Can a Surgical Black Box Help Prevent Occurrences of Medical Malpractice?
Most people are familiar with the black box as it relates to commercial aircraft. Black boxes record various flight parameters in real time such as altitude, airspeed, control positions, and more. In the event of an airline crash, the black box, if found, can provide extremely important information about what led to the accident and…
Read MoreCan You Sue a Naturopathic Doctor for Medical Malpractice?
When a medical doctor or healthcare provider falls short of meeting the acceptable standards of medical practice and the patient suffers an injury as a result, a medical malpractice claim may be filed. The claim may be brought to court by the patient and must confirm certain tort negligence elements in order to demonstrate proof…
Read MorePound Civil Justice Institute Publishes Report on Aggregate Litigation in State Courts
The Pound Civil Justice Institute is dedicated to helping ordinary citizens obtain justice by working with judges, lawyers, legal educators, and the public. The Pound Institute’s latest report focuses on aggregate litigation, and includes academic papers by prestigious professors and commentary by the panelists at a judicial forum held in July 2019. One hundred and…
Read MoreThe Track Record of Implicit Bias and Medical Misdiagnosis
In medical care settings, does skin color contribute to the quality of medical care provided to patients, thus influencing their medical outcomes? Unfortunately, some analysis of this question has occurred in recent years favoring the notion that racial bias is a problem in the practice of medicine as in other professions. This conclusion made by…
Read MoreNew Protections for Veterans Passed by the Senate
For many years, significant problems have lingered at the Veterans Administration regarding a lack of prompt, reliable, and quality care provided to our wounded warriors. These concerns have led to investigations and subsequent actions to resolve these issues. Just recently, on a unanimous basis, the U.S. Senate passed the VA Provider Accountability Act, which was…
Read MoreWhen Your Doctor’s Mental Health Causes Medical Errors
There is no getting around the fact that doctors are human beings susceptible to the same medical conditions as anyone else they may treat. Even with the assistance of technology in the medical field helping to eliminate (some) medical errors, patients can come to harm due to mistakes. We still expect, and deserve, competent medical…
Read MorePsychiatric Wards May Leave Patients Vulnerable to Harm
Having a loved one with a mental health condition can be hard on caretakers. Some mental illnesses have the potential to result in harm to others or self-inflicted harm that may end in severe disability or death. As a concerned family member, you do everything in your power to get him or her the best…
Read MoreLife Line Screening Misdiagnosis May Risk Your Health
Preventative health screening offers flash across television screens and show up in mailboxes across the country on a regular basis. They claim that they can head off serious medical issues in about an hour for a couple hundred bucks through performing a series of tests heavily marketed to detect heart disease and stroke. Surely your…
Read MoreHealth Care Fraud, Medical Malpractice, and the Importance of Informed Consent
When you go to a doctor expecting to get help, and you receive a diagnosis and plan of attack to make you better, you feel mostly relieved. At least you now know what’s going on with that abdominal pain or throbbing back. At least now you have a doctor who understands how to get you…
Read MoreCan a Coma be Caused by Medical Malpractice?
The coma is a medical condition in which the patient is nonresponsive to light, pain, or sound in a normal manner, and cannot be awakened. It is a deep and often prolonged form of unconsciousness. Individuals in comas are nonresponsive to external stimuli such as a prick on the hand, light shined in their eyes,…
Read MoreIf a Loved One Dies in a Hospital, Is It Medical Malpractice or Wrongful Death?
Medical professionals who harm patients due to negligence may be liable for medical malpractice. But what happens when your loved one dies? Is it still a medical malpractice claim, or is it a wrongful death claim? No matter what the original cause was – a surgical error, a car crash, a fall down a broken…
Read MorePreeclampsia v. Eclampsia: What Are the Differences?
Preeclampsia is a life-threatening condition that develops during a woman’s pregnancy. If the condition is left untreated or undiagnosed, preeclampsia may lead to eclampsia, condition causing seizures. Both preeclampsia and eclampsia are very serious health conditions for the mother. Other than the safe delivery of the baby, there is no medical cure for preeclampsia or…
Read MoreThe Dangerous (In)convenience of Dockless Scooters and Bikes
Life used to be so much simpler – and safer – before everything became electronic. Life is now so fast paced that rules and basic courtesy have flown right out the window. Now, drivers fail to use turn signals or obey basic traffic laws, often while fiddling with their radio or GPS. Shoppers ignore moving…
Read MoreWant to Help Veterans? Support the Tally Bill.
