The New York Times is reporting that doctors are finding that “metal on metal” hip implants are failing at a much higher and faster rate than expected, leading to the need for early revision and replacement.
“Metal on metal” refers to the materials used in the design. A typical hip implant consists of a femoral […]
February 9, 2010 – 8:20 pm
Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania died last week at Bethesda Naval Hospital as a result of complications following gallbladder surgery. While it is not possible to comment on the medical care rendered to Congressman Murtha without a thorough review of his medical records, it can be said that “complications” from gallbladder surgery can often […]
February 4, 2010 – 12:19 pm
The Illinois Supreme Court has declared legislation imposing a limit, or “cap,” on the amount that a jury can award to the victims of medical malpractice is unconstitutional. In Lebron v Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, the Court held that “statutory caps violate the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution and declared the entire […]
November 17, 2009 – 7:28 pm
A recent article on CNN Health discusses “How to avoid falling victim to a hospital’s mistakes.” The article contains good advice for avoiding identification mistakes such as mixing you up with another patient or operating or performing procedures on the wrong side or wrong body part.Their advice?1. Clearly identify yourself, using your full name and […]
November 12, 2009 – 7:47 pm
We’ve all heard the talking heads and seen the news stories: “There are too many frivolous lawsuits,” “doctors are fleeing because of malpractice suits,” and “malpractice claims have driven up health care costs.” The fact is, these are simple myths touted by the insurance industry to frighten us so that we help them […]
November 12, 2009 – 7:25 pm
On October 1, 2009. a jury in the Federal District Court of Southern Illinois in Benton, Illinois returned a $600,000 verdict in a difficult survival action. I represented the Estate of Jennifer DeArmon in a case against Primary Care Group and Dr. Vinay K. Mehta, a general surgeon.After 4 days of evidence, the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]