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Are You Paying For Your Doctor's Mistakes?

Linda Snyder — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:38:24 GMT

Imagine going to the hospital for a routine hernia operation. Imagine you wake up and find two incisions instead of one as expected because the surgeon operated on the wrong side and had to start over.

Imagine getting your insurance statement a few weeks later and find your insurance had been billed for both operations!

This is the true story of Kevin Baccam, a 33-year old school district controller from Urbandale, Iowa, who had his surgery in August 2005. He is suing Dr. Frederick S. Nuss and the Iowa Clinic. "It's the principle of the thing", said Baccum.

This is not an isolated case; there are many other medical billing horror stories, some with devastating results. And yet in many cases the patient is being billed for the doctors' or hospitals' mistakes.

Eleven states have adopted a policy of waiving the fee for the worst mistakes, which have been dubbed "never events", meaning they should never happen at all. The NQF (National Quality Forum) has identified 28 never events that include surgery on the wrong part, surgery on the wrong patient, wrong surgery performed on a patient, items being left behind in a patient and a baby sent home with the wrong mother.

There's a certain amount of finger pointing and liability issues that emerge when a doctor and/or hospital admits they made a mistake. For example, the hospital preps the patient correctly and the doctor operates on the wrong body part, should the hospital pay? Or, the hospital performs the blood tests on the wrong patient and the patient dies in surgery because he was given the incorrect blood type. Is that the doctor's fault? It certainly isn't the patients' fault, yet in many instances it's the patient who is paying for these mistakes.

In October 2008, Medicare will start hitting hospitals where it hurts. Medicare will no longer cover 8 of the most serious never events.

Other insurers are looking into this as well. All I can say, is it's about time.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Linda Snyder

Misdiagnosis Malpractice Lawsuit Settled

Staff Writer — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 08:52:36 GMT

The Department of the Air Force recently settled a malpractice lawsuit with a woman whose burst appendix was origianly diagnosed as a sexually transmitted disease.

Michelle Reed went to the Peterson Air Force Base medical clinic on September 15, 2003 complaining of abdominal pain. It wasn't until six days later that it was determined her appendix was the problem. By the time she had surgery, the rupture had so severly damaged her right fallopian tube and ovary were so severely damaged that doctors have advised her not to get pregnant. She spent almost a month in the hospital. Between the time of her initial visit and the eventual surgery, Reed was diagnosed and treated for PID, a disease caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia. Upon her discharge from the hospital after her surgery, she was informed tests for those diseases were negative.

Read the entire malpractice lawsuit article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Suits over hernia mesh patch on the rise

Staff Writer — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 09:33:24 GMT

Earlier this month a law firm out of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, announced that they are filing suit on behalf of their client against Davol, Inc., the manufacturer of Composix Kugel Mesh Patch, which as been used in a number of hernia repair surgeries. The defective medical device has been known to cause serious complications in patients who have undergone hernia surgery in which is was employed.

The patch was recalled in 2005, but many patients did not receive the information about the recall. A news release from the law firm of Motley Rice details the case:

The suit was filed in Superior Court in the State of Rhode Island on behalf of plaintiff Jimmy Warren of St. Charles County, Missouri, whose inserted Kugel Mesh Patch failed following a product recall, causing severe abdominal pain and resulting in necessary bowel dissection surgery to remove the failed patch. Additional defendants in the case include New Jersey-based C.R. Bard, Inc., the parent company of Davol, Inc.
On January 6, 2004, Mr. Warren underwent hernia repair surgery, during which he received a Kugel Mesh Patch developed by Davol, Inc. The following year, Davol recalled many of the Kugel Mesh Patches under an FDA Class I recall - a recall issued for medical devices that are potentially life-threatening or could cause a serious risk to a patient's health. In 2006, this recall was expanded to include the patch inserted in Mr. Warren. Following his surgery, Mr. Warren developed abdominal tenderness, and according to the complaint, another hernia had developed in Mr. Warren in April 2006.
During surgery to repair the second hernia, a piece of the failed Kugel Mesh patch was discovered adhered to Mr. Warren's bowel. Mr. Warren was subjected to a prolonged bowel dissection to release the mesh from his bowel, leaving him with chronically inflamed bowels, as well as ongoing physical pain and mental anguish. It is alleged that the manufacturers of the Kugel Mesh Patch were aware of the high degree of complication and failure rate of the product.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Nursing Home Citations Increase

Staff Writer — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:20:36 GMT

USA Today recently reported that nursing home citations have increased 22% from 2000 to 2006.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Serices, which regulates nursing homes, claimed that more and more nursing homes are being cited for serious violations that are putting patients at risk.

The most serious type of cases being cited are patients who were physically or sexually abused as well as being left without their medications.

Around 2,000 violations were found by inspectors last year at 850 of the nation's 16,000 nursing homes. These account for the 6% violations reported. Recently, many states have increased their inspections at nursing homes.

Incomplete records for Medicare and Medicaid show that there has been more than 1,300 "immediate jeopardy" citations.

Nursing homes found with these citations are being told they aren't allowed to accept new Medicaid patients and have to pay fines.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home Neglect and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Medtronic Defibrillator Leads Recalled

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:29:49 GMT

Defibrillator leads that connect an implanted defibrillator have been recalled. The defective medical device is made by Medtronic and may cause the device to function incorrectly. The name of the product is Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Defibrillator Leads.

The FDA has advised patients who are implanted with this recalled Medtronic defibrillator lead or do not know the model of their lead, to contact their physicians for further information. Patients who have had the Sprint Fidelis lead implanted should contact their physician, especially if they have experienced multiple shocks, lightheadedness, fainting, or palpitations.

The recalled device may stop working or it may deliver a shock when none is needed. There are fractures in the leads causing problems in the defibrillator.

If you would like to learn more about defective medical devices, please visit InjuryBoard's Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Parents File Medical Malpractice Case in Arkansas

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:17:26 GMT

A medical malpractice case is being heard in Arkansas after a woman was incapcitated after surgery at Northwest Medical Center. The case is being heard in Washington County Circuit Court. The woman had an infection in her arm and had surgery to treat it.

The plaintiffs seek money either for expenses for their daughter's future costs at the nursing home or for her to stay at home with them. They claim there were violations in the standard of care for their daughter.
Redding went into cardiac arrest on Dec. 18, 2003, following her inability to return to consciousness from the surgery. She has since been incapacitated.

Her parents are suing on her behalf. The case is against the Fayetteville Diagnostic Clinic and the Drs. Jon Sexton and Gary Templeton. The defense attorney asked for a directed verdict but the judge in the case allowed the case to move forward.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Proposed Roof Safety Standards Inadequate

Staff Writer — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 10:40:54 GMT

According to the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen, the reently proposed changes to vehicle roof-crush standards are a joke, with 70% of current vehicles already meeting them.

In their press release, Public Citizen notes:

Rollover crashes kill 10,000 people each year, accounting for one-third of all occupant deaths in vehicle crashes. Many deaths and injuries that stem from rollover crashes occur when the roofs of vehicles crush in, killing or paralyzing the occupants of the vehicles. In many cases when the roof crushes, the windows of the vehicle crush or blow out, seat belt and side air bag systems fail, and doors spring open, causing people to be ejected and killed.

I agree that increasing roof strength to withstand 1.64 times the vehicle's weight is not much of an improvement, seeing as how the current standards only require a roof to be able withstand a force of 1.5 times a vehicle's weight.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer