That is unquestionably shocking, especially for the dire conclusion that medical mistakes rank behind only heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death in the U.S.
The causes of medical malpractice are myriad and varied. They range from medication mistakes (e.g., wrong drug, wrong dose) and misdiagnosis (delayed, not detected or incorrect) to botched surgeries and anesthesiology glitches. Birth injuries are sadly common and often yield especially heart-breaking outcomes. Ironically, high numbers of patients contract facility-acquired infections, which they might reasonably think would be well contained in a hospital environment.
And then there is communication.
Or, more specially, lack thereof. A recent national article underscoring the material problem of medical malpractice and its key causes points tellingly to unsatisfactory or otherwise failed communications as being closely linked with bad medical outcomes. The U.S. News & World Report states that many problems “begin as a simple miscommunication between members of the care team.”
Why is the seemingly easy task of effectively communicating among health professionals so often failed at in the context of patient care?
A recent U.S. News piece stresses that a distinct “hierarchical structure” in medicine marked by doctors having near unchecked autonomy likely contributes significantly to errors and resulting patient harm.
Translated, that means that nurses and other care providers are often hesitant to speak up and that MD’s sometimes don’t listen even when they do. Select doctors can bully and be impatient. So too can be some supervising nurses.
Another cited source of danger and disconnect centers on so-called “patient handoffs,” a critical juncture where providers share relevant data during shift changes. Much that is important is reportedly not being routinely conveyed among doctors, nurses and other key staff members.
Every patient in Kentucky or elsewhere has a reasonable expectation that he or she will receive competent care at all times. An experienced medical malpractice team of pro-patient attorneys can provide diligent legal representation seeking a maximum recovery when personal injury results from medical negligence.
]]>Clients are entitled to representation by an attorney who is knowledgeable and has no conflicts of interest. Attorneys should be held accountable when substandard work product yields client damages.
Sadly, that occurs with some regularity. And when it does, it can bring adverse results for Kentucky business principals who suffer harm from a lawyer's negligent acts or omissions.
Examining the sources of legal malpractice
Legal malpractice can be linked with many factors. Incompetent representation, for example, can doom a client's case from the start. Some otherwise strong claims are compromised or dismissed outright when an attorney misses a key filing deadline or doesn't even know the relevant law in a case.
Ethics violations are also common. They run a wide gamut from lying and disclosing confidential information to adverse parties to settling a case without permission and failing to respond to client communications. Issues concerning client funds are an obvious concern as well.
Then there is conflict of interest, which is often a spotlighted concern in legal malpractice cases. Perhaps an attorney already has a duty to an existing client that would interfere with his or her representation in a new case. A conflict is patently clear when counsel represents a third party with adverse interests in the same matter. That can also hold true when an attorney advocates on behalf of both a business and one or more of its principal employees concerning the same or similar claims.
Our seasoned legal team works closely with valued clients. We determine the merits of malpractice claims, investigating all relevant details and fully exploring recovery options. Our bottom-line focus in every client matter is justice.
We welcome contacts to the firm concerning malpractice-linked questions or any other business law queries.
]]>Product Liability
There are already many digital consumer health products that do things such as help count steps and monitor sleep habits, as well as products with more serious medical purposes such as blood sugar and blood pressure monitoring. As more of these instrument measurements become integrated with patients’ health records, a faulty medical product could cause misdiagnosis or the prescription of a wrong medicine.
Medical Malpractice
A paper from the American Bar notes the possibility that health care providers could be held liable for malpractice for patient harm due to reliance on data from digital health technology sources. One of the central questions will be if the physician used sound judgment in the process of integrating interactive and data collection technology into patient treatment.
The Kentucky Connection
Very recently, the Kentucky Legislature passed SB 112, which mandates parity in coverage for telehealth coverage. The bill, which will become effective in July of 2019, will likely mean that many rural state residents will have a majority of their future encounters with healthcare providers over an interactive video connection, email or texting.
While this law will provide unprecedented access to Kentucky citizens that live far from health care facilities or find it hard to travel from their homes, critics worry that the lack of an in-person element will mean that more mistakes will happen. More errors will undoubtedly raise the incidence of medical malpractice claims in the state.
As the capability of new technologies broadens, so does the definition of what constitutes appropriate medical care. The digital health trend is worth watching for both advancements in medicine and in the practice of law.
]]>Negligence requires a duty owed, a breach of the duty and causation between the breach and the harm caused. The duty is automatically established by virtue of the relationship of doctor and patient. The breach of duty consists of falling below the standard of care in the services provided. However, even if a doctor is negligent, he or she is not liable for damages unless it is proved that the injuries complained of were caused substantially by that negligence,
The imposition of liability may be imputed to hospitals and clinics under an agency theory of recovery. This means that the principal may be found liable for the tortious actions and resulting injuries caused by the agent while acting within the intended scope of the agency or employment. Each state has the right to impose restrictions and limitations on the patient's right to sue for medical malpractice. These laws fall into the so-called category of what the medical and insurance professions call tort reform.
