Medical Malpractice Blog Bellingham

Snow Shoveling Causes More than 11,000 Injuries and 100 Fatalities Each Year

The Pacific Northwest has been hit with a snow storm and very cold temperatures. With more snow and continued freezing temperatures in the forecast, there will be snowy roads and driveways for at least a week. As people get outside to shovel their sidewalks and driveways, they should know to be very careful. Data published by pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov reveals that there are about 11,500 injuries each year from shoveling snow, including 100 fatalities.

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Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that happens when a medical or other health care professional deviates from the standards of care in their profession through a negligent act or omission, thereby causing injury to a patient. Negligent omissions include failure to disclose test results or to provide proper aftercare. Negligent acts include diagnostic errors and prescription drug errors.

What is not medical malpractice?

There are many scenarios that can lead to an unhappy patient that do not necessarily fall under the category of medical malpractice because the medical professional did not act negligently. Some examples include:

• Adverse or bad surgical or treatment outcome
• Untreatable patient condition
• Worsening patient condition
• Rude or hurried treatment

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Top 4 Medical Malpractice Claims Myths

Sadly, recent studies of medical errors published on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, estimate that medical errors may account for as many as 251,000 deaths annually, which makes medical errors the third leading cause of death in the U.S. While the numbers reported typically range between 45,000 and 95,000, experts acknowledge that less than 10 percent of medical errors are reported. When a person is injured as a result of negligent medical care or preventable medical errors, they may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim.

When it comes to personal injury claims, there are probably more myths and misunderstandings about medical malpractice claims than any other category. This is a problem because myths can prevent injured patients or their loved ones from seeking the settlement they deserve for their injuries.

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Failure to Diagnose Heart Attacks: Medical Malpractice

February is American Heart Month so this seems like a good time to talk about heart attacks, or more specifically, the damage that can be caused from failure to diagnose heart attacks. Until it was replaced by COVID-19, heart disease and the conditions it causes was the leading cause of death in the United States. Heart attacks, stroke and heart failure are all mostly preventable diseases when we make healthy lifestyle choices. A major survival factor for those experiencing heart attacks is access to quality healthcare with physicians who correctly diagnose their health issue.

If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to a medical professional’s failure to diagnose or misdiagnose a heart attack, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering and more through a medical malpractice claim.

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Seeking Justice for Sexual Misconduct by a Medical Professional

We place a lot of trust in doctors to help keep our minds and bodies healthy. While the vast majority of health professionals are committed to acting with the utmost integrity, there are a tiny percentage who are predators. When a doctor or other medical professional sexually assaults or acts indecently with a patient, they have broken the duty of care they are expected to uphold and should be held accountable for their actions. Civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct fall under personal injury laws while criminal charges fall under criminal law.

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Does Sexual Misconduct Fall Under Medical Malpractice?

We trust doctors and other healthcare professionals to provide competent and respectful medical care and this is what we get the vast majority of the time. In rare cases, a healthcare professional breaks the trust given to them by acting in a negligent or inappropriate way. When a doctor uses their position of power or authority to make unwelcome and/or inappropriate sexual contact or sexual comments, sexual misconduct may have occurred. Sexual misconduct is a type of medical malpractice.

Patients who are victimized by sexual misconduct have the right to hold the medical professional accountable for their actions. A medical malpractice claim may be appropriate. Speak to a medical malpractice attorney who can discuss your legal rights and options.

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Wrongful Life Lawsuit Awards Plaintiff $10M After Seattle Nurse Gives Flu Shot Instead of Birth Control

According to reporting by the Seattle Times, a federal judge has awarded just over $10 million in a wrongful life lawsuit brought against the government for the negligence of a nurse at a federally funded health care clinic. The suit was brought because of an unwanted pregnancy caused by the nurse’s negligence when she administered a flu shot instead of the quarterly birth control injection. The negligent action ended in the birth of a severely disabled child and the birth injury award is intended to pay for the future care of the child, now eight years old.

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Family Sues Seattle Children’s Hospital For Mold Found in Baby’s Heart After Surgery Causes Serious Illness

As reported on seattletimes.com, the family of a baby boy who ended up in critical condition after open-heart surgery at Seattle Children’s hospital has brought a negligence suit against the hospital for failure to disclose unsafe conditions in the hospital’s operating rooms. The infant – who was only six days old at the time he underwent open-heart surgery at Seattle Children’s hospital in October, 2019 – became gravely ill with a mold infection in his heart one-month post-surgery. The plaintiffs explain that they would not have chosen to have the surgery at Seattle Children’s hospital had they known about the mold issue. The family has had to rent an apartment near the hospital and says that their son has had respiratory and heart failure and needs another surgery. He may not be ready for release until his first birthday in September.

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When Can I Sue a Hospital for Medical Negligence?

If you or a loved one was injured at a hospital because of negligence, you may be wondering if it is appropriate to sue for negligence to recover damages. Specifically, when is it appropriate to sue a hospital for negligence versus an individual medical professional?

First, let’s define medical negligence

Medical negligence is the fault theory used in most medical malpractice cases. It has occurred when a medical professional performs their job in a way that breaks their duty of care by deviating from the accepted medical standard of care. Medical negligence qualifies as medical malpractice when the medical professional’s negligent conduct causes injury to the patient.

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What is a Doctor’s Duty of Care?

Medical doctors and other health professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. A duty of care is the legal obligation doctors owe their patients to provide treatment in line with appropriate levels of care under the circumstances. This legal obligation is the first step in proving any medical malpractice claim.

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