The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported on June 11th that Dr. Alexander Kalk, a family practice physician from Creve Coeur, has closed his practice, thrown confidential patient medical records in the trash and has left Missouri. Dr. Kalk was facing licensing discipline from the Missouri Board of Healing Arts. He may also be facing criminal charges regarding his handling of patient medical records.I am familiar with Dr. Kalk, have previously prosecuted a medical malpractice case against him when he was working as a staff physician at a St. Anthony’s walk in clinic. These allegations of bizarre behavior, including living in his medical office, have existed for some years.If you or a family member has been injured as a result of the negligence of Dr. Kalk, you may have a cause of action, not only against him, but quite possibly any hospital that granted him privileges. He was most recently on staff at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Hospitals generally have a duty to patients to only grant privileges to physicians who are qualified and properly trained. Please contact The Law Office of Todd N. Hendrickson to discuss your case.
St. Louis Doctor Associated with Missouri Baptist Medical Center Leaves Area After Bizarre Behavior
PROMINENT MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURER PAYING DOCTORS ACCUSED OF FAKING STUDIES
The New York Times has reported that Medtronic, a prominent manufacturer of medical devices and products, such as infusers, defibrillators and other items, has paid $788,000 to U.S. Army doctor, Timothy R. Kuklo, who was found to have faked results of a study published in a British medical journal.Dr. Kuklo is now on staff as an assistant medical professor at Washington University, here in St. Louis. Dr. Kuklo is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult and pediatric spine surgery.If these allegations prove true, it is shocking that Washington University would employ such a physician to train future generations of orthopedic surgeons. It would also call into question all Medtronics studies. These studies are submitted to the FDA to obtain approval of medical devices and products, and if physicians are being paid what seems to amount to bribes, then the truthfulness of their study results are certainly called into question.If you have any questions or concerns regarding Medtronic products, or care rendered by Dr. Kuklo, please do not hesitate to call The Law Offices of Todd N. Hendrickson. I have successfully prosecuted cases against medical devices manufacturers, hospitals and physicians throughout Missouri and Illinois and I have particular experience in handling orthopedic cases, including hip and knee replacements.
DEATHS DUE TO MEDICAL ERRORS NOW AT 99,000 PER YEAR
Consumers Union, a national non-profit organization, has just released a new report that follows a landmark report of 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the new report isn’t good news.In To Err is Human - To Delay is Deadly, the group reports that more than 99,000 people die each year in the United States from medical errors. This is up from the figure of 98,000 deaths per year reported by the Institute of Medicine in 1999. In the the intervening 10 years, we have made no progress.What are some of the reasons for this disturbing lack of improvement? Consumer Union reports that, among many reasons, few hospitals have adopted well-known systems to prevent medication errors and that the FDA rarely intervenes. Medicine, as an industry has failed to adopt transparent systems for reporting errors. The medical industry has failed to raise standards for competency of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.Consumers Union makes this disturbing analogy: 99,000 deaths per year is equivalent to a jumbo jet full of passengers crashing and killing everyone on board every other day. In no other industry would Americans allow these kinds of errors to continue to occur.I struggle every day to bring accountability to those who have injured or killed patients. If you or a family member are a victim of medical negligence, contact me at stlpersonalinjury.com.
Surgical Warming Device Contamination May Cause Infections
The Law Offices of Todd N. Hendrickson are accepting cases involving possible surgical site infections caused by contaminated forced air warming devices. In many surgeries hospitals utilize a forced air warming device to maintain the patient’s body temperature. The most commonly used of these devices is Arizant’s Bair Hugger (R). These are essentially large driers which blow hot air through a perforated warming blanket.Our investigations indicate that these devices may trap and contain bacteria, forcing it onto the patient during surgery.If you or a loved one has suffered a surgical site infection you may have a claim. Please contact us to discuss your case.
Great American Insurance claims fire death were result of “pollution”
The Houston Chronicle reported today that three deaths from smoke inhalation as a result of a 2007 Houstan office fire were the result of “pollution,” as in smoke inhalation. The very idea of this is ludicrous in the extreme. The insurance company is trying to get out of paying for the losses suffered by three families due to their family members deaths. Fires cause smoke, smoke contains pollutants, to be sure. But to say that death caused by smoke inhalations is a result of pollution is simply beyond belief. Keep this in mind next time you hear a story about a crazy lawyer suing for a million dollars for a lost pair of pants. For every “missing pants” case, there are literally thousands where insurance companies have adopted these tortured readings of their own policies in an attempt to avoid their responsibilities.
Simple Steps Hospitals Can Take to Reduce Surgical Mistakes
The World Health Organization has outlined simple steps that hospitals can take to reduce surgical mistakes, reported the New York Times. Simple procedures like utilizing a “time out” in which all members of the surgical team, before any incision, agree on the identity of the patient, the type of procedure that is being performed and, if appropriate, identifying the correct limb involve, such as right knee v. left knee. Many of these steps, such as getting an accurate count of needles and sponges during the procedure and identifying that the same number of have been removed from the patient after the procedure, have been standard procedure in American hospitals for years. But introducing these simple steps to hospitals world-wide will reduce infections and iatrogenic injuries world-wide.
