Baltimore Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Medical Overtreatment is a Dangerous Reality in the United States

Published on: October 19, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

When you visit a medical professional, you expect to receive competent care. While we expect comprehensive care, the reality is that many patients are being overtreated, meaning they are receiving tests and treatments that they do not actually need. If you or someone close to you has suffered an injury due to a medical professional’s overtreatment, you need to reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical negligence attorney as soon as possible. At Arfaa Law Group, we can help you assess the case and determine whether a lawsuit is the right option for you.

A recent study published in PLUS ONE has shed light on just how big the problem of overtreatment is in the United States. According to the report, at least 15 to 30 percent of overall medical care is unnecessary, said most of the 2,100 physicians who responded to a survey conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical Schools. The data also shows that about 22 percent of prescription medication, 25 percent of tests, and 11 percent of procedures that are given are not needed. For example, not every patient with back pain needs an x-ray, but an x-ray is very often ordered.

An overwhelming majority of the physicians who were interviewed for the study cited fear of litigation as the top reason for overtreatment, followed by patient pressure and difficulty assessing prior medical records. While physicians think they are being extra cautious by overtreating, the reality is that overtreatment can be harmful for patients and give rise to medical malpractice claims as well. For example, prescribing a patient with a cough or cold antibiotics when they do not actually need them might be administering too strong a medication for the problem at hand, and it could ultimately harm the patient, due to other side effects associated with those antibiotics.

Maryland Court Allows Evidence of Non-Party in Negligence Case

Published on: October 12, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

If you or someone close to you has been hurt because of a medical professional’s carelessness, error, or wrongdoing, our diligent Baltimore health care malpractice attorneys can help. At Arfaa Law Group, we understand the nuances of this area of the law and can put our knowledge to use in your case. We are here to answer your questions and address your concerns at every step of the way.

Medical malpractice cases in Maryland and across the United States are about establishing fault on the part of a medical professional. In litigation, there are many tactics that the plaintiff and defense can use to build their case. The Court of Appeals of Maryland, Maryland’s highest court, recently had to decide if evidence regarding the negligence of several non-parties should have been admitted at trial. The court ultimately held that the negligence of the non-parties was properly admitted because it was essential to give the defendant physician a fair trial. Put another way, the defendant, who was generally denying malpractice in a claim, could present evidence of a non-party’s negligence and causation as an affirmative defense.

In the case at hand, a man died as a result of a fatal stroke that he suffered in 2010. The man’s estate and widow filed a medical malpractice claim against the defendant radiologist and three subsequent treating physicians, claiming that their negligence led to the man suffering the stroke. However, before the trial, each of the other named defendants settled the case outside court. Thus, the case was only against one remaining defendant.

Maryland Jury Finds Medical Staff was Negligent in Administering Drug

Published on: October 5, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Unfortunately, medical malpractice is common in Maryland and throughout the United States. If you were injured or you lost a loved one due to a medical professional’s error in a hospital setting, you may be able to seek compensation for your harm. At Arfaa Law Group, our seasoned Baltimore hospital malpractice attorney will thoroughly review the facts of your case and determine the viability of your claim.

The University of Maryland Medical Center, one of the nation’s oldest teaching hospitals, was recently found liable for medical malpractice in a case in which a patient was given a drug that destroyed his colon and ultimately led to his death.

The family of the deceased patient filed a claim against the hospital to seek damages for the death. The facts of the case are as follows. The patient was admitted to the hospital for kidney issues, and, during the treatment, he developed potassium levels that physicians noted were too high. To counteract the high potassium levels, physicians administered the drug Kayexalate.

Summary Judgment in a Maryland Medical Malpractice Case

Published on: September 25, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

If you or someone close to you has been harmed by a physician’s negligence in a hospital setting, we can help. At Arfaa Law Group, our Baltimore hospital negligence attorneys understand how to navigate these types of claims and can put our knowledge to use in your case. You can rest assured that we will scrutinize the facts of your case and come up with a strategy to effectively respond to any motions for summary judgment that you may face in the process.

