Blog: Medical Malpractice

Woman recovers $1.3M from hospital after slip-and-fall

Jul 3, 2013

It is likely that many think that a medical malpractice lawsuit must involve negligent actions by a doctor, nurse or other person directly charged with caring for an individual. The reality however is that hospitals can be held responsible for other accidents that involve on the premises as well. These incidents can take many forms, including slip-and-falls accidents. Recently a woman in another state was successful in a medical malpractice lawsuit she filed against a...

Mother sues doctor for failing to diagnose son’s condition

Jul 2, 2013

Patients who are in pain often seek medical care and treatment at a hospital. Doctors who exam such patients have a legal and moral obligation to ensure measures are taken to promptly and accurately diagnose possible medical conditions and problems. Even patients with seemingly minor medical problems, may have more serious underlying conditions and failure to properly diagnose such conditions can result in a patient suffering injury and even death. A woman whose son died...

Woman sues doctor over failure to diagnose skin cancer

Jun 28, 2013

Patients around Ohio rely upon the medical expertise of doctors to promptly diagnose and treat illnesses and diseases. In many cases, a patient may see a doctor about a seemingly benign spot or lesion only to learn it is cancerous. However, in cases where even a doctor fails to recognize that such a spot or lesion is something more serious, patients may suffer permanent harm, injury and even death. A woman recently filed a medical...

Class action lawsuits against UPMC allowed to proceed

Jun 26, 2013

As a result of the spread of hepatitis c, allegedly by a lab technician who worked at a number of hospitals, affected individuals throughout the nation have filed lawsuits in relation to the matter against the hospitals that employed him. One of those hospitals, UPMC, is located in Pennsylvania. Some of those lawsuits are class actions brought by patients of UPMC. Some of the approximately 2,000 individuals who were warned of possible contact with the...

Clamp left in patient leads to legal settlement, hospital fine

Jun 26, 2013

In even the best situations surgeries in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation can be dangerous to those undergoing them. Depending on the procedure being performed the risks vary. For example, last week we wrote about a man who died as a result of the medication that was given to him as he came out of surgery. Other times injuries are inflicted during the procedure when an organ is nicked. In still other situations, a foreign...

Spread of hepatitis C via transplant may decline using new tests

Jun 21, 2013

While much attention has been shown on the multiple cases of hepatitis C that are allegedly due to contaminated needles a hospital worker spread in Pennsylvania as well as other states, there are of course other ways in which the disease may be spread. One of those ways is through organ transplantation. Because organ transplant surgeries are now common at hospitals throughout the nation, including in the Pittsburgh area, this could potentially be a big...

Widow accuses anesthesiologist of negligence in husband’s death

Jun 14, 2013

Any surgical procedure, no matter how supposedly routine or minor, carries with it certain risks. This is particularly the case in procedures that require a patient to be put under. Anesthesiologists are among some of the most specialized of all medical professionals. When an anesthesiologist makes a mistake or error in judgement, such medical mistakes can result in a patient suffering permanent injuries, brain damage and even death. A trail recently began related to a...

Exeter hospital hep C outbreak leads to another infection

Jun 11, 2013

Regular readers of this blog are likely aware of the many hepatitis C cases that are being attributed to a former hospital technician. The man worked in hospitals throughout the nation as either a temporary or full-time employee, including one in Pennsylvania. Allegedly as a result of the man's drug problem, he spread the disease, via infected syringes, to more than 30 patients. Earlier this month another case, identified as the same strain of hepatitis...

Are apologies for medical errors a good idea?

Jun 10, 2013

Medical mistakes are a reality in Western Pennsylvania as well as throughout the nation. While those mistakes do not always result in an injury to a patient, when they do, the health of the patient can be seriously impacted. In some cases the injured person files a medical malpractice lawsuit against the individuals or entity that is responsible for their injury. As is the case in most civil lawsuits, there are multiple reasons why someone...

Lawsuit contends doctor’s errors lead to loss of man’s nose

Jun 7, 2013

There's a saying that truth is often stranger than fiction. This saying definitely applies in the case of one man who recently filed a lawsuit against his doctor after undergoing a total of 22 nose surgeries. The man first visited the doctor in 2006. At this time, the plaintiff claims he was convinced by the doctor to undergo a cosmetic rhinoplasty. Little did the man know, how this decision to undergo a seeminly minor surgery would impact...