John J. Sellinger a Super Lawyer

Super Lawyers, an independent magazine adhering to a selection process that is objective and independent of any advertising or payments to nominate its candidate, has named John J. Sellinger a Super Lawyer in its Maryland and Washington DC 2008, and 2009 editions. Lawyers were asked to nominate the best lawyers they've personally observed, were not allowed to nominate an internal lawyer without nominating an external lawyer, and lawyers were not allowed to vote for themselves. This evaluation led to a final selection of our medical malpractice attorney, John J. Sellinger. Congratulations on a job well done!

To learn more about our medical malpractice attorney, John J. Sellinger, read about John or watch his medical malpractice video on Utube.  To learn more about medical malpractice law in Maryland, read our Medical Malpractice FAQ, or contact Greenberg & Bederman for a free medical malpractice case evaluation.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Ryan Dineen has cerebral palsy, and it’s possible that he didn’t have to get it.

On May 7, 2000, Ryan’s mother Suzette was brought into Frederick Memorial Hospital. She was suffering from abdominal pain and was vomiting. She was also pregnant.

Frederick Memorial Hospital is not a small hospital, but it is not an overcrowded and understaffed one either. And while Frederick, Maryland is by no means a small town, it certainly isn’t Baltimore or Washington, D.C.

So the fact that Suzette Dineen was made to wait for three hours before receiving medical care defies all logic and reason. It also defied hospital policy.

According to a piece in The Frederick News:

“She arrived shortly after 5 a.m., complaining of pain, vomiting and diarrhea, Bekman said.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks (1)

The state of Nevada came awfully close to getting back to normal this month. Well, as “normal” as Nevada gets, anyway.

Back in April, the Nevada State Assembly passed a bill that would have removed the current limits on non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases. As it stands now, the limit is $350,000. What this means is that the most that you can collect for any damages that don’t actually cost you money in the long run is $350,000. And thanks to the Nevada Senate, it looks like it’s going to stay that way for the foreseeable future:

An Assembly-approved bill to lift the $350,000 voter-approved caps on the "pain and suffering" damages patients can secure from their doctors in medical malpractice cases was killed in the Senate. The higher limit would have applied only in cases where patients could prove they were injured by the "gross negligence" of their doctors. The bill had been introduced in response to complaints from hepatitis C patients in Las Vegas.

We’ve discussed what we think about such caps before, so in the interest of saving time we’ll simply refer you to an article that we wrote about how a $250,000 malpractice cap in Texas is working down there.

What we found interesting was a few of the comments about the bill from some of the Nevada politicians who were in opposition.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Physician, Heal Thyself

As attorneys who represent the injured, we often find ourselves in direct opposition to insurance companies, tort reform organizations, and HMO’s.

There aren’t many subjects on which we agree. We believe that those who have been injured due to the incompetence or negligence of others deserve full compensation, and they believe that there should be strict limits on what sort of damages the injured can recover. We believe that the rights of Americans to access the court system should not be limited in any way, while some believe that sort of freedom is bad for business. We believe that the primary goal of an insurance company should be to honor the needs of their policyholders, while they treat the ill as though their needs come a distant second to honoring the needs of their stockholders.

There is, however, one subject upon which we do agree. Insurance companies, tort reform organizations and medical professionals believe that there is a real problem in this country involving medical malpractice. We believe that as well. But their contention is that the problem centers on the victims, while our position is that the problem comes from the doctors, nurses and medical professionals who don’t do their jobs properly.

If you take a look at your average tort reform web site, you will find page after page of reports and statistics that tell you about high insurance premiums, so-called “frivolous lawsuits,” and trial lawyers who are inevitably described as “greedy.” But you won’t find much about the actual doctors who are being sued.

Medical malpractice lawsuits happen for a reason. Perfectly healthy people don’t walk into our office and announce that they would like to sue their doctor. A medical malpractice lawsuit happens when there are real damages that come from real professional negligence by medical providers. So we find it strange that these organizations rarely acknowledge that doctors make preventable mistakes, that people suffer as a result, and that the medical system as currently designed by self enforcement allows some doctors with extremely shoddy records to keep practicing medicine. As far as we are concerned, that’s the heart of the medical malpractice “crisis.”

