San Diego Injury Law Blog

A recent article in UT San Diego reported that the state of California fined three North County hospitals “a total of $200,000 for preventable lapses in care.” These incidents of medical malpractice included “two deadly falls,” as well as a medication error that led a newborn baby to suffer from seizures.

In fact, the California Department of Public Health actually fined a total of ten hospitals in our state during the first week of June 2013, and three of those hospitals included the facilities mentioned above in the San Diego area. The fines highlighted medication errors and patient care problems at Fallbook Hospital, Palomar Health in Escondido, and Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside.

If you or your loved ones have suffered injuries as the result of medical negligence or medical malpractice, you may be eligible for compensation. While recent hospital fines in California alert us to medical negligence in several facilities in our area, medical malpractice and medical ‘never events’ happen more often than we’d like to think. An experienced personal injury attorney can speak to you about your case today.

What are ‘Never Events’?

According to California state law, the Department of Public Health can “issue administrative penalties” that range from $25,000 to $100,000 when investigations reveal evidence of negligent hospital care that has put a patient in “immediate jeopardy of serious injury or death.” In many cases, these incidents are known as medical “never events.”

What is a “never event”? It’s a term that the former CEO of the National Quality Forum (NQF) introduced in the early 2000s to describe “particularly shocking medical errors that should never occur.” The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has expanded the list over the past decade, and personal injury lawyers and medical professionals now use the term to signify not only especially egregious errors in the healthcare setting, such as wrong-site surgery, but also to indicate adverse events that are “unambiguous, serious, and usually preventable.”

Since 2011, “never events” have been labeled according to six different categories, which include: surgical, product or device, patient protection, care management, environmental, radiologic, and criminal. Still, the most common “never event” to occur continues to be wrong-site-surgery, followed by operation or post-operation complications, delays in treatment, medication errors, and patient falls. If you’ve been a victim of any of the categories of “never events,” you should speak to a licensed attorney to discuss your options.

San Diego Area Hospital Crimes and Fines

According to the UT San Diego article, Fallbrook Hospital received a $25,000 penalty for “administering the wrong medication to a newborn.” In January 2011, this medication error resulted in a newborn baby receiving a dose of methergine, an anti-hemorrhage drug that was supposed to be administered to the baby’s mother who “suffered uterine bleeding after delivery.” Instead, the dose was injected into the newborn, who then began to exhibit “seizure-like activity.” The two nurses on staff responsible for the baby were “subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with the hospital’s policy and procedure.” The infant will require additional neurological examinations to determine the extent of brain injury as a result of the medication error.

More serious incidents occurred at Palomar and Tri-City, where higher fines were imposed following patients’ deaths. Both hospitals had been fined in the past, which also contributed to higher fines than the $25,000 penalty for Fallbrook. The California Department of Public Health fined Palomar $100,000 after a 64-year-old patient died after falling and hitting his head. Tri-City was fined $75,000 after a cancer patient died from internal hemorrhaging after falling out of bed.

If you have questions or concerns about filing a claim for medical malpractice or medical negligence, contact us today to discuss your case.

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Malpractice at the Dentist
Dr. Conrad Murray Case Highlights Criminal vs. Civil Medical Malpractice Issues

Many people have heard about typical medical malpractice cases. However, dental malpractice is not something many people think about, because most people visit the dentist so infrequently. A dentist commits malpractice when he or she causes a patient personal injuries by failing to act within the acceptable standard of care. Dental malpractice is more common than many people realize, with approximately one out of every seven malpractice claims involving a dentist, dental hygienist, or other dental health care professional.

Recently, the issue of anesthesia and other forms of sedation has become prevalent with regard to the dental industry. Typically, an anesthesiologist must attend school for twelve years, including four years of college, four years of medical school, and an additional four years in an anesthesiology residency before they are permitted to administer anesthesia on their own. On the other hand, the anesthesia industry has begun offering dentists an opportunity to receive certification to use anesthesia by attending weekend courses. More than 18,000 dentists have attended these weekend anesthesiology courses in the past five years. The courses are intended to allow dentists to start anesthetizing patients immediately. Many dentists are lured into the taking these classes by the promise of tens of thousands in extra income annually, which a great deal of dentists need to offset the high cost of attending dental school.

Unfortunately, the consequences of using anesthesia without proper training can be severe. Even a well-trained dentist will have difficulties with anesthesia, and most likely will not have the facilities or equipment to handle such emergencies. Particularly with children, using too much anesthesia can be deadly.

Proponents of anesthesia use during dental procedures argue that patients who are sedated allow for a safer procedure, especially with children. Unfortunately, 31 children have died after being sedated by dentists over the last fifteen years. The actual number of deaths may be even greater, because there is no national registry for dental deaths and dental anesthesia deaths are not always properly reported.

Generally, dentists will instruct the patient to take an oral sedative about one hour before the appointment. Once the patient arrives, the dentist may give the patient more pills if he or she does not believe that one pill has achieved the desired effect. Unfortunately, oral medications take longer to become effective than sedatives taken intravenously or inhaled where the effects are almost instantaneous. In many cases, the dentist can inadvertently cause an overdose by providing the patient with more pills.

Currently, the American Dental Association has guidelines for dental sedation. They recommend limiting sedatives to only one dose on the day of treatment, and that dose should not exceed the maximum recommended dose of the medication required to achieve the intended level of sedation. Even where a dentist follows the ADA guidelines, there is significant danger for younger patients because these guidelines are only intended for patients aged 8 and older. Therefore, any child younger than eight-years-old and anyone with health problems, is at greater risk, even if the guidelines are followed, and should probably avoid sedation altogether if possible.

[Image courtesy of fotopedia. Attribution: Matt Lemmon, lickr-242049972-original.jpg]

Many San Diego wrongful death lawyers will be watching the legal battles of Dr. Conrad Murray, doctor of the late pop-star Michael Jackson, even more closely in the coming year. Dr. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on November 7 in a criminal trial that caught the world’s attention. After hearing the verdict, the pop-star’s father, Joe Jackson, told waiting crowds, “There’s more.”

Two California wrongful death lawsuits have already been filed, one each by Mr. Jackson’s parents and also on behalf of his three children, against Dr. Murray and the company behind Michael Jackson’s final “This is It” tour, AEG Live LLC. On November 9, a Los Angeles judge ruled that the civil suits can move forward, so Dr. Murray’s court battles are by no means over. Under California tort law, a criminal verdict can be used as evidence in a civil trial. Also, the burden of proof in a civil trial is lower than in a criminal trial. A prosecutor has to show the defendant committed the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which is a difficult standard to meet. In a civil case, the plaintiff need only show responsibility by a “preponderance of the evidence,” which in layman’s terms means it is more than 50% likely that the defendant is responsible. Also, evidence laws are more lenient in civil cases than criminal, meaning that evidence excluded from the criminal trial may be used in the upcoming civil cases.

The end result of these actions is hard to guess at this point, even for San Diego medical malpractice lawyers. AEG’s responsibility will likely depend on the specific wording of the contracts involved and also the nature of the company’s ties to Dr. Murray. With the appeal of his criminal verdict pending, Dr. Murray may also wish to avoid further court battles and the accompanying media frenzy by settling the suit out of court. It is unclear at this point what kind of medical malpractice insurance he may have, as well.

While the media attention focused on the death of an international superstar like Michael Jackson may seem unrelated to the lives of average Californians, the National Safety Council estimates that over a hundred thousand families lose a loved one to a preventable accidental death each year. And wrongful deaths alleged through medical negligence are very complex cases regardless of whether the victim is famous or not. There are specific rules on who may file these types of civil suits. There are also deadlines as to how long after the death of a loved one a California wrongful death lawsuit may be filed—generally up to a year after the death for a medical malpractice claim. But the varying timelines and rules depending on the type of wrongful death alleged and what type of defendant is being implicated, along with the complex nature of these cases that often involve expert testimony, mean that it is very important to consult a San Diego wrongful death lawyer. These professionals can answer any questions you have about filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Because of the short deadlines for filing such cases, if you have suffered the loss of a loved one in what you believe was a preventable accident or through medical negligence, please seek legal advice from an experienced medical malpractice and wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible.

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San Diego Bicycle Accident Turns Deadly

California Wrongful Death Lawsuit Results in $11.7 Million Verdict

There are very few relationships that are more sacred and more demanding of our trust than those between us and our doctors. Our doctors often know more about us than our closest friends, and they are the ones who we turn to when we need answers about our health and well-being. But what happens when our doctors fail us?

Few of us can imagine the nightmare of losing our mobility and becoming paralyzed, but that is exactly what happened to a 14-year-old girl who entered Birmingham Children's Hospital for a relatively minor surgery and left as a paraplegic.

According to an article from Fox News, Sophie Tyler was admitted to the hospital to have gallstones removed. In order to keep her from feeling pain during the surgery, she was given an epidural anesthetic. However, the hospital staff failed to remove the epidural for 48 hours following insertion. During those 48 hours, Sophie suffered increasing numbness in her feet and legs, and she even told the hospital staff of her symptoms, but no one realized what was causing the numbness until it was too late. The anesthetic entered her spinal cord and caused permanent damage that will leave Sophie paralyzed from the waist down for the remainder of her life.

Sophie's mother obtained a spinal cord injury lawyer to represent her daughter. In this particular situation, the hospital has already publicly admitted that they were at fault, which should make the injury lawsuit much easier, and in all likelihood, the case will be settled out of court. However, admissions of liability from those responsible for causing personal injury are rare, especially in cases of medical malpractice. Doctors and nurses are trained not to admit fault, even where it is obvious, and they are even coached on how to avoid saying anything that could be construed as admitting they are to blame. In most cases, the defendant will not admit liability. Therefore, it is always important for local residents to do what Sophie's mother did and make sure that your rights are being protected by a San Diego medical malpractice attorney Remember that doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers almost always have their own attorneys to defend against patient claims. You should not try to go up against them without representation of your own.

In our area San Diego Medical malpractice lawyers are there when you need someone with an understanding of the law, as well as some understanding of medical terminology, diagnoses, and procedure. Experienced personal injury attorneys usually have a great deal of practical medical knowledge built up over their years of practicing law and can help you make sense of your medical malpractice lawsuit.

Fortunately, not all cases are as severe as young Sophie's situation, but in every valid malpractice case, there is at least one common thread: a breach of the trust that we all place in the doctors and nurses who care for us and our loved ones. Taking action and bringing attention to the problem helps improve the quality of medical treatment and the care with which it is rendered.

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California Medical Malpractice Rarely Results in Discipline, Says Watchdog Organization

California Medical Malpractice Case Ends with $7.5 Million Verdict Against U.S. Air Force

Doctors are some of the most well-respected members of our communities. They are usually highly trained, caring, and competent people. We can probably all think of a great doctor that helped us or a loved one get through a difficult period in our lives. Unfortunately, just like in any other profession or occupation, not all doctors are as competent and capable as we would like them to be. Sometimes, they make mistakes and commit medical malpractice. Unfortunately, new reports indicate that some area doctors make a lot of mistakes and the California medical board—the state agency that is supposed to make sure our doctors are competent—fails to take appropriate disciplinary action.

This is all according to a report released by the Washington D.C.-based public interest group, Public Citizen. The contents of the report should be troubling to all area residents who would like to avoid becoming a San Diego medical malpractice victim. The most significant findings of the report were that the California state medical board failed to file a disciplinary action against more than 700 physicians who were disciplined by hospitals for wrongdoing. Thirty-five percent of those physicians were repeat offenders. In addition, the report classified more than 102 doctors as being an "immediate threat to health or safety" of patients. Only 118 other doctors in the entire United States were given this label, meaning that California has almost half of all dangerous doctors.

The mistakes cited by the report were numerous. They include faulty diagnosis and treatment of patients, failing to remove medical devices and instruments from patients after surgery, and personal problems of the doctor interfering with his or her work.

According to the report, the reasons for this terrible state of affairs are obvious. First, the California review board lacks the funds it needs to go after doctors who deserve discipline. Second, the board has a slow rate of processing disciplining actions, ranking 35th in the nation on that measure. According to the report, it takes more than 400 days for the average disciplinary action to be investigated. In the meantime, doctors continue to practice, regardless of their competence level or the risk they pose to patients.

According to Public Citizen, the poor condition of doctor oversight is nothing new for California. In 2005, a report by the California Medical Board Enforcement Program made a series of recommendations to improve doctor oversight, most of which have not been implemented. The state has a very poor record with respect to disciplining its doctors, who will undoubtedly be left free to practice and commit potentially costly errors. Until the California medical board improves its oversight of doctor mistakes, it will be up to California medical malpractice attorneys to fill the gap and hold doctors accountable for the harm they cause patients when they make serious mistakes.

Continue reading "California Medical Malpractice Rarely Results in Discipline, Says Watchdog Organization" »

All patients place immense trust in their medical professional when they visit them for help identifying or treating a medical problem. With that trust comes a responsibility on the part of the medical staff members—from doctors and dentists to nurses and nurse’s assistants—to conduct themselves in a reasonably prudent manner under the circumstances. Medical patients cannot always expect perfection, because medical conditions always involve a certain level of risk. However, patients do have a right to expect that the professional will perform just as other reasonable medical employees would. When a doctor in our area fails to provide that level of care, then the victims need to consider filing a San Diego medical malpractice lawsuit.

Depending on the specific situation there are different rules that apply when it comes to California medical malpractice cases. Various legal doctrines exist that dictate when lawsuits have to be filed, where the case must be tried, and who can file a lawsuit (i.e. a parent on behalf of an injured child). Of course, understanding and identifying these issues in our area is a crucial role played by a San Diego medical malpractice attorney. A lawyer familiar with this area of the law should be able to listen to the facts of a new client’s situation and shortly thereafter develop a good understanding of the how the legal rules are applicable in that particular case.

The attorney can explain if there are any special doctrines that apply. For example, the “Feres Doctrine” is a well-known legal rule in the medical malpractice field which many observers find to be misguided. The 60-year old legal precedent holds that the U.S. government cannot be held liable for medical malpractice committed against an armed forces service member while on duty. If the doctrine is applicable in a specific case, an attorney should explain that to a potential client. However, it is also vital for the nuances of the rule to be understood which may allow victims to recover. In this case, while the Feres Doctrine bars suits from service members suing for medical negligence, military dependents are allowed to proceed with these suits. Therefore, when the husband or wife of a service member is harmed by the mistakes of a military medical employee they can file a civil suit and seek compensation for their losses.

That is exactly what happened in a case which was recently upheld by a state appellate court. The Stars and Stripes reported this week on the California medical malpractice case in which the wife of an Air Force Master Sergeant won a $7.5 million jury verdict after Air Force medical staff members failed to diagnose her herniated spinal disk. The victim had sought treatment for numbness in her spine and legs for several weeks at the air base clinic. However, the nurse and medical assistance failed to conduct even basic medical examinations which would have uncovered the problem. As a result of the delay she suffered permanent nerve damage.

All victims of poor medical care and their families should take the time to visit with legal professionals to share their story and learn about their options. Our San Diego medical malpractice attorney has worked with many victims in this area who were harmed because they did not receive the medical care to which they were entitled. By taking the time to visit our offices, all victims can feel confident that they at least took the time to learn about the choices in front of them before determining the appropriate next step in their situation.

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Why Conservatives Should Oppose Caps on Malpractice Awards

Life After a Catastrophic Brain Injury

California has onerous medical and nursing home malpractice awards. As we've discussed, under no circumstances can an award for non-economic damages (e.g., pain, suffering, disfigurement, etc.) be more than $250,000.00. If a jury, in its judgment, believes a person’s damages are worth more than the cap, a judge must reduce it. There are many, many examples of the injustice this misguided law has caused. By the way, the $250,000.00 figure was arbitrarily set in the early 1970s.

Since that time, there is the perennial battle of those for a free civil justice system and those for "tort reform," who seek to limit what victims of malpractice can recover. Usually, these battles are waged on political partisan lines, and not without irony. The Democrats, often portrayed as big government advocates, argue for less regulation over the civil justice system, and Republicans, argue for more regulation.

Andrew Cochran from a blog called 7th Amendment Advocate makes an effective argument as to why conservatives should oppose tort reform. According to his bio, Mr. Cochran is a lifetime conservative and Republican who served as a political appointee in the Reagan Administration. He is also a lawyer, and a member of the Tea Party Nation and Tea Party Patriots. He believes that conservatives and Republicans should oppose tort reform efforts.

Citing the U.S. Constitution as his authority, Mr. Cochran makes several points as to why tort reform is not a conservative position:

Continue reading "Why Conservatives Should Oppose Caps on Malpractice Awards" »

She is probably too young to have any understanding of what happened to her, but little Malyia Jeffers life will never be the same after her long emergency room wait at Methodist Hospital in Sacramento. Her father took her there with a fever and a rash, and was asked to wait to be seen. He waited, and waited, and waited, and after five hours, and his daughter's dramatic decline in health, he was seen by a physician. By this time it was almost too late.

Malyia's body began to shut down and went into liver failure. Doctor's moved her to ICU and quickly learned that she was suffering from a strep infection. They gave the parents a grim choice, amputate her hands and feet or Malaya will die.

"This is the hardest thing I was dreading the most... was having to make a decision,” Malyia’s dad, Ryan Jeffers, told reporters. “They said 'your daughter's dying and the only thing we can do to save her is to amputate."

The little girl was eventually flown to Stanford's children's hospital for the amputation surgery, and remains on a ventilator.

Did the delay in treatment cause this terrible outcome? Some reports say the father was demanding that his daughter be seen, and finally had to ambush a nurse. It does seem like an awfully long time for a two year old to be seen. But let's assume there is negligence on the part of the initial hospital for the long wait. The hospital has very little to worry about liability-wise.

Because of California's ridiculous cap on non-economic damages, little Malayia's case for medical negligence cannot be worth $250,000. That's right, if a jury were to determine that the hospital’s negligence caused the need for the amputations, and the jury gave this little girl $5 million dollars because of the struggles she will no doubt face for the rest of her life, the judge in the case would have no choice but to reduce that verdict to $250,000.

