This 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...
Read MoreA physician in a recent New York Times article lamented the current lack of more intimate doctor-patient relationships, and their replacement by technology-driven diagnoses. Our medical facilities might have the latest imaging devices and computer programs, but the human element is sometimes lost, and patients may be suffering as a result. American hospitals and physicians are among the best in the...
Read MoreThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published a study on the effectiveness of various laws in fostering the use of seat belts between 1997 and 2008. The results were revealing-and demonstrate how much of an impact seat belt laws can have on people’s behavior. The single biggest incentive to using seat belts, accounting for gains of 10...
Read MoreP. B. was born ten weeks premature and required supplemental oxygen and feeding via an umbilical venous catheter (UVC). Infants who are born premature often cannot be fed orally. They are fed nutritional fluid via a catheter which is placed through an umbilical vein. A UVC must be carefully placed. The tip of the catheter should be positioned just...
Read MoreClients, a mother, RC, and daughter, SB, were severely injured in a head-on collision requiring hospitalization and extended care. Dempsey Kingsland Osteen action Dempsey Kingsland Osteen’s investigation determined that he defendant driver had only $200,000 in auto liability coverage. Clients had an umbrella policy which included $1,000,000 of underinsured motorist coverage. Dempsey Kingsland Osteen arranged for a functional capacity...
Read MoreMental patients on psychotropic drugs experience many effects from their drugs, one is dry mouth. In this case, the patient was supposed to be continuously monitored but, he was not. Instead, he was allowed access to the pantry where he opened a commercial sized container of peanut butter and while attempting to eat it choked to death. No one...
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