California Medical Malpractice Law Blog

When infants suffer brain trauma at birth, the result may be lifelong physical, developmental and cognitive complications including brain damage and cerebral palsy. Commonly, brain trauma occurs when infant’s brains are cut off from the flow of blood and oxygen during the delivery process. The failure of medical personnel to respond quickly to increase oxygen to an infant may constitute medical malpractice.

Cooling therapy has been introduced at several hospitals around the country as a way to reduce the severity and impact of brain injuries. It works by decreasing a baby’s body temperature through the use of a whole-body cooling blanket. By lowering the body’s metabolism with the use of the blanket, an infant’s heart rate and blood pressure drop, and the brain swelling is reduced. Despite studies showing the effectiveness of the treatment, not all communities have access to the therapy, which must be provided within hours after birth.

Until recently, those suffering brain injuries in California’s Central Valley have not had access to this innovative technique. Thankfully, this has recently changed. Children’s Hospital Central California has just installed the Valley’s first whole body cooling blanket for infants. Previously, U.C. Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento was the nearest hospital providing cooling therapy, having begun last year.

Continue reading " Cooling Therapy Comes To California’s Central Valley " »

A recent study based on Colorado physicians indicates that despite the issuance of a “Universal Protocol” requiring clinicians to perform certain safeguarding measures, “wrong site” surgeries and “wrong-patient” medical errors continue.

As California medical malpractice attorneys we see too many “preventable” mistakes occurring throughout hospitals. More must be done to ensure that when patients seek treatment at a hospital, they don’t leave having suffering greater injury or harm.

Although not every unfavorable outcome following medical treatment constitutes medical malpractice, if you have concerns about your treatment consider the following:

• Is my condition significantly worse now than before treatment?
• Are my symptoms commonly associated with the treatment I received?
• Is the doctor able to give a satisfactory explanation for my symptoms?

Based on the Colorado study, researchers concluded:

• The main causes of wrong-patient procedures were errors in diagnosis and communication errors.
• The main causes of wrong-site procedure were errors in judgment and failure to perform a ‘time out’ prior to surgery.
• The largest single factor contributing to the medical mistakes is the inadequate planning of procedures.

Continue reading " Wrong Site –Wrong Patient Errors Exist Despite Protocols " »

According to the Stanford News, a new partnership has been formed between several health-care organizations to identify ways to improve patient care. At issue – reducing hospital errors that occur because of miscommunication.

A recent study reports that 80 percent of serious medical errors occur when patients are “handed off.” This includes the failure to provide all the necessary and critical information about one patient to the next clinician. In fact “poor hand-off communication” is a main factor in medical malpractice cases involving wrongful death or catastrophic injury. In addition to direct injuries to patients, improper hand-offs can lead to delays in diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and prolonged hospital stays.

In an effort to improve this critical, and often inadequate process, the Joint Commission - the organization that accredits and certifies U.S. Hospitals - has developed a pilot program to help address errors that include: “senders” having little knowledge of the patient and providing incomplete information, as well as “receivers” being unaware of a patient transfer, and having little knowledge about the patient transfers.

Hopefully, this program will improve this significant problem that may potentially affect all patients throughout a hospital.

Continue reading " Stanford Hospital To Address Medical Miscommunication " »

Around the country - including in many of the recent elections - the issue of capping damages and tort reform has been a hot button issue – with proponents citing California’s MICRA (the Medical Insurance Compensation Reform Act) as an example of the effectiveness of caps.

MICRA was passed in 1975 by then Governor Jerry Brown in order to solve the “malpractice crisis,” ostensibly to retain doctors who were being driven out of the state due to inflated insurance rates.

Whether MICRA has had a positive effect on medical malpractice liability is subject to enormous debate. Those favoring reform credit it with reducing medical malpractice insurance premiums and preventing physicians from fleeing the state. Critics however, point to the fact that as a result of “caps” those with smaller claims have been squeezed out of the market with many not able to bring legitimate claims and recover for their injures.

Further, MICRA’s limits on non-economic damages - $250,000 – have not been adjusted for inflation since adopted in 1975. As a result, the $250,000 cap is worth less than $75,000 in today’s dollars.

Whether Governor-elect Jerry Brown will amend MICRA to reflect inflation, or change any of its current provisions will be watched closely by consumers, attorneys, doctors and insurance companies. Hopefully, crucial changes will be made allowing those who have been seriously injured as a result of medical malpractice to recover all the compensation they are due.

Continue reading " Will Governor-Elect Jerry Brown Amend MICRA? " »