California Medical Malpractice Law Blog

This past week in more of a political strategy than a legitimate move to reduce the deficit, the so-called “Gang of Six” Senators asked the Judiciary committee to find an “unspecified” amount of savings from medical malpractice reform – likely by limiting the legal rights of patients injured by medical negligence.

As stated by the nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, “Limits on liability for doctors who commit medical negligence is a political bone for the Gang of Six … not a meaningful compromise that will provide real savings to help close the deficit.” Instead focus should be directed toward “solutions proven to reduce the cost of medical malpractice: improving patient safety and decreasing medical errors.”

While most medical providers offer excellent care, in some cases health care workers including physicians, nurses and hospital staff do not hold themselves to a requisite standard of care and may be guilty of medical malpractice. Medical malpractice may include unsanitary or unclean conditions, negligent care, surgical mistakes, hospital mistakes and many other issues.

As reported by the Department of Health and Human Services the impact of these medical errors lead to significant increases in the federal deficit. A 2010 HHS study reports that 1 in 7 patients experience a medical error, 44% of which are preventable. The cost of these errors is $4.4 billion a year.

Not only do medical errors cost taxpayers a significant amount each year, limiting medical liability saves little. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that savings would only equal about 0.5% of health care costs.

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A recent study reveals that more patients receive poorer quality medical care or even die at teaching hospitals during July as the result of experienced residents leaving for better opportunities, leaving inexperienced, new residents to take their place.

Dubbed the “July Effect,” the result is increased medical malpractice, characterized by serious medical errors that may harm or even kill patients. As stated by a director of Residency Training at the University of California –San Francisco School of Medicine, the effect occurs when “experienced physicians are replaced by new trainees who have little clinical experience, may be inadequately supervised in their new roles, and do not yet have a working knowledge of the hospital system. It’s a perfect storm.”

The study reveals some scary statistics, concluding that in July, patients are more likely to die – or receive less efficient care – in the form of longer hospital stays and surgery times, and more unnecessary tests. The turn over affects more than 100,000 U.S. doctors each year.

Some hospitals are aware of the effect and are trying to reduce its toll by having top doctors on call throughout July and finding ways to combat fatigue. Another suggestion has been to stagger residents start dates so that such an abrupt transition doesn’t occur each July.

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Recent news indicates that a $5.25 million medical malpractice settlement has been reached in a medical malpractice lawsuit between a woman and the doctor and hospital that negligently performed her spinal surgery. As a result of significant complications from the surgery, the woman’s left leg needed to be amputated.

Generally, we go to the hospital or seek a doctor’s advice to receive treatment or to heal a condition to improve our medical health. Although not every negative outcome is medical malpractice, when doctors or other health care providers fail to follow to proper procedures and an individual is harmed as a result, medical negligence or malpractice may have occurred.

Here, a woman went into the hospital to have spinal surgery – an “anterior transabdominal approach to the lumbosacral spine.” However, documents allege that post-surgery the hospital staff that cared for the patient failed to properly monitor and treat the woman, resulting in the loss of her leg. Medical malpractice not only refers to the actions of the treating physician – it may encompass the actions of everyone involved in providing care. The assistance you receive from each health care provider during your hospital stay including staff, nurses and physician, is held to a specific standard of care. A failure to meet that standard may constitute negligence.

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A $2.25 million jury verdict has been awarded to a man in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against a surgery center and an anesthesiologist. According to the lawsuit, the man suffered a brain injury due to a lack of oxygen after receiving too much anesthesia during an eye surgery.

Anesthesia is a significant part of pain management. While undergoing surgery or when a patient suffers severe pain, anesthesia is a valuable tool to reduce and eliminate pain. Anesthesiologists are specially trained to administer certain drugs - its use is generally safe and effective. However, when medical errors occur causing an anesthesia injury, the results can be devastating.

Here, a man went into a surgery center to have an eye lens replaced with an artificial lens. During the surgery, the anesthesiologist allegedly left the room or failed to adequately monitor the patient. The man then had a reaction to the anesthesia and became more sedated than anticipated. He suffered a life-threatening brain injury potentially causing permanent cognitive damage. The man settled with the anesthesiologist but continued to trial against the medical center.

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