Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

There are many ways autistic or brain damaged children can be taught to communicate. Facilitated Communication (FC) is not one of those ways. You can be sure that if an autistic child you know is communicating with FC it is malpractice on the part of the facilitator. This is a universally discredited technique that has been around since the late 1980's. Unfortunately, there are still people using this method and to the great detriment of the autistic kids they are supposedly helping.

Frontline did a very complete story exposing the unscientific nature of FC in 1993. Here are just a few of the many sources that have demonstrated that FC is not based on science:

1st STUDY: The results of this case study demonstrate quite clearly that the subject was not able to communicate using the facilitated communication techniques. [Hudson, et al., "Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders," March 1993.]

2nd STUDY: No client showed unexpected literacy or communicative abilities when tested via the facilitator screening procedure, even after 20 hours of training. [Eberlin, et al, "Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders," September, 1993.]

3rd STUDY: Considerable evidence was found of the facilitators influencing the attempts at communication. [Moore, et al, "Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders," September, 1993.]

4th STUDY: None of the 23 participants demonstrated authorship. There has been no instance in which a participant has successfully identified an object through F/C. [Szempruch/Jacobson, "Research on Developmental Disabilities," July/August, 1993.]

5th STUDY: These results suggest that the communications previously reported from individuals with autism may have been influenced by facilitator co-activity. [Smith/Belcher, "Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders," March 1993.]

If you know someone that has been treated with this discredited technique then in all likelihood that person has not had access to the therapies that are scientifically recognized to help the mentally disabled. You may want to call Hurley McKenna & Metz, P.C. at 312-553-4900 to discuss your rights.

"A jury on Tuesday awarded $21.5 million to the family of a Newport woman, concluding that the 34-year-old mother of three died after receiving negligent care from an emergency room doctor. The verdict represents the largest jury award in Rhode Island since at least 1999, when Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly began tracking that information, Managing Editor Jason M. Scally said. The previous high was the $18.9 million awarded in 2002 to a Pawtucket woman injured in a car accident, he said."

Edwards Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal 2/08/07
http://www.projo.com/news/content/8_jury_verdict_02-08-07_5R4B1N1.1a8ac32.html

"The Food and Drug Administration and Baxter International Inc. are warning health-care professionals about mix-ups of two heparin products that resulted in the deaths of three infants. The FDA posted a Feb. 6 letter from Baxter discussing the medication errors to its Web site late Wednesday. The three deaths occurred when a higher dose of Heparin Sodium Injection, at 10,000 units a milliliter, was inadvertently administered instead of a lower dose of HEP-LOCK U/P at 10 units a milliliter. Both products are in the same-size vial and use different shades of blue as the prominent background color on their labels."

Jennifer Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal 2/08/07 (Subscription Only)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117095222262102389.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

As a medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago I have seen some strange and sometimes bizarre things. But the practice of facilitated communication (FC) has shocked even me. It seems that there are still psychiatrists and psychologists that use this technique to treat people that cannot speak or write due to severe mental retardation or autism. These practitioners claim that the disabled person can communicate when the facilitator places his hand over the hand of the patient and guides it on a keyboard or with a pen.

This practice has been thoroughly discredited and was featured in the program Frontline as far back as 1996:

The Frontline program showed facilitators allegedly describing what their clients were viewing, when it was clear their clients' heads were tilted so far back they couldn't have been viewing anything but the ceiling. When facilitators could not see an object which their client could see (a solid screen blocked each from seeing what the other was seeing) they routinely typed out the wrong answer. Furthermore, FC clients routinely use a flat board or keyboard, over which the facilitator holds their pointing finger. Even the most expert typist could not routinely hit correct letters without some reference as a starting point. (Try looking away from your keyboard and typing a sentence using just one finger held in the air above the keyboard.) Facilitators routinely look at the keyboard; clients do not. The messages' basic coherence indicates that they most probably are produced by someone who is looking at the keyboard.

The problem with this junk science is that while wasting time on FC the patient is not getting the therapy he needs. The result is that desparately disabled people are the victims of this unscientific fad. It is psychological malpractice.

The first district appellate court has reversed a Chicago jury verdict against a woman injured in a car accident. The jury asked questions about whether insurance had paid the plaintiff's medical bills and the court failed to answer the questions. The Illinois Appellate Court held that the jury should have been given IPI Civil No. 30.22 in answer to the questions about medical insurance. IPI 30.22 informs the jury that they are not to consider whether medical insurance paid bills in the case.

"The main beneficiaries of tort reform would be the insurance companies that provide malpractice insurance, according to the president of the Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys. In speaking Tuesday to the Henderson City Lions Club, A.V. Conway presented figures showing that those states that have instituted tort reform -- which essentially boils down to limits on jury awards -- have seen the same type of insurance premium increases as those states that have not."

Frank Boyett, Courier Press 1/31/07
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/jan/31/lawyer-rejects-tort-reform-benefits/?gleaner=1/

In my 23 years as a medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago some of the most egregious cases I have seen have involved abuse and neglect by mental health professionals. Psychiatrists and psychologists have a tremendous amount of power in their relationships with their patients and when that power is abused it can have devastating consequences for the patient.

There are many ways that mental health professionals can commit malpractice or fail to meet the standard of care. One of the most shocking and degrading abuses arises when a mental health care professional fails to observe proper boundaries while treating a patient. For example, it is highly inappropriate for a psychologist or psychiatrist to have a sexual relationship with a patient while that patient is in treatment. Also, a mental health professional should not engage in business dealings with patients. This includes lending or borrowing money. If a psychiatrist improperly prescribes medication or neglects a patient known to be suicidal these can also be legitimate reasons to consult a lawyer about your rights.

For some reason it is easier to cap the damages for medical malpractice victims than it is to cap CEO pay. Robert Nardelli of Home Depot takes the prize this month for taking home $200 million dollars for an stock that is down 13%. While Mr. Nardelli was rewarded handsomely for his non-performance which got him forced out of the company the bonus pool for 319,000 non-salaried workers at Home Depot was cut in half from $90 million to $44 million. That is $137.93 per worker.

"The Food and Drug Administration is investigating allegations by a former Medtronic Inc. engineer that the medical-device company didn't adequately test its new Concerto cardiac device for patients with congestive heart failure. The FDA's Minneapolis office is conducting an inquiry into the claims by Christopher Fuller, who worked as an engineer at Medtronic until late 2005. Mr. Fuller's concerns deal with one of the Minneapolis company's newest and most lucrative products. The Concerto device is one that can resynchronize the heartbeat of a patient and also provide backup "defibrillator" capability to save the patient's life if the heart goes into cardiac arrest."

Thomas M. Burton, Wall Street Journal

California has much to offer unless you are a victim of medical malpractice:

"In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Bush said he wants 'to protect good doctors from junk lawsuits' through changes in the medical malpractice system. Bush has touted a nationwide cap on malpractice awards for pain and suffering. The cap is modeled after a law that's been in place in California for decades. But some say the state law, considered landmark in 1975, is outdated and unfair to injured patients. Insurers and doctors say it's lowered insurance premiums and kept doctors in the state. The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act limits pain and suffering damages to $250,000. That, say patients such as Steve Charbonneau, is too low, especially in 2007 dollars."

Blythe Bernhard, Orange Country Register 1/25/07

Medical errors caused at least 18 deaths at Oregon hospitals last year, according to a draft state report. The Oregon Patient Safety Commission, created by the 2003 Legislature, began asking hospitals to voluntarily report so-called "adverse events" last spring. From May through December, 27 hospitals reported 53 adverse events - with about 60 percent causing serious harm to patients or death. Hospitals are not penalized for reporting medical errors and names of the hospitals that report events are not made public."

The Associated Press, OregonLive.com 1/28/07

This is no surprise to medical malpractice lawyers but insurance rates are not coming down in a significant way even in states with caps on damages:

Medical malpractice companies benefiting from courtroom caps today must tell state regulators why they are not returning more of that money to doctors and the public. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has ordered executives of major malpractice insurers to attend public hearings today in Tallahassee on their rates. Consumer Advocate Steve Burgess, in the Department of Financial Services, estimates premiums should be cut 40 percent to 50 percent. Michigan-based ProNational Insurance instead offers to cut rates 8.6 percent."

Paige St. John, Tallahassee.com 1/29/07