A hospital as an institution owes a duty to its patients. This can include the duty to properly credential doctors who work at the hospital or have policies and procedures set up to keep patients safe.
Unfortunately, it is often only after a costly lawsuit involving a severely injured person that many hospitals change behavior and institute safety measures.
Simon was a healthy and active 57 year old when he suddenly had debilitating abdominal pain. At the hospital, a major intestinal blockage was discovered, and Simon had a successful surgery. What he did not learn, however, was that a mass concerning for cancer was identified on one of his kidneys. He was never told of this, the doctors at the hospital never acted on the abnormal finding, and the hospital had no system in place to follow up on concerning incidental findings like cancer.
Four years later the kidney cancer was finally identified at another hospital, and Simon had to have major surgery to remove the entire kidney with the cancerous mass. If the original hospital had communicated with Simon, or triggered a followup about the kidney cancer, he would have avoided a major surgery and follow-up treatment, including scans twice a year to look for metastatic spread.
Simon retained CMG Law and we were able to secure a settlement that helped Simon recover the cost of his medical bills and gave him a measure of peace.
Linda was a healthy and active 26-year-old when she noticed her heart would race at times. Her cardiologist ran some tests and recommended an ablation procedure to solve the problem. The ablation procedure went well, and she was delivered to a recovery room to recuperate.
Prior to discharge, the hospital’s policy was to require patients go to the bathroom first. Her providers in the recovery room knew she had a history of syncope (fainting). And when Linda’s nurse helped her up to the bathroom, she stopped her after a short distance, noting that Linda was very unsteady on her feet.
Notwithstanding these warning signs, the nurse helped her to the bathroom but left her alone. While in the bathroom Linda got dizzy and fell, injuring her knee.
Linda retained us and we obtained a settlement with the hospital one month before trial. This will allow her to not worry about future medical expenses related to her knee injury.
Virtual, remote medicine is becoming a reality. For years, offsite radiologist have been able to read and interpret radiology films remotely. Now health care institutions in the Pacific Northwest are offering clinic-like services via remote health care provider, among other services.
The findings of two new studies show that migraine sufferers are often treated with narcotic painkillers or barbiturates, which goes against guidelines for the safe treatment of such patients.
A recent blog by a noted nurse-educator about the agonizing death of her grandmother illustrates the opportunity for multiple medical errors in today’s complex medical care system.