Adding Insult to Injury: More on the Medical Malpractice Myth

"Justice," as Thomas Jefferson said, "is the fundamental law of society."  Every election cycle, politicians and insurance lobbyists pepper the newspapers with calls for lawsuit "reform."  Invariably, these so-called reforms have one objective: to deprive individuals of the right to obtain justice.

The American legal tradition holds that justice involves a system of consequences that naturally derive from any action or choice.  When someone acts unreasonably, or negligently fails to act appropriately under the circumstances, the civil justice system ensures that there will be appropriate consequences.  These consequences accomplish the goal of compensating injured parties, as well as deterring wrongful conduct.  When these consequences are avoided, innocent parties are forced to bear the burden of the wrongdoer, and there is no incentive to refrain from future wrongful conduct.

In simpler terms, justice requires that we all follow the rules.  When we break the rules, we are accountable to those who have been harmed.

Election season is upon us, and so it is no surprise that the corporate interests behind the health care industry is calling for "more tort reform."  The reasoning behind this effort is that medical malpractice claims are expected to rise; thus, the industry will suffer an economic consequence.

But this begs an important question: Why minimize the consequences for negligent health care providers instead of minimizing the negligence itself?

Indeed, the real "crisis" isn't medical malpractice lawsuits, it is the increasing incidence of medical malpractice.  According to a recent report, "[s]erious medical mistakes...continue to occur despite recently implemented preventive measures."  And in another article, Dr. Martin Makaray, M.D. admits that "[c]atastrophic surgical errors are 'a lot more common than the public thinks.'"

Startingly, despite the increase of actual malpractice, patients only bring claims 22 percent of the time.  That means that nearly 80 percent of the time, health care providers who have negligently harmed their patients are not held accountable. In other words, eight out of ten times, a bad doctor breaks the rules and gets away with it.

The insurance industry and health care corporations aren't doing enough to minimize negligence, and that is why they are fighting for politicians to eliminate the consequences.  The Utah medical malpractice attorneys at G. Eric Nielson & Associates will fight to protect your rights, and fight to obtain justice for you.  We understand the medicine, and we know the law, and we will work diligently to hold negligent health care providers accountable when the break the rules.

And next time you hear about proposals to "reform" the civil justice system to benefit negligent health care professionals, consider another quote from Thomas Jefferson: "Law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of an individual."

Undiagnosed Postoperative Infections - A Fatal Mistake

Infections are a relatively common complication associated with almost any surgical procedure.  Sometimes infections can occur even despite the best efforts of doctors and hospital staff.  If a postoperative infection does occur, however, it is necessary for health care providers to recognize the signs of infection, and to act promptly to prevent disaster.

One of the earliest signs of infection is accelerated breathing, which is a result of the body's efforts to fight the infection.  The patient's temperature will increase as the infection worsens.  If the infection moves into the abdomen, the bowel can become toxic and distended.  If not diagnosed, the infection can cause paralytic ileus of the intestinal musculature, which disrupts the normal activity of the gastrointestinal track.  This inhibits transport of the contents of the intestine, resulting in worsening distension of the abdomen.  This condition is obvious and painful, and can be fatal if not promptly treated.

In a recent case we resolved for a Utah family, however, hospital nurses were inattentive and ignored the patient's complaints and overlooked these symptoms.  Had they been properly monitoring this patient, they would have noticed the clear signs of postoperative infection and notified a doctor.  Finally, after a shift change brought new nurses, they called the wrong doctor and simply left a message, all while the patient's condition was rapidly deteriorating.

When a physician finally arrived, there were no intestinal sounds cannot be detected by auscultation (deathly silence) and the patient had begun to vomit bile and gastric contents.  Despite surgical intervention, the infection had been allowed to persist too long, and it killed a husband and father.

Obviously, there was no way to replace this man, who was beloved by his family and friends.  But through vigorous legal representation and affiliating with some of the country's best medical experts, we were able to prove the negligence of the health care providers and recover money to help the family pay medical bills and funeral expenses, and to compensate them for the lost income of the head of their household. 

Infections are an undesirable outcome of many surgical procedures.  Even if the infection is not the result of negligent treatment, the failure to promptly diagnose a postoperative infection is a form of medical malpractice.  Unnecessary delays in diagnosis result in prolonged hospital stays, missed work, and extraordinary medical bills.  Worse, if an infection is untreated for too long, it can result in the wrongful death of the patient.

As Utah Medical Malpractice attorneys, we have helped many families of people injured by failure to diagnose postoperative infections.  If you have questions about postoperative infections, we have answers.  You can call and speak with attorney for a free, no obligation consultation today.

801-424-9088

Breast Cancer Awareness

For the past twenty five years, October has been recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Efforts to increase awareness and raise funds for research include everything from Facebook memes to athletic events (shameless plug: join me for the Trek Bikes Breast Cancer Awareness Ride on October 9).  Although early detection has reduced mortality rates, data suggest that at least 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.  Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are all at risk.

Since there is no cure, successful treatment depends on early detection and prompt medical intervention.  Women should regularly perform self-examinations and get regular medical check-ups.  Most physicians are attentive, especially if there are attendant risk factors such as age or family history.  Some doctors, however, will rely solely on preliminary studies or dismiss complaints--especially among young women.  If this happens, breast cancer diagnosis can be missed, and the results of the delay can be devastating.

There are a number of circumstances where breast cancer can be missed.  For instance, when a woman discovers a lump on examination, reports it to her doctor, who then orders a mammogram that comes back negative.  Some doctors will incorrectly advise their patient that all is well.  But not all breast cancers are detected on mammography.  The standard of care for medical professionals requires additional clinical follow-up where there is a palpable mass and a negative mammogram.  The standard of care requires an ultrasound, and if that mass still persists, a biopsy.

Another scenario was discussed recently in the New York Times, where doctors regularly misdiagnose a type of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ, or D.C.I.S., particularly in its earliest stages. According to the article, "17 percent of D.C.I.S. cases identified by a commonly used needle biopsy may be misdiagnosed."  Recent research reveals that women with dense breast tissue are at higher risk for D.C.I.S., requiring further vigilance.

Patients and their families must be their own advocates.  The stakes are too high, and women deserve to have their health carefully addressed.  As a medical malpractice attorney, I've seen far too many cases where women have presented to their physicians with complaints of breast lumps, only to have these concerns dismissed because they're "too young" to get cancer or because of a negative mammogram.  These cases have resulted in women having to undergo radical treatment that could have been avoided if the cancer had been detected sooner.  Most tragically, in some cases, the cancer wins and families lose their wives and mothers to the devastating disease.

During this month of increased awareness, take control of your health care.  Recommendations for getting good professional care are available HERE.  They include talking candidly with your doctor; following up with any recommended testing, and if necessary, getting a second opinion.

If you reported your concerns to a doctor, and he or she ignored them until it was too late, you may have a claim for medical malpractice.  You should contact a lawyer that will hold the doctor accountable.