Galveston Bay Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice - Most Popular

Feeding Tube Error May Have Caused Patient’s Death

Scott Kappes — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:40:37 GMT

The family of Elbert Eugene “Gene” Riggs Jr. has filed a lawsuit against the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio where an improperly inserted feeding tube allegedly directly lead to Riggs death. The feeding tube was mistakenly inserted to into Riggs’ right lung rather than his stomach, where it continued to feed and fill his lung for several hours before the mistake was discovered.

After the mistake was discovered by an X-ray, the doctor failed to correct the problem in time, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Riggs.

Government attorneys representing BAMC admit that the feeding tube was misplaced upon initial insertion, but deny that the error contributed to Riggs’ death in a written response to the lawsuit. Instead, government attorneys claim that Riggs died as a result of underlying health problems, including chronic leukemia.

Gene Riggs died on September 19, 2006 just five days short of he and his wife Tinie’s 57^th wedding anniversary.

Tinie Riggs said she is suing the government out of principle — by law, you cannot sue individual military hospitals or military doctors — not just money, although she could win around $1.7 million for wrongful death and up to $250,000 for noneconomic losses.

“I'm doing this because the system if broken,” she said. “The system is broken, and it's time to fix it.”

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Jury Awards $22.6 Million For Birthing Injury

Scott Kappes — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:35:51 GMT

A jury has awarded $22.6 million to a Cincinnati woman whose daughter suffered brain damage as a result of medical birthing mistake. In 1997 Heather Grow, pregnant with her first child, was diagnosed with a narrow pelvic arch. Despite this diagnosis and the fact that her baby was going to be big, nine pounds, she was allowed to have natural childbirth. During the delivery the baby’s head became stuck in the birth canal and remained lodged there for 13 hours before finally being delivered by cesarean section.

Moreover, Lisa Yang, the doctor who assisted Grow at birth continued to administer her drugs to make the uterus contract hoping the baby would come out. The result was the opposite, as the uterus kept on contracting on the baby’s stuck head, causing brain damage.

The child, Cassie, now 11-years-old will always be haunted by the brain damage she suffered as a result of poor decision-making by medical staff. Cassie is classified as a spastic quadriplegic, meaning that she does not have proper use of her limbs and can only walk for very short distances with the assistance of a walker. Cassie’s vision is impaired, has trouble using her hands and also suffers from mild retardation according to one of the attorneys representing the family.

The $22 million award is substantial; however, this money will never be able give Cassie what she truly deserves, a normal life.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Children at Higher Risk For Drug Errors

Scott Kappes — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:06:28 GMT

A new study published in this month’s Pediatrics magazine suggests that our children may be at much more of a risk of hospital errors than we ever could have imagined. The study claims that more than one out of every ten children admitted to the hospital will have an adverse reaction to a drug administered to them. More alarmingly the study claims that more than 20 percent of these reactions are preventable. These starling numbers paint a picture of a much more dangerous hospital stay for children than previously thought.

The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, issued an alert yesterday in response to the findings, noting that kids have a higher risk than adults of being harmed by medication errors.

The Commission recommended several efforts that can be made to reduce the number of drug errors in children. The Commission advised that children be weighed in kilograms, the most common unit used when determining dosage amounts. Writing down the method used to calculate the dosage should also reduce mistakes, by offering a written record that could be double-checked by others.

Recent nationwide coverage of a nearly fatal medical error involving the children of actor Dennis Quaid has increased awareness of the issue, but still not enough is being done to ensure the safety of our children.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Two Patients Die After Contracting Cancer From Donated Organs

Scott Kappes — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:08:19 GMT

The parents of 15-year-old Alex Koehne wanted their son to live on after passing away from what they were told was bacterial meningitis. After careful consideration Jim and Lisa Koehne decided to donate his organs in order to help others. They also requested an autopsy to have better picture of the events that lead to the death of their beloved son. The autopsy discovered that a previously undiagnosed rare form of lymphoma actually caused the boy’s death. Unfortunately four people had already received organ transplants from Koehne before the cancer was discovered by the autopsy. Now WCBS-TV is reporting that two of the four organ recipients have also died as a result of the undiagnosed lymphoma. The other two are still currently fighting the disease.

Both the hospitals that received the organs and passed them on have been cleared of any flaws in policies.

New York University and the University of Minnesota, which also transplanted one of the diseased organs, have changed their policies and now require stronger proof of bacterial meningitis.

The transmission of cancer through donated organs is a very rare occurrence, but I am sure that offers little compensation to the families of those infected with cancer through the process. Efforts are being made throughout the medical community to ensure that such costly mistakes are eliminated completely.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Doctor Performs Brain Surgery on Wrong Side of Brain

Scott Kappes — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:49:33 GMT

A Rhode Island hospital has been fined $50,000 and reprimanded by the Department of Health after a doctor performed brain surgery on the wrong side of a patient's brain. While this sounds terrible it gets even worse. This is the third time this has happened this year at this hospital alone. Last Friday marks the most recent occurrence when the chief resident began operating on the wrong side of an 82 year-old patient's head. The health department says the patient was not badly injured by the mistake.

In February a different physician preformed neurosurgery in the wrong side of another patient's head. The patient here was also said be ok despite the careless and negligent actions of the doctor.

Evidently the scare earlier in the year did not make a grand impression and increase awareness as in August another patient fell victim to a doctor performing surgery on the wrong side of his brain. The patient in this instance was not as lucky as the others have been and died just weeks after the blunder. The patient's death sparked controversy and a state ordered review of the hospital's procedures, neurosurgery practices, and better verification from doctors of surgery plans.

The most recent mishap tells me that the review has not accomplished anything. I cannot believe mistakes of this nature have been allowed to happen three times in one year at the same hospital. How is this possible? Its not rocket science, or better yet brain surgery, they only need to understand the difference between right and left.

The not-for-profit hospital is making efforts to ensure this does not happen again. Only time will tell if they are successful.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Mounting Problems with Paxil

Dian Rosier — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:45:37 GMT

Since 1992, when the FDA first gave its approval for the release of Paxil in the U.S. market, it has been one long rollercoaster ride for the drug manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK.

Generating annual sales of up to 2 billion dollars, Paxil has been prescribed for the treatment of depression, and a large variety of other "disorders", many of which the American public had never heard of before ambitious drug companies began aggressive advertising campaigns to market their newest money maker.

Undoubtedly profitable, the drug has also been plagued with controversy is increasingly the subject of litigation resulting from warnings issued too late for many of its hapless victims.

Paxil is one of a group of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI's that has been marketed throughout the world and has been the subject of great controversy and multiple lawsuits. GSK has been called to task because of its failure to advise the public and medical professionals of numerous studies that indicated problems with the prescription drug long before the FDA stepped in repeatedly to force cautionary labeling.

Studies funded by the drug companies themselves indicated as early as 2000, that patients taking SSRI's were five and a half times more likely to deliberately and violently harm themselves than those taking tricyclic antidepressants.

In December of 2005, the FDA issued a public health advisory about new studies showing that women who took Paxil in the first trimester were one and a half to two times more at risk to have heart related birth defects.

In February of 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that babies exposed to SSRI's in the last trimester were 6 times more at risk of developing Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN) than unexposed infants. PPHN is a life threatening lung condition caused when the blood vessels do not dilate.

Often, the public has been kept in the dark about the side effects of these drugs until litigation brings it to light.

According to a study printed in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (June 2005), 75% of scripts for SSRI's written by health care providers are for "off label" use or treatments not approved by the FDA. Congress is currently investigating this practice of promoting off label drug usage by the pharmaceutical companies.

Lewis Morris, Chief Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General, testified before a US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in February 2007, "Off-label promotion fundamentally circumvents the FDA drug approval process, on which Americans rely to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products."

In a world where we are constantly confronted with what can seem like too much information, we, as patients, often rely completely on the advice of our health care providers. When those providers are seduced into experimenting with our health and the health of our unborn children by prescribing medications based solely on suggested uses that have not been thoroughly tested, it is past time to stand up and change the way things work.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Dian Rosier

Paxil and Birth Defects

Robert Binstock — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:47:28 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration issued a health alert on September 27, 2005, to medical professionals and that GlaxoSmithKline changed the labeling on their popular antidepressant Paxil to reflect growing concerns about birth defects.

Women that took Paxil during their first three months of pregnancy were one and a half to two and a half times more like to have a baby with a serious heart defect as were women that received other antidepressants. This statistic shows that Paxil has extreme influence on babies.

