Cardiovascular Disease Health Screenings
Not all disease can be prevented but taking care of ourselves through lifestyle and health screenings can minimize our risks for serious health problems. The effects of cardiovascular disease are one of the biggest causes for early deaths in the United States; in fact, heart disease is the number one killer of women.
Cardiovascular Disease health screenings
Read MoreMedical Errors are Third Leading Cause of Death in United States
We have all heard of horrific medical errors like tools being sewn back up into a patient or having the wrong limb amputated but the perception that these types of errors were rare has been shattered through research. The National Institutes of Health landmark report issued in 1999 called “To Err is Human” estimated that medical errors caused 98,000 deaths each year. A new study published May 3 in the peer-reviewed medical journal BMJ analyzed four previous studies conducted between 2000 and 2008 and concluded that medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the U.S., actually accounting for 251,000 deaths annually; more than respiratory disease, accidents, stroke and Alzheimer’s. This number equates to almost 700 deaths per day or about 9.5 percent of all deaths annually in the United States. It is almost triple the number of deaths found to be the result of medical errors in the 1999 study. Part of the reason for the disparity is that the recent analysis delved deeper into causes ranging from incompetent doctors to communication breakdowns between staff as a patient is handed off to a different department.
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Read MoreMedical Malpractice: Difference Between Negligence and Gross Negligence
When a patient is harmed by the negligence of a medical professional, they may suffer for the rest of their lives. A medical malpractice lawyer can examine the aspects of your case to determine whether medical negligence or gross negligence has occurred, then identify the value of your claim and help you recover damages.
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Read MoreAm I Having a Stroke?
United States Stroke Statistics
- Approximately 795,000 Americans each year suffer a stroke; about 600,000 of these are first time incidents and 185,000 are recurrent attacks.
- Stroke kills more than 140,000 Americans each year; it is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
- Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.
- Almost three-quarters of strokes occur in people over the age of 65. In fact, a person’s risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade after the age of 55. But one in four strokes happen to people under the age of 65.
- Between 1995 and 2005, the stroke death rate fell by 30 percent and the actual number of stroke deaths declined by 14 percent.
- High blood pressure is the biggest risk factor for stroke.
- A person’s risk of stroke doubles if they are a current smoker
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Read MoreWhat is a Mini Stroke?
A mini stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) happens to thousands of Americans every year and research is indicating that it can be a warning sign that a serious stroke is on the way. Up to 20 percent of people who have a mini stroke will go on to have a major stroke in the next three months. Unfortunately, many people do not seek medical attention after TIS and end up suffering a stroke before they are seen by a doctor.
Brain Ischemia Defined
Ischemia occurs when the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen when blood vessels that would normally carry these entities become blocked by blood clots or cholesterol plaques. Neurons in ischemic areas starve and stop functioning.
Read MoreDo you know the Warning Signs of Stroke?
A stroke can happen without warning and sometimes without the victim knowing they had a stroke. While some strokes are debilitating and others have few lasting signs, it can be an advantage to know the symptoms in order to seek the help needed. If you or a loved one was injured by a stroke that may have been caused by the reckless treatment of a medical professional, call a medical malpractice attorney today.
In the Unites States, a stroke happens about every 40 seconds, affecting about 795,000 Americans each year. Do you know the warning signs of stroke?
Read MoreTraumatic Brain Injury Symptoms
Traumatic brain injury sounds scary, and it can be depending on the level of its severity. It is important to note that some people experience signs or symptoms right after a traumatic event, while in other cases, symptoms don’t appear until days or weeks later. The Mayo Clinic has put together a list of physical, sensory, and cognitive symptoms of traumatic brain injuries based on their level of severity.
Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms by Severity
Mild traumatic brain injury
Read MoreTop 10 Shocking Medical Errors
Medical errors are made every day but when you’re sick and need surgery you have to place trust in your physician. The truth is that there are no guarantees; even a great doctor or nurse can have a bad day or make a mistake. It is hard to believe but 250,000 people are killed every year due to medical errors in the United States and millions more are injured. Behind heart disease and cancer, medical errors are the third largest cause of death in the United States.
There are some common medical errors that can lead to big problems and many of them can be prevented with a little effort by the patient.
