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Tag: Medical Negligence

Jury Finds For Plaintiff Following 90% Loss Of Kidney Function

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

What is the role of a urology expert witness? Urologists are M.D.s who complete a five-year postgraduate residency in urology. After passing their board examination, they are certified by the American Board of Urology. Urology expert witnesses provide informed and unbiased reports and testimony in cases alleging medical negligence. Allegations may include failure to diagnose and/or treat various urological conditions.

Healthline.com explains that the “urinary tract is the system that creates, stores, and removes urine from the body. Urologists can treat any part of this system. This includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra, and adrenal glands.” Errors in urology surgery may lead to incontinence, sexual dysfunction, sterility or death. Errors in postsurgical care can result in internal bleeding, serious infections, and necrosis.

UrologyTimes.com reports on a case in which a patient brought a malpractice suit against his treating urologist. The patient alleged that the urologist failed to diagnose a ureteropelvic junction obstruction. By the time a second urologist ordered a kidney function study that confirmed the blockage, the patient had lost 90% of the function of his left kidney. In court, the plaintiff’s medical expert witness opined that the patient’s left kidney demonstrated probable impairment at the time of the first and second exams by the urologist defendant.

The defense argued that the urologist was not informed of the patient’s care following the second appointment, and therefore, the urologist was absolved of the responsibility to monitor the patient’s kidney issues. However, the plaintiff’s expert witness testimony convinced the jury that the urologist’s negligence was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s loss of kidney function.

Securing the most qualified expert witness adds a powerful professional to your legal team. Elite Medical Experts is a physician-led firm that connects you with a professor of medicine at a leading university who also has a full-time clinical practice. Contact Elite Medical experts to find the strongest consultant for your case.

 

How Does Physician Burnout Affect Patients?

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

The American Medical Association strives to promote “the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.” Each year, the AMA reports on physician burnout, describing it as “a major issue that continues to affect doctors and cost the U.S. health care system.” This year, the AMA drew statistics from the Medscape survey National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2019. The recent survey found an overall physician burnout rate of 44% with 15% of the survey participants reporting depression. In 2018 the Medscape survey listed critical care, neurology, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine and emergency medicine at the top of the list. In 2019, the survey showed the highest percentage of physician burnout occurring among these specialties:

Urology: 54 percent.

Neurology: 53 percent.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation: 52 percent.

Internal medicine: 49 percent.

Emergency medicine: 48 percent.

Family medicine: 48 percent.

A recent paper by the Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Global Health Institute, has documented widespread physician burnout. ”Burnout is a syndrome involving one or more of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished sense of personal accomplishment.” How does clinician burnout affect patients? The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, MD, puts it this way:

Burnout can also threaten patient safety and care quality when depersonalization leads to poor interactions with patients and when burned-out physicians suffer from impaired attention, memory, and executive function. The threat to patient safety and medical care quality has reached the level of a public health crisis.

Clinician burnout may result in medical care that does not meet the reasonable standard of care.  Contact Elite Medical Experts Strategy Team to secure a leading university expert hand-selected to fit the fact pattern in your medical malpractice case.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Scrutinized

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

Neonatology deals with the care and treatment of newborns during the first thirty days of life. The hospital-based specialty is practiced in the neonatal intensive care unit. These medical specialists treat ill newborns who require complex and specialized care. Neonatologists may also be present in the labor and delivery room preparing for the birth.

After the death of three infants in six weeks at Geisinger Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit in Danville, Pennsylvania, parents of baby Abel Cepeda filed a medical negligence lawsuit. Their six-day-old baby died from a bacterial infection. The lawsuit alleges that the medical center knew at the time that its neonatal intensive care unit was contaminated with the bacteria that infected several babies. Abel Cepeda was the third infant to die and five others were infected. Pseudomonas bacteria are common but can pose a health risk in fragile patients such as premature infants.

