Kenneth Deen went to a dentist on July 18, 2005 suffering with a toothache. He was examined and referred to an endontist. Upon visiting the endontist, Mr. Deen was advised he had an infected tooth, requiring antibiotics and root canal. The root canal was scheduled and Mr. Deen’s dentist was advised of such, however nobody at the dental office marked the scheduled root canal in Mr. Deen’s chart. Mr. Deen returned to the dentist on August 4, 2005, prior to the root canal, and was given an extensive deep cleaning, known as a debridement.

Around this time, Mr. Deen began having headaches, which he attributed to the back problems he was also experiencing. He underwent testing on his back and some procedures intended to alleviate the headaches, but the headaches continued to worsen. Mr. Deen became progressively worse and was eventually rushed to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a subdural empyema, or swelling of the brain. Numerous procedures were performed in an attempt to reduce the swelling, but it was not until doctors decided to remove the infected tooth that the swelling began to recede. At that point, Mr. Deen had already experienced serious and permanent brain damage.

On August 13, 2007, Mr. Deen’s wife, Linda, filed a lawsuit against his treating physicians and the hospital where he was treated. It was through the process of discovery that Mrs. Deen first learned that the cause of her husband’s condition was most likely the infected tooth. More specifically, Mr. Deen’s dentist should not have allowed the debridement to be performed until the infection had been removed, as doing so allowed the infection to enter his bloodstream more quickly.

On March 21, 2008, Mrs. Deen sued the dentist based on the information she had discovered. Counsel for the dentist filed a Motion for Summary Judgment alleging plaintiff’s complaint was barred by the two-year Statute of Limitations, as any malpractice would have occurred on either July 18, or August 4, 2005. The District Court held the Georgia law, which only tolls the Statue of Limitations in medical malpractice actions where they arise under the foreign object rule, it is brought by an estate which was previously unrepresented, or under the rules of contribution, unconstitutional. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the District Court’s ruling, holding that Georgia’s law is rationally related to the purpose of health care and tort reform.

Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence, by act or omission, by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient. Malpractice lawsuits are complex in nature and are often difficult to prove. Medical malpractice affects the quality of life for not only the victim, but the victim’s family, friends and loved ones. The lawyers at www.pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com are experienced and successful in the area of medical malpractice lawsuits. For a free and confidential consultation, please visit www.pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com and fill out our “Get Help Now” section.

Many in the legal community anticipated a decision which would determine a hospital’s liability for disaster planning and the lack thereof. The hospital had gone without power for over eighteen hours during the storm. Ms. LaCoste, who required the use of a portable ventilator to help her breathe, lived through the storm but died shortly thereafter.

Lawyers for the LaCoste estate brought a wrongful death action against the hospital because medical malpractice liability is capped in the State of Louisiana. The case was based on the negligent placement of a fuel pump which failed due to flooding from the storm. When Universal Health Systems of Pennsylvania purchased the hospital in 2003, they were not alerted of a 2002 letter indicating that the fuel pump was susceptible to such flooding. Larry Graham, who became the hospital’s CEO following its purchase by Universal Health Systems, testified that he never familiarized himself with the details of the emergency power system.

In an attempt to shift the reason for her death from the hospital’s power failure to natural causes, the defense team built their case on Ms. LaCoste’s poor health. The settlement kept the jury from deliberating on the merits of the case, leaving questions unanswered for the numerous related cases currently in litigation. One case in particular involves similar circumstances with a younger and healthier plaintiff. That lawsuit also alleges the hospital should have evacuated its patients prior to Hurricane Katrina’s arrival. Only time will tell as to whether a case will go to a jury for determination on the issues, or whether more confidential settlements are to come.

Medical malpractice encompasses not only the relationship between doctors and patients, but also—as evidenced by the New Orleans cases—the relationships between hospitals and their patients. A decision on the issue of hospital liability for disaster planning would be landmark in the sense that it would greatly increase the level of duty and responsibility of hospitals towards their patients, thus creating to an overall change in our health care system.

