Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

The Rhode Island Health Department has fined a Rhode Island Hospital $150,000, after finding that a surgical team committed medical malpractice and violated patient safety policies when it operated on the wrong finger of a patient. According to the Health Department, the surgical team failed to properly mark the fingers and failed to follow the rules for “time out.” A time out is a pause before surgery to verify the patient, procedure and operative site. The finger incident was the fifth wrong-site surgery at the hospital since January 2007.
The Health Department reprimanded the hospital, required observation of every surgery for one year, required full adoption of a statewide surgical protocol and required installation of video and audio recording in every operating room. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have only handled one case of wrong site surgery. I believe that most of the medical malpractice attorneys in Baltimore have not handled any such cases, as these cases are extremely rare. I can understand one case happening in a hospital over the course of several years, but 5 cases in the same hospital in 2 years. That place should be shut down. There is no defense to operating on the wrong surgical site over and over. It is medical malpractice, plain and simple

There continue to be many newspaper and television advertisements by lawyers seeking to collect clients for medical malpractice cases against St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson and Dr. Mark Midei for implanting cardiac stents that may not have been necessary. I understand that one of these law firms, which only has a small number of attorneys who regularly handle medical malpractice cases, has collected more than 70 cases. Another one of these law firms has even filed a class action. Still yet another law firm is advertising for cases that it is not even handling; it is simply passing these cases off to medical malpractice lawyers who ultimately will handle the cases.

In my opinion, there is no way that a small law firm handling 70 cases can give each case the proper attention that it deserves. Moreover, there is no way that firm could ever try such a large number of cases effectively. Thus, that firm has a very strong incentive to seek a global resolution of those cases, which may not be in the best interest of its other clients.

As for the firm that has filed a class action, that is simply a strategy of trying to get hold of the clients that have not pursued their cases yet. Since each clients’ case is substantially different, it is unlikely that a class action will be upheld.

As for the law firm that is advertising for cases that it does not even handle, do I really need to even say anything about that.

As I have said before, I only take about a dozen medical malpractice cases a year. Each case I take is handled on an individual basis. That means that I, or one of the attorneys in my department, are personally in charge of each case we handle, from start to finish. When a client calls, they speak with me or one of the attorneys in my department, and not a paralegal. We treat every client the way that we would want to be treated if we have a case. I find this is the best and most effective way to practice, and its why I am successful in almost every case I take.

A Minnesota jury has awarded more than $1.25 million to the family of a 21 month old boy who died due to an infected (gangrenous) appendix that a doctor failed to diagnose and treat. The family claimed that the boy was misdiagnosed on two separate occasions over four days, including the day before he died.

The family alleged that when the doctor examined the boy’s abdomen, the boy cried louder than ever, but the doctor told the boy’s father that the boy’s appendix was fine. Thus, the doctor did not order an ultrasound or CT scan which would have diagnosed the problem. The doctor then diagnosed gastroenteritis. Evidence presented at trial established that the doctor scheduled pediatric patients in 10-minute increments. Thus, the family claimed that he was too busy to give each patient the attention they needed and deserved.

The doctor’s diagnosis of influenza was made over the phone and the family was discouraged from bringing the child into the clinic to be seen. That day, the doctor’s appointment schedule showed that 45 children were scheduled to be seen, and that the doctor was behind schedule. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving children (pediatrics) who have been injured or killed Most of these involve the failure to timely diagnose and treat certain medical conditions that can be fatal, such as bacterial infections and genetic conditions. These cases are always gut-wrenching because of the innocence of children and the parents’ desire to trust what the doctor says.

