Mr. and Mrs. Cull lost their daughter to medical malpractice during a routine surgery and spent the last two years trying to find out why, still unsure if they actually know what happened in the operating room that fateful day.
Olivia Cull Dies After Routine Procedure
Olivia Cull underwent surgery as a baby that left one side of her heart smaller than the other. She lived her life this way, until she was a senior in high school. Doctors wanted to install a catheter in her heart to prep for the final surgery that would correct the small side of her heart. She was nervous, but her mother reassured her that the catheterization procedure would only take a few hours, and that she had done it many times before. Doctors told the Culls Olivia would be home before dinner.
A few hours later, a cardiologist entered the waiting room with bad news. An error that occurred in the cathederization lab caused Olivia do be deprived of oxygen for 40 seconds. Mrs. Cull assured herself that everything would be fine. After all, kids can hold their breath for that long in the pool. Mrs. Cull entered the room where Olivia lay on the table. In her mouth was a breathing tube. She also noticed a pool of blood on the floor.
Eight days later, they had Olivia removed from the ventilator. Her heart went on beating for three days. An internal breathing tube was removed on the third day, and Olivia died. An autopsy revealed that she suffered from brain damage that occured after a heart attack the hospital attributed to Olivia’s heart defect, but that didn’t seem right. The Culls wanted answers. They reviewed the hospital’s medical records, after jumping through hoops to get them, but determined that the only way to truly discover what happened to their daughter was to sue.
Lawyers Don’t Want the Case
The Culls searched for attorneys to take the case, but had a terrible time finding one. Medical malpractice caps in California made it extremely difficult for lawyers to see merit in their claim. They finally found an attorney, Jin Lew, to take the case pro bono.
Lew found the medical records to be incomplete, and subpoenaed the rest of the the records. Hundreds of additional pages were sent that revealed that Olivia was treated by two unqualified individuals; a postdoctorate fellow who removed a catheder without doctor supervision, and a second fellow that was not cleared to treat patients. The Culls had never been alerted that these were the people who would be treating their daughter.
The Culls were urged to accept a settlement agreement for $250,000, since that was the amount of the liability cap for medical malpractice claims in the state. However, Mrs. Cull believes that the threat of a larger settlement would have forced the hospital to reveal what really happened that day in the cathederization lab.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
The Culls lost their daughter to negligence and poor judgement. You young woman had loads of potential, having been a model student who also excelled at violin and fine arts. Her death was a loss not only for her family, but for all those that knew and associated with her. Capping the liability of those that carelessly treat patients is an extremely detrimental practice for our medical system. Medical providers must be held 100% liable for their mistakes.
If you or a loved one have suffered at the hands of a negligent or careless medical provider, 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 the Mininno Law Office team earn you the compensation you deserve.
Bed sores result from prolonged pressure that prevents proper blood flow to tissues, which, in turn, kills that tissue. The death of this tissue most often occurs when it is compressed between a bony prominence and an external surface, i.e. bed, wheelchair, or sometimes even other parts of the body. Some of the worst bed sores that occur in nursing home patients don’t even occur from those that are bed ridden as the name suggests. Prolonged sitting in a wheelchair can lead to bed sore development. It is important that nursing home staff members are equally vigilant with their nursing home patients in wheelchairs and in beds.
These surfaces typically have layers that help provide optimal immersion and comfort for the nursing home patient. These surfaces are designed to have independent zones to provide the correct pressure for each weight range. These surfaces are designed, in fact, to help aid in both the prevention and the treatment of bed sores and pressure ulcers. Redistribution of surface pressue is very important as the pressure causes the small blood vessels in the skin to collapse, which deprives the skin of oxygen and nutrients, causing them to die. Nursing homes should avoid using donut-type devices and most sheepskin products for pressure redistribution. Staff members should be aware of the need for proper surfaces. Not using the proper surface for patients is tantamount to nursing home abuse. The use of the proper pressure-redistributing surfaces along with proper repositioning may be two of the most important bed sore prevention tips that all families should be aware of and vigilant to for the well being of their loved ones. 
Fortunately, the medical future involving artificial joint replacement looks bright. Notwithstanding the failure of the DePuy hip implant, scientists, metallurgists, and researchers are constantly searching for better options for joint replacement patients. Unfortunately, companies like DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson have a financial incentive to be the first manufacturer to get their products on the market. As such, it must be questioned whether this profit motive causes manufacturers to put medical devices on the market before conducting long term studies about the product. In the case of DePuy, it appears that there were no long term studies regarding the wear and tear of the implant before the product was released into the market. Perhaps DePuy and Johnson & Johnson hoped that the chromium and cobalt metal parts in the hip implant would not pose a problem to potential patients. 
In Pennsylvania, late-term abortions, or abortions after 24 weeks, are illegal. However, Dr. Gosnell, with no certification in obstetrics or gynecology, was performing them out of his office. These late-term abortions often resulted in the birth of living fetuses. It is alleged that Dr. Gosnell and his staff would then kill these fetuses by “plunging scissors into their spinal cords.” (Weisenberg, Brin Wall Street Journal 1/20) 
As a result, Judge Katz is responsible for coordinating all pretrial discovery and litigation concerning the nature of DePuy’s defective hip implant to promote judicial economy, prevent duplication of the same discovery in hundreds of cases, prevent the potential for hundreds of judges each individually ruling on the same issue, and to prevent inconsistent judicial rulings from these judges. The DePuy hip recall multi-district litigation (MDL) is a great way to streamline the DePuy hip recall litigation, conserve judicial resources, and save the parties money. 
The business community is thrilled by the bill the Senate passed this week. Of course they are; the new measures make it harder to get sued! Patient advocates, however, view the bill as a shield for medical providers who injure or abuse in nursing homes, or who practice careless, dangerous, and sub-standard medicine.
As New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyers, we encourage family members to work with the nursing home staff to make sure all nutritional aspects of the nursing home patient’s diet are examined. This is especially important to prevent these deadly bedsores and pressure ulcers. As the nursing home patient is often unable to get all of his/her nutrition from food alone, multivitamins and minerals may be needed to ensure the proper nourishment. This should be determined by the staff and made available to the nursing home patient. Research has shown that seniors need a variety of multivitamins and minerals to stay healthy, such as Vitamins, E, K, D and C for example. Proper vitamin supplementation should be assessed and determined by the nursing home staff, and then provided to the nursing home patient as part of their daily nutritional plan. 
Most DePuy hip recall patients have had a single DePuy hip replacement. However, many times, an orthopaedic patient will require both hips to be replaced in a surgery called a bilateral hip replacement surgery. Unfortunately, for those patients who have had a bilateral hip-replacement surgery with the recalled DePuy hip implant, the recall is twice as troubling because these patients will require more extensive surgery to remove the two DePuy hips. 
Galecio and Maria Rodriguez sued Dr. Jennifer Friedman and the Northwestern Memorial Physician’s Group after a serious birth injury permanently injured their son Mateo.