Chicago Personal Injury Attorney, Illinois Lawyers, Birth Injury

Medical Malpractice Deaths – Chicago Attorneys

Are you safer on the highway or lying in a hospital bed?

You might be surprised – nearly 200,000 people a year die as a result of medical mistake, while only about 20% of that figure die in automobile accidents.

A comparison of statistics from several sources indicate that medical malpractice – an issue that has hardly made a splash in the health care debate – is a major problem. For firms that concentrate in medical malpractice cases in Chicago, this news comes as no surprise.

Earlier this month, HealthGrades, a health care quality company that studies the medical industry, looked at 37 million American patient records from the years 2000-2002, and found that an average of 195,000 patients died due to potentially preventable in-hospital medical errors.

Half of those errors arose from hospital-acquired infections, and the other half from preventable mistakes, including safety issues within the hospitals, failure to diagnose post-operative infections, failure to recognize the degree of injury, failed or missed diagnoses, etc. Read More »

Posted in Car Accident, Chicago, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death | July 28, 2010 | Jay Paul Deratany

APD officer collides with motorcycle, citizens question cause of accident

A 74-year old Austin resident was hospitalized after his motorcycle was struck by a police vehicle at the intersection of Lamplight Village and Magazine Street. Eyewitnesses say that the officer, a 10-year veteran of the APD, was not paying attention to the road and accidentally glided through the intersection despite the fact that he thought the vehicle was idling. It is believed that the officer was paying attention to the vehicle’s onboard communications systems and did not notice that the vehicle was in motion. Although the force of impact was only around 10 miles per hour, the driver of the motorcycle sustained injuries that were serious enough to require hospitalization for several days. Read More »

Posted in Car Accident, Chicago, Motorcycle Accident | July 27, 2010 | Nathan Polum

70,000 Kids Injured Annually from Medical Devices, Malpractice

According to a recent study, more than 70,000 children and teens are sent to the emergency room each year for treatment of injuries resulting from injuries and complications from medical devices and medical malpractice. The majority of these cases involved contact lenses, according the data. Researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that about one-fourth of ER visits by children and teens are caused by infections and eye abrasions from wearing contact lens that were mis-prescribed or improperly used. Almost 34,000 problems were linked to use of contact lenses in these two year period.

Other common problems found included puncture wounds from hypodermis needles breaking off in the skin while injecting medicine or illegal drugs; infections in young children with ear tubes; and skin tears from pelvic devices used during gynecological exams in teen girls. Read More »

Posted in Chicago, Medical Malpractice | July 27, 2010 | Patrick Degnan

$510K Awarded in Staten Island Birth Injury Lawsuit

A Staten Island jury has awarded $510,000 to the parents of a 4 year-old New Brighton who suffered brain injuries because he was deprived of oxygen at birth.

The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed on behalf of Xzavier Hyman against Staten Island University Hospital and Dr. Paul Heitzer. Hyman suffers speech and fine motor skills deficiencies as a result of oxygen deprivation during birth. The jury determined that a Caesarean operation should have been performed several hours before Ms. Spicer gave vaginal birth. Doctors testified that Hyman suffered brain damage in the uterus during that time.

Spicer, 26, said she was happy with the jury’s decision. “I believe it was an awesome verdict and justice was served,” Spicer said. “I also feel the award is not enough, I know he’ll have the lesions on his brain for the rest of his life.” Read More »

Posted in Birth Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Chicago, Medical Malpractice | July 24, 2010 | Nathan Polum

Beware the July Effect: Hospital Deaths Spike in Summertime

Summertime is Dangerous in Hospitals

Past studies have shown that teaching hospitals experience higher rates of medical errors. It is referred to as the “July phenomenon” in the U.S. or even more morbidly the “August killing season” in the U.K. The problem has been confirmed to exist in Hospitals in Australia as well.

More Medical Students = More Deaths?

Ironic isn’t it? Hospitals have to meet higher standards to be certified to teach medical students. Higher standards for the students but it ends up resulting in lower quality care for patients.

A new study has identified a ten percent increase in deaths due to medication errors. The death rate spikes in July, when all the eager new med students graduate and start their training.

One more reason to be careful this summer. Read More »

Posted in Chicago, Medical Malpractice | July 23, 2010 | Jay Paul Deratany

Owner of closed Norwich obstetrics practice was disciplined in infant’s death

Norwich, Conn. – The doctor who owns a Norwich obstetrics practice that closed abruptly last month was disciplined in May for his handling of a 2008 delivery in which the baby later died.

