Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Blog

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I took a half day off work so that my wife and I could take our 14 and 11 year old boys sled riding. We packed the sleds and snow boards into the SUV and headed for a wide open hill with not a tree in sight. The lack of trees lulled us into a false sense of security and the always mandatory helmets were left at home on the garage floor. The kind of parental stupidity that causes sleepless nights, as I would soon be reminded. The sled riding fun ended after forty-five minutes on the hill when my 14 year old fell victim to a classic freak accident and took a snow board to the head. I immediately applied direct pressure with snowballs but the extensive vascular system of the scalp was winning this battle. The hill soon looked like a crime scene and we needed to get to the nearest hospital. Fortunately, we were only two miles from a local branch of the regions largest health care provider. By the time we arrived, the direct pressure had stopped the bleeding.

When we entered the emergency department of this 400 bed facility, we were pleased to see that there were only two other patients in the waiting area. The blood loss evident on our clothes got us immediate attention and a nurse replaced the bloody paper towels with an elastic band that held a bandage in place. Twenty minutes later we were triaged by a very grumpy and unprofessional nurse who failed to even obtain an accurate history. Worse yet, her unfriendly demeanor caused my 14 year old’s mood to change from calm and controlled to apprehensive and nervous. After 45 minutes we were escorted to a treatment room. Thirty minutes later we saw a nurse who did nothing more than say hello. As the minutes and hours passed, my son’s head began to hurt worse and his nerves started to get the best of him. He knew he needed stitches because I told him so when he was bleeding on the hill. He never experienced stitches before so my wife and I reassured him that stitches were not too bad.

Two hours after arriving in the treatment room, parental reassurance was no longer enough. The apprehension of waiting was overwhelming our once calm son. The fear of the unknown took up residence in his mind and he was scared. Rightfully so! After yet another thirty minutes passed a nurse practitioner finally entered the room. The nurse practitioner performed a very cursory exam, injected 8 shots of lidocaine and immediately started his stitch work. My son would later inform us that the first two stitches were really painful. Hmm, I wonder why? In the end, the nearly fours hours of waiting and apprehension were far more painful to my son than the blow to the head and the stitches required to keep the laceration closed. And remember, we never even saw a doctor! A long delay is inexcusable for any patient in a large emergency department with few patients. The delay is criminal, however, when a child is its victim. Medicine requires a personal commitment and dedication not just to healing but to healing with nurturing and concern. Too many institutions and too many individuals have forgotten about nurturing and concern. We all deserve better but probably won’t get it. We must at least, however, demand that our children are treated better.

When we left the hospital, the flow of traffic required us to drive past the hospital’s $100 million expansion. My son asked what was going on, so I explained the expansion. His response was intelligent, if not downright prophetic, “I think they should spend their money on more doctors, not bigger buildings.”

In this case, my family is not filing any lawsuit against the staff or facility. No lawsuit is warranted. However, the same situation could have been much worse. Had my son's injury been bleeding more than triage realized or if he had sustained internal cranial bleeding we would not have such a benign ending to this story. If my son was not such a strong , resilient young man, the mental pain caused by his trauma may have been something he dealt with for years. I am certain that my complaints to management will have no impact. Unfortunately, lawsuits are the only mechanism in place to truly get the attention of the medical profession and create change. As no lawsuit is warranted here, no change will occur. If an excessive wait during an attempt to get medical treatment has caused you or a family member pain and suffering, please contact our office and we, along with our on-staff doctors, will evaluate your medical malpractice claim.

- Jon R. Perry, Attorney, Father

An international research team has shown that death and complication rates from surgery can be dramatically improved by using simple checklists to make sure that safety measures are taken before, during, and after each operation.

The research project involved nearly 8,000 patients at eight hospitals around the world and was done as part of the World Health Organization’s program called Safe Surgery Saves Lives. The results were published in January 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The surgical teams using checklists found that death rates were cut in half and non-fatal complications by one-third.