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The Patient’s Bill of Rights

You are not simply a set of problems that need to be solved. You are a human being with rights.

This is the basic premise behind the Patient’s Bill of Rights, which was created in 1998 by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.

This was an incredibly important development for patients (meaning ALL OF US,) in America. Prior to the creation of the Bill, there were no real rules in place for how the sick or injured should be treated, and the standard of care absolutely reflected that.

Patients were routinely chewed up and spit out by the HMO system, who to this day value profit margins over patient care. Patients weren’t adequately informed about their treatment and options, confidential patient information was guarded loosely if it was guarded at all, and patients requiring emergency services were financially penalized for not PRE-APPROVING them. And these were only some of the problems.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Wrongful Birth

What if you went to the doctor and he didn’t give you all the facts? What if that lack of information resulted in you having to face a situation that affects you for the rest of your life?

This is the center of the argument in a so-called “wrongful birth” case, despite what others might say.

For those of you who are unaware of the circumstances that make up one of these cases, it involves a mother who has not been properly informed of a genetic deficiency or other detectable physical condition that exists in the fetus. When the fetus comes to term and is born, the genetic condition manifests itself into a severe handicap, which the mother was neither mentally nor financially prepared for because she was not properly informed.

A case like this is obviously a hot button issue, mainly because it spills over to the question of abortion, which is an ideological minefield on the best of days. But we have to look at this as an issue of the competence of the doctor rather than anything else, no matter what our feelings are on the moral end of reproductive issues.

The strides that medicine has made in terms of childbirth over the last century have been enormous. If you need concrete proof of that, you only need to visit an old cemetery, where if you examine a family plot you will see that as little as 150 years ago, many families had more dead children than live ones.

Nowadays childbirth is a much safer process, and thanks to advancements in testing we can tell if there are going to be any abnormalities in the child before it is even born. Through examining a sample of the amniotic fluid in the placenta (which is a process called amniocentesis,) doctors can easily determine whether or not the fetus is developing normally. And amniocentesis is only one of the tests.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

  Medical Malpraqctice Expert Witness Maryland

An attorney could have every word of the law books memorized, a high percentage of won cases and favorable settlements, and a thriving practice and satisfied client base, but what the vast majority of lawyers don’t have is a medical degree. So how does alawyer, with no background in medicine, successfully try a medical malpractice case? How can a lawyer who never spent a day in medical school cross-examine a doctor or surgeon who did pre-med in college, then medical school, then between three to eight years of residency depending on the medical specialty, and then any number of years in practice?

The answer is that the attorney talks to someone else who did pre-med in college, then medical school, then between three to eight years of residency depending on the specialty, and then any number of years in practice. In other words, the attorney gets his own doctor as an expert medical witness.

But not just any doctor will do. The attorney has to find someone with impeccable credentials in medicine and a specialty in the area in which the doctor named in the law suit has made the medical error. In other words, if the malpractice law suit is about a medical surgical error, it would do no good at all to consult a psychiatrist or an oncologist. This isn’t just smart legal practice, but is also a part of Maryland law.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Medical Malpractice – Informed Consent

There isn’t one reputable mechanic in the world that would just go ahead and make a bunch of unasked for repairs to your car without telling you that they were needed in the first place. How would you like it if you brought your car in for an oil change only to be told that they replaced the whole fueling system without asking you? Or how would you like it if the mechanic told you that he was in the middle of making repairs that you didn’t ask for and accidentally caused more damage? The easy answer is that you wouldn’t like it at all.

Although the stakes are much higher than they would be with your car, these same principles are behind Maryland’s laws regarding what is called “informed consent” between you and your doctor or surgeon. What this means is that if you are going to have any medical or surgical procedure, no matter how major or minor, the medical professionals in charge of your care need to tell you everything about your medical procedure, and they need to have your permission before they can carry on.  

