Forklift Mechanic Receives $2.25 Million Settlement After Spinal Fusion Surgery
A New Jersey man received a settlement for $2.25 million after a court ruled that the two surgeons who performed his lumbar fusion surgery in 2011 were negligent when they mispositioned a pedicle screw and failed to diagnose and correct the error in a timely fashion. As a result of the error, the patient […]
Appeals Court Upholds Ruling in Favor of Military Hospital Where New Mother Died from Postpartum Hemorrhage
A Coast Guard lieutenant whose wife died shortly after giving birth to their daughter in a military hospital will take his case to the United States Supreme Court after a federal court of appeals ruled that the Feres doctrine, which grants widespread protection against medical malpractice lawsuits to military hospitals treating active duty members of […]
South Carolina Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Radiologist
A South Carolina court ruled in favor of a radiologist accused of negligence in his treatment of an infant who was left with complications resulting from the improper placement of an umbilical vein catheter (UVC). The plaintiffs alleged that the radiologist’s failure to notify the treating physician and the medical staff in the neonatal intensive […]
One Expert Per Specialty Doctrine
In April 2018, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of a family whose daughter underwent a kidney transplant at the age of 6. Her primary care pediatrician failed to diagnose the child’s kidney disease in time to halt its progression, resulting in the need for the transplant. The family took the physician to […]
Court Awards $18 Million to Woman Paralyzed as a Result of Misdiagnosed Spinal Abscess
A court in Chatham County, Georgia ruled that a hospital and a group of physicians must pay a total of $18 million to a patient who lost the use of her legs after an infectious disease specialist failed to diagnose or treat an infection that had spread to the woman’s spine soon enough to prevent […]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision Could Spell More Medical Negligence Liability for Physicians
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that has significant implications for the introduction of evidence regarding the known risks of a medical procedure in medical malpractice cases. In May 2012, the plaintiff had a laparoscopic hysterectomy performed by the defendant obstetrician-gynecologist. During the surgery, the doctor perforated the plaintiff’s bowel. The […]
Hip Replacement Surgery Complications Result in $1.86 Million Verdict
According to a recent study published in The Journal of Arthroplasty,the most prevalent reason primary hip surgery patients file lawsuits is for nerve injury (foot drop). In a recent nerve injury case, the plaintiff was awarded $1.86 million. On September 27, 2004, the 63 year old plaintiff underwent hip replacement surgery to address her […]
Veteran Sues US Government Over Uncommunicated Test Results
What happens when the patient has not been informed that their imaging has revealed a potentially life-threatening condition? Take the case of a forty-four year old Tampa, Florida Marine combat veteran, and his thirty five year old wife, who recently sued the United States in a Florida federal court, for negligence and loss of consortium, […]
20 Million Settlement in Illinois Misdiagnosed Stroke Case
What can go wrong when a lawyer goes to the hospital with a headache? Apparently, a lot! An Illinois judge approved a $20 million settlement in a medical malpractice case whose trial began in Illinois on October 28, 2016. The plaintiff, a former attorney, who suffered brain damage after a visit to Northwestern’s Central […]
Legal Claims Increase with Rising Opioid Use
LEGAL CLAIMS INCREASE WITH RISING OPIOID USE It is now well known that opioid painkiller abuse has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. In fact, it has become so prevalent that opioid analgesics are involved in more medical-malpractice claims related to drug errors than any other class of drugs, according to Coverys, a medical […]