FDA Calls for New Warning on Epilepsy Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration has called for stronger warnings to be placed on epilepsy drugs such as Topamax, Lamictal, Lyrica, Neurontin, Tegretol, and Trileptal that use can cause an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or even actions. The FDA reviewed studies conducted since the original warning labels were approved which show that patients on these drugs have an increased risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts when compared with dummy pills.If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of these or other defective drugs or medical devices, you should contact The Law Offices of Todd N. Hendrickson. Contact Todd N. Hendrickson for a free consultation.
St. Louis County a “Judicial Hellhole?” Give me a break!
The American Tort Reform Foundation, the business lobby group that annually names Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois, as “judicial hellholes” is at it again. In it’s annual attempt to scare the wits out of voters and small businesses, and to influence pro-business “tort reform” legislation, the ATRF has gone beyond it’s poorly masked attempt to influence jurors in what it views as “plaintiff friendly” venues. Now it has taken to including on the list venues which it believes are less troublesome than so-called hellholes, but worth mentioning.In this group it places St. Louis County, Missouri. Now, as an attorney practicing as a plaintiff’s attorney in Missouri for nearly 20 years, this would be laughable if the intent were not so calculatedly evil.For those who are not familiar with the political structure in Missouri, the City of St. Louis is not part of St. Louis County. The City of St. Louis operates as its own county. And the City of St. Louis has been known, for many years, as a “plaintiff-friendly” venue, justified or not. And it is true that plaintiff’s attorneys always felt they could get a fair shake in front of a City jury. Now, St. Louis County has always been a different animal. St. Louis County has been known as a “plaintiff-hostile” venue, where cases with strong liability and serious damages go to die. Ask any practicing trial lawyer in Missouri, and St. Louis County will be listed as a conservative venue. That’s not to say that plaintiff’s can’t win in St. Louis County, they can. Just as a strong liability case can be won in almost any venue. It is just that the perception has always been that juries in St. Louis County, like those in other conservative venues, generally seem to hold plaintiff’s to a higher legal standard than the law requires. While a civil case is to be decided on a preponderance of the evidence, it always seemed that conservative juries seemed to apply a reasonable-doubt standard.And that brings us back to the American Tort De-Form Foundation. In recent years there have been a few substantial verdicts rendered in St. Louis County where liability was clear and damages were severe. Such awards were clearly warranted and they haven’t been over-turned on appeal. This “trend” leads the ATRF to label St. Louis County as a near-hellhole. Preposterous!The reason for this designation is clear. The ATRF and its allies are seeking to taint jury pools. And taint them they will. In 2005 I tried a case in St. Clair County, one of the “hellholes.” Well, it isn’t a hellhole because of the jurors. The ATRF and it’s ilk so poisoned the jury pool that, in response to a written questionnaire prepared by the trial judge, 95% of the jury pool stated that “frivolous lawsuits” were driving up malpractice insurance rates and driving doctors out of Illinois. Interestingly enough, once the jurors heard a little bit about the medical malpractice case they were to hear, a vast majority agreed that my client’s suit wasn’t frivolous and that they would listen to the evidence before they made up their minds. The case settled on day 3 of trial.There are no “judicial hellholes,” only thinly veiled attempts by the pro-business lobby to do anything possible to improperly influence jurors, voters and legislatures with ridiculous “studies” which prove only that if you pay enough for it, you can get a “study” to say anything you want, even that one of the most conservative venues in Missouri can be labeled as a “hellhole.”
Byetta, A Diabetes Drug, Suspected of Causing Pancreatitis
Byetta, a drug used to treat Type II diabetis, is suspected of causing hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis in numerous patients. As a result, the FDA has issued an alert. Byetta is given by injection. If you are taking Byetta, you should immediately discuss this information with your physician. Information for your doctor can be found here.If you suspect that you or a loved one has been injured as a result of using Byetta or any other drug or as a result of medical malpractice, please contact Todd N. Hendrickson.
Can We Really Value a Human Life?
As a trial lawyer, I’m asked this question all the time: How do you put a dollar figure on a human life? There is no easy answer. Every human life has value and no amount of money can ever replace a life. These contradictory ideas are at the heart of the problems that juries face every day in this country when they are called upon to do just that: place a dollar value on a human life. So, is there any guidance? Actually, there is …The United States places a value on human life all the time. Cold, hard dollar values. The U.S. does this in order to evaluate the costs and benefits of various safety and other programs. The Environmental Protection Agency values a single human life at $7.22 million. The federal Department of Transportation has done the same calculation and has come up with a figure of $5.8 million. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has long held the value of a single human life is $5 million. The U.S. uses these figures like this: If a program would save 3 lives and would cost $10 million, then the cost-benefit analysis would be in favor of spending the money to save those 3 lives.So, if our federal government values a single human life at $5 million dollars or more, then how can various state governments, including Missouri and Illinois, place caps on what a jury can award for a human life, at levels far below the value that our federal government places on a human life? In Missouri, state law caps “non-economic damages” at $350,000 per person. $350,000 is only 7% to less than 5% of the true value. In Illinois, the cap stands at $500,000. These caps are outrageous and should be stricken down and repealed so that a jury can decide, on its own, on the basis of the community’s shared values and beliefs, the value of a human life.