There are exceptions to this, of course. For instance, if you get into a car accident and surgery is necessary to save your life, the medical staff involved can rightfully assume that permission is given. But if the surgery is elective, or something that is planned in advance, it is the duty of the medical staff to tell you everything that they can.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Is A Monetary Cap In Medical Malpractice Fair?

It’s impossible to put a price tag on a crippling emotional loss. If someone walked up to you and offered you a sum of money in exchange for your infant son’s life, how much would be enough?

That’s an impossible question. The idea of putting a price tag on the life of a loved one is simply ridiculous.

But that didn’t stop Texas from doing so. Thanks to a ballot initiative that was voted into law back in 2003, the life of an infant is worth no more than $250,000. If a doctor prescribes a drug that puts a loved one in a coma, again, that’s worth no more than $250,000. If your wife dies on the operating table due to a preventable surgical error, that’s only worth $250,000.

$250,000 is the monetary cap that was placed on non-economic damages in medical malpractice verdicts. What that means is that the only thing you can be made whole for in Texas is something that would cost you money in the long run. For instance, if you make your living as a pilot and a surgeon makes a mistake that costs you your sight, you would be justified in suing the doctor for all the lost income that you would have made during the remainder of your career. But the emotional scarring and pain that you would have to go through in order to adjust to life without sight is, according to Texas law, only $250,000.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Perils of Anesthesia.

Occasionally we read about medical errors and malpractice cases brought as a result of anesthesia errors. Despite the overall healthcare improvements and technical innovations, anesthesia errors still pervade our medical system.
Anesthesiology is a branch of medicine specializing in the use of drugs or other agents that cause insensibility to pain. While anesthetics are essential to conducting many medical procedures with little to no discomfort, they carry the risk of unwanted post-effects. Anesthesiology is also defined as a continuity of patient care involving preoperative evaluation, intraoperative and postoperative care. Most people think of anesthesia-related malpractice as it relates to surgery; however it can happen during pre-operative preparation, post-operatively in the recovery room, and in any procedure room in a medical facility or doctor’s office. Anesthesia mistakes can take place during childbirth and even before routine dental procedures. Anesthesia mistakes are not limited to anesthesiologists.

According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists , it is estimated that nearly 40 million anesthetics are administered each year in this country. Anesthesiologists provide or participate in more than 90 percent of these anesthetics. In the operating room, they are responsible for the medical management and anesthetic care of the patient throughout the duration of the surgery. The anesthesiologist must carefully match the anesthetic needs of each patient to that patient’s medical condition, responses to anesthesia and the requirements of the surgery. In many surgical settings, anesthesiologists work in the “anesthesia care team” mode, medically supervising the work of non-physician anesthetists such as nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologist assistants, who, although are not physicians, have been trained in the technical administration of anesthetics. Anesthesiologists have important functions outside of operating rooms, such as evaluating patients prior to surgery or conducting postoperative visits. However, the majority of their activities, which are performed inside the operating room, are seen by few people outside of the surgical and nursing team. Usually the patients are unable to remember the anesthesiologist’s involvement because much of the critical work may be done while the patient is anesthetized. The role of the anesthesiologist in the operating room is to: 1) provide continual medical assessment of the patient; 2) monitor and control the patient’s vital life functions; and 3) control the patient’s pain and level of consciousness to make conditions ideal for a safe and successful surgery.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Breast Cancer Awareness: Is it Possible to be Over-aware?

Breast cancer awareness month has just passed. The importance of regular mammograms for cancer prevention is one of the mottos of this battle for cancer screening. Most cancer is treatable if it is caught early enough in the process. The stories related to this terrible disease are very tragic, and stress the importance of early detection. We've all heard or known about someone who was too afraid to go to the doctor until it was too late. This illustration has been talked about many times in cancer prevention month.  A woman too afraid to go to the doctor delays getting treatment, thinking she could walk-off the lump in her breast until she fell so sick that she finally had to see her health professional. Once at her doctor’s office the woman learns that she has breast cancer, which by now has spread throughout her body. Her chance of survival is low now, and it is dependent upon the success of a rigorous course of surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. The worst part of this story is that the woman would have had a 100% chance of survival if she had come in when she first noticed a problem.

And that story is only the beginning. There are a plethora of tragic stories related to this disastrous illness, such as the woman from Sydney, Australia who recently was awarded a mere $400,000 after a breast cancer misdiagnosis. The woman went to her doctor for an annual mammogram. A lump showed up in the mammogram, but she was reassured by her doctors that it was benign and nothing to worry about, only to later find out that the lump had been cancer, which by that point, had metastasized to her lungs and her brain. These stories are incredibly tragic, and hopefully, breast cancer awareness campaigns, such as breast cancer awareness month, will reduce the incidence of such horrible occurrences in the future.
Regular mammograms are widely heralded as the key in breast cancer awareness. But how reliable is this technology?
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Hospital Acquired Infections

                The Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 5 -10% of hospitalized patients develop an infection related to healthcare association (HAI).  This corresponds to approximately 2 million HAI’s associated with nearly 100,000 deaths each year in US Hospital.  Studies have shown that patients requiring intensive care are at much higher risk. Most infections that become clinically evident after 48 hours of admission are considered hospital acquired.  Sadly, many of these could have been prevented by implementing practices that would have prevented the infections.  Recent measures put into effect in some hospitals focused on HAI prevention into regulatory and financial reimbursement systems, which reflect the growing belief that many HAIs are preventable, possibly thru the implementation of evidence based “best practices.”

                There are three different risk factors for the invasion of bacteria, which can be categorized into three different areas: 

·         Iatrogenic – These include bacteria transmitted from the hands of hospital personnel, antibiotic use, prophylaxis and invasive procedures sure as tube intubation, vascular lines, extended ventilation and urine catheterization.

·         Organizational - This includes environmental situations such as contaminated ventilation systems and water systems and staffing and physical layout of facilities, for example bed to patient ratio and nurse to patient ratio.

·         Prophylaxis – This includes issues such as length of stay, underlying immune-compromised state and severity of illness.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice
 

Undergoing surgery is never a pleasant experience. Each surgery has its risks and rewards, or we would not consider getting surgery as a form of health care. It is vitally important that the surgeon operate with precision, as even the most seemingly insignificant mistake can result in grave consequences for the patient. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over fifty million surgical procedures performed in the United States in 2007 alone, and sadly, a number of surgical mistakes did take place.

Some of the most common surgical errors include post operative and pre-operative infections, performing surgery on the wrong part of the body, or even on the wrong patient. Although it is difficult to believe that such a mistake as performing surgery on the wrong body part could occur in modern medicine, hundreds of people each year have the wrong leg, arm, side of the body, or even hemisphere of the brain operated on. Many surgical mistakes stem from oversights in pre-operative care, such as a false positive or a false negative report from a lab, or the surgeon fails to collect a complete medical history of the patient before the surgical procedure. Other surgical mistakes result from allergic or other adverse effects of medication. Perforations of internal organs by a scalpel or a laser can cause severe harm to a delicate organ. Severing a nerve is quite common, since the nervous system runs throughout the entire body and is extremely vulnerable. Some of the most common types of surgeries where surgical errors are likely to occur include gastric bypass, childbirth, cardiothoracic, thoracic surgery, laparoscopic intestinal surgery and plastic/cosmetic surgery. Finally, anesthesia errors can happen during surgery, with even a small error in dosage causing grave and potentially life-threatening consequences.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Wrongful death in a medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice is a serious issue in our hospitals and is a leading cause of wrongful death. Over 225,000 people die from medical malpractice related injuries in a single year. A US Department of Justice report in 2007 noted that the number of payouts stemming from medical malpractice cases increased 40%. According to a new study by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) one of every ten patients nationwide who died within 90 days of surgery did so because of a preventable medical error. The study also found that those same errors cost nearly $1.5 billion annually. We are taught to trust doctors and follow their advice as it pertains to our health. After all, doctors go through an extensive course of training, pass a medical board exam and complete several years of residency, which thoroughly prepare them to treat and protect our health. Unfortunately, despite all of these safeguards, medical errors are all too common.

