Heart surgery is not a procedure to be taken lightly. Although it’s a relatively common operation, it is major surgery and comes with risks. Amazingly, a recent investigation uncovered a heart surgeon’s unscrupulous practice of performing unnecessary heart surgery on patients. Why? To rake in profits. The heart surgeon’s egregious
A 17-year-old girl recently won more than $100 million in damages against the hospital where she was born. Because the hospital has since gone bankrupt, the teen will only recover a fraction of the damages award, about $16 million. Either figure may initially seem lofty, but it must be put into context.
Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, attacks 500,000 Americans every year, killing an estimated 30,000 hospital patients. Because of the deadly bacteria’s ability to quickly kill people, you’d think extreme precautions would be in place to curb its spread. Instead, the presence of C. diff in hospitals and nursing homes has
Numerous medical studies have concluded that minority patients receive substandard medical treatment compared to Caucasians. Sadly, a new study shows that the racial discrimination of patients extends to young children who have suffered head injuries. The medical study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, concluded that minority
Unbelievably, a hospital turned an urban myth into reality when it transplanted a kidney into the incorrect patient. Perhaps wisely, the Methodist Dallas Medical Center isn’t disclosing many details on how it committed this monumental mistake, other than to say that it was caused by a “human error.” Hopefully, hospital
In 2007, a 20-year-old mother arrived at the University Of Iowa Hospital ready to give birth to a baby boy. The mother was nearing the end of a healthy pregnancy. Unfortunately, a series of hospital mistakes would cause her son to suffer severe brain damage resulting in mental retardation and
The parents of a 2-year-old baby are trying to hold a pediatrician and clinic accountable for the permanent brain damage their infant son suffered shortly after his birth. The birth injury lawsuit describes how the health clinic discharged the infant from its care without testing for and diagnosing jaundice. The
July is a time of change at hospitals throughout the nation. It’s when new interns – just out of med school – begin treating patients. These new physicians rely exclusively on their education and training, as they lack the experience of their older colleagues. That can be bad news for
Medical malpractice reform is always a hot topic, especially in an election year like 2012. Irrespective of your political preference, it’s important for you to get the facts when it comes tort reform so you can take an informed stance on the issue. Here are some of the medical malpractice
A new medical study is examining the impact of cord blood upon young children with cerebral palsy. The clinical trial involves children with a spastic form of cerebral palsy between the ages of one and six who have preserved their infant cord blood. The scientists will intravenously infuse the children