H. John Bodin, owner of Norwich Obstetrics and Gynecological Group Inc., was sanctioned by the Connecticut Department of Public Health after an investigation found he failed to monitor a woman in labor or intervene when nurses reported the unborn child was in distress.

The infant was delivered by emergency Cesarean, suffered a lack of oxygen, brain injury and brain hemorrhage, and died five weeks later, according to a June 12, 2009, investigative report.

Bodin did not return a call placed to his home and a message left at his office. His practice administrator, Bernadette Grecki, said he could not comment on legal matters. His lawyer, Thomas W. Boyce Jr., did not return calls.

Norwich Obstetrics and Gynecological Group Inc. at 164 Otrobando Ave. closed June 18, and had an estimated 5,000 patients. The state health department is looking into whether the clinic followed state regulations in notifying patients of the closure.

On May 17, 2010, Bodin was cited with a consent order and fined $5,000 after a health department investigation of the circumstances surrounding the infant’s death. A consent order is a disciplinary action that occurs when there’s a negotiated settlement between a doctor and the Department of Public Health approved by the Connecticut Board of Medical Examiners, health department spokesman William Gerrish said.

The order said that after the allegations, Bodin voluntarily reduced his privileges at Backus and limited his practice, so he would not perform surgery requiring anesthesia. The order specified that if he resumed practicing obstetrics or hospital-based surgery, he must give the Department of Public Health a 90-day notice. The doctor admitted no wrongdoing, but did not contest the allegations.

Continue reading this story here…

Posted in Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Chicago, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death | July 19, 2010 | Kara Skorupa

Lawyers Win $12.2 Million Verdict for San Mateo County Teen Permanently Disabled when Struck in Crosswalk

Attorneys from the San Francisco-based law firm Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger secured a $12.2 million verdict on behalf of a San Mateo woman who is now in a permanent vegetative state as a result of injuries suffered in a tragic automobile-pedestrian accident in 2006.

The case, Liou v. State of California and Gada Hassany (Case No. CIV 460659), stemmed from an accident that took place on El Camino Real in Millbrae back on March 28, 2006. On that evening, Emily Liou, who was just 17 years old at the time, was walking home from signing Karaoke with some friends and was looking forward to seeing the prom dress her parents had just picked up for her that day. Emily had crossed six of the seven lanes of the road when a slow-moving Toyota sedan, driven by a woman with her child in the back seat, hit and knocked Emily to the pavement. Emily sustained a traumatic brain injury that, according to her doctors, has left her in a permanent vegetative state.

“Emily was struck in a marked crosswalk located at the crest of a rise in the road, which does not come into view until a driver is about 100 feet away,” explained Douglas S. Saeltzer, a highly regarded brain injury attorney. “Additionally, the crosswalk is located at an ‘uncontrolled’ intersection, meaning that there are no lights or stop signs controlling vehicular traffic. El Camino Real, which Caltrans calls State Route 82, is among the busiest roads on the peninsula.”

Mr. Saeltzer and his partner, Rich Schoenberger, filed lawsuit against Caltrans and the driver of the vehicle that struck Emily, subsequently taking more than 40 depositions and filing motions to compel production of traffic collision reports. Through this discovery, the firm learned that three pedestrians had been killed in this same crosswalk in the 15 years before Emily’s accident.

The case went to trial in San Mateo Superior Court before Judge Joseph Scott. After a four-week trial, the jury found for the plaintiff and awarded Emily $12.2 million in damages. They apportioned fault 50% to Caltrans, 30% to the driver, and 20% to Emily. Read More »

Posted in Brain Injury, Chicago | July 19, 2010 | Patrick Degnan

Single Car Accident on Portland Kills Driver

Rochester, NY–Around 11:30 Saturday night, emergency officials responded to the scene of a car accident at Porland Ave and Central Ave in Rochester.

When they arrived, they found a car trapped between a tree and a utility pole–with one person dead at the scene.

Details of the accident are under investigation and the name and age of the victim has not yet been released.

Rochester Police believe there were no other cars involved.

All of us at The Deratany Firm offer our most sincere condolences to the friends and family of the victims involved during this tragic time. Read More »

Posted in Car Accident, Chicago | July 19, 2010 | Jay Paul Deratany