Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

In what can be called the height of medical malpractice and negligence, an eye surgeon first operated four-year-old Jesse on the wrong eye and then on the correct eye. Parents of the child, considering a medical malpractice lawsuit against the guilty doctor, accuse him of negligence and failure to properly inform them about the surgery and blame him for the unnecessary side effects on the vision of their boy.

The parents contend that their son as suffering from a wandering right eye and thus needed the operation. However, they claim that even after the surgery, no improvement has been noted; rather, the wrong surgery has left the left eye wandering. They allege that the negligent doctor informed them about the surgery on both eyes only after having operated the wrong eye.

On the other hand, the guilty doctor admits that she “lost sense of direction” and operated the wrong eye. She blamed her assistant for “accidentally” rubbing off the spot to mark the correct eye for the surgery.

Such a gross negligence and medical practice calls for punishment of the offender.

Medical Malpractice Statistics

This is not the only medical malpractice incident of its kind in the country. Unnecessary surgeries, hospital errors, doctor’s negligence, wrong diagnosis contribute to the rising medical malpractice statistics. In fact, it is the third leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Journal of American Medicine, more than 225,000 patients lose their lives annually from medical errors – 106,000 from prescription drug side effects, 80,000 from hospital infections, 12,000 from unneeded surgeries, and 7,000 from wrong diagnosis.

Further, cost of health care, lost wages due to medical malpractice stands at about $25 billion annually. Statistics reveal that more than 8,000 physicians and doctors commit malpractice errors annually and of every eight malpractice injuries, only one malpractice claim is made.

Let us have a look at some of the medical practice and negligence cases, some of which are awaiting justice, while some others have gone in favor of the plaintiffs.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Awarded in Favor of Plaintiffs

Recently, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit has won a big award at the Erie County Courthouse. The lawsuit accused two physicians of medical malpractice in the case of Carolyn Champlin for failing to properly diagnose that she was suffering from lung cancer, which “went from operable and curable to inoperable and incurable," after which she died in April 2005. The jury found both doctors guilty of negligence and wrong diagnosis and returned a $1.8 million verdict in favor of the plaintiff.

In another medical malpractice case, the jury has recently awarded $21.6 million to the plaintiff, who claimed botched delivery of her son at Hamot hospital, resulting in brain damage and cerebral palsy to the child, as the hospital staff did not do enough to supply oxygen to the child at the time of delivery. While giving the verdict, which is the largest in the history of Erie County, the jury found the defendant hospital guilty of malpractice, which left the child profoundly disabled for life and permanently under the care of others. The verdict includes compensation for the past medical expenses and lost lifetime earning capacity, besides his future medical expenses.

In another similar case, a doctor who failed to properly diagnose colon cancer in a patient faces medical negligence lawsuit. The plaintiff alleges that the defendant did not conduct the required tests on him to diagnose his colon cancer, due to which he could not get timely treatment, causing him pain and suffering and decreased life expectancy. The jury awarded $2.5 million verdict in favor of the plaintiff.

A DuPage County jury awarded a medical negligence lawsuit an $11.5 million award. The plaintiff alleged medical negligence on the part of the Naperville's Edward Hospital staff at the time of her delivery, which caused death of her unborn child and loss of her small intestine. The plaintiff alleges that due to the negligence of the medical staff, she cannot become pregnant again. The jury found the hospital guilty of negligence and awarded the lawsuit to the plaintiff.

Rising Number of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Recently, a Chicago couple has filed a malpractice and negligence suit in the Cook County Circuit Court against a renowned hospital in Illinois, alleging that the hospital staff administered 60 times the prescribed dosage of sodium chloride to their 40-year-old infant, which caused his death. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages against the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital for its staff’s negligence in conducting proper medical care of their infant, who was recovering well from a premature birth, which has caused them immense pain and incredible loss.

In another medical malpractice lawsuit filed against an Indiana doctor Mark Weinberger, the plaintiff alleges negligence and noncompliance with the standard of care on the part of the defendant in diagnosing that the victims was suffering from lung cancer. The lawsuit accuses the defendant of conducting an unnecessary sinus surgery on her, which resulted in serious complications for the victim and she died. The victim’s daughter who has sued the doctor seeks millions in punitive damages and compensation for the unneeded surgery, which cost her mother over $500,000 on medical bills and loss of projected lifetime earnings, besides the loss of her life.

In another such case, the jury sided with the plaintiff, a 20-year-old male, in deciding the outcome of the medical malpractice case against the Cook County Hospital. The plaintiff alleged that during the time of his birth, the hospital staff unnecessarily delayed the delivery, causing him permanent brain damage. The jury found the hospital guilty of negligence in giving timely care to the mother at the time of labor and delivery, which resulted in brain damage to the fetus.

In another medical negligence case against a Chicago-area hospital, a nurse midwife, and a sponsoring obstetrician, the plaintiff claimed that the child suffered brain injury at birth due to hypoxia, causing him cerebral palsy. The lawsuit alleged that the midwife did not perform intrauterine resuscitation immediately before the baby's birth even as the fetal heart rate was constantly dropping.  The plaintiff contended that the back-up obstetrician could not properly perform the required procedure of providing oxygen and blood supply to the fetus, causing fetal distress. The lawsuit alleged that the hospital failed to provide a registered surgeon for the delivery of the baby. The case was settled before it went for trial, and the defendant hospital offered unspecified damages to the plaintiff for settling the case.