While hospitalized, this mentally infirmed woman had to have a tracheostomy. The trach tube is something that requires regular maintenance and must occasionally be suctioned clear by a device made just for this purpose. The problem here was that the patient was mentally infirmed. She could not even read or write. The medical staff simply came to her room,...
Read MoreOur client, an 82-year-old retired but active female, sustained a complication in connection with the implantation of a neurostimulator. Pre-implantation, the client had experienced a long history of lumbar pain which was refractory to physical therapy, trigger point injections and medication. After undergoing a neurostimulator trial which substantially reduced her pain, client elected to undergo surgery for permanent implantation....
Read MoreOur client, a 59-year-old male, experienced episodic, low back pain during a six month period. His pain, mild at the outset, gradually increased to excruciating. Symptoms included fever and chills. Client sought treatment from his primary care doctor and an orthopedist and twice was admitted into a hospital for evaluation. Nevertheless, client’s true diagnosis remained undetected. Finally, a specialist,...
Read MoreLast August, a Brandsville man’s homemade pickup-bed trailer came loose from his truck and hit a 42 year-old man’s jeep head on near Dawt Mill in Ozark County, Missouri. The man in the jeep was killed, and the woman who was his passenger was critically injured. After the accident, the Brandsville man drove home. He turned himself into authorities...
Read MoreDempsey Kingsland Osteen represented a young child and his parents in a case arising out of alleged child abuse perpetrated on a then two-year-old child at an area daycare. The child, who today has no memory of the abuse, was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He has received comprehensive psychological care which began soon after the abuse came...
Read MoreThis is one of those cases that still makes me angry. In this case, an off-duty nurse is hospitalized for the most routine of things – a knee that has been in pain. It was thought that she might undergo surgery. During the night, she is over-medicated. Despite the fact that she is behaving in a fashion consistent with...
Read MoreRecent Health Affairs Reports Give a Resounding “No” According to studies published in the most recent edition of the health care industry journal Health Affairs, medical liability costs (i.e., those spent in defense of, or to prevent, medical malpractice actions) is a mere 2.4 percent of America’s overall health care budget. These studies, performed by a joint group of researchers, attorneys...
Read MoreAs part of the federal Affordable Care Act, Medicare will begin measuring efficiency and per-patient costs to evaluate hospitals and adjust its payments to them accordingly. The change has provoked the ire of some hospital administrators and also has patient advocates wondering whether tracking spending as planned will improve or diminish patient safety and medical care. Medicare Efficiency Measurement...
Read MoreOur client, a male, then 22-year-old, was visiting a multi-family residence. Upon leaving, client stepped into a hole in a storm sewer grate as he was approaching his car. The client’s right leg was deeply lacerated and he sustained significant injury to his right knee when his knee, which was of greater circumference than the hole, slammed into the...
Read MoreLast month, a Missouri jury awarded $6.4 million to a husband and wife from St. Louis County after the man suffered a massive stroke that could have been avoided had he received proper medical treatment. The 59-year-old man now needs life-long care as he suffers from restricted use of the right side of his body and is unable to...
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