Posts by Christopher Nace
Dr. Charles Akoda Is Not a Real Person, But That Didn’t Stop Him from Practicing Medicine
At least 100 women have come forward claiming to be patients of Dr. Charles Akoda at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Maryland. The problem is that Dr. Charles Akoda is not a real person; he’s an identity thief who managed to fool both hospital administrators and patients for eight years, as he practiced as an…
Read MoreThe VA Willingly Hires Doctors with Malpractice Claims Against Them
Back in October, USA TODAY published a piece about their investigation into allegations of medical malpractice at the VA hospital in Togus, Maine. They discovered that a podiatrist named Thomas Franchini was responsible for mistakes that harmed veterans in 88 different cases. Instead of firing Franchini outright, the VA “let him quietly resign and move…
Read MoreGestational Diabetes Linked to Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Gestational diabetes is blood sugar condition affecting pregnant women. Unlike Type I or Type II diabetes, gestational diabetes is not permanent, though mothers who develop it may be at a greater risk of developing Type II later on in life. A recent study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, aimed to discover if there was a…
Read MoreThe Vulnerability of Medical Devices to Cybersecurity Breaches
You have likely heard of, and may well have been a victim of, a cyber security breach where sensitive, personal information was hacked from the servers of a bank, a credit bureau or even a major health care insurer. Medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps are now connected to wireless networks so that…
Read MoreWhy the Obstetrics Ward Ordered to be Shutdown at Washington D.C.’s United Medical Center
Back in August, regulators from the Washington, D.C. Department of Health closed the Obstetrics Department at the United Medical Center, the only full-service hospital in Southeast Washington. The Washington Post obtained a letter to Luis A. Hernandez, CEO of UMC, from the D.C. Department of Health, advising him that they were restricting the hospital’s license,…
Read MoreGo Big Before You Go Home: Nace Law Group Made Waves at This Year’s AAJ Conference
In July, the American Association for Justice held its annual convention in Boston. It was another well-attended meeting, filled with helpful seminars and panels, networking opportunities and excellent opportunities to make new friends and spend time with old ones. But the attorneys here at Nace Law Group kept pretty busy at this year’s convention, having…
Read MoreChristopher T. Nace and Barry J. Nace Named to The Best Lawyers in America©
Nace Law Group, is proud to announce that partner Christopher T. Nace and firm founder Barry J. Nace have both been selected for inclusion in the 24th edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. This is Chris’s 5th consecutive year being named to this exclusive list. He was selected for his work in the areas…
Read MoreSeven Emergency Surgical Procedures Account for 80% of Medical Complications and Deaths
Approximately 3 million Americans undergo surgery each year in the United States with some of those procedures being elective and others are emergencies. All surgeries carry varying degrees of risk, and every time a patient goes under the knife they open themselves up to the opportunity for a medical mistake. The Washington Post reported on…
Read MoreKiller Drug Fentanyl is Fueling the Opioid Epidemic Death Rate
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 to treat cancer breakthrough pain, but with additional safety measures. The dangerous drug was prescribed and dispensed in the form of transdermal patches and lozenges. Today, however, many of the cases of fentanyl-related injuries may be attributed to counterfeit fentanyl, which is sold on the black market…
Read MoreA Doctor’s Negligence Injured a Newborn, but Taxpayers Were Left with the Bill
When you think of medical malpractice, what comes to mind might include a doctor making an honest mistake, a miscalculation, or some confusion in communication among the medical team ended in an error that harmed a patient. But would you think that a doctor, who was in the process of delivering a baby who was…
Read MoreWhen Psychiatric Care Crosses the Line into Medical Malpractice
Most people associate medical malpractice with errors made by medical physicians in the care of their patients. However, just like medical doctors, psychiatrists have a duty to perform their professional duties with a reasonable standard of care. The personal nature of psychiatric treatment creates an extremely delicate relationship that can easily become inappropriate if the…
Read MoreBMW’s Parked Cars Are Spontaneously Combusting, and No One Seems to Know Why
There have been a number of vehicle recalls in the last three years that warranted serious investigation: Takat’s exploding airbags, Jeep’s defective gear shifters, Volkswagen’s faulty emissions testers. Not since the Ford Pinto, however, have we seen something as dangerous or as serious as this. BMW cars are spontaneously combusting even while they are turned…
Read MoreAmtrak Engineer Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter Stemming from the 2015 Derailment
