was the father.

Ramaley was also fined $10,000 for failing to keep records properly and failing to properly label specimens.

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A Florida jury has returned a $4.25 million verdict in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a woman who died after childbirth.

The family of Wendy Leigh Jackson filed the wrongful death lawsuit against physicians at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.

Jackson died 16 hours after giving birth when an artery ruptured due to a renal aneurism.  The lawsuit claims that doctors Wyndal K. Blankenship, Barry Riggs, and Saad Rahman knew that Jackson was bleeding near her kidneys. According to the lawsuit the doctors failed to take appropriate action until it was too late.

Both Blankenship and Rahman were held liable by the jury.  Riggs was eventually cleared and the hospital was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Jackson's son was awarded $1.7 million for pain and suffering and $185,000 for loss of support and services.  Her husband was also awarded $1.8 million for pain and suffering and $565,000 for loss of support and services.

Attorneys for the defendants tried to place partial responsibility on Jackson, but the jury rejected that argument.

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One of the 206 patients who received an overdose of radiation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and the company that manufactured the CT scanner.

Trevor Rees, who along with 205 other patients received 8 times more radiation than normal during a CT scan, filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of all the patients who received an overdose.  Rees actually underwent two scans, so he may have received the overdose twice.

Rees claims the high exposure was caused by an error with the machine that had gone undetected for more than a year, and that both the hospital staff and the scanner's manufacturer, General Electric Healthcare, were negligent in conducting the CT scans.

The hospital said the staff had recently reset the machines in an effort to help doctors see blood flow more clearly, however, "a misunderstanding about an embedded default setting applied by the machine," caused the patients to receive 8 times more radiation than they should have.

Rees, along with 40 other patients, claim they lost at least some, if not all of the hair on their heads and eye brows.  Rees is also claiming that the skin on his face and scalp became red and flaky, and that he now faces a higher risk of cancer.

The class action lawsuit seeks general and economic damages for all plaintiffs for the "expense of longer term health monitoring of its effects, and serious physical and emotional damage."

If you are interested in learning more about the hospital malpractice laws in your state, please click here to find a medical malpractice lawyer near you!

The family of Haylee Kroll, the now 15-year-old girl who suffered from a serious liver disease as a newborn, has been awarded $4.3 million by a Florida jury.

The misdiagnosis lawsuit was filed against four doctors at Coral Springs Medical Center, claiming that doctors misdiagnosed signs of a liver virus as normal bruising.

The virus has left Haylee with permanent vision problems, learning disabilities, and cirrhosis of the liver.

Haylee's parents suspected something was wrong with their newborn daughter when they noticed large bruises on her body. According to the lawsuit, the Kroll's were told that the bruises were not something to be concerned about and that they would eventually fade.  Soon after, Haylee began showing signs of jaundice, liver scarring, and a blood clot in the brain, leading doctors to believe she may have a fatal condition.

The Kroll's lawsuit also states that Haylee was showing recognizable signs of enterovirus, a mild illness that is particularly dangerous to newborns and infants.  The doctors failed to take any blood or liver tests that would have revealed the virus' presence.

Only two of the four doctors were found liable for Kroll's injuries, Dr. Jose Colindres and Dr. Sedigheh Zolfaghari.

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A birth injury lawsuit filed against the University of California has been settled for $6 million.

Dr. Bruce G. Fagel, attorney for the family of 4-year-old Cannon Hoops, claims the boy has cerebral palsy due to a neurological injury he suffered during birth at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

The settlement is the largest medical malpractice settlement against the UC Davis Health System in history.

The UC Regents are insured for $5 million, but had to go to Lloyd's of London, the university's re-insurance provider, to get the additional $1 million.  Dr. Richard Graves, Hoops' attending physician, could not be reached for comment.

According to Carole Gan, a UC Davis spokeswoman, the settlement reflects the "costs of lifetime medical and attendant or assistive-care for the injured child, as well as his inability in the future to earn an income." 

Dr. Fagel said the mother, whose pregnancy was fine, came to the hospital for a routine birth with a midwife and doctor, but both the doctor and the midwife ignored signs of distress during labor.  The lawsuit also claims the doctor and midwife did not recognize the problem until after the birth, when it was too late.

If your child is suffering from a birth injury, click here to find a medical malpractice attorney near you. 

