Usually, when you go to the hospital, you expect to be treated and hopefully feel better. But in some cases, can going to the hospital actually make you sicker? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Hospital-acquired infections can develop, which can create a whole new set of problems for patients. According to the Centers for Disease… Read More
Wrong Site Surgery: Easily Preventable, Yet Far Too Common
Medical malpractice is a growing epidemic in the United States. In May 2016, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published the results of an eight-year study on medical errors, finding that more than 250,000 patients die because of medical mistakes each year in the United States. According to the recent Johns Hopkins study, medical malpractice is now the… Read More
Medical Malpractice in Overcrowded Emergency Rooms
Most of us have unfortunately experienced the waiting that seems to last forever in a hospital emergency room. Emergency rooms are overcrowded and understaffed, and because of this, medical mistakes and mishaps on the increase. One of the most prevalent problems found in ERs around the nation is the amount of time patients have to… Read More
AMA Uses Bad “Facts” to Support Bad Law – H.R. 5
As we have previously noted, the leadership in the Federal House of Representatives has now moved to undo the recently-passed federal healthcare reform, and replace it with legislation designed solely to protect doctors and prevent the victims of medical malpractice from fully recovering for the harm they suffer. The American Medical Association has now come… Read More
Patients’ Right to Know Act Passes IL Legislature
In a major victory for Illinois patients and advocates for patients’ rights, such as the experienced Illinois medical malpractice lawyers of Passen & Powell, the Illinois Patients’ Right to Know Act has now passed both houses of the state legislature and is now on its way to the Governor’s desk. If, as expected, Governor Pat… Read More
Medicare Patients Harmed By Hospitals
For years, the top Chicago medical malpractice attorneys of Passen & Powell have been fighting against preventable medical errors. We believe that our society cannot rest until patients entering hospitals are safe from the very hospitals and physicians they trust. Unfortunately, we have become increasingly convinced that the situation in America’s hospitals is becoming steadily… Read More
Chicago Hospitals Try Transparent Approach to Medical Malpractice
Our medical malpractice attorneys in Chicago have frequently criticized the prevailing medical culture, which encourages doctors and hospitals to deny when medical errors are made, fighting even disclosures about what occurred in the hope of avoiding lawsuits and heightened scrutiny. As we have often said, such irresponsible and callous conduct does not decrease lawsuits and… Read More
States Move to Require Hospital Negligence Disclosures
Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys have previously argued that hospitals must begin to “own up” to their medical mistakes – and that doing so actually decreases medical malpractice exposures. Now, state legislatures have begun to take notice, and are moving towards requiring public acknowledgment and reporting of medical errors. This trend appears to have arisen… Read More
Proposed Health Care Reform Leaves Medical Malpractice Liability to States
The nation breathed a sigh of relief as the Senate passed its version of the health care reform bill before the holiday break, bringing sweeping changes one step closer to reality. Fortunately, for the sake of past and future victims of medical malpractice, the proposed national health care reform will not contain draconian “tort reform”… Read More
Reflecting Ten Years After Landmark Report on Medical Errors, ‘To Err is Human’
Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a ground-breaking report on medical errors, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which triggered a dialogue among medical professionals and public interest groups now referred to as the “patient safety movement.” The report, published in 2000, found that nearly 100,000 people die each… Read More