On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Surgical Errors on Friday, May 18, 2012
Patients in West Virginia can choose to have certain types of surgery on an elective basis. In any case, however, there is always at least some risk of a surgical error or adverse outcome that could involve a medical malpractice claim. Given this fact -- and because the ages and health histories of some patients can increase both the risks and severity of consequences associated with a particular surgery -- doctors are obligated to assess each patient's situation and suitability for surgical procedures on an individual basis.
This week, the trial of a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a 65-year-old man whose penis had to be amputated when it became infected following penile implant surgery began in a courtroom just a few states south of here.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Medical Malpractice on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Generally speaking, hospital emergency rooms are fast-paced, highly stressful environments. They also tend to have fewer staff than is needed to deal with the wide range of issues ERs are confronted with on a daily basis or the high demand for emergency medical services. Given these facts, it is not surprising that ERs are one of the most frequent sources of medical malpractice claims in West Virginia and nationwide.
According to a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, medical malpractice is about half as likely to occur in an emergency room setting when professionally trained interpreters (as opposed to family members, friends, volunteer, etc.) are able to assist doctors, nurses and other ER staff members in communicating with patients.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Medical Malpractice on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Contrary to what tort reformists will tell you, medical malpractice lawsuits have spurred many important changes in the medical community and have greatly improved both the quality and safety of patient care in this country. Unfortunately, the fear of being sued for medical malpractice is also a factor that has prompted many doctors and health care facilities in West Virginia to go overboard in caring for patients.
Is that really a bad thing though? After all, isn't it better for patients to receive too much care than not enough? The answer to both questions is "it depends."
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Birth Injuries on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Pregnancy and the miracle of birth always involve some risk for West Virginia mothers and infants. In fact, even when physicians and hospital staff do everything right, it isn't always possible to avoid an unfortunate outcome. There have been and continue to be many medical malpractice cases, however, where hospitals, doctors, nurses and others utterly fail in their duty to provide mothers, unborn fetuses and newborn infants with competent medical care
As we mentioned in our last medical malpractice blog post on a birth injury case, juries often render the largest birth injury verdicts in cases where infants have suffered damage that will require a lifetime of care and expense. These verdicts serve two important purposes. First and foremost, they provide victims with the financial resources needed to ensure quality care and as much quality of life as possible for injured children. Second, they send an important message to the medical community to do better and not repeat such mistakes.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Medical Malpractice on Sunday, May 6, 2012
A hospital belonging to the largest nonprofit chain in the western United States and one of its doctors agreed to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a former patient for $3.5 million.
While the doctor and hospital have refused to discuss this medical malpractice case (and the plaintiff, as so often happens, had to sign a gag order that prohibits her from commenting in order to obtain the settlement), records indicate that the plaintiff's lawsuit alleged the defendants had multiple opportunities to make a correct diagnosis and properly treat the woman's condition before it worsened and left her totally dependent on intravenous nutrition for the rest of her natural life.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Medical Malpractice on Thursday, May 3, 2012
The term "medical malpractice" encompasses a wide range of possibilities, including medication-related mistakes, doctor errors, surgical errors, missed or delayed diagnoses, hospital negligence and even dental malpractice. Yet nearly every single one of these very different types of cases shares something in common with the rest: a lack of any deliberate intent to cause harm to the patient.
While most of what we've written about on this blog involves people who have suffered horrific consequences due to medical malpractice or issues that have some malpractice-related importance to West Virginia residents, today we wanted to talk about a mouth-numbingly bizarre and what some might call "plucky" medical malpractice story from halfway across the world.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Hospital Negligence on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Many of the medical malpractice-related cases and news stories we've written about on this blog do not directly involve doctors or hospitals in West Virginia. While it's a good thing there aren't enough local stories about these topics to limit our weekly discussions solely to cases that happen here -- it's also important to remember that virtually everything we do write about can happen or has happened in this state too.
Today again, we'd like to draw your attention to a non-local story about wrongful death and a hospital negligence lawsuit that was recently settled for $10 million -- nearly 500 miles away from our Charleston law offices.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Birth Injuries on Sunday, April 29, 2012
The most serious medical malpractice stories about birth injury cases often involve the wrongful death of a fetus or infant, a mother or both. Mere words, in fact, are not capable of adequately expressing the enormity of such losses or their effect on those still living.
While these are truly devastating and tragic cases, the largest settlements and jury awards in the medical negligence lawsuits tend to come in cases where infants have suffered injuries that require a lifetime of care. This is true in most West Virginia birth injury cases, and it is true in other states as well.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Birth Injuries on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Last week, the parents of a baby who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy agreed to settle their birth injury lawsuit against one East Coast hospital for $5.3 million. Although jury awards and settlements of this size are not uncommon in birth injury cases -- and do help the families affected -- mere compensation cannot begin to make up for a life-changing injury or the wrongful death of an infant or mother.
Unfortunately, medical malpractice cases involving birth- or pregnancy-related injuries remain all too common, both nationally and here in West Virginia.
On behalf of The Bell Law Firm, PLLC posted in Doctor Errors on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Many of today's pharmaceutical drugs are powerful enough to produce results that would have been considered miracles only decades ago ... and powerful enough to kill if taken or prescribed carelessly. Methadone is no different and while best known for helping addicts get off heroin or opiates -- can also be used to relieve chronic pain. Like heroin, morphine and other drugs that cause the respiratory system to slow down, however, too much of methadone can cause a person to stop breathing altogether.
In a medical malpractice decided just last week, jurors awarded a woman nearly $2 million in damages for the brain injury she suffered as the result of a methadone overdose.
