Results tagged “hospital malpractice” from Medical Malpractice Lawyers & Attorneys

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!

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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A settlement has been reached in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a Florida woman who claims she contracted a flesh-eating bacteria during the delivery of her child at Orlando Regional South Seminole Hospital.

Claudia Mejia Edwards, who eventually lost all four of her limbs, said the hospital attempted to discharge her after she complained of chills, rash, a fever, and other symptoms of the bacteria. Doctors eventually operated and discovered that Edwards had gangrene and Group A Streptococcal infection, which in layman's terms refers to a flesh-eating bacteria.  The removal of her limbs was necessary to prevent her death.

Edwards' lawyer alleged that one of her nurses was guilty of "wanton and reckless conduct" after she refused to testify under oath as to whether she was ever trained to identify the infection, and as to whether or not she noticed the infection on Edwards.

Doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals have a legal duty to abide by the proper standard of medical care in their field.  When a medical professional fails to do this, and as a result causes injury or death to a patient, they can be sued for damages.

Edwards' lawsuit was settled for an unspecified amount.

For more information about misdiagnosis, click here to find a medical malpractice lawyer near you. 

Dozens of people who contracted hepatitis C after an outbreak in two now-closed Las Vegas clinics waited in anticipation as the Assembly Judiciary Committed debated AB495, a new bill that would permit people to seek bigger settlements for gross medical negligence.

More than 50,000 people were notified last year that they may have been infected with the bloodborne disease from reused syringes and vials.

Under current state laws, victims of medical malpractice can only seek up to $350,000 in damages. AB495 would remove that limit in cases of "gross negligence."  The bill would also extend the amount of time a victim has to file his or her claim.

Opponents of the bill argue that the bill will drive up liability insurance, pushing Nevada doctors out of town because they couldn't afford to stay in business, which would consequently affect the quality of healthcare in Nevada.

But supporters of the bill state that doctors need to be held accountable when their actions result in a condition that drastically affects the quality of a patient's life.

"This bill in essence lets a jury decide the damages a patient can receive against a doctor, and not the doctors," said Attorney Marni Rubin, who received countless calls after the outbreak.

Bill Bradley, a representative for trial lawyers, agrees with Rubin. "These healthcare providers, under anybody's standards, were grossly negligent, and they absolutely put profit ahead of patient safety," he said.

In addition, patients affected by the outbreak say the bill protects bad doctors, not the people who have to live with the disease for the rest of their lives.

For more information about doctor/hospital malpractice, click here to find a medical malpractice attorney near you!

A Florida jury awarded $4 million to the family of an 11-year-old girl who suffered brain damage at birth as the result of a several hour delay in securing an operating room at the hospital.

The lawsuit was filed by the parents of Jordan Preshong Brown, who developed cerebral palsy after suffering from brain damage.  According to the lawsuit, Jordan's mother was carrying twins when she was admitted to the hospital with premature contractions. Shortly after she was admitted, one of the twins died in utero, causing Jordan to go into premature distress.

The lawsuit alleges that Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach was negligent in causing Jordan to develop cerebral palsy and mental retardation because the hospital couldn't secure an operating room for the Cesarean section until several hours after it was needed.  As a result, Jordan's brain was deprived of oxygen, causing permanent brain damage.

The hospital maintains that Jordan's condition was caused by her premature delivery, not the hospital's negligence.  The jury disagreed.  Good Samaritan Hospital, Inc. was found liable for the birth injury and ordered to pay $4 million in damages.

Cerebral palsy is a life-long disability that affects movement control and muscle coordination.

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

According to an article on Market Watch.com, a complaint has been filed against the City of Angles Medical Center-Downtown Campus in Los Angeles for neglecting to care for a 76-year-old patient who has the mental capabilities of a six-year-old. The elder abuse and negligence claim was filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court after the patient, Lawrence Garcia, went missing on September 11 and has yet to be found. Garcia, in addition to his mental limitations, also suffers from diabetes and is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer at the medical center.

Leo Garcia, Lawrence's brother and legal guardian, claims that City of Angles acted negligently when it left his mentally challenged brother alone in the hospital's crowded lobby, rather than assigning someone to wait with him until his ride came to pick him up. The claim also charges that the facility failed to follow Federal and State laws with regards to properly training its staff on how to work with and care for mentally challenged patients.  

"Would City of Angels have left a six-year-old child alone in that crowded lobby?" asked James Morgan, plaintiff attorney for Garcia. "That is exactly what they did when they left Lawrence alone. And to add insult to injury, when I spoke to the administration about Lawrence yesterday, they said they didn't know where he was and he wasn't their responsibility."

"We have to get the word out. Lawrence needs his medication and is totally unable to care for himself or protect himself on the street," said Morgan. "Never should someone have to die alone and sick on the streets of Los Angeles.

Garcia who has gray thinning hair, weighs 150 pounds, and is 5'7'' tall, has difficulty walking due to his chemotherapy treatments. He was last seen wearing jeans, a gray t-shirt, and sandals without socks.    

If you have any information about Lawrence Garcia's whereabouts, Morgan asks that you contact the Los Angeles Police Department, Rampart Division, at (213) 485-5381.

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