Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

As a medical malpractice attorney I am astonished by the following Chicago Tribune story. A shocking number of doctors are aware that their colleagues are not safely practicing due to drug and alcohol addictions but keep it to themselves.

A new survey “finds that many American physicians fail to report troubled colleagues to authorities, believing that someone else will take care of it, that nothing will happen if they act or that they could be targeted for retribution.” (Chicago Tribune, Carla K. Johnson, 7/13). The results are based on a 2009 survey of 1,891 practicing physicians in the United States.
A mind blowing 17 percent of the doctors surveyed had direct, personal knowledge of an impaired or incompetent physician in their workplaces. A third of those doctors had not reported their knowledge to either the hospital board or the medical board of the state, leaving many dangerous physicians still practicing.

The American Medical Association and other professional groups say “doctors have an ethical obligation to make such reports. And many states require doctors to tell authorities about colleagues who endanger patients because of alcoholism, drug abuse or mental illness.” Despite ethical and statutory requirements, far too many incidents go unreported.

As a Chicago personal injury lawyer with experience in nursing home cases, I am hopeful that we continue to be able to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists are reporting “advances in detecting and predicting Alzheimer's disease” including “better brain scans to spot the signs of the mind-robbing illness, and more genes that affect risk.” (M. Marchione, AP Medical, 7/12).

Some studies suggest that maintaining appropriate exercise levels and exposure to vitamin D may lower your chances of developing Alzheimer's. For example, one study shows that people who get intense or moderately intense exercise are half as likely to suffer from dementia as less active people are.

However, researchers are cautiously optimistic for a drug to slow or stop the disease, as current drugs only treat symptoms.

According to new research published by the Lancet Oncology, “some of the world's most popular blood pressure pills may slightly increase your risk of getting cancer, but doctors say it's too soon to ditch the drugs.” (M. Cheng, AP Medical, 6/14).

In an analysis of five previous studies of approximately 60,000 patients, “experts found a link between people taking medicines known as angiotensin-receptor blockers, or ARBs, and cancer.” The drugs are consumed by millions of people globally for medical problems such as diabetic kidney disease, high blood pressure, and heart problems.

The study concluded that people who consumed these drugs had “about a 1 percent higher risk of getting cancer than people who weren't on the drugs.” Cancers included in the study include: prostate, breast and a noticeable spike in lung cancer.

Though a single percentage of increased risk seems minimal, as a medical negligence lawyer I am hopeful that this study is considered seriously and investigated further.

A new study released Monday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, “ties the controversial diabetes drug Avandia to a higher risk of heart problems, strokes and deaths in older adults.” (L. Tanner, AP Medical, 6/28). The leading author of the study is an FDA scientist, Dr. David Graham, who is hopeful that the results will cause the pill to be banned. The Food and Drug Administration hearing on Avandia’s safety is set to occur in two weeks. As a medical malpractice and products liability lawyer in Chicago, I am hopeful that the FDA will thoroughly review the results of the study and act accordingly.

The diabetes drug has been the subject of controversy for three years, “since a review of dozens of studies suggested it may raise the risk of heart attacks and heart-related deaths” In response, warnings were placed on the drug label, but the drug has remained on the market and is currently used by hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Health officials say, “a new meningitis vaccine will help prevent epidemics in Africa for the first time, revolutionizing how doctors fight outbreaks of the deadly disease.” (M. Cheng, AP Medical, 6/30). About 80,000 cases of meningitis, a deadly infection in the lining surround the brain and spinal cord, struck Africa last year. About 4,000 of those cases resulted in death.

Meningitis is highly contagious and even when caught early, up to 10 percent of patients die within 2 days. Thus, it is particularly problematic in developing nations where treatment is difficult to mobilize, which allows the disease to spread rapidly.

The new vaccine, which was approved by the World Health Organization last week, is particularly promising in developing countries because prior vaccines did not last long enough to prevent outbreaks. Additionally, the vaccine can be used to immunize infants who tend to be the most vulnerable to the disease.

The new vaccine allows for planning ahead to prevent outbreaks, not just responding to outbreaks that have already begun. As a medical malpractice attorney in Chicago, I believe that the advantages of this new vaccine cannot be overstated and am hopeful that the necessary funding and continued research will safe many lives in developing countries.

As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am horrified by the following story. Each year medical negligence costs too many lives, and this sad story is just one among many very disheartening examples.

The family of a “28-year-old British woman who was a cystic fibrosis sufferer and unknowingly received a lung transplant from a smoker says she would have been "horrified" and have lodged a complaint.” (London AP, 6/15). Unfortunately, she passed of pneumonia just a few months after the faulty transplant.

Britain's top transplant official Chris Rudge even defended the transplant asserting that patients know they are not getting “brand new” lungs. He further asserted on the BBC that "lungs from a smoker can be working perfectly normally." While it is true that transplanted organs are obviously not new, transplanting lungs into a cystic fibrosis patient from a long time smoker is absurd.

The victims family is not lobbying for patients to be more thoroughly informed about organ donors before accepting a transplant.

Another medical problem facing the U.S. occurs because “Americans increasingly are treated to death, spending more time in hospitals in their final days, trying last-ditch treatments that often buy only weeks of time, and racking up bills that have made medical care a leading cause of bankruptcies.” (M. Marchione, AP Medical 6/28).
Although upwards of 80 percent of people who die in the U.S. have long-term, progressive illnesses and more then 80 percent of these patients say they would to avoid hospitalization when they know they are dying but rather enjoy their last days, the number speak otherwise. The mentality of medical providers appears to be to try everything, spending endless amounts of money, even when it is futile. Patient’s families feel as though they are not presented with any options other than continued treatment – a phenomenon called “exhaustive medicine”. Thus, dying patients die in hospitals after excruciating treatments rather than being able to live out their last days with their families.

For example, “a stunning number of cancer patients get aggressive care in the last days of their lives, she noted. One large study of Medicare records found that nearly 12 percent of cancer patients who died in 1999 received chemo in the last two weeks of life, up from nearly 10 percent in 1993.”

Although Doctor’s cannot be expected to predict how soon a patient will die with certainty, they are generally able to recognize when a disease has become incurable. When medical efforts become futile, it is best to allow patients to leave the confines of medical care and expire with their families.

As a medical malpractice attorney, I am hopeful that medical guidelines will be amended to remove exhaustive medicine from medical protocol and allow patients to enjoy their last days with the people they love, rather than the hospital that has, ultimately, failed to cure them.

This week in a meeting organized by the Institute of Medicine, “public health officials and scientists will be gathering in New Orleans to talk about whether any health problems could be caused by the Gulf oil spill.” (Atlanta AP, 6/21). The group will also discuss the most reliable way to monitor any potential medical issues.
Health officials assert that there are no real short term health risks, but are uncertain about the long term impacts particularly on the workers cleaning up the oil spill. However, the government has allocated $10 million for research.

As a products liability and medical malpractice lawyer, I am stunned by the BP oil spill and the magnitude of health and environmental problems it may cause. Hopefully the upcoming meeting with provide some insight into the battle that lies ahead.

The European Medicines Agency said, “the unexpected presence of a pig virus in GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix vaccine poses no threat and should continue to be used.” (London, AP, 5/21) The drug maker released a statement this week confirming a statement made in March that the vaccine, which is designed to protect babies, it still safe for use.

The statement in March was prompted by the Food and Drug Administration’s urging pediatritions to stop using the vaccine. However, the FDA cleared the vaccine for use earlier this month.

As a medical malpractice attorney, I am hopeful that the agencies in the U.S. and Europe have carefully examined the vaccine to ensure its safety.

New medical research suggests that a new frontier in substance abuse may be within our grasp. Researches say, a “better understanding of how addiction overlaps with other brain diseases is sparking a hunt to see if a treatment for one might also help another.” (L. Neergaard, AP Medical, 5/25).

It's "a different way of looking at mental illnesses, including substance abuse disorders," says National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow, who on Monday urged researchers at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting to get more creative in the quest for brain-changing therapies for addiction.

The idea behind the treatment is controlling one’s brain to overcome substance abuse. Although the treatment is in early stages of research, as a medical malpractice attorney, I am intrigued by this promising study.

After years of claiming otherwise, “the nation's largest pediatricians group is relaxing its stance against swimming lessons for children younger than 4.” (C. Johnson, AP Medical, Chicao 5/24). In the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics took issue with the fact that swimming lessons could give both parents and toddlers a false sense of security, but now the group says lessons are fine for children as young as 1.

However, the academy also emphasizes that parents who feel their children are not ready for swimming lessons should not enroll them. Moreover, parents should choose classes that “emphasize water safety and require a parent or other adult to be in the water with the child.”

The updated policy recommends additional safety precautions including “fences around all pools, even popular inflatable ones. Kids can drown by leaning over the soft sides and falling in. And the group warns that children can drown when their hair or hands get sucked into the drains of pools or spas without drain covers or proper filter-pump equipment.”

As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago, I join the academy in cautioning parents to vigilantly supervise young children swimming and encourage parents to take the necessary precautions to ensure their children are swimmingly in safe environments.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday, that a Freshway Foods “is recalling lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening symptoms.” (M. C. Jalonick, AP Wasington, 5/7).

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, “said it was recalling romaine lettuce sold under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands because of a possible link to the E. coli outbreak.” Although the source of the outbreak is unclear at this time, the FDA is concentrating its investigation on lettuce grown in Arizona.

The lettuce was sold in Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin and has a use by date of May 12.

Many are frustrated with the political roadblocks that reforming food standards had faced, as “the House passed a bill last year that would give the agency much more authority to police food production, but the Senate has not acted on it.”

As a products liability attorney, I am hopeful that Congress will act quickly to give the FDA greater policing power over food production as is necessary to ensure the food that is sold is safe.