A Wisconsin jury has awarded $3.7 million to the family of a farm worker who died after doctors failed to properly diagnose and treat an infection.

Gustavo Espinal-Santos died in January, 2004 after contracting a fungal infection known as blastomycosis, which is often transmitted through water or soil.

According to the medical malpractice lawsuit filed by Santos' family, the first time Santos came to Bellin Family Medical Center he was seen by a physician who concluded he was suffering from the effects of pneumonia. 

Santos' family is claiming the hospital was negligent in failing to run basic diagnostic tests, specifcially X-rays, that would have helped to diagnose his condition.

The jury returned their verdict after a four-day trial and eight hours of deliberation.  Both Bellin Health System and Dr. Peri Aldrich were found to be negligent in providing proper medical treatment to Santos.

Santos is survived by his wife and two daughters.

For more information about failure to diagnose cases, please click here to contact a medical malpractice attorney near you.

A jury in Montgomery County, Maryland found Dr. Leonard Bienkowski of Frederick Memorial Hospital negligent in delivering a couple's son, an incident that led to a fatal birth injury.

Sandra and John Ketterman were awarded $1.85 million in damages after their son died from a serious birth injury.  The Ketterman's wrongful death lawsuit claims that Dr. Bienkowski's use of vacuum extraction during the delivery was what ultimately led to the injury that cost their son his life. In the lawsuit, the Kettermans argue that Dr. Bienkowski did not follow the accepted standards of medical care, and did not warn the couple about the dangers associated with vacuum extraction.

Dr. Bienkowski decided to use vacuum extraction when the baby's head became lodged in the birth canal.  Vacuum extraction is typically used when a baby is in distress, however, the Kettermans argue that their son did not appear to be in distress, and that if they had known about the risk of injury associated with vacuum extraction they would have opted for a cesarean section instead.

Vacuum extraction involves applying suction to the child's head to help remove a child from the birth canal and speed up delivery.  This practice has slowly been replaced by the use of forceps, which pose a lesser risk of serious injury, such as facial nerve damage, brain damage, cerebral palsy, and developmental delays.

The Kettermans were awarded $752,000 for economic damages, $100,000 for their son's conscious pain and suffering before his death, and $500,000 to each parent for their suffering.

For more information about serious and fatal birth injuries, please click here to find a medical malpractice lawyer near you.

A man was awarded $19.2 million in a paraplegia medical malpractice case against Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York.

According to the lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court (12th Judicial District), Willfredo Figueroa became paralyzed from the waist down after doctors to failed to diagnose and treat a spinal abscess in a timely manner.  Due to a delayed diagnosis, Figueroa suffered a compressive injury, damaging nerve cells in his spinal cord.

Figueroa's attorney, James Wilkens of Duffy & Duffy, proved that the hospital failed to conduct and examine appropriate tests, such as a CT scan and an MRI, even though there were progress notes that indicated Figueroa might have spinal injuries. Wilkens also claimed the hospital failed to notify a neurosurgeon and other experts about Figueroa's condition. Furthermore, Wilkens argued that even though Figueroa first came to the hospital on September 22, 2004, the appropriate tests were not administered until October 4, 2004.

Damages were awarded for Figueroa's medical needs, lost earnings, future loss of wages, pain and suffering, and decreased quality of life.

"An award of this magnitude is certainly necessary to compensate him for the losses, costs, and other burdens our client and his loved ones are forced to endure the rest of their lives," said Wilkens.

For more information about delay of diagnosis claims, click here to find a medical malpractice lawyer near you. 

A Harris County jury has awarded a Texas man $10 million dollars in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Methodist Hospital.

John German went to the hospital for heart surgery. But after developing an infection, doctors were forced to amputate his left leg above the knee, the toes on his right foot, and his fingers on both hands.

German claims that the hospital staff failed to properly monitor him for blood disorders after prescribing him the blood thinner Heparin. German had an allergic reaction to the drug, causing his blood to clot instead of thin. As a result, blood was prevented from flowing to his extremities.

The jury agreed with German's claim that the nurses failed to recognize and treat his condition until it was too late.

German may be one of the last Texans to be awarded such a high settlement in a medical malpractice case. The Texas Torte Reform Law, passed in 2003, caps the amount of non-economic damages a patient can claim at $250,000.

German was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement because his case was filed before the law took effect.

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