Under Maryland law, a party is entitled to summary judgment only when there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Put another way, the proponent of summary judgment must make a prima facie showing of their entitlement to summary judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating the absence of any material issues of fact in the case. Essentially, summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party establishes that the opposing party cannot win, even if all credibility conflicts are resolved in the opposing party’s favor. For instance, if a jurisdiction requires the plaintiff in a medical malpractice claim to produce an expert witness to establish the case, summary judgment may be proper if a plaintiff cannot produce a qualified expert.

This is actually what happened in the case of Hannon, et al. v. Mercy Medical Center, in which the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland affirmed the trial court granting summary judgment to the defendants in a Maryland medical malpractice case, prior to the scheduled trial, holding that the plaintiff failed to secure a medical expert to testify on their behalf during trial. This was sufficient reason for the trial court to grant the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

Medication Errors on the Rise in Maryland and Elsewhere

Published on: September 18, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Health care providers, such as doctors and nurses, play a vital role in a patient’s treatment and recovery. When these health care providers make a medication error, it can have serious and long-term consequences for a patient’s health. If you or someone close to you was adversely affected by a medication error, you may be able to hold the at-fault party accountable and recover compensation for your harm. At Arfaa Law Group, our Baltimore prescription error attorneys can explore the facts of your case and advise you of your legal rights and options accordingly.

A recent study published by Clinical Toxicology reported that medication errors leading to adverse outcomes have doubled from the year 2000 to 2012. Unfortunately, medical professionals are responsible for 1.5 million medication errors each year in the United States, according to a report by The Institute of Medicine of the National Academics. These errors are often injurious to patients, leading to emergency situations, hospital stays, and, in some cases, even death. In fact, more people die each year from medication errors than from workplace injuries, as highlighted by the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention.

Overall, the most common types of medication mistakes involved taking or giving the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage, as well as accidentally taking or giving the medication twice. These medication errors were also very common among children. Approximately one-third of medication errors resulted in hospital admission.

Reasonable Physician Test Applies in Maryland Medical Malpractice Cases

Published on: September 12, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

If you have been injured due to a surgeon’s negligence, it is important to reach out to a seasoned Baltimore surgical malpractice attorney who can evaluate the facts of your case. At Arfaa Law Group, we understand how important is it to keep ourselves informed about medical malpractice law so that we can come up with an effective legal strategy in your case. With years of experience, you can rest assured that we know how to navigate these types of cases.

In a recent decision, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Maryland’s intermediate appellate court, held that the trial court erred by giving jury instructions on negligence that led jurors to assess the physician’s conduct in a medical malpractice case from a reasonable person standpoint. Jurors in medical malpractice cases must assess not how a reasonable person would have treated the patient but instead what a reasonable medical professional in the same specialty should have done under the same or similar circumstances.

After years of neck and shoulder pain, the plaintiff in this case sought help from the defendant neurosurgeon. At that time, they discussed both surgical and nonsurgical treatments. The plaintiff agreed to the surgeon’s recommendation of a four-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery. The plaintiff’s recovery went well, but there were subsequent complications. The plaintiff ultimately filed a claim against the surgeon for malpractice and failure to obtain informed consent.

Failure to Maintain Blood Pressure During or After Surgery in Maryland

Published on: September 6, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Surgery is daunting and stressful enough without the prospect of something going wrong. A patient’s blood pressure should be monitored during and after surgery to make sure it does not reach unsafe levels, which can cause serious health risks. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to a medical professional’s failure to maintain blood pressure, you need to seek the help of a seasoned Baltimore medical negligence attorney who can assess the merits of your case.

