Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

Medical Malpractice Myth - Tom Baker's Book

Myth of medical malpractice debunked by Tom Baker, law professor at UCONN. Pertains to all kinds of medical negligence, including surgery mistakes, failure to diagnose cancer, labor and delivery and birth injury, and other kind of legal claims against medical providers

Medical Malpractice Insurers Faked Lawsuit Crisis

Medical Malpractice insurance companies falsely generated a "medical malpractice lawsuit crisis" in order to help secure legislative protections to protect those profits, according to a report on businessinsurance.com. Medical malpractice insurance companies provide insurance to cover medical negligence claims made in cases where doctors, surgeons, hospitals, nurses, and other healthcare providers are accused with harming patients through negligence, recklessness, carelessness, etc. Hopefully this report will make its way to the general public in a widespead sort of way. People need to understand the cynicism in the insurance industry. People seem so quick to give up their rights in favor of the giant insurance companies and other huge corporations. Think twice. Victims of medical mistakes need to have the right to fair compensation for their injuries. Clearly, the insurance industry cares only about its bottom line; and will -- if this report is accurate -- go to all measures (including dishonesty) to preserve their huge goldmine of profits.

Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform: AAJ Primer

The American Association for Justice released a Medical Negligence Primer recently, an appropriate response to the propaganda being shoveled out by the insurance and health corporate lobbies. The publication does a good job debunking the myths that medical malpractice lawsuits are out of control, along with other issues commonly twisted by those who seek special protection. Recently, I heard AAJ's immediate past president point out that what this medical malpractice lawsuit reform movement really seeks to do is set doctors and other healthcare providers apart from the rest of us. I have never heard lawyers suggest that they should be allowed to have special immunities from lawsuits in the event that they commit malpractice. What about engineers, architects and contractors? This is just one of the issues, but I thought the point was well made. People who have been hurt or killed by the negligence (meaning lack of appropriate due care, essentially) of health care providers (doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc.) whould have redress in our court system. The Seventh Amendment to our constutition provides the right to a trial by jury for all citizens; and we are seeing an erosion of this right.

Would Tort or Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Reform Lower Health Care Costs?

A recent NY Times article on medical malpractice lawsuit reform sets out some interesting points about why limiting the rights of victims of medical negligence is not an answer to the heatlhcare cost crisis. In a nutshell, medical malpractice lawsuit costs are only a tiny sliver of the total costs of our healthcare system in this country. This whole debate is so politicized, and many are looking past the reality that there are legitimate medical malpractice cases, and there are people who have been hurt by doctors, hospitals, nurses, and nursing homes who need help. Help with future medical care, for example. There are vicitms who have been harmed by a physician's failure to diagnose a serious disease, where simple tests and follow-ups were not scheduled/ordered. There are wrong-site surgeries, botched surgeries by doctors who are careless and in a hurry because of the presures placed on them because of the money pressures of the modern insurance-driven medical practice. There are hospitals failing to provide even the most basic labor and delivery crisis management training for residents, so that they are prepared when the rare, but inevitable, crisis arises. In any event, the article is worth reading.

Health Care Reform and Medical Liability Reform: The President Needs Doctor Support...What's the Outcome?

The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC (Medical Errors, Medical Mistakes and Medical Malpractice in North Carolina). A large metropolitan online newspaper reports in a recent article on the President's push for healthcare reform. An interesting point the article makes is that the President will need the support of the heatlhcare industry (doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers) in order to get health care and medical costs down so that the plan to provide insurance coverage to all Americans can work. This means that the medical industry may have more leverage over the content and effect of any health care reform package, since their cooperation is necessary for the passage of such reform. This article focuses pretty heavily on the issue from the side of the medical profession, and includes more opinions and information from the American Medical Association. Only a small "blip" is included from the perspective of trial lawyers, who represent the victims of medical negligence. Doctors say they have to practice "defensive medicine" due to the threat of medical malpractice lawsuits; but in my opinion, either you need the test or you don't. If the standard of care requires the medical test, then the medical test should get done. If the standard of care does not require it, then there is no negligence and no concern over a medical malpractice suit. Lawyers who represent the victims of medical mistakes and errors in North Carolina already have rigorous pre-suit requirements for having doctors review the care involved, so that before a medical lawsuit is filed, that doctor has already determined that the standard of care was not met. This is clearly a highly political issue, and not easily decipherable by the general public. It will be interesting to see what the President does with this. So far, North Carolina has avoided any significant medical negligence or other tort reform such as caps on pain and suffering damages. Regardless, if you have been the victim of a surgery error, failure to diagnose type error, serious infection (MRSA, etc.) caused by the negligence of health care providers, you may wish to consult with an attorney in order to determine whether you have the grounds for taking legal action. Read more at my Medical Malpractice page on my website. My office generally provides free consultations and evaluations for North Carolina medical malpractice claims. The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC. Toll Free 888.435.7156.

