Surgical Errors Leading Form of Medical Malpractice

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys negligence common surgical errors According to a report by the American Medical Association, 98,000 people lose their lives each year to medical errors, most of which are surgical. This makes medical malpractice the eighth leading cause of death in America, killing more people than car accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS.
The term “surgical errors” includes errors that are made before, during, and after surgery, and can involve medical providers other than a surgeon, including the anesthesiologist, nurses, or other hospital staff members.

Read on to learn about the most common surgical errors, and what to do if you or a loved one are a victim of a surgical error, or any other form of medical malpractice and negligence.

Patient Consent Errors

Before a surgeon can perform a procedure, he has to obtain what is called “informed consent” from his or her patient. This process involves explaining in detail what the procedure entails, possible side effects and complications, and what the patient can expect after the procedure. The patient then signs a consent form, allowing the doctor to perform the surgery.
Many times, however, this process is sped through. Sometimes, doctors fail to mention the possible complications or side effects. Other cases involve the doctor explaining the procedure one way, but then performing it another. This can be very dangerous, as complications could easily arise if a certain plastic was supposed to be used, but a metal that the patient is allergic to was used instead. These consent errors are entirely too simple to avoid to be such a prevalent error.

Surgical Errors

These errors are generally caused my negligence in the operating room, but many times can be caused by the lack of qualifications of the surgeon. General surgeons very often perform procedures that may be best left for a specialist, and as a result, surgical errors occur. They do not need a board certifcation to perform these procedures, and a monetary motivation makes it easy to go ahead with these surgeries even without the proper qualifications.

Surgical Site Errors (Wrong Site Surgeries)

Unfortunately, wrong site surgeries are not something we’ve never heard of. All too often, patients go in for a surgery on the right side of their body, and wake up to find the procedure was performed on the left. This kind of mistake often results from lack of communication, poorly kept medical charts, and understaffing at hopsitals. When not enough doctors are dealing with a multitude of patients, mistakes like this happen.

Anesthesia Errors

These errors can be some of the most devastating. Most surgeries require either local or general anesthesia, and it can be administered by an anesthisiologist or an anesthesia nurse. Errors can arise when too much is injected, causing a drop in heart rate that lead to brain damage or death. In addition, if not enough is administered, a patient can be awake during a procedure! This can not only cause an unfathomable amount of pain, but can also effect a patient psychologically forever.

Infection

Infection is a huge risk when undergoing a procedure. Infection can be caused when instruments are not properly sterilized, or when doctors and or nurses do not effectively “scrub in.” Infection can also grow after a procedure if the patients’ wounds and incisions are not properly cleaned. The most dangerous infections a patient can develop are MRSA, or staph. These infections can quickly lead to death.

NJ and PA Medical Malpractice Attorneys at the Mininno Law Office

If you or a loved one have suffered the effects of surgical errors, negligence or medical malpractice in New Jersey or Philadelphia, you will need the assistance of an Medical Malpractice Attorney. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Don’t let negligent medical providers get away with their life altering mistakes. The team at the Mininno Law Office wants to work to earn you the compensation you deserve.

Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence Send Resident to Freezer

On October 28, 2010, 94 year old Molly Fischer was found inside the walk-in freezer of her California nursing home. An organized search within the home found her alive and standing inside the freezer. She was immediately taken to the hospital and has since been returned to her residency at the Silverado Senior Living Center in Calabasas, California.

Nursing Home Negligence at the Silverado Senior Living Center

While Molly was found alive and returned to her home in restored health, can it be determined that she is, in fact, safe? Molly, like many of the other residents at Silverado, suffers from dimentia. It is likely that she wandered off and ended up inside the freezer without knowing where she was going. Where was the staff when Molly wandered off? Will they abe able to prevent this from happening again, to Molly or any other resident?
new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse attorneys molly fischer silverado senior living center It is this same kind of nursing home abuse and negligence that killed Ruby Larson in Molalla, Orgeon. Ruby, falling out of the sight of a negligent staff, wandered off and was found dead three years later.

Silverado Senior Living Center can cost upwards of $70,000 a year. Molly Fischer’s family paid 70k to a facility that lost her, and were fortunate enough to find her in enough time to save her life. Had they taken any longer, Molly could have died. Silverado remains a bit quiet about Molly’s condition now, but a spokesman for the home, Mark Mostow, released this statement:

We immediately conducted an investigation, and took appropriate corrective action against two employees. It’s an unfortunate incident, and we’re very sorry that it happened, and we’ll do everything in our power to ensure this does not happen again.

NJ and PA Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys

If your loved one has been the victim of negligence or nursing home abuse, you must seek the counsel of an elder abuse attorney. Nursing homes and long term care facilities can not continue to get away with their subpar, negligent, and often deadly care.
Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let our team earn you the compensation you deserve.

DePuy Hip Implant Claims – Is Time Ticking?

depuy hip implant recall attorneys new jersey philadelphia estatute limitations If you are one of the unfortunate patients who received the recently recalled DePuy Orthopaedics ASR hip implants, you are probably wondering if there are any time limits to make a claim?
Many people believe it is okay to wait until you have symptoms before making any type of claim for a defective hip implant. After all, why should you make a claim if your DePuy hip implant seems to be working and you are not experiencing hip symptoms?

In fact, most orthopaedists are advising patients to wait until they have symptoms before deciding to undergo a hip implant revision surgery. While that may or may not be sound medical advice, it is not sound legal advice for a defective DePuy hip implant claim.

Why Should I Rush to File My DePuy Hip Implant Claim?

Because you may lose your hip implant claim if you wait too long to bring it.
All states have what is known as a “statute of limitations,” which is a law that may bar any claims not brought within a certain period of time. For example, in New Jersey and Philadelphia, the statute of limitations is ordinarily two years from when a patient knew or should have known of a potential claim. If you have a Depuy hip implant, and you are not noticing any symptoms at this time, the statute of limitations may still be running on your claim as DePuy has already issued the recall notice. DePuy may try use the date of the recall notice as a statute of limitations defense.

The recall date was August 26, 2010, so DePuy may argue that any claim that has not been filed in a Court of law may be barred by the statute of limitations. What’s worse, if you began experiencing hip pain, discomfort or any other symptoms related to the defective hip implant BEFORE the recall date, DePuy may argue that your statute of limitations began running on the date you first experienced hip symptons.

DePuy Hip Implant Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Since it is often difficult to determine when a judge or a court would decide when you “knew or should have known” that you had a defective hip implant claim or lawsuit, you should consult with a lawyer now, before time expires on your claim. Remember, the medical advice regarding a defective hip implant, re-implantation surgery, and appropriate testing for potential toxins in your blood stream will be very different than the legal advice you should be given regarding when and how to present your claim.

Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. A DePuy hip implant recall lawyer will take the time and give you important information about your legal rights. You may also call us for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Medical Malpractice leads to a 1.5 Million Dollar Verdict

In 2006, a 20 year old woman died after being misdiagnosed and released from a Chicago area ER. November 9, 2010, a Chicago jury awarded her family $1.5 million.

Medical Malpractice in a Chicago Hospital

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys misdiagnosis provena st. marys hospital death Michelle L. Koenig went to the Emergency Room at Provena St. Mary’s Hospital with complaints of a skin condition that she did not recognize or know the cause of. The ER doctor, Timothy Moran, diagnosed her skin illness as simply a rash and sent Michelle home. Two days later, Michelle was dead.

Michelle was actually suffering from an aggressive form of Chickenpox and, tragically, Dr. Moran’s misdiagnosis lead to her death. In two days, the virus spread to her liver and she died shortly thereafter.
Dr. Moran’s inadequate examination led to the death of a 20 year old girl. It is likely that the ER was understaffed and Dr. Moran was working with a number of other patients, trying to give each adequate examinations, and failing when it came to Michelle Koenig.

