Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Two nurses have been charged in another state after abuse was discovered in a nursing home. Reportedly, a patient suffered nursing home injury after the two nurses failed to properly care for the patient. While the incidents took place in another state, it is sadly a familiar tale in Maryland as well.

Both nurses have been charged with wanton neglect of a patient in a health care facility, abuse of a dependent adult and tampering with medical records. The treatment of the unnamed resident of the nursing home was documented in court records. The patient was said to have been denied basic physical care and the minimum amount of food needed for her to prosper.

Because of her weakened state from improper care and lack of food, and because of the neglect of the nurses, the patient reportedly suffered a fall. As a result of this fall, she had a head injury. It is alleged that she was then denied medical treatment, food or medications needed. The two nurses then falsified the records in order to hide what they had done, according to the report.

Most Maryland residents utilize the care of a hospital emergency room when the need is immediate and urgent. For Veterans, their local Veterans Affairs Hospital is where they are seen for routine check-ups, dental visits, prescription refills and urgent care. While these facilities are stationed across the nation to help meet the needs of those who have served their country, it appears that most of these centers are often lacking in properly trained staff and critical protocols that can save those in the most dire of circumstances. When patients suffer, hospital negligence can be claimed and lawsuits may be soon to follow.

One of many cases that have been reported to authorities about the neglect and lack of proper medical care at one of the VA centers involves a veteran who lives with diabetes and fell victim to poor circulation. With the hopes of getting the veins repaired in his leg and proper circulation restored, he checked into his local VA. When the man left the hospital, little did he know he would be returning in three short weeks.

Upon his return to the hospital, doctors realized the circulation was worse than before and amputation of the right leg was unavoidable. Upon the removal of the man’s leg, the operating team found a total of 10 inches of plastic tubing embedded in an artery; 3 inches in the leg and another 7 inches was found in the limb that had been amputated. The plastic tubing found was the wrapper that the catheters are coated in to protect them during shipping. The original doctors had failed to see and remove it.

Leaving an aging loved one, for whatever reasons, in the care of a Maryland nursing home can be a heartbreaking decision. Finding the assisted living facility that is the right fit for the loved one and making sure that insurance helps to cover some of the cost can be almost impossible. When everything lines up and the perfect match is found, knowing that one is leaving his or her family member in the capable and caring hands of a skilled, professional and caring staff can be a huge relief. Sometimes, what appears to be the best situation turns out to be a living nightmare, as a family learns that there has been a nursing home injury that was never reported.

A recent investigation by the US Inspector General found that nearly one-quarter of abuse that occurs in nursing homes is not properly, if at all, reported. Federal law requires that any serious case of abuse that happens to a patient while under the care of a nursing facility be reported to police immediately. Should someone working or a family member suspect abuse, they are required to notify local law enforcement within two hours. But without the backing from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, enforcing the penalties has never happened.

The best way investigators have found to track the cases of under-reported abuse is with cross-referencing. By checking Medicare claims from any nursing home residents against the claims that are presented upon arrival at the emergency room, investigators can determine the cause for the visit. If the diagnosis noted by the attending emergency room physician indicates suspicion for abuse and authorities were not notified, fines and further action could be taken.

Years of research and countless medical cases have provided the health care industry with research and data to have in place steps and procedures when it comes to diagnosing and treating heart conditions, including heart attacks. When a patient presents at a Maryland hospital with chest pains, shortness of breath, pain that radiates down the arm or uncontrollable sweating, most emergency room physicians will swing into quick action to prevent, diagnose and treat a heart attack. Recently, two doctors in another state reached a settlement with a family when the failure to diagnose a woman with a heart condition led to her death.

A 41-year-old dietary nutritionist went to her local emergency room after complaining of severe left shoulder pain that would extend down into her left arm. The treating physician had ordered a cardiac evaluation but later cancelled the order, never rescheduling. This test is the only accurate way to truly decipher whether a patient is suffering from myocardial infarction. She was discharged from the hospital 10 days later.

Four days after her discharge, the mother of two was rushed by ambulance back to the emergency with the same complaint of severe left shoulder and arm pain, but this time, shortness of breath accompanied her discomfort. The attending physician this round misdiagnosed the woman with pneumonia, which resulted in her death six hours later. A later autopsy revealed that the patient had, in fact, died of a heart attack that occurred over a period of several days.

Elective surgery, for whatever reason, has become a viable option for many who are not happy with their appearances. These procedures can be very expensive, invasive and often require more than one visit. Finding a Maryland practitioner who is not only in good standing professionally but also skilled, can sometimes be harder than one might think. Many patients will turn to a doctor only to find that they are left dealing with serious complications from medical professional negligence.

A practitioner in another state recently had her license suspended after the state board became aware of a lawsuit asking for $750,000 in damages. Upon further investigation, the board also discovered over $1.3 million in damages had been paid on the doctor’ behalf for botched surgeries, specifically liposuction, in a time span of four years. Digging deeper still , the board found that medical records on eight specific patients to which these damages had been paid did not have adequately kept medical records.

