Studies have found falls to be the single most significant adverse event encountered in hospitals. Hospital falls lead to longer stays, increased bills, decreased function, and diminished quality of life. Elderly patients are particularly at risk. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement reports that 10% of fatal falls for the elderly occur in hospitals.
Because of the severe consequences of patient falls at hospitals, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) included fall prevention in hospitals in its 2005 National Patient Safety Goals. Those goals called for hospitals to "assess and periodically reassess each patient's risk for falling, including the potential risk associated with the patient's medication regiment, and take action to address any identified risks."
A hospital's failure to make a proper assessment of a patient's risk for falling, or its failure to take steps to prevent the fall of an at-risk patient, may be malpractice. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of a fall at a hospital, contact the experienced Indiana medical malpractice attorneys at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C.
A retained surgical sponge can lead to a host of problems for the patient, including infection, pain, additional surgery, and even death. The American College of Surgeons has recognized the seriousness of the problem by publishing guidelines to help surgeons avoid the mistake. Those guidelines include documentation of the results of surgical item counts and documentation of the action taken if there is a discrepancy in the count. Some hospitals have gone further. For instance, the Mayo Clinic uses bar coded surgical sponges to make sure the sponges are not left in the patient.
A retained sponge or surgical instrument is almost always the result of medical malpractice. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, the Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. may be able to help. Contact us for a free consultation.
]]>In most deliveries, electronic fetal heart monitoring is used to track how the baby is responding to labor. External fetal heart monitoring is performed by attaching transducers to the mother's abdomen. The transducers use Doppler ultrasound to detect fetal heart motion, and the information is sent to a fetal heart monitor which calculates and records the fetal heart rate on a continuous strip of paper.
Certain patterns on the strip are indicative of fetal distress. Doctors and labor and delivery nurses are trained to recognize these patterns and respond appropriately. The responses may include repositioning the mother, administering oxygen, or proceeding to immediate delivery via cesarean section. If a healthcare provider fails to recognize and appropriately respond to monitor patterns showing fetal distress, the baby may suffer serious injury, such as brain damage or even death.
The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. have handled many cases involving the failure to appropriately respond to signs of distress on fetal monitor strips. Contact them for a free consultation.
A differential diagnosis is frequently employed in the setting of patients presenting to the emergency room with acute abdominal pain. Patients with acute abdominal pain account for 5 to 10% of all emergency room visits in the United States. The list of potential causes of acute abdominal pain is huge and ranges from relatively minor conditions (constipation) to potentially life-threatening conditions (aortic aneurysm).
Problems arise when doctors assume the patient's symptoms are being caused by a minor condition without ruling out a potentially deadly condition. For example, patients with acute appendicitis are sometimes discharged from hospital emergency rooms with a diagnosis of gastroenteritis, or stomach flu. Such a patient may go on to have his appendix rupture, leading to prolonged hospitalization or even death.
If you or a loved on has been injured as a result of a doctor's failure to properly employ a differential diagnosis, an experienced Indiana medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help.
]]>Abby Allen of Avon and Walter Moore of Indianapolis were both patients at Clarian North Medical Center in Carmel, one of more than 20 Indiana hospitals owned by or affiliated with Clarian Health Partners. Neither Allen nor Moore had insurance coverage for the treatment received at Clarian North.
Allen and Moore's suit alleges that Clarian was required by law to charge a reasonable amount for the services provided to them. Instead, the suit claims that Clarian charged Allen and Moore "at rates significantly inflated over what Clarian accepts as payment from insured patients and patients covered by Medicare or Medicaid for the same services and supplies."
]]>Everyone over the age of 50 should be screened for colon cancer. Screening should begin earlier for patients with certain risk factors or family histories of the disease. Sigmoidoscopy is one of the primary screening tests for colorectal cancer. In this test, a lighted instrument called a sigmoidoscope is used to examine the the rectum and lower colon. Precancerous and cancerous growths can be identified and either removed or biopsied.
Early detection of colon cancer is especially important. Sypmtoms of the disease usually only appear after the disease is well advanced. The disease is most likely to be curable when it is detected early, before symptoms appear.