So often, physicians, surgeons, and hospital workers are overworked, making it harder to perform their job to the best of their abilities. Understaffing plays a very large role in Medical Malpractice and it’s effects on the lives of many patients.

NJ and PA Medical Malpractice Attorneys

If you or someone you love has been affected by medical malpractice, specifically, misdiagnosis or surgical error, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Our New Jersey and Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys are experienced and ready to help you earn the compensation you deserve.

Nursing Home Outbreak of Hepatitis B Kills 5

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse attorneys negligence outbreak hepatitis mount olive An extreme case of nursing home abuse and negligence ends in five deaths in Mount Olive, North Carolina.
The Glencare Assisted Living Facility is under fire after an alarming spread of Hepatitis B within the facility (Hepatitis B is a blood born disease typically transmitted by exchange of blood or bodily fluids). Eight residents of the facility contracted the disease and, so far, five have died.

Currently, it seems that the disease was spread by the re-use of a diabetes pen used to check patient blood-sugar levels. This information comes from a Health Department representative who alerted Glencare’s owner that one or more of his staff was reusing the needles. His staff denied the allegations and began pointing fingers elsewhere.
Glencare Vice President, Ann Kornegay, released the following statement:

These patients live here and they enjoy the same social entertainment that you do out there in the community. They have sex. They have the right. They can go down to the store where often times drug dealers are and they can get illegal drugs. They can get alcohol. We don’t allow alcohol to be consumed on our property.

Investigation continues, and the health department has initiated a corrective plan that Glencare will be forced to employ.

New Jersey and Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys

Many nursing home deaths arise from the spread of infection or disease. Nursing homes should be employing nearly full-proof programs to prevent the spread of infection. In this case, the outbreak was allegedly caused by an infraction of one of the most basic rules of disease prevention: Don’t reuse needles. Five people have lost their lives to this horrid negligence.

If you or a loved one are the victim of nursing home abuse or negligence, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Our elder abuse attorneys are experienced and want to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Medical Malpractice and Fraud May Put Doctor in Jail

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys negligence mark weinberger fraud jail Mark Weinberger, also known as the “nose doctor,” was an otolaryngologist in Meriville, Indiana.
On the outside, his practice was very attractive, posh and glamorous, but also modern and convenient. In reality, while Weinberger promised modern medicine and charged modern prices, he was performing outdated and somewhat ineffective procedures. He regularly made surgical mistakes, and, as some of his patients claim, missed cancer diagnoses.

He disappeared for almost five years while fraud charges and medical malpractice and negligence claims mounted against him. He was on vacation with his wife in the Greek Isles, and was declared missing when his wife woke up one morning to find him gone. The Dr. was found 5 years later living in a tent on a mountain in Northern Italy.

Consequences of Medical Malpractice for Mark Weinberger

Now, Mark Weinberger is looking for a plea bargain with the court regarding the 22 counts of insurance fraud he has against him. His side of the bargain would include four years in prison and $366,000 to patients who either overpaid for procedures they did receive, or paid for procedures they didn’t receive at all. If Weinberger is convicted, he could face up to ten years in jail and $5.5 million in restitution.

Victims of Weinberger’s deceptions and greed are hopeful that they will be able to receive the compensation they deserve. Most of them feel that while he definitely deserves jail time, 4 years isn’t long enough.
For Peggy Hood, no amount of time can be long enough. Peggy lost her sister, a patient of Dr. Weinberger, to throat cancer, after the doctor failed to diagnose it. Peggy just hopes for closure for her family, and for the doctor to be held accountable for what he did.

