Law Blog
Four Common Myths about Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice lawsuits receive a tremendous amount of news coverage when there are large verdicts involved. When there is a lot of publicity about a verdict in the millions of dollars, the general public might begin to get a distorted idea about the truth when it comes to real world medical malpractice lawsuits. Clearly there…
Read MoreCosmetic and Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice
If you think that cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery were just two different names for the same specialty, you would be incorrect, but you would have plenty of company. It is a common misconception that cosmetic and plastic surgery are the same. The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery describes cosmetic surgery as focused on enhancing…
Read MoreCan I Sue a Nurse for Medical Malpractice?
While many people have an image of nurses as doting caregivers who are at our bedside attending to our needs when we are ill or in pain, nurses, just like doctors or any other professional can make mistakes, too. When a nurse’s mistake can be shown to have been negligent, causing injury to the patient,…
Read MoreCan a Doctor be Held Liable for a Patient’s Opioid Abuse? A $17.6 Million Verdict Says “Yes”
A St. Louis jury awarded $17.6 million in damages to a couple who had filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor for overprescribing opioid pain medication. The plaintiff, Brian Koon, was awarded $1.4 million and Michelle Koon, his estranged wife, was awarded $1.2 million. The remaining $15 million was awarded as punitive damages against…
Read MorePreventable Medical Errors Made in the Emergency Department
By their nature, emergency rooms are chaotic places. Medical staff receive patients from all walks of life with a range of injuries from cuts and lacerations to heart attack or stroke. Even in an environment of chaos and confusion, doctors call upon their years of study and training, and their skill acquired over their years…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice Verdict of $5 Million for Death from an Improperly Placed Feeding Tube
On May 18, 2016, a jury in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, awarded $5 million to the family of a man who died at Abington Memorial Hospital in 2008 from having had a feeding tube misplaced in his lung. Marvin Summerford, who was 88-years-old, died a horrifying death in 2008 as his left lung slowly filled with…
Read MoreThe Consequences of Traumatic Birth Syndrome
Ideally, the birth process is easy and uneventful. Every few seconds, somewhere on earth a baby is born, and most of those journeys from the mother’s womb into the world will be largely uneventful. In a small percentage of cases, birth injury occurs that creates trauma –physical and emotional, for both infant and mother. Traumatic…
Read MorePatient Sues Her Doctor for Removing the Wrong Rib and Trying to Cover it Up
When a doctor makes a big mistake during surgery, do you think that they should apologize for the error? One doctor at Yale New Haven Hospital allegedly made a big surgical error, but not only did they not apologize, they lied and tried to cover up the mistake. Deborah Crave, a 60-year-old patient had surgery…
Read MoreGree Ordered to Pay $15.45 million Civil Penalty for Failure to Report Defective Dehumidifiers
In what is so far the highest penalty for a single offense that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has ever imposed, Gree Electric Appliances Inc. has agreed to pay a $15.45 civil penalty to the government. The CPSC has charged Gree with the following: Knowingly failing to report a defect and the reasonable risk…
Read MorePills Causing Panic: Heartburn Drugs Tied to Higher Risk of Kidney Disease
An estimated 15 million Americans use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are sold by prescription and over-the-counter under a variety of brand names, including Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid. The PPIs lower the acid in your body and help fight off heartburn or acid reflux disease. A study was published on Jan 11 2016 in JAMA…
Read MoreWhat Caused the Spike in Pedestrian Deaths in 2015?