Items on the surgical safety checklist included basic items like verifying that the team has the correct patient and the correct surgical site, making sure the pulse oximeter (which measures oxygen in the blood) is working, making sure antibiotics have been given within one hour before the start of the surgery to prevent infection, and confirming that x-rays needed for the case are on display in the operating room. Another item on the checklist is to have all members of the surgical team introduce themselves by name and role; this is intended to give permission to lower-status team members to speak up at a later time if they notice something is wrong.

Listed below is the entire nineteen-item checklist from the World Health Organization:

Before Induction of Anesthesia:


1. Patient has confirmed
   
   
   
   • Identity
   
   
   • Site
   
   
   • Procedure
   
   
   • Consent
   
   


2. Site Marked


3. Anesthesia safety check completed


4. Pulse oximeter on patient and functioning


Does Patient have a:


5. Known Allergy?


6. Difficult airway/aspiration risk?


7. Risk of more than 500 ML blood loss (7 ML/KG in children)?


Before skin incision:


8. Confirm all team members have introduced themselves by name and role


9. Surgeon, anesthesia professional, and nurse verbally confirm:
   
   
   
   • Patient
   
   
   • Site
   
   
   • Procedure


10. Surgeon reviews: What are the critical or unexpected steps, operative duration, anticipated blood loss?


11. Anesthesia team reviews: Are there any patient-specific concerns?


12. Nursing team reviews: Has stability (including indicator results) been confirmed? Are there equipment issues or any concerns?


13. Has antibiotic prophylaxis been given within the last 60 minutes?


14. Is essential imaging displayed?


Before Patient Leaves Operating Room

Nurse verbally confirms with the team:


15. The name of the procedure recorded


16. The instrument, sponge and needle counts are correct (or not applicable)


17. How the specimen is labeled


18. Whether there are any equipment problems to be addressed


19. Surgeon, anesthesia professional, and nurse review the key concerns for recovery and management of this patient.

Contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. to obtain your free consultation. Our lawyers are experts in dealing with cases involving surgical accidents. There will be no fee for unless a recovery is made.

A recent study found that colonoscopies, once thought to be an infallible way to detect colorectal cancer, may miss many cancers. A Canadian study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in December reported that a colonoscopy may miss a type of polyp, a flat or serrated lesion or an indented one that rests against the colon wall. While colonoscopies are still recommended as a highly effective way to diagnose and prevent colon cancer, the test is much less accurate than previously thought.

In the study, colonoscopies missed nearly every cancer in the right side of the colon, where about 40 percent of cancers develop. It also missed about one third of cancers in the left side of the colon. While doctors once told patients colonoscopies can prevent 90 percent of cancers, they may actually prevent only 60 or 70 percent.

One thought is that the Canadian doctors in the study may not have been skilled enough to perform the procedure. One third of the tests were done by general internists and family practitioners. This makes it important for patients to be proactive in ensuring the quality of their colonoscopists. They need to make sure they have adequate experience. Patients should also ask questions about how many polyps are found and removed and should also report symptoms like bleeding, even if they occur soon after the procedure.

Your colonoscopist should make sure that the bowels are sufficiently cleansed and that there is just a short time between when patients finish taking the strong laxative that cleanses their bowel and the colonoscopy.

Doctors should find polyps in at least 25 percent of men and 15 percent of women. They should take at least eight minutes to withdraw an endoscope from the colon. And they should do a high volume of screening.

About 148,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year, the American Cancer Society reports, and 50,000 people will die from it. Medical malpractice and misdiagnosis may be responsible for some of these deaths. Contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Rosen Louik & Perry to schedule a free consultation.

When people think of premises liability, they probably immediately think of someone slipping and falling in a store or on a faulty sidewalk. However, landlords, employers, elevator companies, and even mass transit authorities can all be responsible for injuries on their property or equipment they operate. Every year, individuals are injured in accidents that occur when premises and equipment are not properly maintained or managed. These injuries can range from cuts, bruises, broken or fractured limbs, to injuries such as brain injuries or even death.