One case allegedly reported that a woman went to see the doctor in question for a cosmetic procedure. The practitioner removed fat deposits from the woman’s body and told her to freeze them at home for later use. Upon returning to the center for the follow up procedure, the doctor injected the fat into the face of the woman, who shortly thereafter developed a serious infection.

Placing a loved one into a nursing care facility is never a choice that many consider lightly. Although many Maryland nursing homes and assisted living facilities provide good care, problems and neglect still exist in some. Those who have suffered or watched a loved one suffer at the hands of a staff or facility that has been compensated and trusted to provide adequate care and compassion to a family member could seek damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A woman in another state is suing employees and the parent company of a nursing home at which her grandmother was being cared for. According to the lawsuit filed, the 90-year-old grandmother wandered away from the facility and was not reported missing for several hours. Upon realizing the woman was missing, the nursing home contacted the granddaughter who arrived around 7 a.m. to help aid in the search. It was the granddaughter who discovered her grandmother’s body.

Reports indicate that the grandmother’s body was found in a retention pond which was housed on the backside of the nursing home’s property. Her body had allegedly been dismembered by an alligator. The young woman claims that the staff knew her grandmother was a sleep-walker and wanderer and failed to provide the proper care to keep her grandmother safe.

The relationship between a doctor and patient is one of trust and respect. The patient trusts that the doctor will do everything within his or her to handle the patient’s medical care with knowledge, information and continued observation. The medical provider respects the patients wishes and rights not only as a patient, but also as a person, and seeks to provide the best all around care possible. When the trust is broken or the respect is lost, the relationship breaks down as does the care provided. Maryland doctors who do not follow procedure and observe patient care can find themselves in the throws of a medical malpractice lawsuit

A 74-year-old woman is suing a hospital in another state for $6 million after she was left with headaches, vision loss and a lessened control over most cognitive functions. She was diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumor under her skull in May 2015. Her doctor at the time thought that removal of the tumor would be best and scheduled the woman for surgery. In June 2015, the doctor removed the tumor and part of her skull and used titanium plates and mesh to close the surgical site.

A few weeks later, the woman reported to her doctor that surgical site was painful and headaches had become part of her daily life. Nothing was done until Jan. 2016 when she was admitted again into the same hospital and the doctor performed another surgery to remove the mesh, which was not stuck to part of the membrane that separates the brain from the skull. Once removed, it caused severe blood loss that resulted in a stroke. The outcome of the second surgery caused the patient to suffer a communication disorder which led to the need for occupational, physical and speech therapy.

On occasion, an individual may find it necessary to consider whether to pursue a medical malpractice claim against a physician. It is not an easy decision, but at times a person has no choice but to do so in order to address the financial hardships that a medical mistake has caused. Whether it be from a failure to diagnose, medication errors or other forms of medical malpractice, this is an issue which many people in Maryland and across the country face each year.

One problem that leads to these types of claims is the failure to correctly diagnose a patient’s medical condition. When someone is not diagnosed correctly, it can take a lot longer to figure out what is actually wrong and to receive proper treatment. A delay in treatment can mean longer recovery time, failure to recover completely and even death. Diagnosing cancer quickly, for example, is vital for progressive recovery.

Suffering an injury during treatment is another reason that lawsuits are filed on a patient’s behalf. Sometimes, a patient falls or becomes disabled while in a doctor’s care. Failure to properly treat a patient is also a frequent claim in many medical malpractice lawsuits. Similarly, doctors may be sued when a patient’s care is not adequately documented.

Being a single parent in Maryland is not unusual, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Raising children has gotten tougher, even for parents who are doing it together. Providing the sole income for the family and being the sole provider of love and physical care can be draining on the best of days. When a mother is also battling deadly cancer due to a misdiagnosis, the weight of being a single parent weighs far more heavily.

A 47-year-old woman in another state was a regular medical missionary. She frequently traveled to other countries to provide services, using her nursing background to help save lives. The woman could be found showing women how to perform a self-breast exam to detect lumps in the breast that may need immediate medical attention. Little did she know that she would find a lump herself and be in need of those immediate medical services.

Once the woman discovered the lump, eight different doctors perused her medical history, scans and charts. None of the doctors picked up the inflammatory breast cancer, citing it as mastitis and prescribing rounds of antibiotics that never worked. The breakdown in communication between the ultrasound technician and the radiologist is what is thought to be believed the reason for the misdiagnosis.

Imagine going into the hospital for a routine procedure. It should have been a simple tonsillectomy, a quick procedure with only very little risk. Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong and a nurse administered the wrong medication. The side effects were severe and now you are facing a permanent disability due to a brain injury caused by the medication.

Medical malpractice happens more often than most of us like to think about. A doctor’s mistake, such as ordering the wrong medication, can have severe and lasting consequences. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a doctor’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensation. An attorney in the Annapolis area can help you file a claim so that you can get the justice and compensation you deserve. Read further for the first steps you should take to pursue a malpractice case.

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