If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a delayed diagnosis of colon cancer, an experienced Indiana medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help.
]]>The medical malpractice verdict came in the case of Nolan v. Arora, M.D. In July of 2000, Dr. Arora performed a Racz catheter procedure on Patty Nolan. The procedure is a pain management procedure that involves placing a catheter in the epidural space of the spinal canal and injecting a local anesthetic and then hypertonic saline through the catheter to remove scar tissue and, hopefully, ease the patient's pain.
When Dr. Arora injected the local anesthetic, Mrs. Nolan experienced a profound motor and sensory block. At trial, Mrs. Nolan's attorneys argued that that this should have been a warning sign to the doctor that his catheter was in the subdural space rather than the epidural space. Injections of hypertonic saline into the subdural space could cause serious nerve damage. Rather than terminate the procedure or check the placement of his catheter with fluoroscopy, the doctor left his catheter in place, waited for the blocks to wear off, then had Mrs. Nolan return the following day for an additional injection of anesthetic and the hypertonic saline. Mrs. Nolan then developed a cauda equina syndrome resulting in leg weakness and permanent bowel and bladder dysfunction.
The jury entered its verdict on March 19, 2010 at the conclusion of a five-day trial. (Indiana law limits the maximum amount that may be recovered on the jury verdict to $1.25 million.)
]]>The subject was in the news last summer when a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that the rate of apparent failure to inform patients of abnormal outpatient test results exceeded 7 percent. The study noted that most of the medical practices with high rates of failure did not have explicit rules for notifying patients of test results. The study concluded that "Failures to inform patients of abnormal test results or to document that they have been informed can harm patients and expose physicians to indefensible malpractice liability."
In response to this serious issue, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has issued Eight Recommendations for Policies for Communicating Abnormal Test Results. The simple policy suggestions are designed to ensure that patients are informed of their test results in a timely manner.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a failure to communicate test results, the Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. may be able to help.
The major risk from DVT is pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism occurs when a piece of the clot breaks off and travels to the lung. A pulmonary embolism can have serious consequences for the patient, including sudden death.
Hospital patients who have been immobilized for prolonged periods of time or who have undergone major surgery are particularly susceptible to DVT and resulting pulmonary embolism. Doctors can reduce the risk of DVT and pulmonary embolism through the use of medications and other methods.
The failure to take appropriate steps to prevent DVT may be malpractice. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can evaluate such claims and help determine whether legal action is appropriate.
]]>Gallbladder problems are usually caused by gallstones, which are formed when chemicals in the gall bladder concentrate and harden into a lump. The presence of gallstones in the gallbladder typically cause pain in the right upper quadrant. The treatment of choice for gallstones is removal of the gallbladder, also known as cholecystectomy.
Most gallbladder removals today are performed laparoscopically. The physician inserts thin instruments through small incisions in the patient's abdomen. The physician views the surgical field on a video monitor. Because of the small incisions, recovery time is much quicker than with traditional methods of surgery.
While laparoscopic cholecystectomy provides quicker recovery for most patients, it also presents heightened risks. Because the surgeon is viewing the anatomy on a two-dimensional screen, errors in perception may occur. Those errors can lead to the most feared complication of gallbladder surgery -- common bile duct injury.
Bile duct injuries are often the result of physicians not being as careful as they should be. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of gallbladder surgery, an experienced Indiana medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help.
]]>The case presented to the supreme court is Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund v. Gary Patrick. In the case, Gary Patrick watched as his son died before his eyes as a result of medical malpractice. Mr. Patrick was represented by Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. in the trial court and was awarded $600,000 for his emotional distress claim. In addition, Mr. Patrick was awarded $316,531.66 on a separate claim under Indiana's Adult Wrongful Death Statute, the maximum award permitted under that statute.
The Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund appealed the trial court's judgment, arguing that Mr. Patrick was not permitted to recover for his emotional distress damages under the malpractice act. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's judgment. The supreme court then agreed to take the case and heard arguments from the lawyers on November 12, 2009. The complete argument before the supreme court may be viewed on the player below.
The supreme court is expected to issue its decision within the next few months.
If you or a loved one has a potential medical malpractice case, contact the Indiana medical malpractice attorneys at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. for a free consultation.
For more than 30 years, Indiana has had tort reform in the area of medical malpractice. In fact, Indiana has one of the most stringent medical malpractice laws in the nation. Indiana patient's injured as a result of a doctor's negligence are limited to a maximum award of $1.25 million. Even if the doctor's negligence has caused the patient to incur medical bills and suffer lost wages far in excess of that figure, the patient's recovery is capped at $1.25 million. When the malpractice act was first enacted in 1975, the cap was only $500,000. From 1990 through 1999, the cap was $750,000.
Despite these strict caps, the cost of health care in Indiana has risen at a rate faster than the national average during the period of time that the caps have been in place. Clearly, limiting patient's rights to recover for their injuries has had little or no impact on the cost of health care in Indiana.
The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. are fighting to protect patients' rights to recover for injuries suffered at the hands of negligent healthcare providers. If you have a medical malpractice case you would like to discuss, contact us for a free consultation.
]]>In the Patrick case, Gary Patrick witnessed the death of his adult son, Christopher, as a result of medical malpractice. Because Christopher had no wife or dependent children, recovery for his death was limited under Indiana law to $300,000 plus funeral and burial and medical expenses. However, Gary contended that he was entitled to bring a claim for his own emotional distress in addition to the claim for the death of his son. The trial court agreed and awarded Gary the maximum amount allowable for the death of his son, plus an additional $600,000 for Gary's independent emotional distress claim. The total judgment was $916,531.66. The Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund appealed, arguing that the emotional distress claim could not be pursued under Indiana's Medical Malpractice Act. The trial court's ruling was affirmed by the court of appeals and the supreme court has now agreed to hear the case.
If the Fund's argument is accepted by the supreme court, it will effectively give doctors immunity for a number of claims. Indiana medical malpractice lawyers Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. are representing Gary Patrick and will be arguing the case before the supreme court.
Earlier diagnosis and better treatment have decreased the number of breast cancer related deaths. The earlier a breast cancer is found, the more treatable it is. Tumor size and whether the cancer has spread are the most important indicators for the patient's survival. For this reason, the American Cancer Society has established screening recommendations for the early diagnosis of breast cancer--before a woman has symptoms:
1. Women over age 40 should have a screening mammogram every year.
2. Women in their 20's and 30's should have a physician breast exam at least every three years. After age 40, women should have a physician breast exam every year.
3. Women at special risk may need earlier or extra screening and should look to their physician for advice. For example, in women at high risk or women with very dense breasts a screening MRI is recommended in addition to the mammogram.
Additionally the American Cancer Society recommends that women start monthly breast self exams at age 20.
Whether you are male or female, if you find a new lump or mass in your breast, it is important to have it checked out by your physician. A new breast lump is the most common presenting sign of breast cancer.
Unacceptable delay in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer can occur on account of malpractice. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer, contact the Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. for a free consultation.
The major risk of VBAC is uterine rupture. The uterus is more susceptible to rupture during a VBAC delivery due to the incision made in the uterus at the earlier cesarean delivery. Once a uterine rupture occurs, delivery must be completed in a very short time to avoid significant brain injury or death to the child.
Because of the increased risk of uterine rupture, doctors with patients attempting VBAC must be especially careful in preparing for and performing the delivery. Prostaglandins, which are used to induce labor, should not be used in VBAC deliveries as they increase the risk of uterine rupture. Similarly, drugs used to increase maternal contractions such as Pitocin create a significantly increased risk of uterine rupture in VBAC deliveries. Because of the increased risk and catastrophic consequences of uterine rupture, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that VBAC deliveries only be performed in insitutions capable of having physicians immediately available to provide emergency care.
The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. have substantial experience in handling cases involving VBAC and all other areas of obstetrics. If you or a loved one has suffered such an injury, please contact us for a free consultation.