Where Have All The Doctor's Gone? Medical Malpractice Concerns Are Not The Culprit

This is an interesting Slate article dealing with the causes of doctors and physicians migrating. The tort reform mantra is that doctors leave certain states because of medical negligence lawsuit abuse and the effect of medical malpractice cases on their malpractice liability insurance premiums. There is another possibility, though: doctors are retirning. The demographics of doctors from the baby-boom generation are coming home to roost, apparently.

More on the Medical Malpractice Myth: Lawsuits Are Not the Problem -- Preventable Medical Negligence Is

By Thomas Waitt Pleasant, North Carolina Injury, Wrongful Death and Insurance Attorney. I recently read an interesting article in in the Canadian Medical Association Journal online, which discussed the "medical malpractice myth" in America. The article talks about a study from several years ago by the Institute of Medicine of the Academy of Sciences. This landmark study, concluded that 98,000 people die each year due to medical errors. This is more than all automobile/car accidents and workplace accidents in the United States combined. Other sources estimate the number of deaths from medical mistakes at about double that amount (See Healthgrades.com). The Medical Association Journal article also points out the myth that frivilous lawsuits are commonplace against doctors, hospitals, nursees and other healthcare providers. The number of lawsuits against hospitals, doctors and other medical care providers has not only remained flat for a long period of time (15 years), but in many cases has decreased (based on population and economic growth). If you want to know what's costing taxpayers money and clogging the court systems, look to corporate america -- our corporate bohemoths clash in our nation's courts much more frequently than do victims of medical malpractice and their alleged wrongdoers. And, these business disputes are often extremely legally complex problems, requiring judicial resources far exceeding those required to dispose of the average medical or nursing home injury or wrongful death case. This is all very eye opening, and igt appears we have an epidemic of medical mistakes and errors in this country. People should beware as politicians and business groups call for the kind of medical malpractice or "tort" reform here in North Carolina. The jury trial is the critical leveling field for the victims and families of wrongful death and injury, and Americans are too quick to listen to the calls for limiting this right, calls that come from business interests that are not truly aligned with the good of the whole in mind. Thomas Waitt Pleasant, North Carolina Medical Negligence, Nursing Home, and Insurance Lawyer, Toll Free 888.435.7156. Office locations in Raleigh, Wilmington and Fayetteville.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: whether the result of delivery room medical error, car wrecks, or another type of accident, these injuries require a unique approach

The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC - Toll Free: 888-HELP-156 - “Mild Traumatic Brain Injury” can occur when, essentially, a person’s brain is “shaken” inside the skull, and the brain tissue is affected by its impact within the skull. Our brains are naturally capable of this kind of movement within our skulls. So if someone is in an automobile accident, for example, a car might keep moving, but when the body stops, the brain itself might continue moving inside the skull, impacting the inside of the skull and causing injury. The same thing happens with the injury an infant gets from “shaken baby syndrome.” Conceivably, traumatic brain disorder can occur during a traumatic birth in the hospital delivery room.

The science of this kind of brain damage is complex, particularly considering the tests neurophysiologists use to determine and quantify the existence and nature of such injury. But, despite the complexity of the science of mild traumatic brain injury, cases involving such injuries ultimately boil down to the testimony of friends, family, former employers, and other possible “lay witnesses” who can testify as to the often dramatic change that occurs in life of the injured victim. Despite that mild traumatic brain injury is a more subtle diagnosis from a medical standpoint, its impact can be huge, and in some cases, lasting. Sometimes people with this kind of brain damage don’t recognize it; and many lawyers don’t recognize it, either.

