Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Illness, & Hospital Injuries

Each year, Seattle-area hospital patients suffer from medical mistakes which results in serious injuries. Nationally, a Harvard Medical Practice Study estimates that, each year, more than 180,000 people die because of medical mistakes. Public Citizen, non-profit organization which advocates the rights of consumers, estimates that, each year, 1.3 million injuries are caused by negligence, and that more than two-thirds of these injuries are preventable.

Malpractice is the failure of a medical professional (doctor, a nurse, a medical technician) or a medical facility to provide a minimum standard of care in the areas in which the medical professional or medical facility specializes. A medical facility may be a hospital (such as Swedish Medical Center, Group Health Co-operative, Virginia Mason Hospital, Harbor View Medical Center, Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center), birthing center (such as Puget Sound Birthing Center, Community Birthing Center), nursing home, or clinic. If the medical attention fails to meet the standard of good medical practice and harm results to a patient, the medical professional or medical facility may be liable for any resulting damages.

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Recognized For Medical Malpractice Experience And Innovation In Washington State

Seattle attorney Chris Davis has been recognized by his peers as a very experienced and successful personal injury and accident attorney.  He has been named a "Rising Star Attorney" and a "Super Lawyer" by other experienced lawyers in the field of personal injury law and medical malpractice.  Mr. Davis has successfully recovered dozens of settlements and jury verdicts at great odds and by sheer perseverence and work ethic.  Many times Mr. Davis has recovered jury verdicts that are greater than 8 or 10 times the amount of the insurance company's last or "final" offer before trial.  Insurance companies are very aware of Mr. Davis' success in the courtroom, and as a result will usually offer him a premium settlement offer to avoid trial.  You can count on Mr. Davis to recover the highest settlement offer the insurance company is prepared to give before trial.

Library for Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Illness, & Hospital Injuries:

• Medical Mistakes: What ever happened to "do no harm"?   
  Description: 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.
• Patients score Washington state's hospitals   
  Description: The ratings were based on surveys of patients admitted to hospitals between October 2006 and June 2007. The results, which come from new, uniform questionnaires required by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, have been publicly available since March 28. The Washington State Hospital Association repackaged the data to make them easier to use.
• Some Northwest hospitals rank high for patient safety   
  Description: Each year, medical errors cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars. Some hospitals are doing better than others at preventing mistakes. Of the nearly 5,000 hospitals in a study looking at patient safety, 249 of them landed in the top 5 percent, and nine of them are in Washington State.
• ARTICLE: 'It's never just one thing' that leads to serious error   
  Description: The mistake calls attention to how far hospitals have to go in preventing medical errors and in learning from the mistakes of others, even though many have made progress in protecting patients within their own institutions.
• ARTICLE: Study Finds Doctors Not Reporting Medical Mistakes   
  Description: Almost two-thirds of doctors say they are willing to report medical errors, but many of them just don't do it, a new study finds.
• ARTICLE: Human toll from medical mistakes - State tallies incidents disclosed by hospitals   
  Description: The report looks only at the very worst medical errors, in which clear-cut mistakes caused serious injury or death to hospital patients.
• ARTICLE: Preventing Medical Mistakes   
  Description: The Institute of Medicine estimates that 98,000 U.S. patients die each year in health care settings due to medical mistakes; others estimate the numbers may be as high as 145,000.
• ARTICLE: Medicare, Medicaid not paying for medical mistakes   
  Description: As of October 2008, Medicare and Medicaid will no longer pay for medical mistakes and conditions patients acquire in hospitals, like infections.
• ARTICLE: Physicians Want to Learn from Medical Mistakes   
  Description: The perception that U.S. doctors are unwilling to report medical errors and learn how to prevent them is untrue, according to a new study funded by HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
• ARTICLE: Study: Doctors Not Reporting All Medical Errors   
  Description: Researchers from the University of Iowa concluded that medical practitioners fail to report all medical mistakes, with the number being much lower considering the number of instances physicians think should be made known.
• ARTICLE: Medical Mistakes   
  Description: At least 44,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors and "near misses" in doctors' offices, hospitals and pharmacies.
• ARTICLE: The Real Cost of Medical Mistakes   
  Description: Mistakes by health care providers have a tremendous impact on insurance premiums, absentee rates, and workers' comp costs. With one-third of all premium dollars wasted paying for medical errors, employers are joining forces.
• ARTICLE: Mitigating medical mistakes   
  Description: Health care organizations are calling for immediate action to make health delivery safer in light of a recent revelation that medical errors kill 98,000 U.S. citizens each year.
• ARTICLE: ENT docs admit to medical mistakes   
  Description: A physician-led survey indicates that nearly half of ear, nose and throat specialists have made a recent medical mistake or are aware of one firsthand.
• ARTICLE: Report: Medical mistakes kill thousands each year   
  Description: Medical mistakes kill anywhere from 44,000 to 98,000 hospitalized Americans a year, says a new report that calls the errors stunning and demands major changes in the nation's health- care system to protect patients.
• ARTICLE: New Medical Protocol Aimed at Eliminating Surgical Mistakes   
  Description: An estimated 98,000 Americans lose their lives because of medical mistakes each year.
• FACTS & FIGURES: Medical Malpractice Statistics   
• FACTS & FIGURES: Emergency Room Statistics   
• FACTS & FIGURES: Medical malpractice statistics for Surgical errors/complications   
  Description: General medical malpractice statistics related to surgery malpractice. Medical malpractice lawsuit payment statistics for surgery malpractice. Medical malpractice lawsuit payment statistics for surgery malpractice. Medical malpractice lawsuit payment statistics for surgery malpractice and nurses.
• ARTICLE: What the state didn't know about doctor, malpractice suit   
  Description: Since 2001, Dr. James H. Greene has been accused in two lawsuits of negligence that resulted in extreme injury or death. In both cases, Greene's employer, Group Health Cooperative, paid significant settlements to the patients' families — one for $5.5 million, the other for $800,000.
• ARTICLE: Life-or-death question, but debate was hidden for years   
  Description: Five years ago in King County, an important and novel question loomed over a wrongful-death lawsuit against Virginia Mason Medical Center.
• ARTICLE: Woman's coma leads to secrecy, silence   
  Description: A diabetic woman, lay in comatose her blood and brain in desperate need of sugar. But the medical device she'd just received instead kept pumping insulin into her body, pumping and pumping, starving her brain and making it more unlikely she would ever wake up.
• ARTICLE: What the state didn't know about doctor, malpractice suit   
  Description: A lawsuit involving a Group Health doctor was improperly sealed by a King County judge. Settled for $5.5 million, the case shows up in a database used by lawyers, but only as Confidential v. Confidential. Also termed "confidential": names of county, defense lawyers, medical experts.
• ARTICLE: Department of Justice finds "life-threatening" medical problems at King County Jail   
  Description: The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a sweeping condemnation of the operation of the downtown King County Jail, saying inmates' civil rights are being routinely violated through physical and sexual abuse by staff and inadequate medical care.
• ARTICLE: Public disclosure for hospitals, too   
  Description: The Washington State Hospital Association has backed off efforts to hide hospital mistakes from public disclosure.
• REPORT ABSTRACT: Highlights Recent Developments Related To Medical Malpractice   
  Description: Washington state: A state malpractice law enacted last year prevents public disclosure of reports of medical errors by individual hospitals, according to a legal opinion sent last week by the state Office of the Attorney General to the state Department of Health, the Seattle Times reports. The department has collected and made public reports of certain "adverse events or incidents" by individual hospitals since 2000. However, the Washington State Hospital Association recently asked the department to end public disclosure of the reports on the grounds that the law prohibited the practice. The department agreed to the request, provided that the office concurred in a legal opinion of the association (Ostrom, Seattle Times, 10/30).
• ARTICLE: Ex-inmate sues state over disfigurement   
  Description: Manning is suing the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and the head prison doctor who Manning says misdiagnosed his disease, a physician who is now practicing in Aberdeen and presents himself as an expert in infectious diseases. Amid the dozens of lawsuits filed by inmates each year, Manning's case, filed in federal court in Tacoma, stands out for its extreme nature.

Frequent Questions for Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Illness, & Hospital Injuries:

• What is medical malpractice?
• What are some examples of medical malpractice?
• How common is medical malpractice?

• Who can file a medical malpractice claim?

• Who can be sued for medical malpractice?

• What do I have to prove in my medical malpractice case?

• What damages can I recover through a medical malpractice lawsuit?

• What should I do if I feel I might have a medical malpractice case?

Case Results for Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Illness, & Hospital Injuries:

• $100,000 for Fall at Hospital - $100,000 Settlement
• $700,000 Settlement for Infant Burned by Hospital - $700,000 Settlement
• $125,000 Settlement for Hospital Fall - $125,000 Settlement

Web Resources for Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Illness, & Hospital Injuries:

• Agency For Healthcare Research & Quality

  Description: The very critical issues of medical errors and patient safety have received a great deal of attention. In November 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report estimating that as many as 98,000 patients die as the result of medical errors in hospitals each year.

• Association of State Medical Board Executive Directors- Online index to Medical Disciplinary Boards

  Description: The only online physician directory of its kind that combines public online physician database in the nation that has its direct source of data from state government licensing boards and that also remains free of charge to the public.

• American Board of Certified Medical Specialists

  Description: The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), a not-for-profit organization, assists 24 approved medical specialty boards in the development and use of standards in the ongoing evaluation and certification of physicians.

• Institute For Safe Medical Practices

  Description: The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP),is the nation’s only nonprofit organization devoted entirely to medication error prevention and safe medication use.

• The National Patient Safety Foundation

  Description: The National Patient Safety Foundation is an organization that has been diligently pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997 – to improve the safety of patients.

• The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP)

  Description: The mission of the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) is to maximize the safe use of medications and to increase awareness of medication errors through open communication, increased reporting and promotion of medication error prevention strategies.

• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

  Description: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is committed to improving patient safety through its accreditation process.

• Medical Errors & Patient Safety

  Description: Selected resources on patient safety, medical mistakes and errors that put the patient at risk. From Duke University Medical Center Library

• Anesthesia Patient Afety Foundation

  Description: The APSF's Mission is to improve continually the safety of patients during anesthesia care by encouraging and conducting: safety research and education; patient safety programs and campaigns; national and international exchange of information and ideas.

• FDA Patient Safety News

  Description: A televised series for health care personnel, carried on satellite broadcast networks aimed at hospitals and other medical facilities across the country. It features information on new drugs, biologics and medical devices, on FDA safety notifications and product recalls, and on ways to protect patients when using medical products. A free monthly podcast is available.

• The Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center

  Description: The Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center is a joint project of the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the Department of Anesthesiology at Duke University. The lab is committed to advancing the state-of-the-art in medical education and educational technologies.

• Institute for Healthcare Improvement

  Description: A collection of content IHI evaluated — including change concepts, measures, resources, improvement stories, and downloadable tools — to help you improve patient safety in your organization.

• Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety

  Description: This website ids designed to serve as a central repository of resources and information related to all all aspects of patient safety.

• The Anesthesia Awareness Registry

  Description: When patients can recall events or sensations from their surgeries, even though they were supposed to be asleep at the time, this is called “awareness during general anesthesia”.

• Washington State Hospital Association

  Description: The Washington State Hospital Association is a membership organization representing community hospitals and several health-related organizations.

• Virginia Mason Medical Center
• University of Washington Medical Center
• Swedish Health Services
• Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
• Providence Health & Services
• Northwest Hospital & Medical Center
• Harborview Medical Center
• Group Health Cooperative
• Community Health Plan of Washington
• Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center
• Washington State Hospital Association - Hospital Quality Meaures

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