To learn more about the injustices of California's MICRA law click here (.pdf), or here.

The Walton Law Firm represents individuals and families who have been impacted by all types of injury-producing incidents, including auto accidents, assault and battery, wrongful death claims, worksite injuries, elder abuse and neglect, sexual molestation, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call toll free at (866) 607-1325 or locally at (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

Tri-City Medical Center and Pomerado Hospital have been fined by the California Department of Public Health for medical mistakes that caused patient injury within the last year. A fine of $50,000 was assessed against each entity.

At Tri-City, a patient was seriously burned when a cauterization machine ignited oxygen in a breathing mask and causing a fire. According to reports, the man was hospitalized for breathing difficulties, and then underwent a procedure to insert a tracheotomy when the fire-incident occurred.

The Pomerado Hospital incident involved a psychiatric patient who suffered brain damage when he tipped over backwards in a reclining chair, and struck his head on the floor. The man was apparently noted to be a very high fall risk, but, according to the State, the hospital failed to take adequate precautions to prevent the incident.

Both hospitals told the North County Times that they will appeal the fines.

Source: North County Times

The injury and malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

Rancho Springs Medical Center and Inland Valley Regional Medical Center were informed by Medicare last week that they will lose Federal Medicare funding because of their repeated failure to follow basic care standards. The hospitals were also hit with hefty fines for serious healthcare related deficiencies.

The decision by Medicare to end funding came after an inspection in January where officials found, among other things, that pharmacists failed to ensure that dangerous medications were used in a safe manner, and where physician assistants were not properly equipped to screen patients. The hospitals have been under the watchful eye of regulators since 2007, when they were first notified of the questionable care being provided to patients.

These two hospitals find themselves in small company. Since 2000, only 32 hospitals have lost Medicare funding. And, remarkably, despite the problems, the company CEO was rewarded with a $3.4 million bonus in March.

Source: California Watch

The personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

A new device that tracks and locates retained objects (surgical items left inside a patient after an operation) is getting attention. The RF Surgical Detection System uses a wand to scan the surgical area to find any tagged items that might have been left inside the patient. Tags are small seed-like items that are embedded in gauze and surgical sponges.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine a major hospital can expect to have one or more cases of retained objects per year. Those figures however, were based on actual medical malpractice claims, so the real number is probably higher. It is generally believed that an object is left in the body in 1 of every 8,000 surgeries, the most common item being the surgical sponge.

Most hospitals rely on a counting system. Nurses count the number of sponges that are being used in a procedure, and then make sure they have the same number of used sponges in sight before closing the patient. If the count doesn't match, then the patient cannot be closed. Sometimes, however, nurses count incorrectly (or forget).

"With this system, if that should ever happen and the count still comes out correct, you still are able to wand the patient," said Kim Stache, administrative director of surgical services at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill., which started using the system in December. Because of the RF seed, if there is still a sponge in the body or the opening, it would beep at us to let us know, hey, there's still something in the wound.“

Currently more than 100 hospitals are using the system, which costs about $15 per surgery. The results have been generally positive.

Source: Chicago Tribune

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

The California Department of Public Health fined three San Diego area hospitals for making mistakes that could cause "death or serious injury." The implicated hospitals are Grossmont Hospital, Sharp Memorial Hospital, and UCSD Medical Center.

According to the Union Tribune, Grossmont hospital received a $50,000 fine for marking the wrong side of the head of a 93 year old, who was undergoing brain surgery. Before the mistake was realized, part of the man's skull had been removed and the brain exposed. The mistake was corrected during surgery, and the surgery completed without further incident.

Sharp Memorial Hospital was also fined $50,000 for failing to follow surgical protocols. There, a sponge was left inside the body of a 69-year-old woman who underwent heart surgery. UCSD Medical Center was also fined for failing to follow surgical procedures, resulting in a second surgery on the patient to remove a foreign object. The UCSD surgery was performed by a first-year intern.

The DPH issued a statement: “Ensuring quality patient care is vital to protecting and promoting the health of all Californians. We will continue to work with California hospitals to attain our shared goal of excellence in patient care.”

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

The personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals throughout San Diego County who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, injuries on the property of another, construction accidents, and elder abuse and neglect. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

CNN is out with a story about how to avoid medical mistakes. The story - which can be found by clicking here - highlights the story of a pregnant woman who is mistakenly given a CT scan of her abdomen, sites some startling statistics. For example, the Joint Commission, which grants accreditation to hospitals, reports that wrong-site, wrong-side, and wrong-patient procedures occurs more than 40 times every week in the United States.

