Doctors are putting surgical patients at unnecessary risk by providing blood transfusions that are not needed, according to the latest study. The study, published in the journal Anesthesiology, was conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins. Providing a transfusion during surgery may seem like a neutral action – how can supplementing a patient’s blood supply be… Read More
Most Hospital Errors Go Undetected and Unreported
The families of the victims of hospital errors are often told that these type of problems and complications “just happen” or are unfortunate but “we did all we could do”. Perhaps for this reason, the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a new report finding that over 80… Read More
Infections After a Kidney Transplant
Minor infections are a common consequence of a kidney transplant. But major infections are often preventable through the exercise of proper medical care. In fact, many major post-operative infections are the direct result of medical negligence. Minor infections are the result of the immuno-suppressant drugs required to prevent the patient’s body from rejecting the new… Read More
Dental Malpractice: A Primer
When most people think of medical malpractice, they most often think of doctors or other hospital personnel whose negligence causes a patient serious injury or death. But any medical professional can commit medical malpractice, including doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, and dentists. Dental malpractice, like other forms of professional malpractice, is the failure by a dentist… Read More
Delayed Diagnosis of Meningitis in Children
Meningitis is not a single illness, caused by a single “bug.” Instead, meningitis – often called spinal meningitis – is any one of a number of infections which can occur in the fluid of the spinal cord, or the fluid surrounding the brain. When a meningitis diagnosis is delayed in an infant or child, the… Read More
Misinformation Key to Tort Reformers
Our medical malpractice attorneys in Chicago have often written about the falsehoods and misinformation behind the movement for so-called “tort reform.” One area of misinformation has gotten some play recently: the idea of “defensive medicine.” Defensive medicine is a term coined by proponents of “tort reform” to describe the supposed overuse of unnecessary or unjustified… Read More
Study: Test Results Often Ignored in Patient Care
Proponents of so-called “tort reform” would have you believe that doctors are now engaged in “defensive medicine” – ordering scores of unnecessary tests simply to avoid the threat of lawsuits. Our medical malpractice attorneys are always puzzled when we hear such claims, as the evidence does not support claims that doctors regularly engage in this… Read More
The Dangers of Epidurals
Epidural injections are a form of anesthesia administered via a needle or tube into the spinal column. When an epidural is given, the anesthesiologist (or other doctor — sometimes an orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon) inserts a needle which punctures the spinal column, then enters what is known as the “epidural space.” In short, the needle… Read More
The Fraud of “Defensive Medicine”
For years, decades even, the American public has heard the relentless chorus from the advocates of so-called “tort reform” — namely, from the insurance lobby and American Medical Association — that such reform (damage caps, health courts, etc.) is necessary due to the widespread practice of “defensive medicine.” Our medical malpractice attorneys would like to… Read More
Texas Proves that Tort Reform Harms Patients
The medical malpractice attorneys of Passen & Powell have often voiced our objection to so-called “tort reform”: legislation intended to reduce medical insurance companies’ liability exposure by reducing the amount of money that the victims of malpractice can recover. Such “reforms” are simply unjust. In effect, a legislature passing such “reforms” says to the victims… Read More