Medical error may turn a routine medical procedure into a tragedy. Generally, a medical error is not necessarily medical malpractice. A deviation from the standard of care is what makes a medical mistake a potential malpractice claim. This is known as medical negligence. Some medical errors include surgical malpractice, medication errors, bacterial infections, birth injuries, dental malpractice and diagnosis errors. Often, preventable medical mistakes result from staff failure to follow standard policies and procedures. Some suggest that medical errors occur due to lack of sleep. Others believe that the doctors service too many patients in too short a time. After being on duty for many hours, physicians, nurses and other medical workers may not communicate well due to fatigue, or time constraints with the numerous patients.

Many states have enacted “apology laws” for healthcare workers. These laws provide for open expression of regret, sympathy or compassion by physicians and other healthcare providers without fear of such apology being used against them in a malpractice suit. These laws are purportedly designed to diminish the number of lawsuits against medical workers by providing families and friends of victims with a sense that the medical provider regrets the unfortunate or tragic outcome of the medical error. The apology laws are designed to encourage healthcare providers to speak candidly with the victims. These laws conflict with the advice given to medical providers by their malpractice insurance carriers who advise doctors not to admit any errors unless they are protected by legislation. Moreover, many hospitals waive costs of medical bills when involving medical errors with the patient.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Medical Malpractice – Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe a group of disorders caused by brain damage that affect body movement and muscle coordination. It is a non-progressive disorder which means it will not worsen over time, nor will it be cured. Brain damage that causes Cerebral Palsy can happen during pregnancy, the birth, or shortly after birth; and can be attributed to illness during pregnancy, pre-term birth, or a lack of oxygen to the baby during birth. In the early childhood years it can develop due to certain types of infection, a lack of oxygen to the brain, severe jaundice and other factors. Over 750,000 children and adults in the US suffer from some form or show one or more symptoms of Cerebral Palsy. About 8,000 babies are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy every year. Cerebral Palsy patients are often diagnosed with the disorder before 18 months of age, usually after  parents notice infants have not reached certain developmental milestones such as crawling or rolling over.

Effects/Symptoms

Some of the effects of Cerebral Palsy are involuntary muscle spasms, awkward gait, poor balance, difficulty swallowing, sight or speech impairment, seizures, abnormal sensation and perception, or mental retardation. Additionally patients with Cerebral Palsy may experience difficulty with bladder and bowel control, difficulty eating, skin disorders, breathing problems because of poor posture, or learning disabilities.

Types of Cerebral Palsy

There are three main types of Cerebral Palsy: spastic, athetoid, or ataxic. Spastic cases, the most common, affect 70 to 80 percent of Cerebral Palsy patients, and are further broken down into three categories. Patients whose lower extremities are affected more so than upper are classified as spastic diplegia;  patients who experience difficulty with only one side of the body are classified as spastic hemiplegia; and patients whose whole body is affected are classified as spastic quadriplegia. Cases of athetoid Cerebral Palsy affect roughly 20 percent of Cerebral Palsy patients. Its characterized by involuntary motions, trouble holding a steady position, or slow, writhing movements. Such patients often have difficulty getting their hands to a certain spot or holding on to objects. Ataxic cases are far less common, affecting less than 10 percent of Cerebral Palsy patients. Affecting balance and depth perception, ataxic Cerebral Palsy patients have difficulty walking steadily or when trying to execute a swift movement. Basic motor skills may also present difficulty.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

 an estimated 1,000,000 injuries per year versus 85,000 lawsuits). This statistical gap leads to two conclusions. Most injured patients do not pursue a claim against the responsible doctor(s). Also, the system filters claims – preventing the frivolous from coming to court.