In Rhode Island, state regulators ordered that video cameras be placed in all operating rooms after several medical errors, including an incident where doctors removed the tonsils of a child who was in the hospital for eye surgery. The hospital had at least six known surgical errors in the previous eight years.

Jim Conway from the Institute of Healthcare Improvements wants to empower patients to make sure they are not victims of medical malpractice. He is promoting a list of advice:

1. Say: "My name is ______________, my date of birth is _____________, and I'm here for an appendectomy.” You might feel like an idiot, says Conway, but say this to every doctor, nurse, and technician who takes care of you.

2. Say: "Please check my ID bracelet." Hospital staff is supposed to confirm your identity in at least two ways.

3. Say: "Please look in my chart and tell me what procedure I'm having." If the nurse gives you the right answer make sure she is looking at the chart.

4. Say: "I want to mark up my surgical site with the surgeon present."

5. Be impolite. Make sure you the information you are given is exactly correct.

Source: CNN.com

Walton Law Firm represents personal injury victims throughout San Diego County and has recovered millions of dollars for individuals involved car accidents, pedestrian accidents, medical malpractice, motorcycle accidents, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, and insurance disputes. Call (760) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

The medical spa (or medi-spa) industry is booming, but the growth hasn't been all good. With more customers seeking beauty treatments through medical treatments (such as laser hair and scar removal) more and more of these "patients" are suing for medical malpractice.

Lawyers who represent medical malpractice plaintiffs believe there is going to be a huge increase in malpractice cases arising from medi-spa care. One reason is the sheer number of these spas. In 2004 there were only 471 in the U.S., now there are almost two thousand. Another is that these medical facilities are lightly regulated.

For example, in Arizona, a woman recently sued Timeless Laser & Skin in Maricopa County alleging she was "severely burned and scarred" during laser hair removal procedure. And in another Arizona case, a man sued Neos Medspa over scarring, "extreme pain" and burning from a laser hair removal procedure done on his shoulders and back.

The plaintiff's bar is starting to see more and more of these cases.

"I believe we're seeing the beginning of this industry being targeted," san Jill Goldsmith, a Phoenix lawyer. "Both mom-and-pops and chain companies have sprung up around the country in the past few years, creating a new billion-dollar industry and litigation hot spot."

As expected, the spa industry has a different view. Lynne McNees, the president of an international spa trade organization says that medi-spas adhere to established policies and procedures. Patients should bear some of the responsibility. "It is important to be an advocate for yourself and do your homework before visiting any spa," she said.

Source: Law.com / The National Law Journal

The medical malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals who have been victimized by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

It has been more than a decade since the National Institute of Medicine recommended that the health care industry stop blaming doctors and nurses for medical errors and start looking at prevention. An investigation by Hearst Newspapers has found that very little has changed since that time. A proposed mandatory nationwide system for reporting and analyzing medical mistakes was never created, while the rate of medical error is increasing.

The investigation by Hearst, which included a team of investigators and several hundred interviews, has resulted in the launching of a website called "Death by Mistake" which highlights the stories of people victimized of medical malpractice. Some studies estimate that 98,000 people die every year from medical mistakes that could have been prevent. That equates to more deaths each month than occurred in the 9/11 attacks. This figure does not include the estimated 99,000 people who die each year from hospital-acquired infections.

The website also has a hospital safety database for several states, and tells the story of many medical malpractice victims.

To visit Dead by Mistake click here.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been impacted by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

This weekend the New York Times had two good opinion pieces about reform in the medical liability system. Both contributors agree that the real problem is medical errors, not medical malpractice lawsuits, and that arbitrary caps on damages do little or nothing to address the underlying problem of too many preventable medical mistakes.

Professor Tom Baker writes that medical liability actually improves patient safety, because it has led hospitals to hire risk managers and create policies and procedures that work to improve safety. He also mentions an important fact lost on many tort reform advocates, that most victims of medical malpractice to not file lawsuits. Ultimately, he says,

… the real problem is too much malpractice, not too many malpractice lawsuits. So medical providers should be required to disclose injuries, provide quicker compensation to deserving patients and — here’s the answer for doctors worried about their premiums — shift the responsibility for buying malpractice insurance to hospitals and other large medical institutions. Evidence-based liability reform would give these institutions the incentive they need to cut back on the most wasteful aspect of American health care: preventable medical injuries.

Professors Michelle Mello and Amitabh Chandra contend the medical liability system isn’t working. Both the doctors and victims are battered by it, the doctors always playing defense, worried about insurance costs, litigation, and their reputations. And the victims, embroiled in stressful litigation, have to wait up to five years, on average, to receive compensation.

