…An 18-year-old boy who lived at a reform school developed a brain abscess after his sinus infection went untreated for several days. The reform school’s staff ignored a doctor’s recommendation that the boy be taken to the local emergency room. The parties agreed to mediate this dispute and a settlement was reached after extensive negotiations. The settlement proceeds were placed in a special trust to preserve the young man’s eligibility for much-needed governmental benefits. … [Read more...]
Unsupervised woman badly breaks wrist falling out of hospital bed while still medicated
September 2, 2016 by
…A 61-year-old woman had extensive pelvic surgery at a local hospital. Although she was still very confused and agitated from her medication, she was transferred from the intensive care unit to a regular medical surgery unit. A nurse left her alone to find a doctor to make arrangements to place her in restraints. While the nurse was out of the room, she fell out of bed. She badly fractured her wrist, requiring two more surgeries. Medicare had recently published regulations which limit reimbursement to hospitals for eight conditions that are preventable complications of medical care. Broken bones during medical care is one of these eight … [Read more...]
Nursing home resident dies when given 5x prescribed medication dose
September 2, 2016 by
…A 76-year-old woman in poor health was a resident of a local nursing home. She was mistakenly given five times the prescribed dose of morphine, causing her to die within two hours from breathing failure. The nursing home settled out of court. … [Read more...]
Puncture of nearby artery during neck surgery causes death
September 2, 2016 by
…A 62-year-old woman was in surgery to have three vertebrae in her neck fused. During the procedure, the surgeon’s assistant unknowingly punctured a nearby artery. Because the surgeon and his operating team couldn’t locate the source of the bleeding, she died on the operating table. The case settled on the eve of trial. … [Read more...]
Pharmacy mistakenly gives pregnant woman narcotics instead of antibiotics
September 2, 2016 by
… An 18-year old pregnant woman was mistakenly given narcotic medication instead of antibiotics by a local pharmacy. The young woman took two doses of the medication before realizing the pharmacy’s mistake. She became ill and was rushed to the emergency room. She recovered soon after, but was worried about the possible side affects on her unborn child. Fortunately, she had a normal, healthy baby. Her case against the pharmacy settled out of court. … [Read more...]