Geisinger Medical Center is a 594-bed hospital which serves as the primary hospital for the Danville-based Geisinger Health System, one of Pennsylvania’s largest health networks. In a press conference, Geisinger officials said they became aware of the presence of the bacteria in early August. Plaintiff’s attorney Matt Casey states that the contamination was concealed for two months. The bacterium was traced to equipment used to measure and administer donor breast milk. The milk itself was not the source of the deadly exposure.

The American Academy of Pediatrics describes the role of the expert witness in medical liability cases thus:

The role of the expert witness is often to establish standards of care applicable for the case at hand. The expert may also be asked to evaluate whether the factual testimony provided by other witnesses indicates any deviation from acceptable standards. When care has been deemed “substandard,” the expert witness may be asked to opine whether that deviation from the standard of care could have been the proximate cause of the patient’s alleged injury…

Because courts and juries depend on medical experts to make medical standards understandable, the testimony should be clear, coherent, and consistent with the standards applicable at the time of the incident.

Neonatologists are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine. The typical patient of the neonatologist is an ill newborn requiring complex, specialized care due to prematurity, low birth weight, congenital malformations, sepsis, birth injuries, etc. Elite Medical Experts covers the entire spectrum of neonatology litigation and consultation. Contact Elite Medical Experts to secure a neonatology expert from a leading university whose expertise is tailored to the needs of your case.

Cook County Jury Awards $101M In Birth Injury Case

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

A Cook County jury awarded $101M to mother Tequila Snow in a medical malpractice case against West Suburban Medical. Snow gave birth to a severely brain-damaged boy who is now five years old and cannot speak, walk or sit up on his own. Snow was admitted to West Suburban Medical Center in December 2014 because she hadn’t felt her baby move. This was confirmed during an ultrasound but was not reported to other medical professionals. Instead, there was a five-hour delay between the ultrasound and a doctor being told about results. By then, Gerald was born.  He was delivered limp, pale, not breathing and was resuscitated but suffered permanent brain damage.

Medical experts testified that a cesarean section would have prevented Gerald’s brain damage. The judge ruled that nurses and medical technicians ignored his condition.  Birth injuries involve a mistake made by someone on the medical staff during pregnancy and/or labor and delivery. According to birthinjuryguide.org, a birth injury lawsuit can help recover damages for:

Past, current, and future medical expenses

Healthcare costs associated with rehabilitation, therapy, counseling, and specialized medical equipment

Pain, suffering, and emotional distress

Lost wages due to providing care for the disabled child

Loss of enjoyment and companionship

Birth Injury Guide is a website staffed by a birth injury advocacy group based out of Houston, TX.

The most common claims against nurses allege failure to recognize or report high-risk situations. In medical negligence lawsuits alleging medical negligence against nurses, nursing expert witnesses analyze medical records and present an unbiased report to the court. Their testimony addresses standards of care in a number of medical situations in labor and delivery including abnormal vital signs and fetal monitoring. Contact Elite Medical Experts to speak with our in-house physicians and nurses who will analyze your case, develop case theory, and lead the expert search. These experts are hand-selected and tailored to the fact pattern in your case.

Urgent Care Misdiagnosis Results In Fatality

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

The family of Alabama’s Auburn University student Hope Johnson was awarded $9M in a medical malpractice case naming emergency medicine physician Dr. Zenon Bednarski and Dr. David Randall Willis, DO. Johnson died of a pulmonary embolism while under their care at Auburn Urgent Care. The 20-year-old student was prescribed hormonal birth control although her blood tests showed that she was at high risk for blood clots. Plaintiffs testified that Johnson’s gynecologist’s office incorrectly recorded lab results and prescribed birth control which put her at risk. About a month after being prescribed birth control, Johnson was admitted to Auburn Urgent Care in December of 2014.  She experienced shortness of breath, chest pain, headache, and a sore throat and was diagnosed with bronchitis. She received an antibiotic.

The following day, Johnson had severe shortness of breath and her chest pain worsened. The urgent care clinic did not physically examine her but diagnosed her with high white blood cell count and shortness of breath. She was given an inhaler for her symptoms. Plaintiff’s attorney described the urgent care facility as having approximately ninety patients and one physician on duty at the time. Johnson died December 4, 2014, of “massive pulmonary emboli.”

Johnson’s doctors did not take into account that her mother had a history of multiple clots and a pulmonary embolism while pregnant. According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, “birth control pills are the leading method of birth control (contraception) in the United States. Although they do not cause blood clots, most birth control pills do increase a woman’s chance of developing a blood clot by about three to four times.”

Emergency medicine physicians treat many life-threatening medical conditions. Litigation in emergency medicine may involve allegations of missed or delayed diagnoses of acute conditions. From the treatment of common medical ailments to life-threatening conditions, Elite Medical Experts will provide you with the medical expert best suited to the fact pattern in your case.

Jury Awards $299.6M In Obstetrics Case

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

Baltimore City Circuit Court judge Audrey S. Carrion denied Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center’s motion for a new trial after a jury awarded a record $299.6M judgment against the hospital in July 2019. Plaintiff Erica Byrom filed a medical malpractice case alleging that medical staff at the hospital gave her inaccurate information about her unborn baby in 2014. Attorneys for the plaintiff argued that the wrong information from doctors influenced Byrom’s decision to not deliver via C-section.  She was told that she could terminate the pregnancy due to the baby’s poor medical condition and medical staff stopped monitoring the baby.  Byrom’s daughter was born alive but suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen during delivery and suffers from spastic cerebral palsy. She requires skilled nursing care sixteen hours a day.

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center filed a motion for a new trial which Judge Carrion denied.  The judge reduced the $25M pain and suffering award to fall in line with the state’s limit on non-economic damages. While that part of the award was lowered to $740K, the rest of the $205.38M verdict stands.

Hospitals and their obstetric staff are often named in cases alleging a breach of medical care following a poor fetal outcome. Medical negligence allegations include failure to properly monitor the patient and fetus, failure to recognize signs of fetal distress, failure to perform delivery in a timely fashion, and failure to convert to a C-section section to avoid undue fetal distress.

An experienced board-certified obstetrics expert from a top university medical center is an invaluable resource in complex medical negligence litigation. Secure a hand-selected obstetrics expert witness by contacting Elite Medical Experts. A physician or nurse on Elite’s experienced Case Strategy Team will connect you with the medical expert best suited to the fact pattern in your case.

How Are Hospital Administrators Accountable?

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

How are hospital administrators accountable in medical negligence cases?  While physicians and nurses deliver healthcare directly to patients, the hospital’s leadership is responsible for implementing the policies and procedures that keep patients safe. In addition to state and federal regulatory compliance and patients’ rights, hospital administration is responsible for:

  • Physician credentialing
  • Medication and diagnostic errors
  • Medical/Surgical floor policies and procedures
  • Training, supervision, and oversight of physicians, nurses, employees, residents, and students

In a recent Eighth District Court of Nevada-Clark County case, Summerlin Hospital patient Elisa Sales sued the hospital after an internal pacemaker and defibrillator replacement resulted in the loss of oxygen to her brain for nine minutes. Plaintiffs stated that she now has the mental capacity of a five-year-old.  Sales suffered a severe drop in blood pressure followed by cardiac arrest during the procedure. Plaintiff’s attorney argued that her blood pressure dropped because of 1) being given too much of the sedative Propofol, and 2) doctors failed to begin CPR soon enough because the audible alarms on the vital sign monitors were turned off.

Plaintiff’s attorney argued that Summerlin Hospital is responsible both for the failure to adequately train its staff in emergency resuscitation and for failing to ensure the audible alarms on the vital sign monitors were turned on. He stated to the jury that Summerlin’s policies definitely show that CPR should have started sooner for Sales and explained that hospital guidelines are based on the patient’s vitals dropping below a certain threshold.

