Medical malpractice is professional negligence by a healthcare provider that causes injury and a loss of income. It can lead to irreparable harm and, in some instances, even death. The physical, emotional, and financial burden can have catastrophic consequences that can last a lifetime.

Is healthcare in the United States really the best in the world? An article with that title by Dr. Barbara Starfield in the July 26, 2000 edition Journal of the American Medical Association certainly would demonstrate otherwise. The article provides the following statistics about the number of deaths per year that are caused by medical negligence in the United States. This should disturb every reader:

• 12,000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgery
• 7,000 deaths/year from medication errors in hospitals
• 20,000 deaths/year from other errors in hospitals
• 80,000 deaths/year from infections in hospitals
• 106,000 deaths/year from non-error, adverse effects of medication

In addition, The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released a report in 1999 which claims that up to 98,000 Americans die in our hospitals each year as a result of medical errors.

Medical malpractice is not only limited to physicians. A failure of hospital and nursing staffs to adhere to protocol is another significant area of medical negligence. Medical errors, such as birth trauma, surgical errors and medication overdose have unfortunately become too commonplace an occurrence

The personal injury attorneys of Garces & Grabler are experienced in dealing with negligent birth trauma, misdiagnosed cancer, surgical errors, prescription errors, and improper diagnosis, among other types of medical malpractice.

Garces & Grabler also has had extensive settlements and verdicts in medical malpractice cases, including:

2007

• Settlement for Medical Malpractice (Birth Trauma) - $4,650,000
• Settlement for Medical Malpractice (Surgical Error) $900,000
• Settlement for Medical Malpractice (Birth Trauma) - $350,000

2006

• Settlement for Medical Malpractice (Medication Overdose) - $2,625,000 Settlement for Medical Malpractice (Birth Trauma) - $450,000

Birth Trauma

Birth trauma can occur anytime during a pregnancy, whether it is during labor, delivery, or right after the birth of your child. Although some injuries may be inevitable or minor, other times they are caused by medical negligence. Some examples include: 

• Anoxia (deprived of oxygen)
• Failure to properly monitor a woman's condition during pregnancy
• Failure to diagnose and/or treat premature rupture of the membranes (bag of waters)
• Failure to diagnose fetal irregularity
• Failure to identify & treat early onset of infant conditions
• Improper C-section
• Improper labor & delivery care
• Improper screening & diagnostic testing
• Medication or drug side-effects

Misdiagnosed Cancer

Misdiagnosed cancer dramatically affects and hurts a patient’s chance for a longer survival rate. For a treatment to be successful medical professionals must detect the cancer early; this increases survival rates and decreases cost of medical bills for the cancer patients.

Misdiagnosed cancer can be attributed to:

• A non-cancerous (or benign) tumor is identified as cancerous (malignant)
• A cancerous tumor is missed in the biopsy procedure
• A malignant mass is diagnosed as benign
• Failure to refer a patient to a specialist for further testing
• Failure to follow up with a patient if cancer should have been suspected
• Failure to understand or be aware of the nature of a patient’s complaints
• Failure to order X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs

Medication Errors

Sometimes medical malpractice and negligence occurs when doctors, hospital staff or pharmacies prescribe the incorrect medication or dosage. This can cause life-threatening conditions for the patient or even death.

"To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System”, a 2006 follow-up to the 1999 Institute of Medicine of the National Academies study, found that medication errors are among the most common medical mistakes, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. According to the study, 400,000 preventable drug-related injuries occur each year in hospitals, 800,000 in long-term care settings, and roughly 530,000 among Medicare recipients in outpatient clinics. The report stated that these are likely to be conservative estimates. In 2000 alone, the extra medical costs incurred by preventable drug related injuries approximated $887 million -- and the study looked only at injuries sustained by Medicare recipients, which is only a part of all clinic visitors.

The most common mistakes with medication include:

• Incorrect volume of dosage given to the patient     
• Confusing drugs with similar names
• Ignoring allergies to medications
• Failure to regard the weight and age of a patient
• Failure to obtain complete patient information
• Failure to stay current on drug warnings
• Failure to accurately communicate drug prescriptions (i.e.: poor handwriting)
• Failure to properly label medication Incorrect abbreviations, zeroes, and decimal points in prescriptions

At Garces & Grabler, we understand that money cannot turn back the hands of time or replace the loss of a loved one.  However, a generous monetary award can help with the financial burden placed on those affected by medical malpractice. If you or a loved one has been affected by medical malpractice or if a wrongful death has occurred due to medical malpractice, whether from birth trauma, undiagnosed cancer, surgical errors, medication errors, or improper diagnosis, the attorneys at Garces & Grabler can help recover damages for your losses.

Contact the Personal Injury attorneys at Garces & Grabler for a consultation.  We will review your case and help you understand your options so that you can take the action that is right for you.

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