Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blawg

Just last week, a woman in Pennsylvania was awarded $500,000 in her medical malpractice lawsuit. The woman sued Lower Bucks Hospital, Dr. Richard Turner, and nurses Megan Blatcher and Laura Tedesco, for an incident stemming from 2004. The lawsuit claimed that the aforementioned medical professionals acted negligently by leaving a laparotomy sponge inside of the woman, after her cesarean section had been completed. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Lawyer, I understand these types of cases and how painful they can be for the victim. This poor woman experienced a variety of afflictions before doctors figured out what the problem was.

According to the complaint, the sponge was not discovered until two months after the cesarean section. The woman claimed to suffer from abdominal pains, a severe infection, bowel perforation, bowel obstruction and digestive problems. From the perspective of a Weston Injury Attorney, that is already a serious amount of trauma, however, the problems listed above were not the totality of her issues. She also had to undergo surgery to remove sixteen inches of her small bowel.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleged that the nurses failed to do a proper count of the medical equipment both during and after the surgery. As a result, the jury found the nurses and the hospital liable, but not the doctor. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Attorney, this isn't the first time I've heard about cases like this one, but that doesn't discount the severity of this type of negligence. In the most extreme cases, leaving a surgical instrument inside of a patient can have potentially fatal consequences. Fortunately, that wasn't the case with this incident, although the woman did suffer an unreasonable and unfair amount of pain.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston, FL medical malpractice. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Last week, a medical malpractice attorney won a $10 million award for a 60-year-old man because of an alleged misdiagnosis. Dr. Leo McCluskey was found negligent in diagnosing Eric Davenport with ALS, which is also commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. According to the lawsuit, Dr. McCluskey didn't perform tests and consult with radiologists before diagnosing his patient. Dr. McCluskey informed the patient that he had 18 months to three years to live, based on that incorrect diagnosis of ALS. From a Plantation Medical Malpractice Lawyer's perspective, this is horrifying to read, as I'm sure it is for everyone else.

As a result of the misdiagnosis, Mr. Davenport will be in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life, suffering from permanent leg paralysis. It wasn't until three years later than Mr. Davenport was properly diagnosed with spinal cord compression, at which point he had already made funeral arrangements. From a Plantation Medical Malpractice Lawyer's point of view, Mr. Davenport's emotional distress is best exemplified by the fact that he was already planning his own funeral.

Mr. Davenport's medical malpractice lawyer argued that if his client had been properly diagnosed by Dr. McCluskey, that the condition would have been treatable with surgery. Thus, had he been properly diagnosed, Mr. Davenport would have been able to avoid, among other things, the resulting emotional distress and paralysis. As a Plantation Personal Injury Attorney, it is not difficult to see the connection between the misdiagnosis and the lifelong ailments that resulted.

The misdiagnosis was in effect a breach of the standard of care that is expected of a medical professional. Further, because of the misdiagnosis, Mr. Davenport's actual condition was not treated, causing him to suffer from permanent leg paralysis. His damages were quite extensive, as evidenced by the jury's decision to award him $10 million.

As a Plantation Medical Malpractice Attorney, I sympathize with Mr. Davenport's pain and suffering. It is very regrettable that he was misdiagnosed and that he now must live the rest of his life in a wheelchair. However, it is somewhat reassuring to see that justice prevailed and that the jury recognized his ailments.

Recently, the family of Laboyish Catlin received a $3 million award in the wrongful death lawsuit that the family filed on behalf on Mr. Catlin. As a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Weston, the story of this case is very difficult to stomach and I greatly sympathize with the family. The man bled to death several days after his ulcer surgery and according to the allegations, Mr. Catlin bled to death because of the medical staff's negligent care. The medical malpractice lawsuit further alleges that even though Mr. Catlin received several blood transfusions after the surgery, that the doctors could not stop the bleeding. At the crux of the lawsuit, the family's personal injury lawyer claimed that the medical team failed to provide sufficient and proper follow-up care.

In these types of cases, the plaintiff's attorney needs to prove that the doctors and nurses were negligent with regards to their care of the patient. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Lawyer, I would have advised the family about expectations of care. Hypothetically speaking, I would have explained that one of the keys to winning this case is whether the medical provider fell below the prevailing standard of care in this or a like medical community. Based on the result of the case, it is fairly obvious that the family's personal injury lawyer successfully proved these elements to be true.

What makes this case more tragic is the wrongful death of Mr. Catlin. In the simplest terms, he was a patient who expected that his doctors and nurses would perform their jobs to the utmost of their abilities. However, as a result of their alleged negligence and their alleged failure to provide proper follow-up care, he suffered and ultimately died. The family's wrongful death attorney likely argued points similar to what I've mentioned and applied them to the specific facts of this case.

As a Weston Medical Malpractice Lawyer, and as someone who has fought for victims' families in many wrongful death lawsuits, I understand the severity of the situation, which is why I want wish Mr. Catlin's family peace and happiness going forward.

The family of Kiarra Smith was awarded $19.2 million by a Florida jury after she was allegedly overdosed on nutrients a few days after her birth. As a result of the incident, the little girl now suffers from cerebral palsy and is also blind. According to the lawsuit, there was a prescription mistake and the hospital gave her a dose 100 times more powerful than the prescription that the doctor had issued. The Florida medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the mistake with the medication caused Kiarra to go into cardiac arrest and suffer other severe injuries.

