Valleywide Legal Blog

A Large Verdict Following a Disastrous Birth

An Iowa jury awarded nearly $100 million in damages to the parents of a child catastrophically injured during childbirth and to the child himself.  As is often the case in these verdicts, almost half of the money was to pay … Read More

Posted in Birth Injuries, Cesarean Section, Doctors, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Case Value, medical malpractice lawsuits, Nurses, trial, Verdicts |

Hospitals Are Still Unsafe

The medical profession knows that there is a patient safety problem.  Every time they examine patient safety, they find the same thing.  People in hospitals are injured at an unacceptable rate and the doctors and hospitals seem to be unable … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Infection, Lawsuits, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medication Errors, Nurses, Secrecy, Surgical Errors |

A Case of Hospital Malpractice

Hospitals are where the germs are.  Hospitals are also where the worst germs are.  Sick people are constantly coming to the hospital and bringing their viruses and bacteria with them.  In spite of the best efforts, and sometimes less than … Read More

Posted in antibiotic resistant bacteria, blood infections, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Finding a Medical Malpractice Lawyer, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Infection, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice claims, never events, Nurses, Sepsis |

Electronic Medical Records Are A Problem.

One thing you can say about Electronic Medical Records:  They are a mixed blessing.  In my practice, I read a lot of medical records.  In the old days, they were all written by hand and I had to struggle with … Read More

Posted in Doctors, electronic medical records, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, medical charts, Medical Costs, medical mistakes, Nurses |

Just Fill Out These Forms – Hospital Edition.

If there was ever a situation of more uneven bargaining power than being asked to fill out hospital forms while lying on a gurney in the emergency department, I cannot think what it could be.  And yet that is precisely … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Informed Consent, Lawsuits, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Nurses |

Medical Malpractice and Quadriplegia.

Over the years, I have handled a number of cases in which the patient successfully underwent surgery only to become paralyzed in the hours and days after leaving the operating room.  In each of these cases, the patient should not … Read More

Posted in Blood Clots, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical charts, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, medical negligence lawyers, Nurses, Surgical Errors |

The Private Autopsy.

Sadly, I see a lot of death cases.  Prospective clients come to me with questions about the death of a loved one.  Why did she die?  What happened to her?  Most often they want to know if her death was … Read More

Posted in Autopsy, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, electronic medical records, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical charts, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Nurses, plaintiff, Secrecy |

Doctors Behaving Badly.

Doctors are not immune to the mores of the society around them.  It seems that everywhere we look today, we see a coarsening of society.  Past generations may have cursed, but they didn’t do it all the time or loudly … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, Fraud, Hospitals, medical ethics, Medicare, Nurses, Secrecy |

What You Want To Know Before They Operate.

You have been referred to a surgeon and she has advised you that you need surgery.  What now?  There are certain steps you should always take when this happens. What happens if I don’t get the surgery? This is always … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Infection, Informed Consent, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, Medicare, Nurses |

The Retained Foreign Object.

Something is going on and I am not sure what it is or why.  The incidence of objects being left behind in the body of the patient is increasing.  What is being left behind, you ask?  Mostly it is the … Read More

Posted in blood infections, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Hospitals, Medical Devices, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice lawyers, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, never events, Nurses, retained sponge, retained surgical instruments, Sepsis, Surgical Errors |