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Five medical malpractice cases pending in California settled this week for a sum of $1 million.  The settlements arise out of improper patient care that occured at a Northern California kidney transplant center that has been at the center of a controversy revolving around a poor record of patient care.

Federal and state investigators forced the hospital to close after the transplant waiting list grew to 1600 patients in 2006 while the center did less then 70 transplants.  It has been alleged that these transplants were either delayed or not performed due to bureacratic barriers at the the institution which caused some of the patient’s conditions to decline or die before they could receive life saving treatment.

The low dollar figures in these settlements are emblematic of the unfairness caused by California’s arbitrary cap on medical malpractice damages which sets the maximum compensation for these types of claims at $250,000.  This cap figure has remained unchanged since it was imposed in the 1970s.  The Supreme Court in Illinois is currently deciding the constitutionality of caps on medical malpractice awards.

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The Illinois Appellate Court, First District has extended damages in Wrongful Birth lawsuits to include the damages the victim will sustain after reaching the age of majority.  This is a significant extension beyond the victim’s usual rights in these types of cases which were first recognized in Illinois in Siemieniec v. Lutheran General Hospital, 117 Ill.2d 230 (1987). 

Now parents of severely disabled children who were born with disabilities due to the negligence of a doctor who failed to recognize the same in utero can recover damages necessary to care for their disabled child after that child reaches the age of majority.  The court stated that from a public policy perspective the financial burden of this type of care should be borne by the tortfeasor and not the state or the chilld’s parents.  Additionally, it now appears that the law in Illinois might recognize damages for the negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Justice O’Brien wrote “that such claims are judged by the ”zone-of-physical danger” rule set in Rickey v. Chicago Transit Authority, 98 Ill.2d 546 (1983), which provides that before someone can recover for emotional injuries stemming from the tortious injury of a third person, they must show that they were endangered by the defendants’ negligence and suffered a physical injury because of it” Clark v. Children’s Mem. Hosp., 1-08-0610 (Ill.App. 4-9-2009)

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The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the death of a 63 year old man who lived at the Burnham Terrace Nursing Home in Burnham, Illinois was a murder.  Thomas Donavan later died at South Shore Hospital from multiple injuries suffered during the assault, hypertension and diabetes.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect continues to be a problem for our nation’s growing elderly population.  Residents of nursing homes are entittled to a safe and caring environment when they are confined to a residential care facility like a nursing home. 

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Glori Anne Scott of the Examiner.com wrote an excellent piece in support of the Colorado Legislature’s recent attempts to raise statutory caps on medical malpractice cases in that state.

Her explanation applies to counter the arguments of tort reformers everywhere.  While it will likely be a long and difficult battle to educate the Colorado legislature on the benefits of allowing a jury to fairly and accurately adjudicate medical malpractice cases on their merits without artificial limits on liability, the fact that the issue is even on the agenda is a positive steps for consumers and patients nationwide.

Here is an excerpt from her excellent piece:

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The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered litigants in medical malpractice cases to take steps to resolve those matters in order to decrease the court’s backlog.  Two senior judges have been assigned in Clark County to conduct a settlement marathon in May in the hopes of resolving the 216 oldest cases on the court’s docket.  The Judges plan to hold up to eighteen settlement conferences a week.

Apparently Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas, has more then 400 medical malpractice cases pending statewide.  This number seems relatively small in comparison to the number of cases we have pending in Cook County, Illinois.

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A Cook County judge has recently permitted a lawsuit brought by a former University of Chicago student proceed on a medical malpractice theory that the U of C’s student medical center was negligent in not doing a “rape kit” after a student was assaulted, denying her the ability to secure criminal charges against her attacker.  The University claims that the student refused the rape kit at the time of her examination.

The victim was raped at a party while she was a student at The U of C several years ago.  She was required by her student health insurance to seek treatment at the student health clinic.  The clinic failed to offer her a rape kit and because of its absence the victim alleges that the police and state’s attorney declined to prosecute her attacker.  She also sued her attacker in civil court and allegedly settled with him for an undisclosed sum.

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Alex Parker of the Chi-Town Daily News is reporting that according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the University of Chicago Medical Center is guilty of violating a federal law by not giving an elderly patient who later died adequate medical treatment.  The University of Chicago’s own internal investigation demonstrated that its staff did not follow the U of C’s own policies and procedures when caring for the patient.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires every emergency room to offer stabilizing treatment to any patient who comes to the emergency room for treatment, regardless of ability to pay.

Anyone who meeds medical care at an emergency room is absolutely entitled to be triaged and monitored regardless of the circumstances.  EMTALA absolutely forbids hospitals from engaging in the practice of patient “dumping” including outright denials of treatment or a referral to another ER.  This practice often occurs when a low income or senior citizen appears at an ER facility and does not appear to be able to pay for care.

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The United States Department of Health And Human Services has offered the public some advice on how to protect themselves against unintended medical errors.  According to the Department of Health and Human Services medical errors are one of the nations leading causes of death.  Here are 20 tips to help avoid unintended medical consequences:

1. The single most important way you can help to prevent errors is to be an active member of your health care team.

That means taking part in every decision about your health care. Research shows that patients who are more involved with their care tend to get better results. Some specific tips, based on the latest scientific evidence about what works best, follow.

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The National Academy of Science is reporting that close to 100,000 people who die each year are the victim of preventable medical mistakes.  A medical mistake can mean a doctor chose the wrong type of care in response to a medical problem or provided the correct type of care but carried it out incorrectly.

church lady.jpgComedian Dana Carvey is one of the lucky ones.  Mr. Carvey believed he was having a double coronary artery bypass which would save his life.  Instead his doctors bypassed the wrong artery.  Luckily, he survived the mistake.  He has filed a $7.5 million lawsuit against the surgeon who made the mistake.

The sugeon claims he made an honest mistake, in part because Mr. Carvey had an unusual anatomic architecure.  Carvey doesn’t see it that way.  “It’s like removing the wrong kidney. It’s that big a mistake,” the entertainer told People magazine.

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MarineCorpsSeal.jpgShould an active member of the United States military be able to sue the United States Government for medical malpractice?  The answer according to the United States Supreme Court in Feres v. The United States, 24 U.S. 135 (1950) is no.  The Feres doctrine, as it is commonly know, prohibits an active member of the military and not on furlough from suing the United States for injuries caused by another member of the military.  This bar does not extend to family members of active military personnel.

A congressman from New York has introduced legislation in congress to reverse the Feres decision and make the military accountable for the medical malpractice of military doctors.  The Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2009 is the subject of hearings that are currently before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.  Carmelo Rodriguez was a Marine who died in 2007 after military doctors misdiagnosed a melanoma on his left buttock.  Motivated by his memory, Sgt. Rodriguez’s family has spearheaded this legislation.

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