Medical Malpractice | InjuryBoard Roanoke

By now most Americans have read something about the medication errors which almost cost actor Dennis Quaid and his wife the ultimate loss....the death of their twins due to a medication error (heparin overdose) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.Medication errors happen daily - it is part of the "grab and go" culture in busy hospitals. What can be done to reduce this...

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Okay...you may ask, "what is the connection between actor Dennis Quaid and medical malpractice?" Good Question and here is the answer...Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, were blessed last year with the birth of twins, Thomas and Zoe. However, within a few days of coming home, the twins showed signs of a having a staph infection and doctors recommended they be admitted to Cedars-Sinai hospital for...

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I previously blogged (February 4 and 19) on comic actor John Ritter's wrongful death malpractice lawsuit going to trial. The suit, filed by Ritter's widow, sought $67 million in damages from two of her deceased husband's treating doctors. In summary, Ritter experienced severe nausea and vomiting and went to went to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, California. Ritter's cardiologist, and...

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Most Americans have had an x-ray taken, some have even had enhanced x-rays called CT scans and even Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies. An MRI is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. For an MRI test, the area of the body being studied is placed inside a special machine that contains a strong magnet....

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Remember John Ritter...old "Jack Tripper" from the sitcom Three's Company? Well, he died of a tear in the aorta, known as an aortic dissection, on Sept. 11, 2003, at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. His widow filed a medical malpractice claim against his doctors and the case is now under way. The lawyer for John Ritter's family told the jury he would show the...

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There is a time and place for the arbitration of claims for medical negligence. That time and place arrives after the dispute (read malpractice) occurs and both sides have voluntarily decided to resolve their dispute not through the civil justice system but through arbitration. Unfortunately for the victims of medical negligence, more and more health care providers are requiring patients to...

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My law firm is getting ready to try a case against a local pharmacy which filled and dispensed a doctor's prescription for medication to which our client was allergic. You may ask, "Why did the client take a medication to which she knew she was allergic"? The answer is that she was given the generic form of the drug - the pills did not look the same and the generic name was no where close to...

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Anyone who has been a patient and submitted to a surgery or other medical procedure typically signs what is called an "informed consent" document. Have you signed one? Did you read it? Do you understand it? Do you know the legal effect of signing the document? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has acknowledged that many informed consent documents fail to tell the patient...

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I wish this were a joke - but right now, as I type, your elected officials may be drafting laws that limit your rights in nursing home and medical malpractice cases.In Tennessee, a law is being considered that would forbid nursing home residents from filing suit for negligence - In Virginia, there is a Bill in the House that would allow doctor defendants to offer settlement amount, and if the...

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Comic actor John Ritter's widow says a wrongful death lawsuit going to trial Monday is more about seeking accountability and educating the public about the condition that killed him than the $67 million in damages she is seeking from two doctors.On Sept. 11, 2003, his daughter's fifth birthday, Ritter experienced severe nausea and vomiting and went to went to nearby St. Joseph's Medical Center...

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My blog posts are filled with stories and commentaries of the short comings of the healthcare industry in America. Well, here is an idea I fully support...let's pay the good doctors more money than the bad doctors!Large employers like General Electric, International Business Machines, Corp., and Verizon Communications have launched an initiative to pay doctors hefty bonuses for providing good...

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Healthsouth Corp. and two Alabama doctors have settled a civil lawsuit brought by the Justice Department. The doctors and Healthsouth jointly agreed to pay $15 million to settle claims by the government of a kickback scheme. Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Larry Lemak are paying $700,000 of the settlement and Healthsouth is paying the remainder. The settlement involved claims made by Healthsouth to...

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Former Dallas Cowboy running back, Ron Springs, had a tiny cyst on his left forearm. Not a big medical problem when you remember he received a new kidney about 7 months ago in a much publicized kidney transplant from friend and fellow former Cowboy Everson Walls. However, the treatment of this small cyst was about to change Ron Springs' life, and the lives of his family, forever. Mr. Springs...

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Twice this week, it has been brought to my attention that a local physician has substance abuse problems - not the same physician, but 2 different ones. One lost hospital privileges, lost his license for a few years - and then the VERTERANS ADMINISTRATION hired him to perform surgery on Veterans. That says a lot - "welcome home, we think you are a hero, so here, a physician who can't operate...

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We wrote an article on January 13 about questions you should ask of your surgeon before he/she operates. While getting ready for work and watching the Today Show (NBC) this morning I saw a story by the show's chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyder, entitled, "What Doctors Aren't Telling You." The story was informative and discusses many of the issues and concerns we blogged about just a couple...

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