Brian Tally, former Sgt. in the U.S. Marine Corps, was injured severely as a result of the incompetence of a number of doctors and emergency room staff at a Loma Linda, CA VA hospital. The misdiagnosis he received led to an extended period of malpractice and neglect for months that almost took his life. After…
Read MoreIt’s Time to Tackle Never Events
According to a recently published analysis, approximately 25% of hospitals fall short of the Leapfrog Group’s standards when it comes to addressing and responding to patient harm events, often referred to as never events. The report revealed that 74.5% of 2,000+ hospitals that provided feedback on the 2018 Hospital Survey issued by Leapfrog adhered to…
Read MoreEvidence Shows Women’s Health and Pain Issues are Taken Less Seriously Than Men’s
Historically, modern medical research has focused on the health of men, based on statute and tradition. Only in the past 2 to 3 decades, have restrictions that prohibited many women from participating in clinical trials been lifted, allowing researchers to thoroughly and scientifically consider how the health outcomes of women differ from men’s. Due to…
Read MoreThe Deadly Threat of Superbugs in Hospitals and Beyond
When you visit or are admitted to a hospital as a patient, you are entering the confines of a complex health care system in which many communicable diseases and opportunities to acquire those diseases are present. The term used for this occurrence is Hospital Acquired Infection. Of particular concern today are certain strains of bacteria…
Read MoreThe CDC is Pursuing Possible Links Between Vaping and Severe Illness Across the Nation
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating incidents of severe pulmonary disease among individuals who have used e-cigarettes in a number of different states. As of this month, the state of Wisconsin has the most cases, with 16 confirmed and 15 additional under investigation. The respiratory symptoms suffered by patients as…
Read MoreSome of the Many Federal Laws that Apply to Physicians and the Medical Practice
There are many federal laws that physicians and those who work in the medical profession must know. Failure to comply with these laws may be a sign of negligence if a patient was injured while under the care of a physician, hospital, managed care provider, or other health care professional. We wanted to take a…
Read MoreYour Surgeon May Be Performing Another Surgery at the Same Time as Yours
Some doctors, primarily specialists, take the idea of multi-tasking too far, conducting two or more different surgeries at the same time. Most patients never know that the surgeon they trusted to handle only their procedure was actually involved in multiple surgeries at the same time. Doctors and hospitals argue that these multiple surgeries save costs,…
Read MoreIt’s Getting Harder to Get Good Health Care in Rural America
There’s a rural health crisis in America that is making it harder and harder for people who live in certain parts of West Virginia to get quality health care. One of the biggest problems is that primary care physicians, the lifeblood of smaller communities, tend to leave for better-paying pastures in the suburbs and the…
Read MoreNace Law Group Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers in America
Nace Law Group is pleased to announce that Barry J. Nace, Christopher T. Nace, and Matthew A. Nace have all been recognized in this year’s edition of Best Lawyers in America. Best Lawyers in America is one of the most esteemed publications in the country. It recognizes the best lawyers in every practice area by…
Read MoreAllergan Breast Implant Recall Issued Due to Cancer Risk
CNN reported on July 25, 2019, that Allergan “issued a worldwide recall of Biocell textured breast implants and tissue expanders that have been linked to a rare cancer. The move came after the US Food and Drug Administration requested the manufacturer voluntarily recall the products.” Allergan claimed the recall was in response to global information…
Read More4 Factors Necessary to Prove Causation in a Medical Malpractice Claim
When you file a medical malpractice claim, you must be able to prove causation. Causation is a legal term that refers to the required proof regarding a particular issue that stems from a specific action. As the plaintiff, you must prove the defendant’s action(s) or failure to act in some way (among other things) contributed…
Read MoreSuing for Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Cases that involve a failure to diagnose cancer can include various forms of negligence. In some cases, a doctor may fail to conduct the tests necessary to detect cancer such as a biopsy or mammogram. In other instances, a pathologist or radiologist may act negligently by mishandling the patient’s medical file. For example, a radiologist…
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