Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Every expectant parent hopes for a healthy baby. The vast majority of obstetricians, midwives, and other labor and delivery personnel utilize safe methods and are skilled and knowledgeable in their practice. However, there are exceptions. Unfortunately, birth injuries as a result of excessively strenuous labor, improper or forceful delivery methods, and physician negligence occur every day. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) more than two million significant birth injuries are reported every year in the United States alone. The increase in “planned births” through Cesarean sections and labor induction methods is often blamed for difficult deliveries and related birth injuries. Below is a list of the most commonly reported birth injuries.

Brachial plexus injuries (BPI): There is a bundle of nerves that begins at the upper spine and extends through the neck, shoulder, arm, and into the hand. When these nerves are damaged during the birth process the result can be mild and temporary to severe and permanent disability. Neuropraxia, the mildest form of BPI, involves the stretching of the nerve. Neuroma, on the other hand, is a serious injury in which the nerve is torn and fails to heal properly. The most severe BPI injury, avulsion, occurs when the nerve roots are torn from the spine causing complete and permanent paralysis.

Bone fractures: Broken or fractured bones are often the result of a difficult or complicated delivery. If a medical professional uses too much force while delivering a baby, breaks can occur. The most commonly fractured bone is the clavicle (collar bone). These injuries are usually temporary and can heal on their own or by immobilizing the area.

Andrea Larkin has been awarded $35.4 million for Massachusetts medical malpractice. Larkin, who was not placed on a notification list for her brain abnormalities, which were identified during an MRI and CAT scan after she ran the Boston Marathon in 2004, suffered a serious stroke after delivering her newborn daughter in 2008.

If information about her brain abnormalities been made available so that the 35-year-old woman’s obstetrician had access to the data, Larkin would have been directed to have a Caesarean delivery rather than going into labor. She had to be induced into a coma for two months. When she woke up, she was unable to talk, walk, eat, or speak.

Except for movement in one arm Larkin remains totally paralyzed. She did not hold her daughter for nearly a year. Now, she needs two caretakers to help her.

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in the United States, 1 in 5 women who undergo hysterectomies may not have needed the procedure. This is disturbing news, seeing as not only is the hysterectomy one of the most common surgeries performed on women-by the time they are 60, 1 out of 3 women, will have had this procedure-it is also incredibly invasive and can be a life-altering course of treatment.

In a hysterectomy, part or if not all of the uterus, and perhaps even the ovaries and cervix, are taken out. A woman who has had a hysterectomy will stop menstruating and won’t be able to conceive children.

Often, a hysterectomy is performed to treat a medical condition, including benign conditions-especially when uterine fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding, and endometriosis are involved. That said, Medical News Today notes that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists require healthcare professionals to recommend that patients whose gynecological conditions are benign seek alternative treatments before undergoing a hysterectomy.

A new state law mandates that people who intend to file a Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit give healthcare providers at least six months notice before submitting their complaint. Potential defendants then have 150 days to address the matter. The law also stipulates that medical providers notify patients if there were medical errors that caused unexpected complications and gives doctors a chance to apologize without fear that their admission of error will be used against them in court.

The new legislation is part of increased efforts at non-traditional types of medical liability reform in the U.S., with programs involving resolution and communication growing in popularity. Advocates are pressing for medical providers to step forward, acknowledge responsibility, and offer settlements. In Massachusetts, a number of Beth Israel Deaconess hospitals and Bay State facilities are taking part in a pilot program implementing the Communication, Apology, and Resolution (CARe) model.

In one example of how this type of program can work, NPR recounts, a doctor of a woman who received a delayed diagnosis of her stage 3 ovarian cancer not only explained to her why the mistake happened but apologized for it. A medical team had determined that she should get a pelvic ultrasound but the recommendation was pushed to the wayside for months.

According to a recently released survey, almost one-quarter of Massachusetts residents or someone close to them has experienced a medical mistake in the last five years. About 50% of those who reported the error said that serious health consequences resulted.

The poll, conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, surveyed 1,224 residents. The researchers said that a lot of people chose not to report a medical mistake either because they didn’t think it would make a difference or they did not know how to report the incident.

According to the Boston Globe, the survey is one of a number of reports commissioned by the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction. Lehman, a 39-year-old mother, died twenty years ago after she was administered a massive overdose of an anticancer drug.

A jury in Middlesex County has awarded a Burlington woman a $9.5 Waltham, Ma. medical malpractice million verdict. Cristen Lebel, 41, and her husband sued Dr. Kim Thornton at Boston IVF for not detecting Lebel’s ovarian cancer, which has now advanced to Stage 3. According to their Boston injury lawyer, Lebel is likely to die and this could have been avoided if only she received the proper medical care. With interest, the jury award is $11.3 million.

According to the plaintiffs, from June ’08 through May ’09, Thornton did not take the necessary steps to detect Lebel’s cancer, failed to identify the signs and symptoms, and did not order tests to rule out whether her cancer was malignant. Thornton, however, maintains that while treating Lebel for fertility issues, she complied with the standard of care and did not contribute to or modify the course of the patient’s diagnosis.

Cancer Diagnosis