One of the most common side effects of Paxil use is the development of heart problems such as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) in unborn children of women that use the drug. This condition is characterized by the failure of the newborn's lungs to "switch over" to breathing air after birth, which can restrict the amount of oxygen to a baby's delicate body. PPHN can result in a number of serious and potentially life-threatening complications such as hearing loss, heart or kidney failure, and death. This can not go unnoticed by pregnant women.

Many experts believe that because Paxil is used to treat an imbalance of the neurotransmitter Serotonin, it can have numerous adverse effects on an unborn child. This is scary to believe especially as the parent of a child, or in this case, an unborn child. Paxil is believed to cross over the umbilical chord and into the developing child. Many scientists believe that an imbalance of Serotonin in a baby's body can affect the way the heart functions.

Some doctors saw that Paxil was effective in treating depression in children, although the drug is intended for adults. Unfortunately, Paxil actually increases depression in children, and in some cases led to suicidal thoughts and actions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Binstock

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Settled for 1.2M

Christina Cole — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:47:36 GMT

A Texas woman has settled a medical malpractice lawsuit against Belvidere Bariatric Clinic to the tune of $1.2 million.

The claimant alleged negligence by the clinic led to her husband's death. On Tuesday she agreed to a settlement of 1.2 million with the Bariatric Treatment Center, Northwest Suburban Community Hospital and the surgeon involved.

Another doctor, a defendant included in the case, settled in a separate, confidential agreement.

James "Joe" Bonwell had bariatric surgery in March 2001 at Northwest Suburban Community Hospital in Belvidere. He died March 26, four days after surgery; he would have turned 40 Wednesday. He had two children, Chandler and Michaela, who were 9 and 7 at the time of his death.
The settlement "had nothing to do with what we believe are the merits of the case," said Laurence Lenz, executive vice president of Barix Clinics, which owns Northwest Suburban. "We stand by our program."
Bonwell's attorney, Cynthia Szymanski Koroll, said two other wrongful-death cases against the facility have been settled by her firm. Two additional cases are pending.

A settlement was reached prior to the start of a 4 week trial that was scheduled to start.

The bariatric clinic closed up shop last month, citing a decline in patients.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Woman's Estate Files Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Over Amputation

Scott Kappes — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:48:57 GMT

The estate of a West Virginia woman has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in response to a leg amputation she received. The woman lost her right leg above the knee due to complications during surgery. The suit was filed in a circuit court on August 6th against Edmund E. Figuero, M.D.

According to the suit, Rosa Griffith underwent a left heart catheterization via the right groin artery June 13, 2005. During the procedure, she began to exhibit symptoms including inadequate perfusion after the procedure. On June 21, 2005, Griffith suffered an amputation of her right leg, above her right knee.
Griffith died June 8, 2007. According to an Affidavit of Merit sent to Figuero, a reviewing physician said it was his "opinion to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that this defendant deviated from acceptable and applicable standards of medical care."

This applies to the defendant's failure to act in a timely fashion in the removal of the intra-aortic balloon pump after the Griffith's leg began to show signs of a problem. On behalf of the estate, Cecil Griffith aims to receive compensation for this "deviation from acceptable medical care" resulting in Griffith's amputation.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Parents File $150M Suit for Birth Injury

Christina Cole — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 01:01:13 GMT

Parents of twin boys have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit alleging one of their sons will never have a normal life and the blame is pointing to a military hospital.

The parents are filing a suit for $150 million against Naval Hospital accusing the staff and doctors and staff of medical malpractice. The parents say the boy is brain damaged from a birth injury during delivery.

The hospital commander argues there were pregnancy complications prior to the birth.

Born in May 2005, the boy was born severely disabled and he suffers from a form of cerebral palsy.

The Alcorns' lawsuit is not the first time the naval hospital has been sued. Nor is it the first time Cronin's firm has taken part. In November, a woman filed a $5 million lawsuit, saying that doctors operated on her with dirty surgical instruments. In 2005, a couple sued the hospital on grounds it was responsible for their baby's death. Another couple was awarded nearly $61 million because their baby suffered serious brain damage during delivery.
The Alcorn family of Gavin has asked for a large sum -- $100 million dollars for the child and $25 million for each parent. Cronin said the amount is high because Gavin will need extensive care for the rest of his life.

The lawsuit alleges "failure by the physician and staff of the hospital due to asphyxiation during the birth process and he sustained severe brain injuries. Medical records document the injury and that it did indeed occur during the birth.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole