Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Shaya Tayefe Mohajer of the Associated Press recently reported that 18 hospitals in California were fined for state health code violations where patients received sub-par care that in some cases, led to death. Violations included an improperly inserted catheter, a ventilator that wasn't turned on and surgical sponges left inside patients after operations. The report also found some patients experienced awareness during their procedures due to improper anesthesia.

The fines were the latest of dozens of penalties the state issued in recent years to more than 40 hospitals. The report detailed a death at a hospital in which a worker failed to turn on the ventilator for a patient who was being transferred. At another hospital, a patient died after falling from a wheelchair with no seat belt on, and another of the fined hospitals lost a patient from a medication overdose. In what appears to be an epidemic of poor healthcare, at another hospital, a registered nurse improperly inserted a catheter into a patient's neck vein, which caused an air bubble and lead to the patient’s death. The California Department of Health investigation found the nurse had not completed a required anatomy class or the hospital's training on protocol for catheters.

The hospitals were fined $25,000 for each violation. If you have questions relating to medical malpractice please contact the Illinois Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C.

A lawsuit testing the constitutionality of Illinois' medical malpractice damage caps is expected to come before the Illinois’ Supreme Court this fall. The 2005 state law limits medical malpractice awards for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering to $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals. The law does not limit compensation for economic damages such as the cost of medical care and lost wages.

The case that could overturn the law was filed by Frances LeBron, whose daughter Abigaile was seriously injured during her October 2005 birth. The complaint alleges that the girl suffers mental impairment and cerebral palsy and will need extensive medical care for the rest of her life. In November, Cook County Circuit Judge Diane Larsen sided with plaintiffs and declared the law unconstitutional and invalid in its entirety. She said the statutory limits on awards interfered with juries' responsibility to award appropriate compensation for injuries.

At least twice before the Supreme Court has declared laws that limit personal injury awards to be unconstitutional, partly on grounds they violate the separation of judicial and legislative powers. Arguments before the high court have not been scheduled but could come as early as next month. A consistent ruling by the Supreme Court will mean that this law limiting the damages of the most severely injured victims will be rejected like those before it. If you have comments about this post, please contact Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Chris Hurley at (312) 553-4900.

Those focused on fighting hospital negligence have long been concerned that hospitals may begin to routinely consider a patient’s credit rating or ability to pay for health care when making treatment decisions. Last week in fact, in a Chicago Tribune column, Cory Franklin advocates for more federal oversight of hospitals and other health care professionals relating to credit reporting and billing. In his column, Franklin claims that the “inevitable partnership” of credit and medical histories are already being collected by at least one company in an attempt to predict how reliably patients will pay for their medical bills.

A scenario where medical tests are not conducted on a sick patient because of the patient’s low credit score is an unsettling possibility. Discriminating against patients who have poor credit or medical histories is not only unethical--it is illegal-- and opens up doctors and hospitals to medical malpractice claims. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) specifically prohibits this practice. If you have questions about medical malpractice, please contact Chris Hurley at (312) 553-4900.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning last month to doctors who treat patients with electronic devices such as pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators and insulin pumps. Judith Graham of the Chicago Tribune reports that the FDA public health alert cautioned doctors that these types of medical devices can malfunction when patients get computerized tomography (CT) scans. The health alert can be found here.

There have been six confirmed reports of devices that malfunctioned after a CT scan and nine other reports of suspected problems. No deaths have occurred as a result of this complication.

In its alert, the FDA warned that devices that could be affected by CT scans include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, neurostimulators, drug infusion and insulin pumps, cochlear implants and retinal implants. Millions of Americans are equipped with these devices-- which use electrical current to help various organs overcome functional deficiencies. Among other measures, the alert recommends that CT operators use the least amount of X-ray exposure possible and stand prepared to treat adverse reactions.

From legal perspective, medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, or other health care provider fails, or breaches, their duty to care for a patient. In the case where a CT scan is scheduled for a patient equipped with a defibrillator or pacemaker, the FDA alert warns doctors to take certain precautions to ensure the medical device does not malfunction-- since it is forseeable that complication and injury can occur if the condition is ignored. If you think a healthcare professional made a mistake treating your condition, the first thing you should do is seek legal advice. The lawfirm of Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. has sucessfully fought for patients who have received negligent healthcare at the hands of doctors and hospitals. If you have questions or comments about this blog post call Chris Hurley at 312-553-4900.

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune reports that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will start to refuse to compensate physicians and hospitals for poor medical care that results in an injury to a patient. Previsouly, payment was expected even if there were major errors that resulted in an injury to the patient. This decision by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois should have a positive result for Illinois patients as it will force the physicians and hospitals to be accountable for the care that they provide.

Studies have shown that medical providers that are aware that they will be held accountable for medical errors are far less likely to commit medical errors. The public has a right to expect that their medical providers are providing them with the best medical care possible. The public also has a right to expectthere to be accountability by the medical providers that commit a medical error that results in injury.

The health care industry and the insurance companies have gone to great lengths to do what they can to restrict the opportunities for average citizens to pursue medical malpractice cases and to obtain justice. The attorneys at Hurley, McKenna & Mertz, P.C. have a strong history of pursuing difficult cases on behalf of average citizens who were injured due to a medical error and felt they had no where to turn. If you have been injured as the result of the mistake of a physician or hospital, contact Mike Keating at 312-602-1419 or mkeating@hurley-law.com.