The damages that this poor child suffered are simply atrocious and heart-breaking. As a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Weston, I've mentioned before that there is nothing more devastating than when a child suffers serious injuries. Throughout my career as a Weston Injury Lawyer, I have represented many victims, but I can promise you that it never gets any easier to deal with catastrophic injuries.

If all of the facts are correct, then the negligence that the Lee Memorial Health System exhibited is a significant cause of action for this medical malpractice lawsuit. If the allegations are true, then the hospital seriously breached its duty of care, causing the damages and prompting the lawsuit. We trust our doctors and medical professionals everyday, but when they breach that trust, the damage can be catastrophic as evidenced by this case. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Attorney, I can certainly attest that the injuries suffered in these cases can be horrific, and the number one priority is seeking justice for those affected.

The Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer quite often fields inquiries from individuals who have fallen while receiving alleged care or treatment from a healthcare facility and have been injured, as a result thereof. Part of the analysis of whether the healthcare provider is liable not only involves and analysis of causation, and proximate cause, but also whether the potential lawsuit must be brought under Florida's strict Medical Malpractice Statues, or is the fall a result of simple negligence.

Recently Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals held that a negligence claim arising from patient's fall off stretcher at hospital is subject to medical malpractice pre-suit requirements. The case was styled, Indian River Memorial Hospital vs. Browne, cited at 44 So. 3d 237 (Fla. 4th DCA 9/29/2010).

The facts revealed that an emergency room patient fell of a stretcher and injured his head, leading to his death. The patient's estate filed a negligence claim against the hospital, alleging that the hospital violated a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent a fall given its knowledge of the patient's disoriented state. The hospital moved to dismiss the negligence claim for failure to comply with the medical malpractice pre-suit requirements contained in Chapter 766, Florida Statutes. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss, but the Fourth District reversed on appeal.

The Fourth DCA explained that the Chapter 766 presuit requirements apply to medical malpractice claims, which are those claims "arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, medical care or services." The Court stated that definition applied here, since the standard of care for the hospital's treatment of the patient was based in part on the hospital's staff's evaluation of his medical condition, and in part on the prevailing professional standard for supervising emergency room patients.

Continue reading "Patient Falls While In Hospital or Under Doctors' Care in Florida!" »

Recently the Florida Supreme Court decided the case of Jonathan Greenfield, M.D. vs. Dorothea Daniels, which dealt with a claim being brought on behalf of a minor who was alleged to have been the biological child of a decedent, but her mother was married to a different man at the time of the child's conception and birth. The Supreme Court of Florida ruled that the matter could be determined within the wrongful death action and didn't require a separate lawsuit to formally establish paternity. This was a 4th DCA case against Doctors Greenfield and Tenet, St. Mary's, Inc. d/b/a St. Mary's Medical Center.

The case arose from a lawsuit filed by the Estate of Shea Daniels, who had committed suicide in September, 2005. The lawsuit was brought by the mother as personal representative of his estate; which is required under the wrongful death statute in Florida. The lawsuit alleged that the late Mr. Daniels was negligently discharged by the Defendants without a proper discharge assessment, even though he was opined to have been suicidal by another physician.

Dr. Greenfield moved for a Partial Summary Judgment against the minor child alleging that since the minor's mother was married to someone other than the decedent when she was conceived and born, the mother's husband's paternal rights had been divested - and therefore she lacked standing as a statutory survivor.

While this case was decided in favor of the young plaintiff, it exemplifies the complicated nature of successfully plaintiffing a wrongful death case and in particular one involving medical malpractice.

Continue reading "Who Can Bring a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Personal Injury Lawsuit?" »

A recent research article published in The New York Times reflected that the latest information on tracking the hospital industry's efforts to make their facilities safer for patients are falling short. A study performed from 2002-2007 found that harm to patients occurs commonly; and that the number of incidents did not decrease over time.

The most typical were complications from procedures, or drug and hospital acquired infections. A previous study found that medical errors cause as many as 98,000 deaths and greater than one million injuries a year in the United States. A report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies was the forefront for a national movement to address the issues of hazards to patient's health while in the hospital. Some of the issues which were addressed were: severe bleeding during operative procedures, respiratory distress caused by incorrectly performing procedures, a fall that causes hip dislocation and nerve injury and even vaginal cuts caused by the vacuum device employed through child birthing.

This Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice injury attorney has learned of many such incidents and has in fact represented many victims and the families of victims who have suffered such injuries. Most recently, a 90 year old woman who was brought to a local Fort Lauderdale Hospital, with a history at her nursing facility of having fallen without explanation, was left unattended in the emergency room changing area after an examination. The unattended elderly patient fell, injuring her hip - which led to her early demise within weeks from complications thereof.

The problem continues to rise in our hospitals. Figures indicating some 18% of patients were harmed by medical care and that 63% of the injuries were judged to have been preventable. While governmental agency watchdogs can only do so much, it is this Weston personal injury attorney's opinion that more good comes from the efforts of the victim's personal injury claims against the Hospital and the fear of large jury awards against these hospitals than any letters of scorn from a governmental agency, or reports in news media.

Continue reading "A Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney's Reflection on Safety in Hospitals" »