David Dickey, who represents Hannah Waite’s parents, told Law360 on Friday that he proposed settlements of $250,000 to each doctor, but the defense refused and made no offers of their own.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1803831?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2024-02-20&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

The post Jury Awards $30M To Family Of 23-Year-Old Who Died From Ulcer appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

A Florida jury tacked on $50 million in punitive damages to a roughly $211 million award to the family of Maya Kowalski, the child at the center of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for mistreating Maya to the point that her mother took her own life.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1739675?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-11-13&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

I have been following this case and blogged about it

here (“A Difficult Case”), 

here  (“I Was Afraid This Would Happen”), and    

here (Juror Questions).

Medical malpractice cases are difficult on their own. When you add novel issues regarding damages and liability, they can become overwhelming. In addition, this case was tried in a jurisdiction considered by most trial lawyer to be relatively conservative.

I tackled similar issues in a neighboring county. You can read the results of that successful appeal

here (Estate of Thomas versus Lee Memorial Health System).

I have nothing but complete admiration for Maya’s family and their legal team for this brilliant result and wish the best for them during the inevitable appeal.

The post A major victory for Maya’s family, their lawyers, and patients everywhere. I cannot overstate how impressive this work is under difficult circumstances. appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Here (Estate of Thomas v. Lee Memorial)

But what if trauma experienced without any other physical contact – other than the seeing or hearing it – changed the brain in some way? Would that satisfy the impact rule? I am glad that some judges are asking these questions. It could be a game changer for people whose lives have been affected by witnessing horrible trauma.

“How is the brain different from a finger?” the judge asked. “Why isn’t the injury to the brain physical? And why isn’t the brain’s interaction with the device physical?”

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1721210?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-10-30&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

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On appeal, Timely Mission argues that a new trial is warranted because the jury heard improper testimony from nursing home staff members that a certified nursing assistant, Melanie Blakesley, had physically and verbally abused residents other than Weaver.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1691891?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-06-23&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=6?copied=1

From the website page summarizing my experience in nursing home injuries

The health care of our elderly, particularly our parents, is an issue of growing concern. Advances in medicine continue to prolong life. About 1.6 million US citizens are functionally dependent and living in nursing facilities. That figure is expected to climb to 5 million in thirty years.

One report estimates that 250,000 people currently die each year in the US because of mistakes made by medical professionals. According to Dr. Donald Berwick of the Institute of Medicine, these figures are an “underestimate”. The Committee Chairman who wrote the Institute of Medicine’s Report had this to say:

“These stunningly high rates of medical errors – resulting in deaths, permanent disability and unnecessary suffering – are simply unacceptable in a medical system that promises first to “do no harm.”” William Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of the WK Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan.

Link here

My Nursing Home Abuse Page

The post Iowa Court Overturns $6M Nursing Home Negligence Verdict appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life.

Anne Roiphe, writer

The post Today’s Quote appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

“From the limited record, Dr. Rao practices at a clinic that specialized in lung issues. Plaintiff was there presumably seeking treatment for lung issues. Nowhere in the 18-count complaint do the allegations even remotely touch upon any mental health conditions, and we fail to see how Ursitti’s purported depression and anxiety would impact a failure to diagnose lung cancer,” said the opinion, penned by Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1606489/doc-can-t-use-patient-s-mental-health-records-in-suit?copied=1

The post The Line Between Relevance and Privacy for Plaintiffs Can Be Thin (but still exists in some places) appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 5, 2019 Opioid Manufacturer Insys Therapeutics Agrees to Enter $225 Million Global Resolution of Criminal and Civil Investigations

The post Insys $250M Opioid Penalty for Quality Fraud appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

NFL player awarded $43.5 million in medical malpractice suit

The post Each Med Mal Injury Has Its Own Unique Value appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them.

Virgil

Like all else, misfortunes are temporary but not fleeting. They are often not necessary or destined. Many are preventable. Those that could have been prevented are often caused by negligence. Rather than submit passively to them like a victim, fight them boldly. There’s a reason we call it a trial.

The post Temporary Like Achilles appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Numerous errors and medicolegal aspects have been identified in diagnosing and treating cardiac tamponade associated with cardiac-related procedures such as valve replacement surgeries, cardiac pacemaker implantation, pericardiocentesis, and other non-cardiac related procedures such as peri-hiatal surgeries. Patients taking anticoagulants or anticancer medications are especially susceptible to developing cardiac tamponade when undergoing surgical procedures, raising the question of preoperative screening to avoid errors. Misdiagnosis, treatment delay or failure to deliver the utmost quality of treatment, lack of complication screening and follow-ups for those at risk, surgeons rushing to complete cases, burnout, and other human factors are predispositions to the development of cardiac tamponade. Fortunately, most of these errors occurring within healthcare settings are avoidable and must be prevented for eliminating any risks to reduce the incidence and mortality of cardiac tamponade cases resulting from iatrogenic etiology. It is an intricate condition where precision and caution are crucial.

In medicine, the word “iatrogenic” usually describes an unnecessary injury caused by a healthcare provider. As typically used, it refers to a direct injury caused by your doctor – often during surgery. These injuries can include perforations, and nicks that result in fistula, bleeding, and other trauma to tissue and organs.

One of the most serious iatrogenic injuries is cardiac tamponade, because it can dramatically and suddenly cause disruptions in heart rate.

Here is a peer-reviewed study on the iatrogenic causes of cardiac tamponade.

Iatrogenic Causes of Cardiac Tamponade Resulting From Surgical Procedures: An Overview

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