Doctors and patients are often confronted with an easily preventable medical mishap called wrong-site surgeries. Unfortunately, in a busy operating room, a doctor will perform a surgery on the wrong part of the body. This happens surprisingly more than anyone would expect. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, there are approximately 40 wrong-site injuries per week in the United States. Medical malpractice lawyers work to get the compensation for wrong-site injuries that victims so desperately need.
What Causes Wrong-Site Surgeries
It is suggested that extreme time pressures may be the number one cause of wrong-site surgeries. Doctors are extremely busy people, and their schedules are not getting any less full. However, this does not mean that innocent people should be injured. Some surgeons have suggested a protocol to prevent wrong-site injury by requiring a pre-operative verification of important details, marking the surgical site, and a mandatory timeout to confirm everything before the procedure begins. When steps like these are not followed, preventable injuries occur. Sometimes, those injuries are fatal.
Other causes for wrong-site surgeries include mixing up the left and right side, marking incorrect spots on the body for surgery, neglecting to mark the surgical site at all, and consulting the wrong patient’s chart. While it may seem silly, there have been lawyers who suggest writing on the site not to be operated on simply “wrong site.” Simplicity need not be overlooked, even in the medical field.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you or any of your family members have been affected by a wrong-site surgery, or any other instance of medical malpractice or negligence, do not hesitate to contact the Mininno Law Office experienced medical malpractice lawyers 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.
A 57-year-old woman was found unresponsive this week outside of the Riverview Nursing Home in Bossier City, Louisiana where she lived. The autopsy has not yet been performed, but Bossier Coroner Dr. John Chandler said there were indications that the death was heat-related. It was 100 degrees with a heat index of 106 degrees in Bossier City on the day the woman was found. She had been missing for several hours before a staff member of the nursing home found her a little after 6 p.m. She was taken to Willis Knighton Pierremont hospital in Shreveport where she was pronounced dead.
The data for this study, which appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined data gathered between 2003 and 2008: 2.1 million white nursing home residents and 346,808 black nursing home residents were studied. Although the overall number of bed sores has decreased in recent years, black patients still consistently maintained higher rates than white patients. White nursing home residents saw their total rate of bed sores decrease from 11.4 percent to around 9.6 percent in 2008. On the other hand, black nursing home residents saw their bed sore rate drop from 16.8 percent in 2003 to 14.6 percent in 2008, still significantly higher than their white counterparts. Bed sore attorneys say that the highest rates of bed sores in recent years come from black residents who live in nursing homes that have the highest concentrations of African American patients. They say that conversely, the lowest rate was among white nursing home patients who resided in homes with few or no black patients. Bed sores are a major problem in our country today and blacks and whites alike need to be aware of the potential danger that they present.
Nancy Kammerer, 56, of Urbandale, Iowa, alleged that her physicians mistakenly cut part of her pancreas while undertaking the transplant procedure in 2008. Her lawyers said that her pancreas needed to be removed after this mistake, leading Kammerer into a future of medical uncertainty. Kammerer was a special projects manager at Wells Fargo prior to her surgery, a position that she soon had to give up after the alleged medical negligence. Her medical malpractice attorneys said that Kammerer became an insulin dependent diabetic, which added further pain and medical troubles into her life. In her complaint, attorneys alleged that the error was due in part to an inaccurate medical record that was in her file. It is certainly an unfortunate situation, but they say that it is not uncommon. It is important for patients who have been victimized by medical negligence to seek legal advice in order to receive compensation for their potentially sky rocketing bills. Victims often have increased hospital bills, future medical expenses, and extreme pain and suffering, which occurs far too often.
Defective products attorneys work to serve two groups of people: their immediate clients who have been injured and are in need of compensation, and the public at large, who are put into harm’s way with a defective product.
85-year old Heartland Health Care Center – Kalamazoo resident, Dollie McGrew died this month when the facility van that was transporting her to a dental appointment at the University of Michigan hit the curb. McGrew was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver of the van was not injured. The details of the incident have not been released, but the driver of the van did have a valid driver’s license and the facility did report the death to the state.
McLean and Dirnberger, the plaintiffs, claim that Eldercare’s neglect led to the extreme pain that was inflicted due to the bed sores. Bed sore attorneys also believe that the plaintiffs will argue that the defendants have violated the Illinois’ Nursing Home Care Act because of their failure to properly recognize and treat a man who was so clearly in need of assistance. The complaint also alleges that the defendants failed to properly care for McLean’s sores, also known as decubitus ulcers, which arose on several parts of the man’s body. Professionals say that there may be a claim because it appears that these employees were not properly caring for the pressure ulcers. They also argue that the defendants may be liable for their failure to properly train staff to adequately monitor patients in need. Although the outcome will be decided by a jury down the road, bed sore attorneys urge victims to seek help from their families or any healthcare provider because these sores can be extremely detrimental to a person’s health.
On June 11, 2011 Juan David Hernandez, 28, who is a Colombian citizen and a resident of Florida, was arrested in Vancouver for obstruction of justice after he gave a false name when he was pulled over for an illegal turn by a police officer. According to Vancouver Police Det. Rick Stewart, “When they looked inside the vehicle’s front seat, they saw bags and bags of mail.” The bags were full of letters from all over the world containing checks for $30. After an investigation, they discovered that Hernandez was guilty of 
Manganiello went into Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, NY due to low sodium levels. Saline solution should have been infused into the woman slowly because this was a chronic condition. Sadly, this is not what happened. Medical malpractice attorneys say that saline solution was infused very rapidly, raising her sodium levels significantly in only fourteen hours. Following a trial that lasted nearly four weeks, the critical care physician, Dr. Moinuddin Ahmed was found to be sixty percent responsible, while Rose Aumick, the nurse, was found to be responsible for the remaining forty percent. Today, Manganiello lives in Milford, Pennsylvania at a supported living facility. Her family is only able to bring her home on weekends for visits but they hope in the future, thanks to the compensation from the verdict, that they will be able to bring her home permanently and she can receive a high level of care from home.
A brain dysfunction caused Messina to collapse and landed him in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centers beginning in late August of 2006. Several days after his admission into the hospital, he was diagnosed with bedsores. He began to develop the bedsores at SIUH and Golden Gate Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. Professionals say that Messina’s bed sores worsened until ulcers were developed on his mouth, buttocks, ankles, and genitals. Many of these bed sores had healed by the time he entered Golden Gate Rehabilitation Center. Various health problems sent Messina back and forth between the hospital and the rehab center over the next year. He can no longer walk due to a dislocated hip and he is unable to receive a replacement because of the infection which was caused by the bedsores. The New York Supreme Court jury assigned to this case found SIUH 75% responsible for the developments and complications of the bedsores. Bed sore attorneys say that this means that the hospital is liable for $4 million of the total awarded to Messina.