Medical Malpractice

• Doctors Who Claim to be Pediatricians Sometime Aren't

  Dan Frith | September 26, 2007 11:07 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Lets say you are new to an area...your child is sick....and you pick up the phone book to look for a pediatrician. You know that a pediatrician is a physician who has specialized training in caring for infants and adolescents, right? Unfortunately, you maybe wrong!A recent study concludes that up to 17 percent of physicians practicing pediatrics have never been board certified and some have...

• Stevens Johnson Syndrome - Ever Heard of It?

  Dan Frith | September 25, 2007 9:59 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is an allergic reaction caused by various drugs, many of which can be purchased at your local drug store. SJS can be caused by almost any medication including anit-biotics, anti-convulsants and pain killers. Adverse drug reactions (ADR's) account for approximately 150,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone, making drug reactions the fourth leading cause of death...

• $1.3 Million Sanction Against Parkersburg Hospital

  Shannon Weidemann | June 01, 2007 5:03 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A West Virginia Hospital has to pay a $1.3 Million sanction for its behavior during a medical malpractice case. Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital was sued following the death of one of its patients in 2001. The woman died of a lidocaine overdose during surgery on her ankle.Camden-Clark's alleged misconduct included failing to disclose to the plaintiffs during discovery that Sherry Johnston, the...

• West Virginia Hospital Sued Over Circumcision

  Shannon Weidemann | April 30, 2007 3:23 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A couple from Preston is suing the West Virginia University Medical Corporation with a medical malpractice suit regarding the circumcision of their son. The circumcision happened on October 20, 2005 and the couple claims that their son was injured during the procedure. The suit says the deviation of care during the procedure caused injury and damages to the Dumires. As a result of the alleged...

• FDA Fines Red Cross $4.2 Million Dollars for Violating Safety Rules

  Staff Writer | September 21, 2006 4:02 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has fined the American Red Cross $4.2 million dollars for failure to comply with federal law and FDA regulations regarding the collection of blood products. These fines were assessed based on an amended 2003 consent decree that called for substantial financial penalties when the Red Cross fails to comply with FDA regulations and provisions of the consent...

• Florida Jury Awards Stroke Victim $3.82 Million Dollars

  Staff Writer | August 14, 2006 10:17 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A Florida jury has awarded more than 3.8 Million Dollars to a woman who suffered a brain injury after having a large intravenous tube removed before she was about to be released and sent home. Kathleen Leer, 54 years of age, was a chronic pain patient who had been admitted because of a dislodged catheter in her lower back. After an operation to replace the catheter, she developed complications...

• Meritorious Medical Malpractice Claims

  Staff Writer | August 03, 2006 2:55 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine by the Department of Health Policy and Management, establishes that the vast majority of expenditures associated with medical malpractice litigation are expended on cases where preventable medical mistakes occurred and payments are made to the injured claimant. The study examined 14,052 closed malpractice claims from five...

• Public Citizen sues FDA over plans for secret meeting

  Staff Writer | July 24, 2006 10:05 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Public Citizen has filed an emergency law suit to force the FDA to open what was scheduled to be a secret meeting scheduled for Friday, July 14, 2006 on an experimental blood substitute product. The U.S. Navy has submitted a proposal to test Hemopure, a blood substitute product derived from cows' blood on civilian trauma patients. The FDA has reportedly turned down three separate requests from...

• Medication Errors

  Staff Writer | July 20, 2006 11:09 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A new report from the Institute of Medicine says that more than 1.5 million Americans are injured every year by drug errors in hospitals, nursing homes and doctors offices. At least ¼ of these medication related injuries are preventable. The Institute has recommended that all prescriptions should be written electronically by 2010.Perhaps the most stunning aspect of the report was the conclusion...

• New Study Casts Doubt on Claims that the Medical Malpractice System is Plagued by Frivolous Lawsuits

  Staff Writer | June 30, 2006 9:48 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital has produced evidence that frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits are not widespread. Researchers analyzed more than 14,000 closed malpractice claims from five different insurance companies. Although researchers found that nearly 1/3 of claims lacked clear cut evidence of medical error, most of...