Medical Malpractice News

Study Finds Diagnostic Errors are Leading Cause of Medical Malpractice Claims

Published on: May 23, 2018 | by Arfaa Law Group

No one wants to be a victim of medical malpractice. While most doctors and medical professionals try their best to make a proper diagnosis, some make errors or miss things that can lead to serious harm. At Arfaa Law Group, we represent victims of medical malpractice, including cases of failures to diagnose or misdiagnoses. With years of experience, our Baltimore misdiagnosis attorneys understand how to protect your rights at every step of the way.

Errors relating to diagnosis were the largest source of medical malpractice claims between 2013 and 2017, according to a recent report published by malpractice service providers Corveys. The study reviewed 10,618 medical malpractice claims over the four-year time span. It found that 33 percent of malpractice claims were related to patient diagnosis, and half of those claims involved poor clinical decisions. Diagnosis-related malpractice claims beat out all other reasons for malpractice claims. While other causes of medical malpractice claims have decreased over the years, diagnosis-related claims have not.

There were many reasons for these types of errors. Approximately 33 percent of diagnosis-related claims took place due to the doctors failing to assess the patient properly, whereas 52 percent of the claims involved mistakes relating to lab testing. Physicians selected the wrong test, inadequately performed the test, or misinterpreted the results. Many times, doctors missed information that was contained in long files. In other cases, a misdiagnosis took place because doctors had too much work and too little time.

About Half of All Health Care in the Country is Delivered in the Emergency Room

Published on: May 16, 2018 | by Arfaa Law Group

Emergency departments (ED) across the country help countless people on a daily basis and are undoubtedly critical to our health care system. However, when a medical professional in an emergency department makes a mistake, the consequences can be devastating. If this has happened to you or someone close to you, you need to reach out to a seasoned Baltimore medical malpractice attorney who can help. With years of experience, we understand how to navigate these complex claims.

A recent study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) found that nearly 50 percent of all health care in the United States is delivered in emergency departments. The finding confirms what hospital medical laboratories have known for a long time. UMSOM researchers say their study, which was published in the International Journal for Health Services, is the first study to quantify the contribution that emergency departments make to national health care. Their findings revealed that 47.7 percent of all hospital-associated medical care between 1996 and 2010 was delivered by emergency room departments. In addition, there were about 130 million visits to hospital emergency departments, as compared to the 101 million outpatient visits in 2010.

With such a high percentage of health care being delivered through EDs, it is no surprise that the rate of malpractice is also high in these settings. The American Medical Association estimates that almost half of the 225,000 deaths caused by malpractice occur due to emergency room errors. Emergency department malpractice is a type of medical malpractice that involves improper conduct on the part of the medical professional in the ED. Under Maryland law, malpractice takes place when the medical professional breaches the standard of care, causing injuries or death to the patient. The standard of care denotes the level of care that a reasonably prudent surgeon would have used in the same or similar circumstances.

Design Problems in Electronic Medical Records Can Harm Patients in Maryland

Published on: April 24, 2018 | by Arfaa Law Group

A patient’s medical file contains vital information regarding a person’s history of illness, his or her family medical history, information about any allergies, and any medications the patient may be using. When these records are not kept up to date, patients can be at risk of serious harm. If you have suffered medical malpractice resulting from errors in electronic records, you may be able to recover compensation for your harm. At Arfaa Law Group, our skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys are committed to protecting your rights at every step of the way.

A team of researchers at MedStar, a not-for-profit health care organization headquartered in Maryland, examined almost two million reports of safety hazards from clinics in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region. Of the total, 557 explicitly stated that there was an issue with electronic health records (EHRs) that put a patient in danger.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, noted that while EHRs have reduced certain kinds of medication mistakes compared to paper charts, the software can be challenging to use. In fact, “usability issues” ranging from data entry and display to defaults and drug orders contributed to patient harm. Consider the following example. In the United States, the medical community tends to weigh in pounds, so most scales are in pounds. However, in one case examined by the study, the EHR allowed a clinician to record a child’s weight in kilograms as opposed to pounds, which could have led to a serious overdose in medications that are based on their weight.

Maryland Medical Malpractice and Medical Marijuana

Published on: December 22, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Patients have a right to be treated appropriately by health care providers who are diagnosing them and prescribing medications for them. If you or your loved one has been harmed by a medical professional’s prescription or recommendation regarding a drug, you need to consult a Baltimore medication error attorney as soon as possible.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission records list a total of 520 eligible medical marijuana providers statewide. The first batch of medical marijuana is expected to hit the market before the end of the year. Although it was legalized in 2013, the rollout has been slow due to a variety of reasons. In Maryland, the law limits the use of medical marijuana to patients with certain documented health conditions, such as wasting syndrome, severe pain, glaucoma, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.

Some Maryland physicians are worried about the possibility of medical malpractice lawsuits stemming from the use of medical marijuana. In an effort to address this, one doctor has created a legal release form for patients to sign. If patients don’t sign it, he won’t “recommend” the marijuana. The term “recommendation” is used over “prescription” because federal law still prohibits the prescription of marijuana, so many physicians use the term to shield themselves from potential liability.

Patients Want to be Heard After a Medical Injury

Published on: December 15, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Unfortunately, medical malpractice is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to a 2016 Johns Hopkins study. If you or someone close to you has been injured by a negligent medical professional, you should reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney who can assess the merits of your case. At Arfaa Law Group, we understand this area of the law and can apply our knowledge to your case.

A new study, entitled Patients’ Experiences with Communication-and-Resolution Programs After Medical Injury, conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that patients who have suffered an injury due to medical malpractice feel better when medical staff, particularly the physician who made the mistake, listen attentively to what they have to say about the experience.

The interview study of 40 patients, family members, and hospital staff revealed that patients have a strong need to be heard after a medical injury that is often unmet. Patients also wanted to know what the hospital or medical facility was doing to make sure the same error does not harm other patients. While 18 of 30 patient and family participants reported positive experiences with communication-and-resolution programs overall and continued to receive care at the hospital, they said hospitals seldom communicated information about efforts to prevent recurrences.