Medical malpractice litigation in Ohio is similar in some respects to other types of tort litigation and vastly different in others. At the outset, a med mal case must be filed with an affidavit of merit, which is not required in other tort cases. The affidavit must be signed by a physician who has reviewed available [...]
A recent study released by a nonprofit organization confirms that hospital and medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. each year. This statistic is staggering but unfortunately not surprising! According to The Leapfrog Group, 440,000 patients are dying each year due to preventable hospital errors. "We are burying a population the [...]
Medical errors arising out of missed test reports are surprisingly common at VA facilities, according to a new report published in JAMA Internal Medicine. As a medical malpractice attorney, I am always interested in public perceptions about healthcare. One popular opinion is that the care provided at VA medical centers is often poor quality. My experience tells [...]
Medical errors frequently arise out of use of anticoagulants such as Heparin, Warfarin and Coumadin. These errors cause harm when the level of anticoagulation is either too high, leading to bleeding complications, or too low, leading to clotting problems. Either type of complication can have catastrophic consequences, such as hemorrhagic stroke, thromboembolic stroke, pulmonary embolism, HIT [...]
The main role of emergency medicine specialists is to decide whether to admit a patient to the hospital for treatment, observation or further investigation. However, a critical function of the ER doctor is to interpret early test results to decide whether the patient's condition is life-threatening or not. In this regard, ER physicians must be able to [...]
Emergency medicine is a subspecialty of medicine that deals with the urgent evaluation and disposition of all types of medical emergencies. Though ER doctors face the whole breadth of medical scenarios, they are trained to make quick decisions and get specialists involved when warning signs warrant. I had the pleasure of speaking with a brilliant Harvard-educated [...]
Many medical errors would be avoided with some simple changes in habit by healthcare workers, according to a 2013 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsored an initiative to add recommendations for improving healthcare to their 2001 publication "Making Health Care Safer." These new recommendations are meant to prevent surgical [...]
Squamous cell skin cancer is generally considered to be the lesser evil when compared to malignant melanoma. However, a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association -Dermatology (JAMA - Derm) points out that a delay in diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma can be fatal for some patients. According to the Skin Cancer [...]
A key function in emergency medicine is to assign an acuity rating to new patients shortly after their arrival. This is done by the triage nurse on the basis of a cursory evaluation. If the nurse underassesses the patient, a long wait may ensue, thereby putting a critically ill patient at risk. The most common type [...]
Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), there will be 228,190 new cases diagnosed and 159,480 deaths from this disease in 2013. A key preventative strategy has been to screen patients who are at increased risk, such as smokers. Until recently, screening had been [...]