Indiana Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Indiana medical malpractice lawyers often deal with cases where surgeons have failed to remove from the patient sponges or instruments used during the course of surgery. The frequency with which this problem occurs is uncertain. However, an article in the journal Abdominal Surgery suggests that retained sponges may occur once in every 1,000 to 1,500 intra-abdominal surgeries.

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.

The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers of Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. recently received a $1.26 million jury verdict in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in Hammond, Indiana.

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 Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C. are frequently faced with cases involving deep vein thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis (or DVT) is a condition where a blood clot forms in one or more the body's deep veins, usually in the lower legs.

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.

Indiana medical malpractice lawyers frequently must deal with issues concerning negligently performed gallbladder surgery. Injuries to patients from these surgeries can be devastating, leading to massive medical expenses, permanent liver damage, or even death.

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.