Blood pressure measures the force of the heart pump at delivering oxygen-rich blood to the tissues. When blood pressure is too high, the heart has to work too hard to deliver blood. When blood pressure is too low, the heart is not pushing blood through the body with enough force for sufficient blood circulation. During a surgical procedure, anesthesiologists must monitor patients’ blood pressure to make sure it remains steady and stable. When blood pressure is not properly monitored, parts of your body may not be getting enough blood, leading to paralysis or amputations. After surgery, patients need to be monitored to avoid potentially lethal post-op complications.

The failure of an anesthesiologist to act reasonably may be considered medical malpractice if it results in harm to the patient. Put another way, medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider causes an injury or death to a patient by failing to act how a reasonably prudent health care provider in the same specialty would have acted in the same or similar circumstances. The causal connection between the health care provider’s actions or lack thereof and the harm suffered by the patient is typically the key to winning these cases.

Kidney Disease Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: August 25, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Kidney disease can have serious consequences for a person’s life. Not only can kidney disease make you very sick, but also, in the most serious cases, it can result in death. If a medical professional caused or worsened your kidney disease due to an error or carelessness, we can help. At Arfaa Law Group, our Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys can thoroughly examine the facts of your case and determine whether malpractice took place.

Many cases of advanced kidney failure are preventable or treatable if they are properly diagnosed and treated. Kidney disease is often difficult to identify, since it can be largely asymptomatic in the early stages. As a result, kidney disease can often sneak up on a person, and sometimes it is not detected until it is too late. This is why it is imperative for a physician to be vigilant and refer you to a kidney specialist as soon as there are any signs of a potential problem, such as protein in a person’s urine.

If your doctor failed to diagnose or treat your condition, the doctor may have committed medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when medical professionals fail to provide a reasonable standard of care, and that failure results in harm to a patient. Providing a “reasonable” standard of care does not mean that the doctor has to order every possible test. Instead, the doctor must be as competent as another doctor in the same specialty would have been under the same circumstances. In order to establish malpractice, the plaintiff must show the following elements:

Brain Hemorrhage Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: August 21, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

A brain hemorrhage can lead to serious injuries in a patient. This is why it is critical for medical professionals to correctly identify and treat brain hemorrhages in a timely manner. If you or someone you know was a victim of a medical error pertaining to a brain hemorrhage, you need to reach out to a seasoned Baltimore medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. At Arfaa Law Group, we are committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause.

A brain hemorrhage is a type of stroke caused by an artery in the brain bursting and causing localized bleeding in the surrounding tissues. This type of bleeding is extremely dangerous because it kills brain cells. Among other causes, a brain hemorrhage can be spontaneous as a result of a broken blood vessel or aneurysm, or it can be caused by a traumatic brain injury. Of course, there may be other causes as well, such as high blood pressure, blood vessel abnormalities, blood or bleeding disorders, liver diseases, and brain tumors. Brain hemorrhages are more common than you may think. In fact, they account for 13 percent of all strokes.

Physicians are trained to identify or at lease suspect a brain hemorrhage when patients present certain signs and symptoms of the condition. Timely diagnosis and treatment is critical to prevent permanent injuries. When a physician or hospital fails to diagnose such a condition properly, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professionals fails to adhere to the level of care that another medical professional in the same specialty would have followed under the same or similar circumstances, causing injuries or death to the patient. For example, in patients with certain bleeding disorders, a failure to give or monitor platelets and a resulting brain hemorrhage can cause significant brain damage. Therefore, a prudent physician would know this and act accordingly.

Gynecology Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: August 11, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Most women will need some type of gynecological care at some point in their lives. If you or someone you know was injured due to the negligence of a gynecologist, an experienced Baltimore medical malpractice attorney can help you understand your rights. At Arfaa Law Group, we are committed to getting our Maryland clients the compensation they deserve for their harm.

Gynecology concerns the diagnosis, investigation, and treatment of disorders related to the female reproductive system. This includes reproductive organ health, pregnancy, and prenatal care. Gynecological errors can happen in a variety of ways, including:

Failures to timely diagnose breast, uterine, or cervical cancers;