I also have successfully handled appendix cases. These have all been failure to diagnose and treat inflamed or ruptured appendixes, usually causing severe injury or death. Sadly, a simple and relatively inexpensive CT scan usually will diagnose an inflamed or ruptured infection. Sometimes these CT scans are not read properly, which is even worse because it sends the treating doctors on a wild goose chase looking for other causes of the patient’s symptoms. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A New York hospital has paid $2.9 million to settle the medical malpractice case of a 6-year-old boy who was killed after he was struck in the head by an oxygen tank during an MRI. The boy was lying in an MRI chamber when the machine's magnet pulled in a metal tank that a hospital staffer had brought into the MRI's magnetic field. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here. This is one of a number of recent cases in which people have been severely injured or killed by metal objects that were left in an MRI room. Another report on this case can be found here. A report on these types of cases can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of medical malpractice cases involving the failure of radiology facilities to follow their own written policies, procedures or guidelines. Cases such as there, in which a doctor, hospital or medical facility fails to follow its own standards, are inexcusable. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Pittsburgh jury has awarded $2.3 million to a woman in a medical malpractice case against a hospital which arose from a complete abdominal hysterectomy she underwent there. The woman went to the hospital to deliver a child and was improperly discharged with a high white blood count that gave her a serious infection requiring a hysterectomy one week later. The woman’s doctor claimed that he never received notice of the abnormal blood work, but the hospital claimed he had. While the blood work results were i the chart, no one appears to have paid attention to them before the woman was discharged. The verdict was for the woman’s pain and suffering. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving abnormal blood work that was never communicated to the right person or acted upon properly. In one case, a woman who was being transferred from a hospital had a severely low electrolyte level but no one acted on it before she was transferred and she died. In another case, a child had a very low white blood count with what is called a left shift, indicating a severe infection. But the hospital sent him home where he went into arrest and died. Cases like these, where abnormal lab reports are in the medical records but no one responds, are inexcusable cases of medical malpractice. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A California couple have won a $16.5 million medical malpractice verdict against a neurosurgeon. The patient suffered a fractured spine while off-roading and was taken to a hospital where the neurosurgeon was on call. Despite the spinal injury, the man was not seen until the next day and not operated on until two days after his injury, cusing paraplegia. The verdict included compensation for future medical care, lost wages and pain and suffering. The couple had previously settled their claims against the hospital for a confidential amount. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases in which we alleged that a doctor or hospital caused paraplegia or quadriplegia. In one case, a man fell and suffered a subluxation (partial displacement) of his spine which needed to be decompressed and realigned so it did not continue to press on the spinal cord. The experienced emergency room doctor recommended immediate decompression but a neurosurgery resident disagreed which resulted in the man waiting hours before the decompression began. During the decompression procedure, he became permanently paralyzed. He lived that way for one year, and then died of complications from the paraplegia. What a sad story.

These cases are extremely complicated, requiring neurosurgery, neurology, life care planning and economics experts. Only an experienced attorney should pursue these cases. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Texas jury has found a hospital guilty of medical malpractice for its treatment of a 41-year-old woman who died of a heart attack within hours of an emergency room visit. The jury found that the hospital committed willful or wanton negligence” in their treatment of the woman. The jury awarded $1.3 million in damages to the woman, her mother and the woman’s two children. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving the failure to timely diagnose and treat heart attacks. These cases are always troublesome because there are guidelines for which tests should be run on patients with heart attack symptoms (chest pain, difficulty breathing, arm pain, face pain, abnormal EKG, elevated cardiac enzymes, etc. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Recently, a South Carolina jury awarded the family of a newborn $4.4 million dollars for medical malpractice/negligence stemming from the delivery of the child. In their complaint, the family alleged that a nurse failed to properly monitor the baby's fetal heart monitoring strips -- strips that show the heartbeat rate of the baby -- and, as a result, did not realize that the baby was in fetal distress and required emergent medical attention and/or delivery. As a result of this negligence, the family alleged that the baby experienced prolonged periods without oxygen while in utero and during the delivery. The baby was delivered alive, but later diagnosed with cerebral-palsy like complications. At the age of 5, the baby died from these complications.