In May of 2015, eight people died and more than 200 sustained injuries after an Amtrak train derailed outside of Philadelphia. Now, two years later, the victims and their families may actually obtain the justice they seek; The New York Times reports that the engineer, Brandon Bostian, was charged with involuntary manslaughter on May 12,…
Read MoreThe TLA-DC’s Annual Gala Was Truly An Affair to Remember
On May 13, 2017, the Trial Lawyers Association of Washington, DC hosted its 62nd Annual Awards Dinner, themed An Affair to Remember at the historic Howard Theater. This year’s gala was put together by Nace Law Group’s own Christopher T. Nace, who was elevated to the position of President of the TLA-DC at the event. Chris…
Read MoreCan Prescribing Doctors be Liable for Medication Addictions?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that prescription drug abuse is a larger problem than ever before, with the rate of opioid pain medication overdose deaths tripling between 1990 and 2010. Opioids are the most addictive types of pain medications, affecting the brain in a manner similar to heroin or cocaine. Pain medication addiction…
Read MorePatients are Dying from Sepsis While Doctors Wait for a Study
The Virginian Pilot recently reported about Dr. Paul Marik, a physician at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, who is successfully treating sepsis patients with a surprisingly simple concoction. While treating a patient with severe sepsis, the chief of pulmonary and critical care at Virginia Eastern Medical School decided to order IV infusions of a combination of…
Read MoreAre My Breast Implants Making Me Sick?
The fatal condition is not breast cancer, but a rare malignancy that develops in the immune system called anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. This non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer that attacks the cells of the immune system and that can develop in various areas of the body. In cases linked to breast cancer, the disease develops within…
Read More“Dr. Death” Gets Life Sentence for Intentionally Harming a Patient
The botched surgery for which Duntsch was convicted was a spinal fusion surgery on the 74-year-old patient, which took place in 2012. Duntsch was found directly responsible for intentionally harming the patient, who is now confined to a wheelchair because she is unable to walk, and has chronic pain from the procedure. He was said…
Read MoreWorkplace Wellness Programs and Employee Privacy: Do I Have to Share My Medical Records with My Boss?
What if you lived in a world where your boss could require you to undergo genetic testing–tests that reveal deeply personal information about you and your health–and then require you to share the results of those tests with them or face steep fines? Does this all sound like a creepy, Orwellian nightmare to you? Well,…
Read MoreOptometry Malpractice: How Much is Your Sight Worth?
When you think of how precious your eyesight is, you might become livid to think that an eye doctor’s negligent treatment caused you to lose it. You trust your doctor to have the training and expertise to treat you when you have an illness or an injury, and you trust him/her to refer you to…
Read MoreThe NFL Concussion Settlement is Now Open for Registration for Injured Former Players
In December of 2016, the National Football League (NFL) came to an agreement with retired players who are suffering from debilitating brain ailments caused by serious blows and multiple less-severe blows to the head during their football careers. The settlement, which might be worth as much as $1 billion and will cover almost every former…
Read MoreMaternal Mortality Rate on the Rise in the U.S.
In a country like the United States, that prides itself on a sophisticated health care system, maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are rising while the numbers are declining in almost everywhere else in the world. A study conducted by the Institute of World Health Metrics and Evaluation reports that there were 28 pregnancy complication…
Read MoreContaminated Medical Scopes Cause Potentially Deadly Infections
Duodenoscopes are small, tube-shaped medical devices used in a procedure called an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to diagnose health problems in the digestive tract. Due to a problem with cleaning these scopes, they can become infected with bacteria after being used on one patient which can then be transferred to the next patient. The U.S.…
Read MoreBotched Tonsillectomy Causes Brain Damage, and the Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Resulted in $12.7 Million Verdict
You might think that a tonsillectomy is a routine surgery that gets performed thousands of times each year without incident, and you would be correct. However, a Pennsylvania woman suffered brain damage after her breathing tube was removed too quickly after a routine tonsillectomy. A Montgomery County jury awarded her $12.7 million in compensatory damages…
Read MoreAnother Abilify Lawsuit Linked to Compulsive Gambling Losses
On November 1, 2016, a California woman named Chrystal Austin filed a lawsuit against Bristol Meyers-Squibb after having suffered excessive financial losses linked to a compulsive gambling problem caused by the drug Abilify. Ms. Austin claims that the drug maker failed to warn consumers about the impulse control side-effects before it caused her significant financial…
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