Medical Malpractice

Patients who have surgical procedures like an appendectomy don’t have any reason to expect that while they’re anesthetized, they may also be getting a pelvic or prostate exam from a medical student. However, in most states, that’s legal. Increasingly, lawmakers in those states – including Ohio – are working to change that. They want to prohibit medical personnel from allowing “intimate” exams to be conducted on patients while they’re under anesthesia if they’re unrelated to their surgical procedure -- or at least to require their informed written consent first. Some surgical consent forms...

Different parties can be liable for medical malpractice, including the hospital where you were injured. If a hospital fails to give you the appropriate standard of care, you can take action against it for negligence. Here are three instances when you can hold a hospital liable for medical malpractice: Poor hiring practices If a hospital fails to conduct thorough research on a physician before allowing them to offer services on their premises, it may be responsible for their negligence.  In addition, if a hospital knew or should have known that a physician was incompetent, it may be liable...

Negligence should not happen in any profession, especially in the medical field. Medical malpractice can be life-threatening, yet errors occur in almost all hospital departments, including operating rooms.  Surgical errors - performing the wrong procedure, operating the wrong site, operating on the wrong patient, performing unnecessary surgeries, leaving foreign objects in a patient's body, injuring adjacent organs and anesthesia errors – happen more frequently than you may believe. Here are three reasons they happen: 1. Incompetence A surgeon who is not trained or skilled to perform a...

Medical malpractice can take many different forms. For instance, a surgeon who is operating carelessly could fatally injure a patient. An anesthesiologist who isn’t monitoring a patient’s vital signs could allow them to suffer serious complications through negligence, rather than direct action. Even a doctor who simply makes a mistake and delays a diagnosis could be charged with malpractice if that delay caused harm to the patient and was negligent in nature. That being said, most people have a fair amount of trust in their doctor, and they believe that they are getting excellent care every...

When something goes wrong in a hospital setting, it can be difficult to determine precisely who is at fault. While some cases are obvious (like a surgeon accidentally nicking an artery), others aren’t. For example, if you’re given the wrong medication, is it the fault of the doctor who typed it in the computer, the pharmacist who reviewed the prescription or the nurse who took the wrong medication from the automated cabinet and administered it to you?  When someone suffers an injury, they’re sometimes able to hold the organization that employs those responsible liable as well (in this case...

There used to be a time when many doctors were afraid to say words of comfort to a patient or their family that even resembled an apology for something that went wrong out of fear of a medical malpractice suit. Ironically, studies have shown that in many instances, people are less likely to take legal action against a doctor who has taken some responsibility for missing something or making a mistake and expressed their regret. In an effort to improve doctor-patient relationships and perhaps minimize litigation, many states have enacted some form of what’s commonly called an “apology law.”...

People count on their pharmacists to provide them with the exact medication a doctor prescribes to them. Any errors with those medications can lead to patient harm.  Pharmacy malpractice can occur in various ways and may result in serious consequences for patients. It’s crucial for patients to understand some of the more common forms of pharmacy malpractice. Dispensing errors Dispensing errors occur when a pharmacist provides a patient with the wrong medication, incorrect dosage or improper instructions for use. This can happen due to various reasons, such as misreading a prescription,...

When a patient undergoes a surgical procedure, anesthesia will be administered to put them in a sleep-like state. Before doing so, however, the health care provider ought to let the patient understand the risks involved. While anesthesia is generally safe thanks to advances in medical technology, mistakes still happen.  Anesthesia mistakes can lead to serious injuries. If you or a loved one sustains an anesthesia-related injury, you may pursue the healthcare provider or hospital for damages through a medical malpractice claim. But how do anesthesia injuries happen? Here are three ways an...

The theory behind personal injury compensation is that it primarily serves to make an injury victim “whole” again. Viewed one way, this idea is pretty offensive. After all, no amount of compensation can make up for the consequences associated with serious, catastrophic or fatal injuries. Yet, viewed another way, it is a hopeful concept. Although money alone can’t “make things right,” awarding as much compensation as is necessary to properly honor and reflect the extent of a victim’s losses is a respectful approach to victims’ rights. Unfortunately, not all injury victims across the U.S. are...