Medical Malpractice Attorney In Seattle - How to prove malpractice

Grieving Mother Sues Seattle Children's Hospital for the Wrongful Death of her Son

New Report on Contingent Fees In Medical Malpractice Litigation - Seattle Attorney

Learn more.  See this report: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2135575/medical-negligence-case-reports

Medical Malpractice: Leaving Surgical Sponge or Other Foreign Objects In Patients

I recently ran across a study published in 2003 by The New England Journal of Medicine which found that approximately 4,000 sponges are accidentally left inside patients every year. In at least 88 percent of these cases, the medical staff had falsely recorded a correct sponge count after surgery. This means in the majority of cases a sponge is left inside a surgical patient because a nurse makes an error in counting the sponges.  How hard is it to keep a written tally of the sponges used in a surgical procedure.  I realize that mistakes do occur, but 4000 sponges.... each year??!! 

The New England Journal study, focusing on 54 patients who filed claims for a medical malpractice claim, found that 69 percent of the foreign objects left behind after surgery were sponges and 31 percent were medical instruments. At least thirty-seven (37) of those patients required corrective surgery and one died.

The situation has become so dire that there are medical-equipment companies who have now invented sponges with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags in them to closely track their whereabouts. Boy, I can think of a better and cheaper way to prevent these medical errors - correctly count all sponges, towels, and surgical equipment before and after the procedure.

In one case that I'm handling, a woman had a surgical sponge inside her abdomen for more than two years.  She kept going back to the doctor with complaints of back pain, incontinence, and stomach pain.  The doctors kept telling her that this was a part of her recovery and that she may always have some minor discomfort.  The problem was that her initial surgery was a hysterectomy, and this procedure does not create permanent back pain.  Then my client went to see a chiropractor for her back pain.  The chiropractor took an x-ray and noted a large mass.  The client was referred out for a CT scan, which confirmed this mass.  Finally, a radiologist determined the mass was a foreign object.  By this time more than 2 years had elapsed.  The sponge had actually been partly absorbed by the client's intestines, necessitating emergency surgery to remove it. 

Hospital association changes position on reporting medical errors

Medical Mistakes And Children

In a detailed study that was release today in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics magazine; researchers found a rate of 11 drug-related harmful events for every 100 hospitalized children. That compares with an earlier estimate of two per 100 hospitalized children, based on traditional detection methods. The rate reflects the fact that some children experienced more than one drug treatment mistake.  The new data translates to 7.3% of hospitalized children, or about 540,000 kids each year, a calculation based on government data.

The study involved a review of randomly selected medical charts for 960 children treated at 12 freestanding children's hospitals nationwide in 2002.   Researchers found that simply relying on hospital staffers to report such problems had found less than 4% of the problems detected in the new study.  The researchers also said their findings highlight the need for "aggressive, evidence-based prevention strategies to decrease the substantial risk for medication-related harm to our pediatric inpatient population."

Addicted doctors still treat patients

A woman who says she had to forgo cancer treatment because of botched surgery by a California doctor says she was never made aware the doctor was being treated for alcoholism and had been convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol.

See the CNN story: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/31/kaye.addicteddoctors/index.html

For more information, articles, news, statistics and more on medical malpractice and medical mistakes you can visit our Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Illness, & Hospital Injuries page.

Local Doctors Admit To Illegally Obtaining Painkillers - Is Drug Abuse Linked To Some Medical Mistakes?

Two local doctors have admitted they took prescription drugs illegally.  Dr. Lawrence Parris of Bothell has admitted that he took Demerol from his clinic and made it look like it was for patients.  While Dr. Lawrence Gogenola of Bellevue admitted he wrote Oxycodone prescriptions for someone who was not one of his patients.  Their cases are unrelated but each doctor faces up to a year in prison, and a $100-thousand dollar fine.

Being a personal injury attorney, I cannot help but wonder if drug abuse among doctors could be behind some cases of medical mistakes and errors. 

Medical Mistakes What Ever Happended To "Do No Harm"?

Every doctor makes the promise to “do no harm.”   But doctors, nurses, physicians’ assistants, nursing homes, and hospitals do make mistakes. And a shocking report from the Institute of Medicine shows medical mistakes are a common occurrence and pose potentially life-threatening risks for patients. If medical mistakes were counted among the leading causes of death in America, they would be eighth on the list.

Read the full article Medical Mistakes What Ever Happended To "Do No Harm"? and see other related information in our firm library.