Epidural steroid injections are becoming an increasingly common method to relieve chronic pain. While the quick, outpatient procedure does have some possible risks, these are considered relatively rare for an invasive procedure. However, a recent Cook County medical malpractice case illustrates how medical negligence can drastically change a patient’s outcome…
Even those of us who know little about cancer know that the earlier your cancer is diagnosed the better your chances. So if this is common knowledge then we would expect that it would be almost a rule in the medical community: rule out cancer whenever possible in order to…
Last Friday, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston hosted a symposium for patients diagnosed with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) and their families. The all-day event, “Living with GIST”, was not only informative for GIST patients, but was also a celebration. The event marked the ten-year anniversary of finding a successful…
H.R. 3962, also referred to as the Health Care Reform Bill, promises “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.” However, at 2,000 pages, the Health Care Reform Bill is a very lengthy document. Over the next…
A recent appeal in an Illinois wrongful death case begs the question of what constitutes an appropriate monetary award following a wrongful death or Illinois medical negligence. When Illinois medical negligence has occurred and changed the course of someone’s life forever, what is the price we put on that negligence?…
Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the house bill overhauling the United States’ healthcare system. Illinois’ Director of the State’s Department of Insurance will be at the center of overseeing changes that will affect Illinois citizens through the new bill, most of which involve insurance premium rates and eligibility. One…
A recent Cook County jury awarded a positive verdict to a 20 year-old man for severe brain damage that he sustained as a result of a Cook County birth injury. Given that a plaintiff has 8 years from the date of injury to file an Illinois birth injury claim, typically…
Medicine is an area where new advances are being made on a regular basis that lead to better care and treatment for patients. However, this means that in some cases, patients who received older forms of treatment develop unforeseen complications, particularly in the area of Illinois defective medical devices. Consider…
A recent Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit involving a Chicago boy’s brain injury demonstrates the importance of timely medical care and treatment in order to avoid disastrous outcomes. In this case several treaters and physicians failed to recognize the baby boy’s signs and symptoms of severe dehydration, which caused the boy…
The Archives of Internal Medicine released a new report revealing that roughly 48,000 people a year in the U.S., including patients in the state of Illinois, are killed as a result of pneumonia and sepsis caused by hospital-acquired infections. Not only did this take an obvious toll on the survival…