Connecticut Medical Malpractice
Preventable medical mistakes harm 10 percent of hospital patients, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, in addition to the over 100,000 annual deaths because of the use of prescription drugs that the Journal of the American Medical Association has estimated occurs. In the United States, a study by the federal Institute of Medicine estimated in 1999 that 44,000 to 98,000 hospital deaths annually are caused by medical errors. Based on these figures, medical errors take the lives of more car accident, breast cancer or AIDS victims every year.
Despite the high number of medical mistakes that occur every year, a national resolution to resolve the high medical liability insurance premiums physicians are paying across the nation has been made a priority by President George W. Bush in his second term. Already, proposals to limit non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000 have passed the House and many Republicans will see if they have the three-fifths majority to pass the bills in the Senate. Medical malpractice caps have been fiercely opposed by consumer groups, attorney groups and victims of the most severe medical malpractice cases that believe caps allow medical mistakes to continue while further punishing the most brutally affected victims of medical malpractice.
- Hospital Mistakes
- Hospital Negligence
- Surgical Injuries
- Medical Negligence
- Elder Abuse
- Birth Injuries
- Medication Errors
- Wrongful Death
- Improper Medication
- Improper/Bad X-rays
- Blood Transfusions
- Failure to Diagnose
Hospital Mistakes
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced at the end of October 2004 that one in 10 hospital patients are victims of preventable medical mistakes. Announcing an initiative to create a “culture of safety” in health care, the WHO said improving patient safety in clinics and hospitals is the best way to protect advances made in health care. A 1999 federal Institute of Medicine study estimated 44,000 to 98,000 hospital deaths occur in the Unites States every year, taking the lives of more victims than car accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. The impact these hospital mistakes continue to leave despite the major technological advances made in medical science in industrialized countries like the United States is shocking to many people.
Hospital Negligence
Every year, tens of thousands of cases of hospital deaths occur because of malpractice and negligence. Malpractice can include both improper treatment of a patient and the absence of appropriate treatment to occur. The World Health Organization’s latest figures cite one in 10 hospital patients are victims of preventable medical mistakes, including 10 percent of hospital patients in the world’s industrialized countries suffering from medical mistakes that can lead to serious disability and even death. Some doctors and hospital staff recognizing a critical mistake or hospital negligence occurred will choose not to report their inappropriate treatment because of fear of repercussion.
Surgical Injuries
Surgical injuries can lead to serious disability and death. In January 2003, consumer advocates fired back at medical and insurance industries for claiming the malpractice crisis was the fault of America’s legal system instead of focusing on the tens of thousands of medical errors that include such surgical injuries as operating on the wrong part of the body. Between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths because of preventable medical errors in hospitals occur every year, according to a 1999 Institute of Medicine study. In a December 2002 survey of doctors and other adults released in the New England Journal of Medicine, more than a third of the doctors said they or their family members had experienced medical errors, most leading to serious health consequences.
Medical Negligence
Instead of blaming patients and attorneys for being “overly litigious,” consumer groups believe changing the environment medical staff works in can help reduce medical negligence. As the system currently stands, doctors or hospital staff that realize critical instances of medical negligence has occurred will sometimes fear their jobs, reputations and legal action and will allow it to go unreported. These instances of medical negligence can lead to serious and sometimes fatal results. One in 10 hospital patients are harmed by preventable medical mistakes, and Dr. Gary Null’s Death By Medicine study estimates the total annual of deaths caused by conventional medicine in the U.S. to be around 750,000.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can be extremely devastating, sometimes causing debilitating injuries for life. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that preventable medical mistakes harm one in 10 hospital patients. Medical errors can cause birth injuries that lead to serious and sometimes deadly effects. Medical mistakes do not discriminate, affecting patients of all ages, genders and ethnicity. The medical mistakes can affect people immediately, in the form of birth injuries, or later on in any stage of life. The ability to file birth injuries claims can help allow victims to recover monetary damages and better prevent future birth injuries cases from being suffered.
Medication Errors
Medication errors can occur in any medical environment at any stage of the medical treatment process. The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates 100,000 plus people die every year because of the use of prescription drugs. Many medication errors are easily preventable, the result of sloppy note taking, illegible handwriting, similar packaged drugs, and some patients are given too high or too low a dose, the wrong medication or not medication at all when it is necessary. Regardless of if the medication errors were the result of administration, tracking, prescribing, transcribing or dispensing the prescription, medication errors can be fatal, contributing to deaths of more lives taken from car accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.
Wrongful Death
More than half the states in the United States have so far passed legislation addressing medical malpractice, with many of the states placing caps on jury awards for pain and suffering. For victims of the most severe medical malpractice especially, including wrongful death, caps have further injured individuals and families most tragically affected by medical mistakes. One in every 10 hospital patients, according to the World Health Organization, is injured because of preventable medical mistakes. Though some margin of human error cannot be avoided, the medical errors taking lives and severely injuring patients impacts so many Americans every year that modern health care is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Improper Medication
In addition to the 100,000 plus people killed because of improper medication, the World Health Organization’s latest statistics indicate preventable medical mistakes harm 10 percent of hospital patients. The magnitude medical errors and improper medication mistakes has on the United States is better understood when realizing modern health care is the leading cause of death in this nation, taking the lives of more people than cancer. Improper medication errors can be the result of illegible doctor handwriting, sloppy note taking, confused drug names or any other error. The failure to implement a more up to date way of keeping medical records in time with technological advances has been in part blamed for easily preventable improper medication errors.
Improper/ Bad X-Rays
X-ray technology allows a doctor to see through human tissue so that broken bones, cavities, foreign objects and other things can be easily viewed. The use of a modified x-ray can allow doctors to view softer tissue. An extremely important diagnostic tool used to identify complications, improper/ bad x-rays can cause serious conditions to be overlooked. The inability to immediately identify problems and complications because of the improper/ bad x-rays will not allow treatment methods to instantly begin, thus worsening the condition that can sometimes lead to other complications.
Blood Transfusions
Blood transfusions are sometimes necessary for trauma victims, heart surgery, organ transplants and patients receiving treatment for cancer, leukemia or other diseases. In 2001, nearly 29 million units of blood components were transfused. When a blood transfusion is needed for the patient’s survival, the hospital will get a blood sample from the person who is going to receive the blood product to be typed and screened for proteins to match against the blood to be transfused. There have been cases where the blood product is not properly typed and screened or the wrong blood is transferred despite properly typed and screened samples. Improper blood transfusions can result in a transfusion reaction that can result in severe permanent injury and, in some cases, death.
Failure to Diagnose
A medical doctor or medical staff that fails to timely recognize, properly diagnose and appropriately treat a patient’s condition and/or complication may have committed a failure to diagnose, which is sometimes considered malpractice depending on the situation. Differing from performing medical mistakes, the failure to diagnose can also have serious and deadly results. It is often crucial that a disease or condition be identified and immediately treated in order to prevent it from quickly worsening and causing much greater problems. Failure to diagnose can mean the difference between wellness and serious complications and even death.
Russ Berkowitz was selected by a blue ribbon panel of attorneys
Danbury family awarded 6,000,000.00 in birth trauma case against hospital
$100,000.00 awarded in several motor vehicle cases
$6,100,000.00 settlement against a hospital and two physicians onbehalf of a client who sustained permanent paralysis
$4,000,000.00 medical malpractice verdict
$2,600,000.00 wrongful death verdict
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