Elevator accidents are considered premises liability cases. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 60 fatalities involving elevator accidents between 1992 ands 2003. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 9,800 elevator injuries in 1994 involving victims being sent to hospitals. There are approximately 500,000 elevators across the United States, with millions of individual elevator trips taken each day. Although state regulations cover the safe construction, operation, and maintenance of elevators, non-compliance with these regulations is common. Common elevator accidents involve:

• Sudden acceleration or deceleration of speed
• Sudden stops
• Stopping in between floors
• Failing to stop so that the bottom of the elevator is level with the floor
• Falling elevator
• Getting struck by or caught between the elevator doors
• Trip accidents
• Fall accidents

Property owners who have elevators on their premises have an obligation to make sure that the elevator is working properly, and that all maintenance checks and repairs are up-to-date. Failure to fulfill these obligations can be grounds for a premises liablity claim and a lawsuit.

If you have been injured in an elevator accident, or if your loved one has been injured or killed in an elevator accident, you should consult with a skilled premises liability attorney to determine if your have a claim and to help protect your legal rights.

The personal injury or wrongful death aspect of such a case is best dealt with by an attorney who has the experience and knowledge that will help ensure the best possible outcome for you or your loved one. Contact the personal injury lawyers at Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. to obtain your FREE consultation. Our law firm has handled hundreds of personal injury and premises liability cases.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Prevention and early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women with the exception of skin cancers, and the second cause of cancer deaths for women. If detected early, there is a 98 percent chance of a five-year survival. However, only approximately 22% of women are diagnosed early.

Although there are several risk factors that may increase your chance of developing breast cancer, including age, personal or family history, alcohol use, obesity and ethnic background, it is important to note that just because you may have a risk factor for breast cancer doesn't mean you will contract the disease. There are some things you can do to lower your risk for developing breast cancer, such as eating healthy, exercising and limiting your alcohol consumption. However, early detection is key to surviving the disease.

So what can you do to assist in the early diagnosis of of breast cancer?

·Get a mammogram. All women ages 40 and older should have an annual mammogram and clinical breast examination.
·Women in their 20’s and 30’s should have a clinical breast exam at least once every three years.
·Perform a monthly self-breast examination. For women ages 20 and older this must be a monthly routine.

Sometimes, even when you take all the proper measures to reduce your risks, a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of breast cancer by a medical professional can still occur. If you or a loved one has breast cancer, you should consider discussing your case with one of our skilled Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers. At Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. our Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyers and staff can determine whether there has been either a failure to diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Our on-staff medical doctors know what questions to ask to quickly determine whether you or your loved one is the victim of medical malpractice. Contact our law firm today for your FREE consultation.

A report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that there were 41,057 motor vehicle related deaths in 2007. According to its 2007 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and People Injured, there was a drop in total deaths from 42,708 deaths in 2006 to 41,059 fatalities in 2007, a 3.9% decrease. The report also indicated a decline in the number of motor vehicle injury victims, from 2,575,000 injuries in 2006 to 2,491,000 injury victims in 2007.

Being involved in a motor vehicle accident impacts on your property, your health and even your life. Such accidents occur because of driver error, negligence, and manufacturing defects. No matter what the cause or result, a motor vehicle accident can turn your life into a prolonged struggle.

For decades, our personal injury lawyers have focused on our clients needs, and we have never lost sight of who we represent and why. We have represented clients in cases involving private passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, motorcycles and pedestrian accidents. Our primary goal is to achieve the best possible result for all of our clients. Our commitment to our clients starts from the beginning with our intake process. At every stage of your case, our attorneys track the progress of your case with personal involvement to protect your interests. Contact the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania law firm of Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. for your FREE consultation today.

A motorcyclist was struck and killed on the Pennsylvania turnpike near mile marker 33 in Pine Township on September 4, 2008. State police say that motorcyclist, Keith Brown, 46, of Green Bay, Wisconsin was struck at about 5 a.m. Police said the driver who hit the motorcyclist is Shiva Lal Acharya. Trooper Robin Mungo of the Pennsylvania State Police says Lal Acharya, who is a medical doctor from Illinois, ran from the crash scene. "The suspect appeared as though he was going to stop. But after a mile and a half he increased his speed hoping to elude the patrolman. They reached speeds up to 130 mph before the officer called off the 23-mile pursuit at the state line," Mungo said.

