Antelope Valley Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Modern Medicine

Rick Patterson — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:59:49 GMT

With so many defective drugs out there, it is a breath of fresh air to see a development that would be a positive force in the world of medicine. One such development is the revolutionary concept of nanomedicine. "Imagine a small capsule measuring in nano meters, scanning your internal organs and providing details to censors placed outside. This may have sounded like science fiction a couple of years ago, but today, imagination has transformed into reality."

It is believed that Nanomedicine will not only improve the efficacy of the drugs, it will also help target the drug to a desired area, which will minimize side effects and toxicity.

Nanomedicine, nanotechnology provides new ways to deliver drugs. It will help target a given drug very specifically to desired area such as the site of a tumor. "With nanomedicines I am able to deliver a drug directed against a tumor using a vehicle (medium). Unnecessary intravenous (IV) lines and related complications can be prevented" said Dr. Shishir Shetty, Surgical Oncologist, Wockhardt Hosptials." At this time, almost all major pharma companies and research institutions have ongoing projects on nanomedicine research. Some pulminary infllammation has been noted with the use of nanomedicine. Nanoparticles are still on trial and there effectiveness and long term effects are being determined.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices and Implants.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

Medical Malpractice Reaches University Hospital

Rick Patterson — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:58:20 GMT

On Friday, a grand jury indicted Herman Brown, 40, on charges that range from rape to kidnaping. The assaults took place in the psychiatric unit of University Hospital in May of this year.

To date, the hospital has only acknowledged one of the four assaults that took place. The facility has been put on probation since they failed to provide patient safety. To make matters worse, Brown has prior felony convictions, which means it was illegal for the facility to employ him to begin with. It seems, no background search was conducted on Brown, and he is not the only one working at the hospital without a background check having been conducted. In spite of the medical malpractice, a spokesperson for the facility commented recently that they were proud of the care they provide. Well, that is reassuring, isn't it.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

Time Change Could Result in Medical Malpractice

Rick Patterson — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 12:08:26 GMT

Although it has been known since 2005 that daylight saving time (DST) would change from its usual time this year, not everyone has prepared for those changes. It seems that daylight saving time may adversely affect computers, clocks, machinery and the like. This would clearly lead to problems i.e., banking. However, what is a much more serious situation than banking, is the adverse affect the change in daylight saving time may have on medical equipment.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated that medical equipment that uses date and time information for diagnosis and/or treatment may be at risk. The new DST began at 2:00 a.m. PST on Sunday, March 11. That is three weeks earlier than the usual time change. Additionally, this year, daylight saving time will end one week later than the ususual time.

Unless medical equipment has been updated by the manufacturer, most medical devices that are currently in use will be affected, according to an alert that was sent on Friday from MedWatch - the Food and Drug Administration's safety information and adverse event reporting program.

The types of things that could be affected range from incorrect dose prescribing, missed doses, extra doses, unintended increased/decreased duration of therapy, incorrectly recorded treatment/diagnostic results and dose administration at the wrong time. Hopefully, we won't see unsuspecting patients who will be victims of medical malpractice as they harmed in the process.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

Patient Causes Change in Medical Malpractice Law

Rick Patterson — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:49:56 GMT

Here is something to think about: Do you carry medical malpractice insurance? Do you receive medical treatment from doctors who do not? Did you know that 98,000 Americans die each year in our hospitals due to misdiagnoses and medical errors? Another noteworthy fact is that medical malpractice is the eighth most common cause of death in America. It is a fact of life; I'm afraid.

Janet Mitchell learned the hard way. She is a victim, or should I say survivor, of medical malpractice. She is now a patient rights advocate. She wrote the book "Taking a Stand," which provides tips for patients pertaining to the management of their own healthcare. Some of the helpful tips she includes are: Research your own doctor. I don't think it will come as a surprise that most people do not do this. Interview your doctor. It is understandable that most people feel too intimidated to interview their doctor, but you have every right to find out more about someone that you will be trusting with your most valuable asset - your health. Do not hesitate to get a second opinion and/or lab report. Remember that you are responsible for taking care of your health. You can get additional helpful information regarding medical malpractice and more by using the link provided.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

Medical Malpractice

Rick Patterson — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:56:35 GMT

Medical malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and which causes injury to the patient.

The American Academy of Family Physicians looks to a study entitled "Learning from Malpractice Claims about Negligent, Adverse Events in Primary Care in the United States", in suggesting that the medical community can learn from medical malpractice claims. In that study, researchers looked at primary care malpractice claims settled between 1985 and 2000 in the United States. The study focused on a subset of 5,921 claims that were clear errors. The researchers found:

68 percent of the errors were in outpatient settings and resulted in more than 1,200 deaths;
Negligence was more likely to have severe outcomes when they occurred in hospitals, but the total number of high severity outcomes and death was larger in the outpatient setting;
Of the 10 most prevalent medical conditions with error-related claims, no single condition accounted for more than five percent of all negligent claims; and
Diagnostic error accounted for more than one-third of the claims.

Additionally, a recent study by Heathgrades found that an average of 195,000 hospital deaths in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 in the U.S. were due to potentially preventable medical errors.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson