Posts Tagged ‘ medical malpractice ’
Week Adjourned: 3.5.10
March 5th, 2010. By LucyC
Top Class Actions
New Wash Setting: Extra Sure Beyond Any Doubt Clean. What would you do if your washing machine took eight hours to do one load? Just to put that in perspective, you could to fly to Europe in the same time it would take to wash your sheets—depending on where you live. Ummm…doing the laundry or flying to Paris—that’s a tough one.
But you could only fly to Paris if you could trust that your washer would do the job properly in your absence, and Ms. Riva, who filed a class action against Sears recently, was not feeling the love.
No doubt.
Among the litany of problems both she and her machine were experiencing on washday—or would that be wash week—were a high-pitched squeaking noise, the machine stopping mid-cycle for no apparent reason, and then displaying the rather cryptic message, in washing machine secret code, “F1 or F51″—your guess is as good as anybody’s as to what that means.
Ms. Riva paid $1000 roughly for her new washer in 2006, and Sears issued a recall of the instrument panel in that particular model some time after that. But she didn’t find out about the recall until after she’d paid to have the panel replaced, by Sears, who didn’t mention the recall, but charged her for the replacement because the washer was no longer under warranty.
You know, I’d be suing too. If she wins, maybe she can take a trip to Paris and do her laundry.
Top Settlements
Medical Malpractice in the News… This is a rather tragic cautionary tale about a 47-year old woman who
Pelvic Exams without Consent: Medical Malpractice Suit?
March 1st, 2010. By janem
Imagine you’re unconscious and several men insert objects into your vagina. Many women would consider this gang rape. At the very least, sexual assault. Guess what, it may have happened to you—without your knowledge!
How would you react if you underwent surgery such as a routine hysterectomy and found out that right after you were anesthetized, a team of medical students performed pelvic exams—without your consent? I believe that is a violation of our basic rights, to say the least. Where’s the respect?
I know what I’d do: file a medical malpractice suit, pronto. As a matter of fact, I’m actually scheduled for routine surgery in a few months—at a university hospital—and that rang my alarm bell. I called my gynecologist and spoke with her receptionist. “Under no circumstances do I want a student poking around my private parts,” I said, or probably yelled. She replied that I had to take that up with my gynecologist, who of course is never available for a phone call.
So does uninformed consent qualify for a medical malpractice suit? Well, not quite, but then again, I haven’t spoken with a medical malpractice attorney…What I did discover online is that “A medical practitioner may also be legally liable if a patient does not give “informed consent” to a medical procedure that results in harm to the patient, even if the procedure is performed properly.” In my opinion, psychological harm fits the bill.
In Canada, you aren’t even asked for consent, unlike the UK and the US—or so Americans and Brits were led to believe. Some ethical medical students have been asked to perform pelvic exams in Canada (and in British and American hospitals) without the patient’s knowledge, and they have refused. And that’s how the public knows about
What does a Legal Nurse Consultant do? Katie Morales explains…
February 26th, 2010. By Kristine B
This past week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Katie Morales, a legal nurse consultant and nurse. Since it was my first time speaking with a legal nurse consultant (LNC) that I know of, I thought I would share with you what legal nurse consultants do.
How does a Legal Nurse Work with a Lawyer?
“Legal nurse consultants help attorneys with any case that might be medical-legal, for example, medical malpractice, Katie says. “We help an attorney identify the issues: is there merit in this case, is there an issue with standard of care, are there issues for development?
Usually, we are contacted by the attorney and our work can be both up front or behind the scenes. Say someone was in the hospital for an appendix problem and died. The family member might say, ‘Something is not right, here.’ An attorney will look for an expert to review the case. So the LNC would review the case and determine if there were deviations from the standard of care. If there are deviations from the standard of care, the LNC will give an affidavit to start the process of a medical malpractice suit. The LCN might then be called on to testify. 
Another case is where a hospital is being sued. The hospital might ask the LCN to come in and determine if there is a deviation from the standard of care. The LCN might say there are no deviations or might say, ‘Yes, there are deviations and this is where they are.’”
What made you decide to become a Legal Nurse Consultant?
“I was always interested in the legal part of nursing, but I didn’t want to be part of the group that was crucifying nurses. Since 1999, nursing has been the most trusted profession, except in 2001 when it was firefighters. I’m proud of this profession and I know we are doing our best. But, if we don’t define the standard of care, it will be defined for us. I don’t want someone dictating it for us.
Legal nurse consultants know the system and we know where to look for information. For example, when attorneys request documents, they have to ask for exactly what they want. I am able to tell the attorney what documents to ask the hospital for. I know where to look for information and what information to ask for.”
Katie Morales, RN, C, LNC, BSN, has been a nurse for 25 years and a legal nurse consultant for five years. In addition to being a nurse and legal nurse consultant, she also works for a company giving flu shots, and has helped set up a service, set to launch on International Nurses Day [May 12] that involves community learning and patient simulators.
Her legal nurse consulting business is called DisceRNment, LLC, and can be found online at discernment.biz.
“Oops” Not Welcome Here (your Hospital…your Drug Store…)
November 20th, 2009. By Hunter West
There are some jobs that should be held to a higher standard. Like holding public office, or serving as a priest, or acting as someone’s surgeon. Maybe you’re about to amputate a limb…and the patient assumes you know the correct one to remove.
Well, as experience has taught us—not always.
Here’s a couple of examples of ‘oopsies’ that are unforgivable. Imagine if this happened to you…
Oops #1: Wrong Kerry, Wrong Test
Kerry Higuera was three months into her pregnancy when she started to bleed. Fearing a miscarriage, she headed to her local emergency room. It seemed the prudent thing to do.
According to CNN she was put in a room that February morning last year in Arizona and was told to wait until a nurse came by to get her.
Soon enough a nurse poked her head in and said, “Kerry?” Kerry said yes, she was Kerry. Well, off they go to the CT scan room. “Is this really what I need to have done,” asks a reluctant Kerry, assuming that radiating her abdomen containing a three-month-old fetus can’t be healthy. The answer was yes. “This is what the doctor wants…”
You can imagine Kerry’s panic when, soon after having the CT scan on her abdomen Higuera was visited by the emergency room physician, two radiologists and someone representing the
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