NJ and PA Medical Malpractice Attorneys

The medical malpractice attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are experienced in handling some of the toughest cases. Doctors and hospitals that act negligently should be held accountable for their acts, and our team is poised to make sure that happens.
If you or a loved one have suffered due to medical malpractice, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2382 in Philadelphia. Let us fight for you, and earn you the recoveries you are due.

DePuy Fights the New York Times and Loses

new jersey philadeplhia Depuy orthopaedics hip implant recall attorneys new york times Give credit to the New York Times for being the first to warn patients and doctors about the potential defects that eventually led to the Depuy hip implant recall.

In March of 2010, The New York Times was the first to break the story about these potentially defective products which could cause serious injury to patients. Although The New York Times’ data was essentially indisputable, DePuy issued strong denials and defended it’s hip implant’s track record.
DePuy fought back, saying that their ASR XL Acetabular System was just as safe as other hip implant systems distributed by other manufacturers. Ironically, as The New York Times reported, DePuy was actually attempting a “silent recall” by phasing out the sales of these defective implants, claiming it was for “business reasons,” and denying it had anything to do with safety.

Not surprisingly, DePuy’s strenuous defense of it’s hip implants turned out to be false. In fact, a few months later, in August of 2010, the FDA sent a warning letter to DePuy regarding other questionable marketing techniques. Within days, DePuy issued a voluntary recall of it’s ASR hip implant system, and finally conceded that the failure rate for this hip implant was greater than that of it’s competitors.
DePuy Orthopaedics President, David Floyd, then belatedly expressed “regret that this recall will be concerning for patients, their family memebers, and surgeons.”

Interestingly, there was no mention of The New York Times article which identified the precise problems with DePuy’s hip implants just a few months earlier.
Let’s give credit to New York Times investigative journalists, Barry Meier and Andrew W. Lehren, for first breaking the story. Without their reporting, DePuy would have been successful in it’s “silent recall” of these potentially defective hip implants, and patients would have never known about the health risk associated with these products.

Mininno Law Office DePuy Hip Implant Recall Attorneys

If you or a loved one recently have recently undergone a hip replacement surgery, you may be the recipient of a defective DePuy hip implant. To be sure, you should contact your orthopaedic surgeon, or the hospital where the procedure took place.
If you are, in fact, a recipient, you will need a DePuy Hip Implant Recall attorney. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, and (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

We are here to help you earn the compensation you deserve.

DePuy Distributes “Helpful” Handout for Defective Implant Claims

Recently, DePuy Orthopaedics posted a patient handout for hip implant claims on its web site. This implant recall handout is supposed to provide patients with detailed information about the full amount of compensation that patients would be entitled to receive if their surgeon implanted a defective DePuy hip implant.
That handout states as follows (click on the image to enlarge):

DePuy sells Defective Hip Implants; Hires “Claims Adjustors” in Aftermath

In this country, our civil justice system deals with what happens when a corporation breaks the rules of society that are designed to keep citizens safe. Here, DePuy Orthopaedics has admittedly broken our civil rules of society by selling, for a profit, a defective product; more specifically, a defective hip implant. DePuy sold this product in order to earn a profit for its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, a publicly-traded company whose reported annual revenues of the 2008 fiscal year were $63.75 BILLION DOLLARS.

The question becomes:

What is fair compensation for a person who needs to endure pain, disability, loss of income, hospitalization, and the many risks associated with a second surgery when a $63.75 billion corporation sells, for profit, a defective hip implant?

Should a patient allow a DePuy claims adjuster, hired and paid by DePuy, decide what is their fair compensation? Would this DePuy employer be more concerned about a patient’s health and welfare, or the health and welfare of his/her employer Corporation?

NJ and PA Depuy Hip Implant Recall Attorneys

Ultimately, any person with a defective implant should consider presenting this claim to a jury of their peers to decide what would be fair compensation. DePuy’s “claim process” would shield the company from a jury of his or her peers to determine what this 63.75 billion dollar corporation should pay as fair compensation for its defective product – the ASR XL Hip Implant System.

