Tag: fire

Medical Malpractice Lawyers Support FDA Surgical Fire-Safety Initiative

Medical malpractice attorneys represent patients each year that suffer the often lasting effects of surgical fires. Sometimes, they represent the family members of patients who did not live through the harrowing tragedy. It is important to discuss with your surgeon the risks and dangers associated with surgical room fires.

Operating Room Fires Rare but Relevant

nj and pa medical malpractice lawyersDr. Nancy Perrier speaks of her first encounter with an operating room blaze;

“The flames were at least 6 to 8 feet high and the correct actions were unknown to everyone in the operating room. The patient survived the operation, but died about 30 days later from complications of a significant pulmonary injury.”

Doctors and the FDA alike know that these events are nearly 100% preventable. That is why they are pushing for increased oversight on the education of surgical fires for operating room personnel.

Just last month, the FDA hosted a special workshop to looks for ways to stop fires from happening, as well as to offer pertinent medical professionals the tools and knowledge to deal with those that occur.
Experts have estimated that about 650 operating room fires are sparked nationwide every year. As previously stated, many of the victims of those fires will walk away scarred or marginally scathed. Others, however, will lose their lives.

Dr. David Cowles, an anesthesiologist who previously spent 14 years as a firefighter and paramedic, knows well the need for FDA intervention when it comes to establishing a medical standard concerning surgical room fires:

“As a firefighter you’re concerned about what’s going to be the safest way to do a dangerous job and that’s not unlike what it is in the operating room, where every day we perform procedures that could be dangerous and we need to explore the safest way to do that.”

Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a family member have been victimized by medical errors due to negligent or inadequate medical providers, please contact the Mininno Law Office to speak with a medical malpractice attorney. You may also call for a free case evaluation and consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey and (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Let our professionals earn you your just and due compensation.

Nursing Home Neglect Causes Woman to Catch on Fire

An unidentified 83-year-old woman was seriously injured in May 2011 outside of the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home in El Paso, Texas in a case of nursing home neglect. The woman was smoking in her wheelchair right outside the front entrance of the facility when the cigarette fell out of her hand and onto her clothing, which burst into flames. Fortunately, a staff member saw the flames and ran outside, took his shirt off and put out the fire. The woman suffered first and second degree burns on her hands and face.

Residents Not Supervised While Smoking

new jersey philadelphia nursing home neglect Ambrosio Guillen Texas State VeteransAccording to the fire department, facility workers wheeled the woman outside daily so she could smoke by the entrance of the building. The residents were allowed to smoke in that area of the nursing home. But it was not required by the home that the residents be supervised while they were smoking. According to Jim Suydam, spokesman for the Texas Veterans Land Board, an entity that runs the El Paso facility, since the woman did not suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, she did not need to be under constant supervision.

This is not an adequate reason for this woman to have been left alone while smoking. Patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia do need to be monitored much more than other patients, but there are numerous other conditions that could have made it unsafe for this woman to be smoking alone. Besides the obvious health risks of smoking, especially once you get older, it is unsafe and negligent for the facility to allow their residents to be alone while holding something that could cause them to catch on fire. Even if the resident did not require constant supervision, she should have been monitored while holding a lit cigarette.

Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If your loved one is currently a resident of a nursing home or care facility and you are worried that they are not being monitored enough or the care they are receiving is negligent, abusive, or inadequate, 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, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.