Our Pennsylvania car accident attorneys understand the devastating effects of motor vehicle accidents, which can result in brain injury, spinal cord injuries, paralysis and even wrongful death. Our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers have represented individuals in all kinds of collisions involving motor vehicles. Our Pennsylvania car accident lawyers will fight to win the maximum settlement for your injuries from insurance companies.

The personal injury attorneys at Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. accepts car accident cases on a contingent-fee basis. This means we will not be paid unless you get a settlement or court verdict. The fee is a percentage of the settlement or verdict. We advance all of the costs necessary to handle your case, and will not seek reimbursement of these costs unless we are successful in recovering money for you.

Let the caring lawyers of Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. help you through the process of dealing with the insurance companies. Contact a Pennsylvania car accident lawyer at our Pittsburgh office today for YOUR FREE CONSULTATION.

Read more about Doctor Faces Numerous Charges In Fatal Turnpike Accident

PITTSBURGH -- A construction worker died on August 11, 2008 while working on a building under construction at Technology Drive. The 26 year-old man was found lying on the roof of the building that was under construction.

Due to the dangerous nature of construction sites, construction accidents can lead to serious injury or even death. Some workers suffer catastrophic injuries such as a brain injury, spinal cord injuries, amputation, and complex fractures which can cause permanent disabilities. When a worker dies due to the negligence or wrongful conduct of another, the surviving family members may have reason to file a wrongful death action. At Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. we realize that pursuing a wrongful death action will not bring your loved one back to you, but it may ensure that you and your children will have increased financial security in the years to come. Our experienced wrongful death lawyers will provide you with the compassion and personal attention you deserve. Please contact us today for your free consultation.

Continue reading Oakland Construction Worker, Ex-H.S. Football Champ Dies On Job

At some point, we have all relied on and trusted the skill, education, and experience of a physician to diagnose and treat an illness or injury. Most of the time, our trust is well placed. On occasion, however, physicians make mistakes. A set of symptoms can be overlooked, an x-ray is misread, or the physician is too busy to take the time to listen to the patient’s complaints. Such incidents can cause devastating delays in treatment. In cases involving cancer, the delay can allow the disease to progress to stages that are incurable, and can mean the difference between life and death. Statistics show that around 40% of all medical malpractice claims result from the failure of medical personnel to diagnose a significant disease process.

Some of the most serious diseases and/or conditions have insignificant symptoms and cause no major discomfort in early stages. Unfortunately, some of the most serious diseases are often the ones that go undetected for long periods of time. Listed below are some of the diseases/conditions that frequently are not diagnosed in a timely fashion:

Ovarian cancer
Prostate cancer
Cervical cancer
Breast Cancer
Pulmonary embolism
Appendicitis
Bacterial meningitis
Heart Attack
Stroke

If you or a family member is suffering from a condition due to the healthcare professional's failure to diagnose, please contract Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. Failure to diagnosis and/or a misdiagnosis constitutes negligence and the innocent victim of such negligence deserves compensation for the resulting financial burdens and pain and suffering. A medical malpractice claim can be very complicated and only a lawyer that is experienced with medical malpractice cases can properly prosecute your claim. Our attorneys have years of experience with failure to diagnose cases. At Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. we fully understand the complexities involved in evaluating medical malpractice cases. For over 15 years, we have employed two full-time medical doctors who assist us in evaluating medical malpractice cases. Contact us today for your FREE consultation.

The driver of a motorcycle died in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze area of the city after colliding with a car. The crash happened at Penn and Dallas Avenues in the mid-morning on Tuesday, August 5th. The 29 year-old driver of the motorcycle was pronounced dead at UPMC Presbyterian Hosptial. No charges have been filed, and the accident is still under investigation.