Mello and Chandra propose two reforms: The first, where there is reliably scientific evidence of what constitutes optimal care, the doctors should be able to present that evidence in defense before a lawsuit is filed. Second, pull out of the liability system certain types of cases, such as birth injury cases, and move them into a no-fault system. They point out that other states have done this with some success, and conclude that their proposals would not do away with the malpractice system, but would curb the worst of it.

Both pieces and be found by clicking here and here.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been impacted by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

Typically, active duty military personnel cannot bring a legal action against the military for injuries caused by military decisions, or other military-related activities. But the House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill that would allow military families hold the government accountable for non-combat related personal injuries.

Col. Adele Connell tried to bring a claim against Walter Reed Army Medical Center when her physician mistakenly operated on the wrong breast during a cancer surgery, and removed healthy tissue and lymph nodes. The negligent surgery caused her become disfigured. Her medical malpractice case was dismissed under the Feres Doctrine, which prohibits such claims. The congressional bill would change that.

"These last eight months have been unbelievably difficult," said Connell, who has served for more than 30 years. "The reason I am going public is that I want to try to improve the military for soldiers serving all over the world."

The legislation passes, it would be retroactive to 1997, potentially affecting the outcome of several pending lawsuits.

The malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been impacted by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

Ten Southern California hospitals have received penalties of $25,000 each after the California Department of Public Health determined that medical mistakes in care to patients caused, or was likely to cause, serious injuries or death. Los Angeles County had five hospitals on the list, Orange County three and San Diego County two.

The following hospitals were penalized:

1. Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, for failing to ensure the safe and effective administration of medications.

2. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, for failing to accurately implement its blood transfusion policies and procedures.

3. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, for failing to follow its surgical policies and procedures, resulting in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a foreign object that was left inside the body.

4. Saint Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, for failing to ensure safe and effective use of medications.

5. Whittier Hospital Medical Center in Whittier, for failing to adequately identify a patient prior to a surgical procedure.

6. Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, for failing to follow its policies and procedures for the use and maintenance of respiratory equipment.

7. University of California, San Diego Medical Center in San Diego, for failing follow its surgical policies and procedures, resulting in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a foreign object left in the body during surgery.

8. St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Orange County, for failing follow its surgical policies and procedures, resulting in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a foreign object left in the body during surgery.

9. University of California Irvine Medical Center in Irvine, for failing to prevent falls.

10. University of California Irvine Medical Center in Irvine, for compromising the safety of a patient by failing to timely to investigation of an assault on a patient.

Regulators issued the fines almost a month ago, but postponed making them public because of the Swine flu outbreak.

The malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families throughout San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles County who have been injured by medical mistakes, in accidents, and all other personal injury matters.

Every few years we hear about doctors fleeing states to get away from high malpractice insurance premiums. The medical malpractice insurers then claim they have to raise rates because of excessive malpractice lawsuits. Then the legislatures get nervous and enact laws that limit when and how victims of malpractice can sue, and how much they can collect in the form of caps. And guess what? It’s all a sham.

A study by the American Medical Association shows that doctors do not flee states without so-called tort reform measures, but that the numbers of doctors continues to climb in every state. Moreover, the number of doctors per capita is 13 percent higher in states without caps on recovery. That’s right, the states where there is no arbitrarily imposed ceiling on what a malpractice victim can collect actually has more doctors per capita than those with laws designed to retain doctors.

Next time you hear insurance company and state legislators that we need to impose limits on civil justice to prevent doctors from leaving California, be very wary. They did this in the early seventies and the effect has been devastating to those severely injured by medical malpractice.

The malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent clients who have been impacted by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

Scripps Mercy Chula Vista was one of 10 hospitals across California to receive a fine from Department of Public Health for conduct that injured or killed a patient. The Chula Vista hospital was fined $25,000 for the death of a female patient on February 29, 2008.

According to reports, the woman arrived in the Emergency Department on February 29th with high blood pressure and difficulty breathing. The E.R. doctor ordered saline solution for the patient more than 2 1/2 hours after lab results showed her sodium level was critically low. For reasons unknown, the hospital failed to quickly process the order, and the patient was transferred to the I.C.U approximately three hours after arrival never having received the saline solution.

An I.C.U. nursing realized that the saline had not been received, so another request was faxed to the pharmacy. The solution arrived about an hour later, but the nurse took a short break without administering it. The patient suffered heart failure about 10 minutes later, and died within a half hour.

The hospital's chief of staff admitted that the hospital needed "to do a better job of identifying who's in charge of the patient at any given point in time when they're in the hospital," but denied that quicker treatment would have saved the woman's life.