We are strongly encouraging anyone with a potentially defective hip implant to contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at 856-833-0600 in New Jersey, or 215-567-2380 in Philadelphia.
We’ll inform you of all, not just some, of your rights.

Are You Seeking Legal Representation Against DePuy Orthopaedics?

new jersey philadelphia depuy orthopaedics hip implant recall attorneys
Everday, the Consumer Product Safety Commision issues information about defective products that are being recalled. Many people are wondering, “Are these types of defective product recalls the same as the DePuy Orhtopaedics hip implant recall?” The simple answer is no.
Ordinarily, if you purchase a defective product and it is recalled, you simply have to stop using the product and return it for a refund. Although it is inconvenient, it is a very simple issue to resolve. However, a recall involving a defective hip implant is not quite so simple. These are some of the steps that must be taken.

Determine if your surgery was before or after July, 2003. If your surgery was before this date, you do not have a DePuy hip implant as they were only available after this date.

Contact the orthopaedic surgeon who performed your replacement or the hospital where the hip implant surgery took place. Ask them, “Did I receive a DePuy Orthopaedics ASR XL Hip Implant System?” If not, your implant is not part of the recall. If, however, your doctor tells you yes, you must locate the surgeon who performed your hip replacement procedure. If that surgeon is unreachable, you can request your records from the hospital where the procedure took place. Hospitals are required to keep records of any and all implants they place in patients, and there likely will be a record of the hip implant you received.

My Hip Implant was Manufactured by DePuy; What Now?

If you have determined that your hip implant is part of the DePuy hip implant recall, you can do one of two things:

1. You can contact DePuy directly about compensation. However, you will be speaking to trained claims adjustors whose jobs are designed to settle your case at the lowest possible cost to DePuy. This course of action is not recommended.

new jersey philadelphia depuy orthopaedics hip recall attorneys defective replacement — Pictured is the ball and socket portion of the artificial hip joint that is realeasing metal particles in the bloodstream after wear and tear to the implant.

2. You can contact the Mininno Law Office regarding the recall. Here, we can ensure that a fair and reasonable claim can be presented to DePuy. It will include a claim for:

– Any additional testing and treatment;
– Medical treatment for any problems associated with the defective implant;
– Revision surgery for the explantation of the defective implant, and re-implantation of a non defective hip implant;
– Out-of-pocket medical expenses;
– Additional compensation such as lost work, time, and travel expenses; and
– Money damages to the full extent of the losses and harms caused by the defective hip implant.

NJ and PA DePuy Recall Attorneys at the Mininno Law Office

Our system of civil justice demands that people who have been injured becasue of a wrongdoer’s negligence must be compensated. If you or someone you know has a DePuy hip implant, please call us for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
We can offer you more information regarding the full compensation to which you may be entitled.

DePuy Hip Implants RECALLED

new jersey philadelphia defective products attorneys depuy hip replacements implants DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, has recently recalled it’s line of ASR hip implant systems used in hip replacement surgeries.
It seems the implants are defective products, malfunctioning in a few different ways.

Sometimes, the DePuy Hip Replacements are loosening, meaning that the implant is no longer attached to the bone in the right position. In other instances, the implants are dislocating, and the two parts of the system that move together are no longer aligned.
Metal particles are wearing off of the ball socket components of the implants that rub together, and, over time, can cause fluid build-up in the muscles surrounding the joint. These metal particles could potentially cause significant harm the muscles, bones, and nerves around the hip.

Have you Recently Undergone Hip Replacement Surgery?

If you have recently received a hip implant, and find that you are suffering through pain that exceeds the expected recovery period, you may have received a defective implant from DePuy Orthopaedics.
Contact your orthopaedic surgeon to find out who manufactured your implant, and then contact a defective products attorney at the Mininno Law Office: we will work hard to fight for you, and earn you the compensation you deserve.

Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.