Medical Malpractice

Court Deems Slip and Fall in Doctor’s Office a Medical Malpractice Incident

Published on: March 28, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

A West Virginia court recently issued an opinion highlighting one of the challenges that plaintiffs may face when their injuries took place at a hospital or doctor’s office. In this case, the issue was whether a patient’s slip and fall claim should have been classified as a premises liability claim or a medical malpractice claim. The court eventually decided that since the injury took place when the patient was receiving “health care related” services, the case should be deemed a medical malpractice claim.

The facts of the case are as follows. A woman took her husband to an urgent care facility, where a staff member directed them to a private examination room. The staff member told the patient to sit on the examination table and wait for the physician to arrive. As the man tried to get onto the table, he fell. Not long after the incident, the man died as a result of complications from the fall.

The man’s wife filed a premises liability claim against the urgent care facility. Premises liability is a legal doctrine that generally comes into play in personal injury cases in which an injury is caused by some type of unsafe or defective condition on someone’s property. The urgent care facility responded, stating that the lawsuit should have been filed under the state’s medical malpractice statute because it was “related” to the provision of health care services. The court agreed.

Burn Injury Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: March 23, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Burn injuries can cause serious skin damage. The severity of a burn injury will depend on the intensity of the heat and the length of exposure. When you go to a hospital or outpatient facility to be treated for a burn injury, you expect the healthcare providers to make the condition better, not worse. Unfortunately, in some cases, healthcare providers choose treatments that exacerbate the situation. If this has happened to you, it is important to reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney who can help.

A burn injury may be caused by heat, chemicals, radiation and/or electricity. Every year, over 2 million burn injuries are reported across the United States. According to the National Institute of Health, approximately 40 percent of all burn victims sustain serious and/or permanent disabilities from their injuries. The American Burn Association reports that in 2016, there were 40,000 hospitalizations related to burn injuries, including 30,000 at hospital burn centers.

The first step to treating any burn injury is to identify the source of the burn because different types of burns may present differently and may require different types of care. Examining the source of the burn also helps the healthcare provider classify the degree of the burn properly.

IV Errors in Maryland

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

While administering an IV is a routine procedure in most hospitals and clinics, it can also be dangerous. Every year, IV errors injure a number of patients in Maryland and throughout the United States. These errors can have serious and even life-threatening consequences for a patient. If you or someone close to you has been the victim of an IV error, you may be entitled to compensation. At The Arfaa Law Group, our seasoned Baltimore medical negligence team will analyze the facts of your case and help you understand your legal options. You can rest assured that we will advocate for you every step of the way.

Intravenous (IV) therapy involves infusing liquid (i.e., blood or medication) directly into a vein. IV errors can take place in a number of ways including, but not limited to:

Errors in preparing the IV medication;
Errors in administrating the IV medication;
Incompatible combination of drugs;
Improperly injecting medication;
Administering the IV at the wrong time;
Overdose or wrong dose of the drug;
Technical errors with IV valves and pumps.

Failure to Diagnose Meningitis in Maryland

Published on: February 13, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

If you or someone you know has been harmed due to a medical professional’s failure to diagnose meningitis, our seasoned Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys can help. At Arfaa Law Group, we are committed to holding doctors and hospitals accountable in cases involving a failure to diagnose meningitis. You can trust that we will explore the facts of your case and help you seek the compensation you deserve.

The Mayo Clinic defines meningitis as an inflammation of the membranes surrounding an individual’s brain and spinal cord. Swelling from the condition typically triggers symptoms such as headache, fever, seizures, sleepiness, light sensitivity, vomiting or nausea, or a stiff neck. It is important to note that there are many types of meningitis that a person can contract: bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis, spinal meningitis, parasitic meningitis, and non-infectious meningitis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 3,000 people in the United States contract meningitis every year. The CDC also reports that more than one out of every 10 cases of spinal meningitis caused by bacteria are fatal, representing about 400-500 deaths annually.

Pacemaker Implant Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: February 7, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

All medical procedures carry a certain amount of risk, but particularly those involving the heart. If you or someone you know has suffered a pacemaker implant injury, it is important to reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney who can evaluate your case.

Pacemakers are used to treat many different types of heart conditions. A pacemaker implant is a surgical procedure in which a small electronic device is implanted into a person’s chest to help regulate the individual’s heartbeat. When the heartbeat falls out of rhythm (i.e., beats too fast or too slow), the pacemaker kicks in and sends gentle electrical currents to the heart to correct it.

According to a study conducted by the World Society of Arrhythmias, the United States has the largest number of patients with internal cardiac pacemakers, with a total of 225,567. The study also found that the number of pacemakers implanted between 1993 and 2009 increased by 56 percent.

Multiple Birth/Multiple Gestations and Risk of Injuries

Published on: January 16, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Twins and multiple births are inherently riskier than single births. A variety of complications may arise that could lead to birth injuries. In some cases, these injuries are caused by medical negligence. If you suspect that your children or you were injured by a physician’s carelessness, we can help. At Arfaa Law Group, our Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys can assess the merits of your case and determine the viability of your claim.

