Malpractice During a Clinical Trial? It Can Happen.
Contention over medical research, especially research that involves human participants, is nothing new. Companies and other entities that conduct medical research are quick to cover their abases when it comes to the possibility of expenses. Even so, putting a ‘test’ or ‘trial’ label on care is not all encompassing. Even the most extensive and air-tight of test and research waivers leaves room for claims of medical malpractice. Gross negligence and failure of duty continue even if there are potential pitfalls spelled out. It becomes harder to prove that injuries are related to a mistake or neglect and not potential results of [...]
Paralysis After Medical Malpractice
When you hear the word "paralyzed" it’s easy to jump to a few specific mental images. However, the range of paralysis is much wider. A single muscle can be unable to send or receive nerve impulses, creating a type of localized paralysis. One of the leading causes of paralysis in the United States continues to be strokes, with 33.7% of all paralysis being pinned to blood flow and oxygen interruptions during an incident. While paralysis can be the result of an injury or a result of necessity in surgery, it can also be the product of negligence or medical malpractice. If [...]
What Are the Long-Term Costs After a Birth Injury?
The days leading up to a birth are some of the most stressful a parent can go through. The mixture of hopes and fears keeps the family on its toes. Fortunately, most births go smoothly, and the fears dissipate as the new life grows. In the case of a birth injury, the process is reversed with the fears growing daily and the path to recovery a window quickly slamming shut. Even so, many injuries are treatable and have only short-term effects. For those rarity of rarities, though, the road to recovery becomes long and expensive. Let’s look at the costs and [...]
Birth Injury Prevention Steps and Statistics
No topic creates as much fear and apprehension as an injury to a newly-born infant. Part of this comes from a deep-seated need to protect the young. The other part comes from the knowledge that a small problem at the start of life is likely to become bigger over time. Prevention of a birth injury is a duty that parents take to heart from the first moment they hear that they are expecting a child. This continues to grow and shape habits for months after the baby is born. Doctors as well, consider their duty to a mother and unborn child [...]
Who Gets Sued? Malpractice and Hospital Structure
One question that sees little attention in the world of medical malpractice is the multitude of actors that can be sued under malpractice criteria. You might think that only a doctor or treating physician of some stripe can be sued. In fact, anyone with a medical license that has a duty to treat and can be established to have a relationship with a patient can be sued. Some interesting cases are questioning the parameters of the doctor-patient relationship but in general, a relationship needs to exist for malpractice to be tested. Essentially, a form of practice must exist for it to [...]
Chronic Conditions Effect on Medical Malpractice Claims
For many, the idea of a sudden complication or lack of proper diagnosis from a sudden onset of illness is alarming. For others, they know, and have known, what’s wrong for a long time. Even those with a chronic illness deserve care and can become the victim of mistakes through delays and negligence. Indeed, the largest number of misdiagnosis leading to a medical malpractice claim come from chronic illness. Nearly 60.6% of diagnostic errors come from cancer and vascular events, both areas where an initial diagnosis is known. Reading through literature on the matter shows that the issues is widely known [...]
I Got Worse, is it Malpractice?
Few things are as frustrating as placing your trust in someone dedicated to helping you only to get worse. One of the reasons that doctors and medical professionals work with such strict codes and protocols is to, if nothing else, limit harm. They know they can’t always make it better, but they can at least try not to make it worse. The tightrope this creates for the legal system is another matter entirely. When you get worse after seeking treatment, you are prone to wonder if a mistake has been made. This raises the question; did you get worse naturally or [...]
Malpractice Concerns for Children and Teens
The laws governing the statute of limitations for medical malpractice have several categories of exceptions. Primarily, these deal with when an injury is, or should be, recognized by a claimant. For children and teens, these rules have further exceptions dealing with the changing and growing nature of young bodies. Indeed, damage to a younger person can take a lot of longer to notice as they may be incapable of explaining how they feel, given the lack of a benchmark to compare against, or when it the impairment effects underdeveloped organs. Legal Limiters The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Maryland [...]
Day Trips: Elder Care Out of the Home
Nursing homes offer two different types of excursion outside of the facility. The first is for necessary additional medical care. Trips to specialists include dentists, ophthalmologists, and for scan. The second kind are recreational trips meant to increase socialization and decrease feelings of isolation. In both cases it’s important that the elderly are taken care of while in transit and when they arrive at their destination. Given that the first kind involves other attending physicians and are often solo or small group affairs, there is usually adequate supervision. The second kind is an undervalued source of nursing home negligence. Care Responsibilities [...]
Causes and Risks of Bedsores
One of the most uncomfortable and risky signs of nursing home negligence is the appearance of bedsores. The human body is meant to be mobile and works best when it is challenged (within reason). When an elderly person is left alone and not moved from a prone to a sitting position damages begins to accumulate. The skin can tear, and continuous pressure leads to injury. Even for patients with low mobility, it is important to reposition the body to even out pressure and let the skin breath a bit. Causes Start with learning that bedsores, also called pressure ulcers or decubitus [...]
Medical Malpractice Claim Limitations
One of the trickiest problems with taking action when you’ve been wronged is learning about the injury later in life. In cases such as medical malpractice and wrongful death, it isn’t uncommon for years to pass before a problem is known. While every case is going to be different and no specific time can be guaranteed, there are rules to how long problems usually take to surface. This guide will go through the factors that influence the length of a trial and prime you on what to expect when pursuing a medical malpractice claim. Statute of Limitations The most important thing [...]
The Problem of Silence: Psychological Impacts of Nursing Home Neglect
Humans are social creatures. They work, play, love, and fear as a unit better than they do alone. United, they build great works and explore the globe and beyond. Divided, they suffer in silence or in great cries until something changes. The less power a person feels they have to change their situation, the more likely they are to bottle up their pain to try to endure. In incidents of nursing home neglect, isolation complicates everything. Isolation is both an end result of a problem and also adds more problems. Once it begins, it tends to spiral quickly. Studies and unique [...]