Click on the title of this article to link to a website on traumatic brain injury.

If you have been hurt, whether in a car wreck, truck accident, fall, by a doctor or hospital’s error, look for these signs: transient confusion, disorientation or impaired consciousness; dysfunction of memory around time of injury; and loss of consciousness for less than 30 minutes. Also, looking practically at the changes in one’s life can be evidence, such as personality changes, newly-developed difficulty in doing organizational/executive type work, etc. If your head has been hurt in an accident, you can contact my law office for a free consultation. If you are outside the Fayetteville area, we can meet with clients in our Raleigh or Wilmington offices as well. In some cases, I will travel to your home to discuss your legal case, and whether a lawsuit is appropriate. We can do an initial legal evaluation of your injuries and get you pointed in the right direction.

Jury awards $19.6M to injured baby and mother for injuries during delivery

The title to this blog will take the reader to a story in Newsday online about this recent medical negligence verdict. Cesaerean sections are apparently so common and have been virtually perfected in todays medicine; it is amazing that physicians sometimes ignore the necessity to move forward with performing one in order to avoid this kind of devastating injury. While the verdict amount seems extremely high at first glance, considering what it will take to care for this child, who now suffers from debilitating cerebral palsy, such a verdict is not unreasonable. The high cost of medical care warrants large economic damages in medical malpractice birth injury cases like this. If your child suffered any kind of birth injury or other medical injury during delivery or otherwise, consider having an attorney review your case; particularly if you are struggling financially to give care for the resulting injuries. You may be entitled to compensation. Many cases do not warrant taking legal action, but I can help you make the determination whether legal action is warranted. You can contact my office by calling Toll Free, 888-435-7156. We can arrange to meet for a free consultation in any of our three North Carolina law offices (Fayetteville, Raleigh or Wilmington). 

Medical Malpractice: More Heparin drug mistakes and overdoses at hospital

The title link will take you to a Wall  street Journal article about the recent Heparin drug overdoses, which were  similar to the Quaid twins' situation;  although with a more tragic result.  Two twins died as a result of the medical /medication error in the most recently reported  case. Hospitals must be vigilant when administering drugs, especially now that the labeling issues associated with Heparin are now well-known. These recent cases seem to be clear cases of careless medicine. It will be interesting  to see whether the hospital will take full responsibility and compensate these familiesfairly; but, more importantly, importantly, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, the hospital will do  to prevent tragedies like this from recurring. this seems to be a case where the threat of legal action will likely motivate some much-needed safety reforms so that medical negligence, mistakes and malpractice can be avoided. If you have experienced a drug or other medical error, feel free to contact my office for help.  Remember, not all bad medical outcomes are the result of medical malpractice; but we can help you sort out your case and make that determination. You can reach my office Toll free at 888-435-7156. If necessary, we can meet prospective clients in Fayetteville, Raleigh or Wilmington North Carolina.

Birth Injury: Erb's Palsy / Brachial Plexus From Medical Malpractice

Having a baby should be a joyous occasion. In some cases, though, a baby’s birth is instead traumatic. Many things can go wrong during pregnancy, labor and/or delivery; but in some cases medical neglect and unreasonable, inexcusable mistakes occur. 

Problems with a child’s birth can take many forms. One type of birth injury is injury to the “brachial plexus” of the baby. In a nutshell, the brachial plexus is a grouping of nerves. This kind of injury may have been caused by what is commonly called “shoulder dystocia.” Simply put, Should Dystocia occurs when a baby’s shoulder, during delivery, gets caught on the mother’s pelvis. This creates a difficult situation in terms of getting the baby out without injury, and can often lead to the delivering doctor, midwife or nurse using excessive traction to “pull” the baby out. If careful planning and preparation have not been done, Shoulder Dystocia can lead to panic and serious injury to the brachial plexus, which is a group of nerves that control various aspects of the baby’s arm and hands. The injury to the brachial plexus can cause several different types of “palsy” including “Erb’s Palsy.” In many cases, brachial plexus injuries resolve themselves early and the child has no permanent or serious injury. In some cases, though, the actions of the doctor or others on the labor and delivery team are careless, and the resulting injury is permanent and serious; making a legal claim for negligent medical mistakes a possibility.