There are a number of complications that may arise when a woman is carrying multiple children, including pre-term labor, umbilical cord prolapse, facial nerve injuries, brachial plexus injuries, placenta previa, preeclampsia, post-partum hemorrhage, congenital abnormalities, or twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. These complications can have a number of causes, including medical negligence.

When a woman carrying more than one baby experiences medical complications, it is not necessarily because of medical malpractice. Some birth injuries may be unavoidable, no matter how much care the physician takes. Instead, medical malpractice claims intend to hold medical professionals accountable for negligent conduct. As a result, medical malpractice occurs when a physician fails to exercise the level of care that another reasonably prudent physician in the same specialty would have exercised in the same or similar circumstances, thereby causing harm to the patient. For example, a physician may be liable for a birth injury if that injury was caused by the improper usage of a vacuum extractor or forceps. This is because a reasonably prudent physician would know how to use a vacuum extractor or forceps properly in order not to cause harm to the baby.

Failed Sterilization Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: January 9, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Failed sterilization can lead to an unplanned pregnancy. The birth of an unplanned child can become extremely stressful for parents who did not expect to have any more children. In fact, one of the main reasons an individual opts for sterilization in the first place is to have more control of their future. If you or a loved one has gone through a failed sterilization procedure, a skilled medical malpractice attorney can help. At Arfaa Law Group, we can assess the facts of your case and determine the viability of your claim.

Sterilization is supposed to be a form of permanent birth control. There are two types of sterilization: female sterilization, known as a tubal ligation, and male sterilization, known as a vasectomy. Both of these procedures are intended to prevent pregnancy. Tubal ligation is a surgical procedure in which a woman’s fallopian tubes are blocked, tired, or cut. This disrupts the movement of the egg to the uterus for fertilization and blocks the sperm from reaching the egg. A vasectomy, on the other hand, prevents the release of sperm when a man ejaculates. In the case of women, sterilization is intended to prevent pregnancy, and in the case of men, sterilization is intended to prevent the male from impregnating a female partner.

Wrong Site Surgery in Maryland

Published on: December 27, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

Wrong site surgery takes place when a surgeon operates on the wrong part of a patient’s body, performs the wrong procedure, or performs on the wrong person. Despite protocols to prevent it, wrong site surgery happens more often than you may think. For example, a doctor may perform a hip replacement when a knee replacement was required. If you or a loved one has been a victim of wrong site surgery, you may have a medical malpractice claim against the surgeon and possibly against the hospital where the surgery took place as well.

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), 76 percent of wrong site surgeries were surgeries performed on the wrong body part. The other 24 percent were split between operations using the wrong procedure and operations on the wrong person. Researchers from Johns Hopkins found that physicians throughout the United States may operate on the wrong body part as many as 20 times each week.

When a doctor operates on the wrong body part, the consequences can vary. Consider the following example. A doctor was supposed to remove a patient’s diseased left kidney but ends up removing the healthy right kidney. In such a scenario, the patient would be left with no healthy kidney, and the consequences would be devastating. In less life-threatening situations, a patient will still need an additional surgery to correct the wrong site error. Additional procedures or treatment may also be needed to correct any new problems created by the surgeon’s mistake.

Laboratory Errors in Maryland

Published on: December 20, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

When we consult a health care provider for a medical issue, we expect to receive competent care. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. Every year, a number of patients in Maryland and across the United States are injured due to medical malpractice, some of which stems from laboratory errors. If you or someone close to you has suffered harm due to a laboratory error, it is important to reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. We will analyze the facts of the case and determine the viability of your claim.

While protocols and procedures are put into place to prevent laboratory errors, the reality is that they happen more often than you may think. Laboratory mistakes can take place in a number or ways. Common causes of laboratory errors can result from any of the following incidents or others:

Running the wrong tests;
Mixing up patient samples;
Mixing up patient information;
Mislabeling samples;
Recording inaccurate information;
Improperly transcribing records;
Technicians making errors in reading or interpreting results;
Failing to report test results; or
Failing to order the necessary follow up tests.

Laboratory errors can lead to a patient being misdiagnosed, a serious condition being overlooked, or a patient even being confused with another patient and undergoing incorrect treatment. When a patient suffers physical, emotional, or financial harm as a result of a laboratory error, that patient can take legal action by filing a medical malpractice claim against the at-fault party.

Genetic Testing Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: December 12, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

Most parents in Maryland and across the United States want their children to have the best chance at living a healthy life. With genetic testing becoming more and more commonplace, obstetricians routinely offer genetic testing so that parents have all the information ahead of time about whether or not their child has a certain genetic condition. In some cases, genetic testing is not offered when it should have been – depriving parents of the right to be informed. In other cases, a health care provider incorrectly interprets the results of genetic testing.

With proper medical care, many birth defects can be prevented. Doctors have an obligation to consult with patients regarding any family history of genetic defects. Genetic testing is typically done if one or both parents have a hereditary medical problem or have other children with a genetic defect. In these cases, genetic testing is a way to help families make informed decisions and avoid potentially life-threatening health problems.

When a doctor fails to identify a genetic abnormality, a child may be born with a serious genetic condition, such as sickle cell disease, Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, or other conditions.