Top 10 Medical Errors and How to Prevent Them:
1. Treating the Wrong Patient!
This common medical error is caused by staff failing to identify the patient before surgery, often as a result of a different patient with a similar name in the hospital at the same time. Clearly, receiving treatment or surgery for someone else’s medical condition is dangerous. Your best chance of prevention is to make sure that the hospital staff checks your entire name, date of birth and the barcode on your hospital wristband.
2. Leftover Operating Tools!
This surgical error is the stuff of nightmares; the medical staff fails to count or miscounts the pieces of equipment used inside a patient during an operation and literally sew them back up with a piece still inside. If you are having trouble recovering from surgery and have unexplained fever, pain or swelling you may want to ask for an x-ray to rule out equipment left inside.
3. Lost Patients!
This problem is most often associated with patients experiencing dementia. Dementia patients are prone to wandering off and can become trapped or lost and die from dehydration or hypothermia. You can help to protect your loved one by investing in a GPS tracking bracelet.
4. Con-Artist Doctors!
There are people out there posing as doctors when they are not. Being treated by someone not trained as a medical professional is clearly dangerous. Your best defense is to check your physician’s status online.
5. Long Waits in the ER!
We’ve all experienced the overcrowded emergency room and there is a serious risk that a patient will become sicker while they wait for care. If you are concerned about receiving timely care in a busy emergency room then your best offense is to call your doctor and have them contact the hospital on your behalf.
6. Air Bubbles in Blood!
When a patient’s chest isn’t sealed airtight after a chest tube is removed it can leave dangerous air bubbles in the blood. The consequences to this medical error are deadly; air bubbles get sucked into the wound and cut off blood supply to the patient’s lungs, heart, kidneys, and brain. If you are receiving a surgery with a central line tube you then ask how you should be positioned when the line is removed.
7. Operating on the Wrong Body Part!
There are a few things that can cause an operation on the wrong body part including an incorrect notation on a medical chart, a misunderstanding of the medical chart or surgical draping obscuring a mark that is meant to identify the area for surgery. Before you are put under, reaffirm the area in need of surgery with the nurse and doctor.
8. Infections!
The spread of infection can occur pretty easily if doctors and nurses fail to wash their hands or sterilize operating equipment. Patients can die from infections incurred in hospital surgeries so it is worth making sure that nurses and doctors who handle you wash their hands first.
9. Mixed-up Tubes!
A simple visual mix-up between a chest tube and a feeding tube can mean medicine for the chest ends up in the stomach or vice versa. If you have multiple tubes going into your body, ask the nurse to trace each tube back to its origin.
10. Oops. You Woke up During Surgery!
Waking up during surgery is typically a caused by an under-dose of anesthesia. This bizarre situation can lead your brain to be awake while your muscles are frozen; some patients report feeling pokes and prods and some even feel pain. When you are planning for your surgery, make sure that you really need to be put to sleep or if a local anesthetic might work for your case.
Medical malpractice law is complicated and confusing unless you know the law inside and out. Tario & Associates, P.S. focuses on medical malpractice with many years of experience winning claims. Call the expert medical malpractice attorneys at Tario & Associates, P.S. if you or a loved one were injured by the wrong medical diagnosis or treatment. We will hear the specifics of your case and fight for the compensation you deserve. Call us today!
Read MoreWhat is Informed Consent?
Although we may not realize it, we must give informed consent before accepting treatment or a medical procedure. Doctors are obligated to thoroughly inform their patients about the risks involved in a medical treatment or procedure before it is performed. Informed consent is the medical and legal term used to describe this obligation. Without informed consent, a physician is opening himself up to be sued for medical malpractice.
The Ethical guidelines of informed consent are:
1. The person must be mentally competent.
2. All relevant procedural facts must be disclosed.
3. The person must understand the information that is disclosed.
4. The decision to undergo the procedure or treatment must be voluntary.
5. The person must give consent.
What is Informed Consent?
Since most medical procedures involve some risks, the doctor is obligated to communicate these risks to the patient so they can make an informed decision about undergoing the procedure. Essentially, informed consent is the process of providing essential information about a procedure in exchange for the patient’s agreement to receive said treatment. The agreement can be signed as part of the informed consent but it is not complete without verbal communication and a basic understanding by the patient.
Informed consent is one of the key components involved in Medical Malpractice law because the patient may have forgone the procedure had they known the risks.
What Type of Risks Must Be Disclosed?
Although a doctor doesn’t need to tell a prospective patient about every possible small risk, they are obligated to tell them about the big ones. The question is how do you determine which risks are vital to communicate?
Two common standards are used to determine whether the risk should have been communicated.
Some states ask whether other reasonable doctors would have disclosed the risk. In a medical malpractice case this is proven by bringing a medical expert to testify that a competent doctor would have informed the patient of a particular risk because it was statistically likely to happen.
Other states ask whether a normal patient with the same medical history and conditions would have chosen not to receive the procedure had they known about the risk. The court is looking to see if the doctor informed the patient of reasonable alternative treatments before proceeding with the problem treatment. A medical expert is not necessarily called in these cases.
Exceptions to the rule of Informed Consent
In an emergency there is often not time to get informed consent from the patient. A doctor is entitled to make a decision on behalf of the patient to save their life.
If a patient is deemed too emotionally fragile to handle the information about possible risks, a doctor is entitled to be vague in their description. The doctor must be able to clearly state why they withheld information if they are sued for medical malpractice.
Note that if a patient gives informed consent to a heart procedure but during the operation the doctor discovers a different problem, they may go ahead and handle the second problem without informed consent.
Medical malpractice law is complicated and confusing unless you are a malpractice attorney. Tario & Associates, P.S. focuses on medical malpractice with many years of experience winning claims. Call the expert medical malpractice attorneys at Tario & Associates, P.S. if you or a loved one were injured by the wrong medical diagnosis or treatment. We will hear the specifics of your case and fight for the compensation you deserve. Call us today!
Read MoreI Was Injured by a Doctor. Who do I Sue for Medical Malpractice?
Hospitals Are Liable for Employee Actions
A hospital can be sued when their employee does not exercise reasonable care when treating a patient or was doing something job related and it results in a patient injury.
Who are Hospital Employees?
In most cases nurses, paramedics and medical technicians are direct hospital employees.
Isn’t the Doctor a Hospital Employee?
Actually, typically doctors are not hospital employees; they are contracted workers and would be sued directly if they committed medical malpractice. One way to know that a doctor is not a hospital employee is that they send a separate bill for their services.
Note that although it creates a gray area, if a hospital employee acts negligently under the guidance of a doctor, the patient could sue the doctor while the hospital remains untouchable.
You can tell if an employee is under a doctor’s supervision because the doctor was present when the employee committed the malpractice and the doctor could have prevented the malpractice by noticing the employee’s error.
When is a Doctor a Hospital Employee?
The doctor’s relationship with the hospital will give clues as to whether he is an employee or an independent contractor. A doctor who is a direct employee would likely have their hours, fees and vacation time set by the hospital.
Is a Hospital ever Responsible for a Non-Employee Doctor’s Negligence?
If you are hitting a dead end, you may wish to retain the services of a medical malpractice attorney to determine if your case warrants an exception. In some cases, a hospital can be held responsible for a non-employee doctor’s actions.
The Doctor Appeared to be a Hospital Employee
Hospitals typically state that doctors are not hospital employees in your admissions paperwork. Once you’ve signed in, you are stating your understanding that the doctor is a contract employee solely responsible for his actions. In the case of emergency rooms visits where paperwork is not signed before care is given, the hospital is often held liable for medical negligence. In a few states, a hospital can be sued for emergency room malpractice regardless of whether the patient understood that the doctor was a contracted employee.
An Incompetent Doctor is Retained
In many states, a hospital can be held liable for medical malpractice if it retains the services of an incompetent doctor. The hospital can also be responsible if they should have known that a doctor has become incompetent, for example, because they have become an alcoholic.
Medical Malpractice law is complicated and varies from state to state. It is advisable to seek legal advice and representation from a medical malpractice attorney in your area. If you or a loved one were injured or died while receiving care at a hospital you may be able to receive damages. If you think you have a legitimate legal claim for your injuries, you should setup an appointment to discuss your case with the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S.
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