If your baby’s arm appears to have been hurt during delivery at a hospital, there is help. Although all medical mistakes do not rise to the level of “medical malpractice,” I can help you evaluate whether the injury or death of your baby resulted from medical malpractice.

The families of children injured at birth have to deal with huge hardships: financial, physical, and emotional. Some children, as a result of their birth injuries, need intensive care, even for a lifetime, in some cases. If your child was injured during labor or delivery in a North Carolina hospital, contact The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, Toll Free at 888-HELP-156 for a free consultation. There is no risk or obligation, and we can assist you in determining the appropriate course of action. We are able to talk with clients by phone, and also are able to meet with clients in our Raleigh, Wilmington and Fayetteville North Carolina offices.

 

New Fetal Monitoring Standards: Relevant to Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Cases

Fetal monitoring is a critical part of any birth injury medical malpractice case. When a baby has been hurt or killed during labor or birth, a review of the fetal monitoring records is critical. Standards change as medicine evolves, of course. You can read the latest research guidelines for electronic fetal monitoring published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, at http://www.greenjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/112/3/661. The updates and revisions to the 1997 consensus guidelines have been adopted by ACOG, AWHONN, RCOG, and SOGC. Note that there are new definitions for assessing contractions and uterine activity. Hospitals should be adopting these revised guidelines  You should assume that these revised guidelines will slowly be adopted by hospitals and professional organizations.

 

If you have a possible claim against a doctor, nurse, hospital or other healthcare provider for a medical mistake, error or medical malpractice – anywhere in North Carolina – contact my office for a free consultation.  We can arrange to meet you anywhere in North Carolina, including our Raleigh, Fayetteville and Wilmington locations. Let an attorney consider your case and advise you to help you determine whether you actually have a legal claim with merit. http://www.pleasantlaw.com/practice_areas/medical-negligence-mistakes-and-malpractice.cfm

Cost of Medical Care for Injured, But Surviving, Victims of Medical Negligence

By North Carolina Injury and Wrongful Death Attorney Thomas Pleasant. A $25 Million jury award in the northeast reflects why, in some cases, economic damages can be extremely high. http://www.nj.com/timesoftrenton/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1225425982210880.xml&coll=5 ).  This medical malpractice failure to diagnose case involved brain damage injuries resulting from the failure to diagnose a brain aneurysm, which ended up not killing the patient, but impairing his brain function severely. Caring for a severely brain-injured person can involve astronomical medical expenses, and the jury’s verdict, no doubt, reflected the amount shown to be necessary to care for this victim of medical negligence. In cases such as these, generally a “life care planner” will testify as to the injured victim’s future medical care and expense needs. This particular medical malpractice victim will, for one thing, require 24-hour a day skilled nursing home care. As I have mentioned in other blog entries (see my "Personal Injury and Wrongful Death" blog at http://www.pleasantlaw.com/blog/?catid=564, attorneys handling medical negligence and mistake cases against doctors, hospitals, nurses, and other healthcare providers understand why verdicts can be so high; unfortunately, many people misunderstand and fall into the hands of those arguing for “tort reform.”  The jury obviously understood why so much money was necessary in this case in order to make up for the harms and losses of this injured victim. Many people mistakenly think that juries are more likely to include large amounts of money in their verdicts when someone has been wrongfully killed by medical mistakes or negligence (a “wrongful death” lawsuit”); but the reality is that the amount of money for harms and losses for an injured, but surviving, victim is often more. Again, this is due to the high cost of future medical expenses and care. If you have questions about a North Carolina wrongful death or injury case or lawsuit, whether related to medical care or nursing home care in North Carolina, contact my office for a free consultation. We will come to you, no matter where you are in North Carolina, in the appropriate cases. We also offer consultations in our Fayetteville, Wilmington, and Raleigh North Carolina Sattellite locations. For more information, please visit:

http://www.pleasantlaw.com/

 

http://www.pleasantlaw.com/practice_areas/medical-negligence-mistakes-and-malpractice.cfm

 

http://www.pleasantlaw.com/practice_areas/nursing-home-abuse-neglect1.cfm