It is estimated that 250,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of medical malpractice according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Approximately 80,000 Medicare patients suffer preventable adverse events that contribute to their deaths; as many as half of those deaths are…
South Korean immigrant Young Bahng, 60, was admitted to the University of Chicago Hospital on April 18, 2006. He was there to undergo a live-donor liver transplant from his son. Bahng was self-employed in the conveyor system business. He was suffering from end stage liver disease as a result of having hepatitis B…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago has affirmed a district court’s order dismissing a medical negligence case brought against the Department of Veteran Affairs. Jerome Augutis underwent reconstructive surgery on his right foot at Illinois’ Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital in July 2006. Because of…
Nereida Sepulveda was an 80-year-old retiree who underwent a bilateral knee replacement surgery at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on Nov. 9, 2009. The surgery was performed by an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. David Hoffman. Sepulveda suffered an artery occlusion in the right leg as a complication of the procedure. The defendant, Dr. Iyer,…
A confidential settlement was reached with a hospital emergency room and doctors after a 58-year-old man underwent emergency surgery. The man went to the hospital emergency room after dislocating his hip prosthesis. During the emergency surgery, the attending anesthesiologist attempted unsuccessfully to place an endotracheal tube. The man, Doe, required an emergency…
Continuity of care is paramount in patient healthcare. The goal is always to give the patient the best medical care while at the same time reduce medical errors. For the last 20 years hospitals and physicians have been using electronic health records (EHR). Although the intent was noble, EHR has caused serious…
On June 22, 2006, Raymone Bowe, a 10-year-old boy, was brought by his mother to the emergency department at Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago with a sore throat, headache and a history of fever and vomiting. Raymone was seen in the ER by the defendant, Dr. Joseph Mejia, an occupational medicine/ophthalmology…
Bozena Smith filed a medical negligence complaint against two doctors who were residents in 2006 when she claims she was injured in postsurgical treatment. After the fact discovery was done by each of the parties, and the trial judge entered a deadline of Sept. 13, 2010 for the plaintiff to disclose…
In a May 16, 2013 New York Times opinion page editorial, written by assistant professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles, Joanna C. Schwartz, discussed the Affordable Care Act in relation to medical malpractice lawsuits. The article was titled, “Learning from Litigation.” The thrust of the article is…
More than 15,000 women die of ovarian cancer each year, which makes it the fifth leading cause of death among American women. A new study shows that 60 percent of the women who develop ovarian cancer do not receive the medical care they need that could prolong their lives. The…