Walton Law Firm LLP represents individuals and families who have been impacted by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

Based in San Diego’s North County, Randy Walton and Scott Barber represent individuals all over San Diego County in matters of personal injury and wrongful death. Whether you live in Escondido or El Cajon or Chula Vista, or anywhere else, Randy and Scott can help you obtain monetary justice for the injuries you have suffered.

Personal injuries, or course, can arise in a variety of circumstances, but usually occur due to car accidents, construction mishaps, dog bites, slip-and-fall incidents, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, or assault and battery. For over a decade our attorneys have been handling claims on behalf of injured people, and all cases are taken on a contingency fee basis. That means that we do not earn a fee unless there is a monetary recovery.

For more about our firm visit our website at www.WaltonBarber.com.

Home and hospital visits are available, and consultations about cases are always free.

Four area hospitals have received $25,000 fines for serious mistakes that state investigators allege have caused serious injury and death. The mistakes include. (1) the use of a malfunctioning anesthesia machine at Pomerado Hospital, causing patients to be partially awake during surgery, (2) allowing a patient to fall off an operating room table during surgery at Scripps Green Hospital, (3) permitting an individual with a revoked nursing license to treat patients at Promise Hospital’s skilled nursing facility, and (4) the failure to turn on a ventilator at Sharp Grossmont, which caused a patient to die.

In the matter of the malfunctioning anesthesia machine, an injured patient told the San Diego Union Tribune that she “felt cutting, smelled burning, felt intense pulling down and towards (my) right side...I could feel the tears coming down my cheek . . . why didn't they see my tears? I tried to talk . . . the pain was horrendous.”

Of course, most people don't realize that few of the victims will receive justice for the medical negligence that caused their suffering. California's MICRA law restricts the recovery of non-economic damages (e.g. pain, suffering, disabling, embarrassment, etc.) to $250,000.00. Under no circumstances can any victim who is injured, maimed, or killed by a health care provider in California receive more.

Sharp Grossmont Hospital is under investigation after an anonymous tipster told officials that the recent death of a patient was not due to natural causes but because of medical malpractice. Harvey Houtkin, a successful author, died on July 25th after what was considered uneventful surgery on his tonsils. The cause of death was listed as natural until a physician anonymously told investigators that Mr. Houtkin died after his breathing tube became dislodged, blocked his airway, and no one noticed. The San Diego Union Tribune reported that:

No staff member had noticed quickly enough that Houtkin had turned blue, the doctor said, and efforts to save him came too late. What ensued was a very messy scene where the anesthesiologists could not reintubate the patient and the surgeon could not establish an opening in the windpipe, the physician said.

The hospital, of course, is denying this.

But recent events at this hospital make is sound more like some third-world health facility, not a state-of-the-art hospital in the orbit of America's Finest City. During two state inspections last spring investigators found numerous deficiencies, including poorly trained nurses, improper use of restraints, an old operating room mattress (held together with tape and glue), and other problems. They also discovered three deaths that they deemed were preventable.

Sharp Grossmont Hospital is now at risk of losing federal funding.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced the results of a study that finds preventable mistakes that occur during and after surgery would save countless lives, and save approximately $1.5 billion per year.

According to the study, medical insurance companies paid 52% more for surgical patients who suffered acute respiratory distress post-surgery, and 48% more for post-surgical infections, compared to patients who did not experience those complications. In addition, the study found that nursing care associated with medical errors, including bed sores and hip fractures, caused an increase in costs of 33%.

Most stunning is the study's finding that one of every 10 patients who died within 90 days of surgery did so as a result of medical malpractice.

Some tips to follow to avoid medical mistakes. If you have a choice in which hospital to have a procedure performed, choose one with a lot of experience with your condition. In addition, prior to surgery make sure that you, your doctor, and your surgeon are clear on exactly what procedure is going to be performed.

It's been a bad few weeks for the image of hospitals in America.

Two weeks ago, a woman died in the emergency room of a New York Hospital waiting for a bed. She apparently waited over 24 hours, and surveillance cameras show her lying on the floor of the ER for more than an hour before an employee came to check on her. Several staff members have been suspended or fired, including doctors and the family intends to file a lawsuit for malpractice.

Last Sunday, a 34-year-old woman died after getting stuck in the elevator of a Des Moines, Iowa hospital.

And just yesterday it was reported that 17 infants were given overdoses of Heparin, a blood thinner, when nurses accidentally gave the infants 10,000 units of blood thinner instead of 10, as called for. One of the infants has died.

Walton Law Firm LLP is a personal injury and malpractice law firm that represents individuals throughout San Diego County. The firm is always accepting new cases, and free consultations are available.