As experienced medical negligence/malpractice attorneys in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C. area, we have handled numerous cases involving the negligence of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers involved with the delivery of a baby. These health care providers are charged with providing a certain level of care to both the mother and the baby to ensure that both navigate the labor and delivery process safely. In fact, there are many standards and/or regulations published by reputable medical professional societies, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), that govern the care that should be provided to a mother and baby during the pre-natal, labor and delivery phases. The following are examples of medical mistakes and/or errors that have, in the past, led to our office filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in this context:

(1) failure to monitor a fetal heart monitoring strip
(2) failure to timely perform a cesarean section
(3) failure to diagnose a mother with pre-eclampsia
(4) failure to timely diagnose a placental abruption
(5) improper use of forceps or a vacuum to delivery a child, resulting in a brachial plexus injury to the child.

It has been the experience of this office that the injuries caused by these types of negligence (and others) result in extraordinary medical costs (both past and future) to the family and the unimaginable loss of a healthy life, an emotional/pscyhological loss that is particularly devastating on the injured child's family. If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical negligence in the context of a birth-related injury, call our office for a free consultation.

A Georgia jury has awarded more than $6 million in medical malpractice / wrongful death case on behalf of a husband and his deceased wife’s estate after she developed blood clots and died shortly after undergoing outpatient knee surgery. The woman had knee pain and went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI of the knee. That MRI showed something behind the knee which resulted in the the orthopedic surgeon performing outpatient arthroscopic surgery on the woman. The next day, the woman was found dead at home. An autopsy showed that deep venous thromboids had formed at the site of the surgery, and then traveled to the lung causing a pulmonary embolism. Apparently, the orthopedic surgeon ignored several risk factors that should have indicated that blood clotting could be a problem, such as obesity and birth control pills. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of pulmonary embolism malpractice cases. There are clear guidelines from a variety of professional medical organizations, such as the American College of Chest Physicians, which state who should be considered at risk for deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and what should be done to prevent it. Every patient who is undergoing surgery under anesthesia or who is unable to move around on their own should be evaluated for the risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is a preventable condition in this day and age. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Baltimore City jury in a medical malpractice case awarded more than $670,000 to a man after his colon was perforated during a colonoscopy, resulting in emergency surgery. The man underwent a colonoscopy at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, during which the doctor punctured the colon in several places. The man was subsequently taken into an operating room at Sinai, where part of his colon was removed. The man still suffers pain and limited mobility as a result of the surgery, and swelling and fatigue caused by short bowel syndrome. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have often been asked to take colonoscopy perforation cases. Usually, if there is a single perforation and the perforation was recognized during or right after the colonoscopy, there is not a strong case. However, if there are multiple perforation or if there was a substantial delay in the diagnosis of the perforation, and either of those caused major problems or even death, it may be a case. Every case must be evaluated on an individual basis after the facts are reviewed. As I have mentioned before in other posts, these injuries frequently cause major complications because the bowel has so much bacteria in it. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A New York state jury has awarded a $2.4 million verdict to a woman in a medical malpractice case. The woman underwent partial bowel removal surgery that should not have been performed, causing her to spend 2 ½ months in the hospital and have three more procedures to fix the complications. During the next few months, she was admitted to three hospitals and had to undergo two other surgeries to take care of infections and complications from the first procedure. As a result of her condition, she now is unable to control her bowels, lives with severe pain and has terrible scars. The jury’s verdict consisted of $2.2 million for the woman and $200,000 for her husband. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving the bowels. Some have been negligent bowel injury cases from procedures such as minimally invasive surgery. These injuries frequently cause major complications because the bowel has so much bacteria in it. Other bowel malpractice cases that I have handled have involved the failure to timely diagnose and treat mesenteric ischemia, which is the lack of proper blood supply to the bowel, causing death of the bowel. These are extremely painful and devastating injuries. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Kentucky jury has award $4.6 million to a couple in a medical malpractice case. The couple claimed that a urologist performed a negligent medical procedure on the husband causing permanent personal injuries. The verdict included $3,750,000 to the husband for pain and suffering, $117,612 for medical expenses and $750,000 to the wife. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of urology cases. One involved negligent anesthesia during urological procedures, while another involved the failure to recognize a spinal cord tumor that was causing incontinence. This is an extremely large verdict for such a case. While the newspaper article didn’t identify the particular injury, it must have been severe.