Medical Malpractice Expert

Proper medical care can often mean the difference between life and death. Every day, people turn to medical professionals to help cure sickness, rehabilitate injuries, and perform corrective surgeries. In most cases, medical procedures help alleviate the pain and suffering of the sick and injured, and usually guide them to a complete recovery. In some cases, however, surgery or other procedures may not be performed correctly and the individual may suffer further injury or disability as a result.

People depend on their doctors and surgeons to be experienced, professional, and careful with any medical procedures they undergo. Most individuals enter the hospital with a certain expectation of security and competence from their health care providers. When it comes to surgeries, there is usually a measure of concern, but the majority of procedures go according to plan. If a mistake is made during surgery however, the patient may experience severe pain, suffering, and permanent disability as a result.

If an individual suffers permanent disability as a result of a medical mistake, he or she may be eligible to sue for medical malpractice. Common types of medical malpractice include surgical mistakes, wrong-site surgery, anesthesia failure, birth injuries, misdiagnosis, and prescription errors. Although some errors may have little or no effect on the person’s overall recovery and future health, it is important for surgeons to be aware of the dangers of mistakes made on the operating table.

Medical professionals should make sure to clearly communicate with the patient to find out exactly what symptoms he or she is suffering. Making the correct diagnosis of an illness or injury is key to proper treatment and efforts should be made to make the right diagnosis. If surgery is required to correct the issue, doctors should seek thorough consultation and should settle on a plan that is beneficial to the patient.

Before operating, the procedure should be carefully explained to the patient and any questions he or she may have should be answered in the best possible manner. Surgeons should explain the risks involved with each procedure and should make sure they are comfortable with the plan themselves. During surgery, all medical staff involved should be aware of the rules and safety regulations to protect the patient at all times.

If a person suffers serious injury due to an error during surgery, he or she may be eligible to sue for medical bills, pain, suffering, and other damages. If you would like to know more about surgery errors and medical malpractice, visit the website of the Madison personal injury attorneys of Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C.

An examination of cases involving a birth injury reveals some common medical mistakes that can result in a placental abruption.  When a placental abruption takes place the placenta separates from the uterus cutting off the baby’s supply of oxygen.  This can lead to severe permanent damage to the baby.  It can also lead to the death of the baby.  Understanding the decisions taken by physicians and nurses that have lead to a placental abruption harming the baby might help physicians and nurses take steps to eliminate change the way they handle these cases in the future.  In addition it can help families whose child has suffered a placental abruption injury understand what went wrong and how a physician or nurse who made a mistake can be held accountable.

Consider the following three cases:

Case 1

A 38 year-old pregnant woman presented to a hospital with massive hemorrhaging.  She reported to the doctor that she had seen her obstetrician the day before with back and abdominal pain as well as persistent bleeding.  The attending physician checked the baby’s heart rate with a fetal heart rate monitor and concluded that the results were reassuring.  The attending did not order an ultrasound and failed to do a full workup for the pain and bleeding.  Instead, the attending ignored her continuing complaints of abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, concluded that she was not in labor and sent her home.  The bleeding and pain were caused by a placental abruption which is known to cause profuse persistent bleeding and which can be painful.  The baby was later born still.  The law firm that handled this case reported a trial verdict of $1,651,166.

Case 2

A pregnant woman was admitted to the hospital for labor and delivery of her baby.  At multiple points during the labor the labor and delivery nurse monitoring her condition failed to realize that there was a problem with the pregnancy and act to save the baby.

First, on initial examination it was noted that she had high blood pressure.  Yet despite this being a symptom of a possible serious complication the labor and delivery nurse took no addition blood pressure readings.  Second, unusual contraction patterns were ignored by the nurse.  Finally, in the face of a placental abruption, the nurse failed to take any resuscitative measures including through the administration of oxygen or the increase of the IV fluid rate.  By the time the baby was delivered it was born still.  .  The law firm that handled this case reported a settlement of $300,000.

Case 3

A pregnant woman was admitted to the hospital with contractions at approximately 8:25 the evening before the day of her scheduled C-section.  The woman had a history of a prior placental abruption.  The obstetrician, however, who was not notified of her history, decided to go home and have dinner.  Approximately 20 minutes after her admission, the readings from the fetal heart rate monitor showed signs of fetal distress.  No action was taken by the nurses to notify the obstetrician.  After another 15 minutes the baby’s heart rate dropped below 90 beats per minute, a critical warning sign.  The nurses finally called the obstetrician.  It took 24 minutes for the obstetrician to arrive and perform an emergency C-section.  The baby was unable to breath on its own and required resuscitation having suffered at least 20 minutes of oxygen deprivation after the placenta had ruptured.  The law firm that handled the case reported a trial verdict of $4.25 Million..

As these three cases illustrate, there are several common types of errors that can lead to a failure to detect or to act upon a placental abruption.  The first type of error concerns the lack of a full work up to diagnose the cause of an abnormal condition in the pregnancy.  Case I above illustrates this type of error.  The woman is that case was showing classic signs of a placental abruption and yet the physician ignored them and instead relied entirely on an interpretation of the readings from the fetal heart rate monitor.

The second type of error arises when a nurse is left to monitor the labor without the supervision of a physician.  Whether by lack of knowledge, lack of training, or distraction, a nurse may fail to properly interpret the signs of a placental abruption or may fail to appreciate the urgency of the situation.  In such a case the nurse will not immediately notify a physician thereby allowing precious time to pass while the baby is in distress.  Cases 2 and 3 above illustrate this type of error.

The third type of error is a communication error.  This type of error occurs when a nurse or other staff member does not adequately convey the emergency nature of the situation to a doctor.  This can happen when a nurse or other staff member defers to the doctor’s decisions even in the presence of clear signs that the situation requires immediate action.  In such situations it is the responsibility of the nurse or staff member to challenge the doctor or seek out another doctor.  This type of error may have been at the root of Case 3 above.  The nurses may have been reluctant to disturb the doctor’s dinner until the situation became critical.

When any of these types of errors result in the injury or death of a baby the family may be able to successfully bring a medical malpractice claim on behalf of the doctors and/or nurses involved.  Due to the nature of the harm these are complicated cases and the resulting settlements or damage awards can be substantial.