Restrictions on the patient's right to sue for substandard or improper medical treatment are premised on the idea that the rising cost of health care is driven significantly by high medical malpractice awards. However, government studies have discounted that theory and concluded that the savings from tort reform would be no more than one half of one percent of the existing amount of health care spending, including here in Kentucky. An individual who believes that he or she may have been the victim of medical negligence will be best served by obtaining a consultation with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Source: findlaw.com, "Medical Malpractice Overview", Accessed on May 14, 2018
]]>When the consumer begins to use the product, he or she anticipates that it will perform as expected. He or she does not anticipate that the product will create injury in some way. However, if the product does cause injury to the consumer, it is possible that a valid products liability claim can be brought against the manufacturer and/or business responsible for selling the product.
Under strict liability, a claim can be made if the product contains an "unreasonable dangerous" defective part or parts that causes injury to its user. As a part of this claim, the user must also have been using the product in a manner for which it was intended to be used. Finally, the product cannot have been altered or changed in a manner that would have possibly changed the product and how it functioned.
Fortunately, most unsafe products often never make it to the Kentucky consumer. But, when they do, the results can be devastating. If this happens, there may be legal recourse available to provide come compensation for the injury while results. Experienced legal counsel can review the situation and recommend the best way to proceed.
Source: injury.findlaw.com, "Proving Fault in a Product Liability Case", Accessed on May 25, 2018
]]>In a typical rear-end collision, the rapid-fire, intensive back-and-forth movement of the head causes the brain to be knocked violently against the skull and to cause a bruising of the brain. The mechanics of this "whiplash" process is often associated with severe cervical damage to the neck and related areas, but it also may result in a serious concussion that may create a whole host of brain injury symptoms for the accident victim. A fall from a ladder and striking the cement below with one's head can result in a similar concussion kind of injury, and there are many other traumatic accidents that can lead to a similar outcome.
Symptoms can include chronic head pain, affected vision, sensitivity to light, memory loss, severe mood changes, dizziness, loss of balance, speech defects and numerous other injuries. In proving traumatic brain damage from auto or truck accidents, personal injury attorneys may employ the services of a medical expert called a neuropsychologist. This expert can perform a battery of tests and testify to the connection between the victim's symptomology and the areas of the brain affected.
Various rehabilitative treatment protocols are available for traumatic brain injury. Contrary to prior medical thinking, it appears that the patient can produce new brain cells, or reinvigorate brain functions, to make improved recoveries. The extent of damage in each patient, however, is an individual matter that requires medical proof. In Kentucky, attorneys familiar with brain trauma cases are best prepared to prove the debilitating effects of traumatic brain injury.
Source: medicalxpress.com, "How injuries change our brain and how we can help it recover", MIchael O'Sullivan, April 27, 2018
]]>Negligence is just one of multiple factors that the plaintiff must prove. First, there must be a legal duty imposed on the defendant to act to keep the plaintiff safe from harm. This applies automatically in the typical doctor-patient relationship. Second, there must be negligence, the failure to use due care. Third, the plaintiff must prove legal causation, i.e., that the defendant's negligence is a substantial factor in having caused the plaintiff's claimed injuries.
The plaintiff has the burden of proving the foregoing elements by a preponderance of the evidence. That is not an exacting standard similar to the test of reasonable doubt in a criminal case. Thus, the plaintiff does not have an extraordinarily heavy burden in proving the elements of a civil case against a medical provider.
Therefore, a medical provider in Kentucky and elsewhere commits medical malpractice when there is a failure to provide even the minimal standard of care that would be performed by a like professional of similar training and experience under the same or similar circumstances. That failure must cause the injuries claimed by the patient. Whether it be in the form of improper medical treatment, surgical errors, misdiagnosis, mishandled childbirths or any of the wide range of other mishaps, the patient and the patient's family must always be vigilant to question unusual and highly unexpected outcomes and to go a step further and find out the causative factor involved.
Source: law.com, "As Medical Technologies Reduce Errors, Malpractice Attorneys Must Stay Informed", Shaun Patrick, April 26, 2018
]]>It is interesting to note that each of a child's life stages has some specific health concerns. For newborns, the most common issue is a birth injury. There isn't much of a chance that the baby will be born with cancer, but it could happen. As the child moves beyond the newborn stage, there is an increased risk of pediatric cancer. In fact, an average of 43 children are diagnosed with cancer each day in this country.
Sometimes a death sentence
Pediatric cancer doesn't discriminate — it can kill children Around 12 percent of children who are stricken with this disease die from it. For some patients, the difference between life and death is tied to the speed of diagnosis and treatment. A child who had a good chance of survival could end up passing away if the cancer isn't diagnosed and left to spread until it is beyond a cure.
As a parent, you turn to the doctors and assume they will make an accurate diagnosis based on the information. The issue that might come into the picture is that doctors often try to rush patients through their appointments. They might chalk up some of the more common pediatric cancer symptoms to a viral infection.
Misdiagnosis is unacceptable
It is true that many symptoms, such as fevers, pain, fatigue, profuse sweating and bruising that signal life-threatening cancers also can indicate viral conditions. This is one of the reasons why doctors need to be thorough when they examine patients. Trying to rush can easily lead to misdiagnoses. Doctors need to slow down to prevent misdiagnoses stemming from negligence.
When cancer is allowed to spread freely, the child's life can be shortened considerably. There might not be much that can be done to fight advanced cancer, but the parents of a child who is stricken with this disease will want to explore all of the available options. One that they shouldn't forget about is holding the negligent doctor accountable for the child's untimely death.
]]>