With warmer weather, more motorcyclists are taking to our roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 4,810 motorcyclists died in deadly highway crashes in 2006—a number that grew for the ninth year in a row. Even more frightening is the fact that over one of every nine road fatalities in 2006 involved a motorcyclist.

Why do motorcyclists continue to be involved in accidents? Some of the reasons are:

· The small size of a motorcycle makes it more difficult for other drivers to see and motorcycles often
fallout of view behind larger vehicles like commercial trucks.
· Often it is difficult to determine how fast a motorcyle is moving.
· Motorcycle riders have only protective clothing standing and helmets between their bodies and the
impact of a collision.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has made some recommendations to help prevent motorcycle accidents. To view those recommendations, visit the NHTSA’s website at http://www.nhtsa.gov/planners/ShareTheRoad2008/emm/fact.doc.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident, contact our personal injury lawyers at Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. to find out about your right to seek damages that will cover your medical bills, wage loss and also compensate you for your pain and suffering.

At Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. our lawyers are experienced with personal injury and wrongful death claims resulting from motorcycle accidents, auto accidents, truck accidents and other serious accidents. Our Pittsburgh, PA law firm also handles catastrophic injury cases involving brain/head injuries and spinal cord injuries. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Continue Reading “Point Breeze Car-Motorcycle Crash Kills Bike Driver”

A recent study published in the journal of Health Services Research found that preventable medical errors occurring during or after surgery cost employers nearly $1.5 billion dollars a year. In addition, these preventable medical errors account for almost 10 percent of surgery related deaths. The report went on to state that 1 out of every 10 patients who dies within 90 days of surgery died because of a preventable error, and one-third of the deaths occurred after the patient was discharged. The researchers conducting this study analyzed data on more than 161,000 patients in employer-based health plans who underwent surgery between 2001 and 2002.

Listed below are examples of some of the costs associated with patients who experienced preventable surgical errors, compared to other patients who did not:

- Nursing care associated with medical errors, including pressure ulcers and hip fractures - $12,196 (33 percent more).

- Metabolic problems associated with medical errors, including kidney failure or uncontrolled blood sugar - $11,797 (32 percent more).

- Blood clots or other vascular or pulmonary problems associated with medical errors - $7,838 (25 percent more).

- Wound opening associated with medical errors - $1,426 (6 percent more).

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a surgical or medical error, then perhaps you should seek the opinion of a law firm that is devoted to medical malpractice cases. The lawyers at Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. devote their time and efforts to medical malpractice cases throughout Pennsylvania. We obtain and evalute your medical records with our full-time doctors on staff. Please contact us today for your free consultation.

A recent study published by the Associated Press notes that hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the nation with commercial driver's licenses should not be behind the wheel because they qualify for full federal disability payments. Many of these drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells while driving that led to deadly crashes on highways.

The U.S. agency in charge of assuring that these unfit drivers are not on the road, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, has stated that it has not completed any of the recommendations that U.S. safety regulators proposed in 2001. Two of those recommendations prohibit truck drivers from “doctor shopping,” which allows them to find a doctor willing to ignore disqualifying health conditions, and establish minimum standards to determine when truck drivers are no longer medically safe to get behind the wheel.

The latest information gathered by the Transportation Department in 2006 showed at least 7.3 million commercial driver violations. Further, truckers in violation of federal medical rules were apprehended in all fifty states. A 2007 federal safety study found that drivers falling asleep or becoming physically impaired while on the road were among the leading causes of serious trucking accidents.

This situation exists despite years of government warnings and hundreds of deaths and injuries. Regardless of the circumstances of your trucking accident―whether you were hit by a coal truck, a construction vehicle backed into a roadway, or a sleep-deprived driver of a big rig who has altered a log book to conceal excessive hours of service, you deserve to know what happened and to receive fair compensation from those responsible for your injury or loss. Over the years, our Pittsburgh, PA personal injury law firm has successfully pursued claims for clients who have been the victims of trucking accidents. If you or a member of your family has suffered serious injury in a commercial trucking accident, and you would like our experienced trial lawyers to review your case, please contact the personal injury law firm of Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to arrange a free consultation.