According to new data released by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, there is a projected 10 percent spike in pedestrian fatalities in the 2015 traffic crash data. This is anticipated to be the largest annual increase ever in these numbers, which is causing great alarm for the safety agencies that track these numbers. In the…
Read MoreNew Study Links Traumatic Brain Injury and Increased Risk of Suicide
Whether you suffer a traumatic brain injury from playing sports, a violent attack or a car crash, a concussion can have a devastating impact on those who survive them. A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that head injuries cause more damage than previously thought and carry far more significant long-term…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed over Serious Back Injury from a Botched Lumbar Puncture
When you are suffering from severe symptoms and you need emergency care, who do you trust more than your doctor at your local hospital to fix you up and send you on your way? In most cases, that is what happens. Unfortunately, an Illinois woman had a less than satisfying outcome after visiting Centegra Hospital-McHenry…
Read MoreBarry J. Nace Achieves Distinction Five Decades in the Making
Nace Law Group is proud to announce that Founder and Senior Partner Barry J. Nace has achieved something very rare. Mr. Nace has been representing victims of medical malpractice and hospital malpractice for more than 40 years. He has been representing plaintiffs in malpractice cases since 1972, when he won his first case: a $20,000 award…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice from Communication Failures and Handoff Errors in a Healthcare Setting
The technical term for the problem of communication failures and handoff errors in the medical field is discontinuity. A doctor who is treating a patient will hand them off to the next doctor when their shift ends, the nurses who administer care also change shifts and they must successfully transfer clinical information to the next…
Read MoreInadequate Postoperative Care that Amounts to Medical Malpractice
Medical negligence can occur with regard to postoperative care. Doctors and nurses must monitor their patients diligently following a surgical procedure to make sure that they are healing properly and that there are no complications. A fairly common postoperative complication is infection. An infection in the area of the surgical site can spread and lead…
Read MoreFinding the Solution for Zika Virus Outbreak
The Zika virus has been all over the news lately as concerns about the spread of the mosquito-borne virus move towards full-blown panic, as the virus has been linked anecdotally to microcephaly, a frightening birth defect. Symptoms of the Zika virus are mild and last for a few days to week and include fever, rash,…
Read MoreCommon Reasons Doctors are Sued for Medical Malpractice
Physicians receive years of training and they devote years to the study and practice of medicine because they understand that human error, when it takes place in a medical setting, can mean the difference between life and death. Every doctor is aware of the lasting consequences of their actions and inaction in the life of…
Read MoreBrain Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
There are many causes of brain injury, including motor vehicle accidents, falls and being struck by an object. However, medical malpractice is another cause of brain injuries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that brain injury accounts for about 30 percent of all injury related deaths. When a doctor makes a…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice: Verdict for Failure to Prevent a Pulmonary Embolism
We trust our medical professionals to help us when we have been hurt or suffer from an illness. We trust that their years of education and training and practice will equip them to offer the treatment and advice we need, but in many ways we expect that they will be perfect when they are as…
Read MoreIVC Filter Manufacturer Continued to Sell Defective Product Despite Knowledge of its Deadly Flaws
Last September, we discussed how defective IVC filters were linked with as many as 27 deaths and thousands of problems that required surgery. The manufacturer knew that the IVC filter could cause potentially fatal problems soon after it was released for sale, but they kept it on the market for five more years. In December…
Read MoreFDA Sets More Strict Requirements for Transvaginal Mesh Implant Devices for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken action to warn consumers about the risks involved with surgical mesh devices that are implanted to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP). On January 4, 2016, the FDA issued two final order to manufacturers of these devices. The first was to re-classify transvaginal mesh devices from class…
Read MoreFDA Faulted for Flawed Drug Tracking
When you visit your doctor for an illness or a disease, and they prescribe a drug that is supposed to ease your symptoms or cure your illness, you more than likely take the prescription to your local pharmacy, and take the pills as directed. Many Americans blithely assume that the FDA is making sure that…
Read MoreIs Your New Year’s Resolution Putting Your Life in Danger?
The most common New Year’s resolutions always involve health: this will be the year we eat better, exercise more, and quit our bad habits. For many people, the overall goal is to lose weight – thus explaining the increase in gym memberships each January – and some people choose to take weight loss supplements to…
Read MoreIs Your Hospital Hiding its Medical Malpractice Data from You?
Back in March, we discussed medical malpractice confidentiality agreements: laws and regulations around the country that looked to protect healthcare professionals when something went “awry” during a procedure. The in August, we looked into research that analyzed the importance of doctors “recognizing and properly disclosing the errors they make, [and] offering an apology and explanation…
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