The defendant’s legal team argued that Summerlin Hospital’s treatment met the medical standard of care. Defendant’s attorney rejected the claim that Sales suffered a hypoxic brain injury due to lack of oxygen during the procedure and instead argued that years of heart disease and diabetes caused her condition.

Hospital administration litigation is complex. Securing an experienced hospital administration expert witness from a leading medical center will be an invaluable resource in your case.  Contact Elite Medical Experts and speak with a physician or nurse on Elite’s experienced Case Strategy Team today to be connected with the expert best suited to the fact pattern in your case.

Urology Standard Of Care

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

Urology deals with the medical treatment of diseases of the urinary tract. Urologists are M.D.s who complete five years of specialty training during a postgraduate residency in urology. Those who successfully pass their board examination are certified by the American Board of Urology. Allegations of medical negligence against urologists include failure to diagnose and/or treat various urological conditions.

Urologytimes.com reports on a case where a urologist was found to have departed from the standard of care in a surgical procedure. The plaintiff had problems with urinary frequency and difficulty emptying his bladder for three decades. He underwent two transurethral resections of the prostate which brought some relief and was taking a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor.

He was treated by a different urologist twenty years after the TURPs surgeries complaining of nocturia, frequency, and urgency. The doctor performed a GreenLight laser procedure which is used to relieve moderate to severe urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate. Robotic Oncology describes the procedure:

GreenLight™ Laser PVP is a recent addition to the minimally invasive techniques in the treatment of BPH. The procedure uses the technology of high-powered laser light combined with fiber optics to vaporize the overgrowth of prostate cells quickly and accurately.

Following his prostate laser surgery, the plaintiff experienced significant pain, bleeding, and complete urinary incontinence. A few months after the procedure, the plaintiff obtained his medical records and found that the GreenLight Laser PVP had been performed by a third-year resident and not the physician he had met with previously. The complaint alleges that the resident performed an unnecessary procedure and in addition, performed it negligently.

In urology medical negligence lawsuits, the court and jury are educated by urology expert witnesses regarding complex anatomy, pathology, and surgical procedures in order to understand the issues presented at trial. Elite Medical Experts is a physician-led firm providing experts from leading universities who have full-time clinical practices and board-certifications. Contact Elite Medical Experts today and speak to a case strategist to discuss the fact pattern in your case.

Accurate Diagnosis Of Heart Disease Is Critical

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

The family of Sarah Crayton will receive a $2.6M settlement in the medical malpractice case against the University of Chicago Medical Center and cardiologist Dr. Mardi Gomberg-Maitland.  Crayton died in 2014 after the cardiologist ordered a test which damaged her artery. She died days later from internal bleeding. Mardi Gomberg-Maitland, MD, MSc, is currently a Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Crayton had previously been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension as well as other medical conditions and was suffering from shortness of breath. Plaintiff’s lawyer told the jury that the test ordered by Dr. Gomberg-Maitland might not have been necessary and that doctors should have surgically repaired the damage immediately or inserted a stent to cover the hole.

After three days in the hospital, Crayton was discharged on July 11, 2014. She was found on the floor in her home the next day. According to the lawsuit, emergency room doctors found she was bleeding internally and inserted a stent that stopped the bleeding but it was too late to save her.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. Cardiologists diagnose and treat heart disease conditions that are often life-threatening, as well as performing invasive procedures on some of the very sickest patients.  In Top 5 Reasons Cardiologists Get Sued, MedpageToday lists number one as:

Failure to make a diagnosis, making the wrong diagnosis, or delaying a diagnosis (25%). Problems with diagnosis — failing to make one, making the wrong one, or taking too long to get to one — lead the list of reasons behind cardiology-related lawsuits, revealed closed claims data from a medical malpractice insurer.

An experienced board-certified cardiologist from a top university medical center is an invaluable resource in litigation alleging malpractice. Secure a hand-selected cardiology expert witness by contacting Elite Medical Experts and speaking with a physician or nurse on Elite’s experienced Case Strategy Team.