Medical malpractice affects the quality of life for not only the victim, but the victim’s family, friends and loved ones. The lawyers at pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com are experienced and successful in the area of medical malpractice lawsuits. For a free and confidential consultation, please visit www.pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com and fill out our “Get help now” section.

Mr. White was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers “Steel Curtain” defense from 1971 through his retirement in 1980. In 2008, nearly twenty-eight years after his retirement, Mr. White elected to have a discectomy: a surgery where part or all of a herniated disc is removed from a patient’s spine. Mr. White was admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in May, 2008, where doctors performed the surgery. But following his release from the hospital, White’s family states his condition deteriorated.

Mr. White’s neurosurgeon and long-time physician was out of town following the surgery. So as his condition worsened, an on-call doctor at the hospital prescribed an over-the-counter medication to treat his symptoms. A day after being prescribed the medication, Mr. White was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where upon arrival, a pulmonary embolism was found. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit but passed away shortly thereafter.

The lawsuit brought by White’s family alleges, among other things, that White was not given the proper dosage of Heparin to manage his blood clots. The family’ attorney told Pittsburgh media that the athlete’s doctor missed chances to save the former Steelers’ life. Dwight White was fifty-eight years old when he died on June 6, 2008.

Preliminary reports indicate that the lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 in damages. In general, medical malpractice suits often claim not only pain and suffering damages for the patient, but also compensation for the family’s loss and potential punitive damages against the doctors and hospital. Further, the wrongful death claim is a separate claim for damages.

Medical malpractice is professional negligence, by act or omission, by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient. Medical malpractice affects the quality of life for not only the victim, but the victim’s family, friends and loved ones. Malpractice lawsuits are complex in nature and malpractice is often difficult to prove.

The lawyers at pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com are experienced and successful in the area of medical malpractice lawsuits. For a free and confidential consultation, please visit www.pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com and fill out our “Get help now” section.

At birth, the boy, Jason Fox, was diagnosed Tetralogy of Fallot, a condition that affects the flow of blood through the heart. While the condition is generally treatable, in Jason’s case the defect was so serious that it reduced the amount of oxygen flowing to his organs and limbs.

Jason underwent open heart surgery and numerous heart catheterizations at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, all to no avail. Doctors there then recommended that Jason see Dr. James Lock, Physician in Chief of the Children’s Hospital of Boston. Dr. Lock helped pioneer the use of catheterization to repair cardiac birth defects. The Fox family flew to Boston, where Dr. Lock and his staff began treatment.

Unfortunately, during the second catheterization procedure performed by Dr. Lock, Jason suffered a seizure. A CAT scan showed that contrast dye used in the catheterization procedure had leaked into Jason’s brain. The boy was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit where he was administered two MRIs designed to judge the extent of the damage. The results were astounding. The images showed a piece of metal lodged in Jason’s brain. The metal was most likely from a medical instrument that had broken off during a surgical procedure performed either at the Children’s Hospital of Boston, or at a previous hospital. Jason was subsequently released from the hospital, unable to walk or speak. Tragically, he died soon after his release.

In breaking down the verdict, the jury awarded $5 million for Jason’s pain and suffering, $5 million for the parents’ loss and $5 million for wrongful death. Some critics called the jury award shocking, noting that cases resulting in death are generally not worth as much as cases where the victim lives and will suffer ongoing pain and expensive and difficult long-term medical treatments. But despite the award, no amount of money will bring Jason back to his parents.

Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence, by act or omission, by a health care provider in which the care provided deviates from accepted standards of medical practice and causes injury or death to a patient. Malpractice lawsuits are complex in nature and are often difficult to prove. Medical malpractice affects the quality of life for not only the victim, but the victim’s family, friends and loved ones. The lawyers at www.pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com are experienced and successful in the area of medical malpractice lawsuits. For a free and confidential consultation, please visit www.pamedicalmalpracticeattorney.com and fill out our “Get Help Now” section.