No doubt the greatest signal barrier to reducing the number of frivolous claims is the plaintiffs’ lawyer. Because plaintiffs’ lawyers frequently work under a contingency fee arrangement, there is a strong economic incentive to pursue only those claims that have a high likelihood of recovery and a high potential recovery value. Professor Herbert Kritzer of the University of Wisconsin surveyed plaintiffs’ attorneys in Wisconsin regarding acceptance rates of medical malpractice cases. Professor Kritzer found that 80% of all medical malpractice cases were declined at the initial contact with attorneys. Another study looked at how particular attorneys handled such inquiries. The lawyers’ office received calls from 730 people over 10 randomly selected days. Only 1 in 30 calls resulted in litigation – lawyers rejected 97% of potential plaintiffs. Greenberg & Bederman has accepted only 5% of medical malpractice inquiries in 2007. Additionally, cases that are initially accepted by lawyers are dropped because they turn out to be weak. In short, lawyers must screen potential cases because:

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Another study has been published about doctors failing to self-report mistakes, despite consensus that doctors should. The new study by the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!) surveyed 338 doctors at three unidentified teaching hospitals. 17% of respondents admitted failing to report “minor” errors (defined as mistakes that prolonge treatment or cause discomfort). 4% of respondents admitted failing to report mistakes that caused disability or death. Lead researcher Lauris Kaldjian was troubled that fewer than half of the respondents stated that they would report hypothetical errors. He said that doctors and other medical professionals should follow the airline industry, which encourages pilots to report every error to check for systemic flaws.

One continues to wonder why doctors would not report errors considering the favorable treatment they receive from politicians and legislatures. The Commonwealth of Virginia’s medical board has reprimanded 2 doctors for their handling of births that resulted in devastating, lifelong injuries to infants during delivery. Both of the affected families were blocked from suing the doctor and hospital because of the commonwealth's 20-year-old, no-fault Birth-related Neurological Injury Compensation Act. In addition, the public reprimands neither fine nor limit the doctors ability to practice medicine. There will, however, be a notation in their permanent records.

The doctors are: Dr. Evelyn Anna Ruelaz of Fairfax County and Dr. Regina Burton of Woodbridge.

To learn more about medical malpractice issues, please see our website at medical malpractice law.  To learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger, please click medical malpractice lawyer maryland, or watch his medical malpractice video.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Nearly $1M awarded in wrongful death
Originally published April 04, 2006
By Kate Leckie
News-Post Staff

FREDERICK -- A Frederick County Circuit Court jury has awarded $935,000 to the family of a Thurmont man who died about two weeks after having his gallbladder removed at Frederick Memorial Hospital on Aug. 7, 2002.

Deliberating about eight hours following a nine-day medical malpractice trial, the jury of four men and two women found that nurse Abu Kamara and Dr. Steven Nagel violated adequate standards of care for Lester Moser. They reached their verdict about 10 p.m. Friday.

The jury only placed damages against Mr. Kamara and his employer, OMV Medical Inc., ruling that it was the nurse's failure to keep Dr. Nagel informed of the patient's worsening condition that led to Mr. Moser's fatal injuries, according to documents filed at the Frederick County Courthouse.

Mr. Kamara failed to contact Dr. Nagel about three key factors: that Mr. Moser was complaining of severe pain Aug. 9, 2002; that a tube needed for suctioning was not inserted in a timely fashion; and that the patient had vomited.

Transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 21, 2002, Mr. Moser died two days later of sepsis and organ failure, court documents state.

Mr. Moser, a lifelong Frederick County resident, was 79 when he died.

Virginia Moser filed the wrongful death suit Sept. 16, 2003, about a year after her husband's death from complications arising from the elective surgery.

Citing her husband's conscious pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses, the suit sought more than $100,000 in damages for the death of her husband of 56 years and the father of her three grown children.

The jury awarded $55,000 for past expenses related to Mr. Moser's medical care; $500,000 in noneconomic damages to his estate; $250,000 in damages to his wife; and $130,000 total in damages to his children.

Contacted Monday by telephone, Ms. Moser had little to say about the trial that ended years of legal maneuvering. "It was hard," she said.

Son Wayne Moser said the family was satisfied with the verdict.

"We're not the type to sue, but we were upset with the way my father's care at the hospital was handled," Mr. Moser said. "You put your family member in the hospital, and something horrible like this happens.

"This has been a great loss for our family," he said.

John J. Sellinger, the lawyer representing the Mosers, said the family was gratified that the jury found in their favor.

"It's been difficult emotionally for them to relive such a painful event. I never met him, but Lester Moser sounds like he was a wonderful man," said Mr. Sellinger of the Silver Spring office of Greenburg & Bederman. "They're really good people."

Mr. Moser's obituary referred to an upbringing on the family's farm and time spent in the orchard.

He also worked as a school bus driver and rural letter carrier.

Mr. Kamara and OMV Medical Inc. of Takoma Park were represented by Stephen J. Cullen of Miles & Stockbridge in Towson. A phone call seeking comment Monday was not returned.

Before the case went to trial, Dr. Kevin Hurtt, who performed Mr. Moser's surgery, and Frederick Memorial Hospital were dropped as defendants.

Judge G. Edward Dwyer Jr. presided over the civil trial.

To learn more about medical malpractice issues please see medical malpractice law.  To learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger, please click on medical malpractice lawyers maryland, and read the frim bio on John Sellinger.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments

The American College of Physicians published a new report in its publication The Annals of Internal Medicine. The report was a survey of over 1,600 physicians during the period of November 2003 to June 2004 regarding whether or not they reported violations of professional codes by other physicians. Although 96% of responding physicians stated that physicians should report impaired or incompetent colleagues, only 45% of respondents who had encountered impaired or incompetent physicians actually reported them. Cardiologists were the least likely of all medical specialists to report a serious medical error of which they had direct knowledge. Family practitioners were the least likely to report an impaired or incompetent colleague (Cardiologists were second by only 0.8%). Jack Lewin, CEO of the American College of Cardiology, says that cardiologists are more likely to handle such problems within their practice groups as opposed to, presumably, reporting such instances to the appropriate authorities.

First, can we please have the names of the doctors in the 4% who do not think mistakes, incompetency and impairment should be reported?

Second, this study only gives further proof of an important argument. As convenient as it is for doctors, insurance companies and politicians to scream about the rising costs of medical malpractice litigation and plaintiffs’ lawyers, the real problem cannot be ignored. Doctors are simply not well regulated. Bad doctors continue to practice without discipline. Doctors fail to report mistakes and incompetency in their colleagues. This type of behavior is not only in direct opposition to the requirements of the Hippocratic Oath but it’s also morally reprehensible. Eric Campbell, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor at Massachusetts General Hospital's Institute for Health Policy, said that "failing to report incompetent physicians and allowing them to practice will have an impact on the welfare of patients...It's clearly something that people should be aware of."

In comparison, lawyers have an ethical duty to report such errors or incompetency in their lawyers. Failure to do can result in discipline for the non-reporting lawyer. Doctors should be held so accountable.

Other notable results from the survey:

• a majority of responding doctors said they would refer patients to an imaging facility (e.g., for an MRI) in which they had a financial interest, but only 24% would actually tell theirpatients of that financial interest. 
• while 93% said doctors should provide necessary medical care regardless of a patient's ability to pay, only 69% currently accept uninsured patients who are unable to pay

To learn more about medical malpractice issues, please see medical malpractice law.  To learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger, please click on medical malpractice lawyer maryland, and read the firm bio.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In the last few days, Republican politicians have once again been arguing for reform and regulation of lawsuits. During this same period, the national news wire agencies have seen several articles detailing with medical horror stories:

Man dies of heart attack after waiting three hours in hospital waiting room complaining of chest pains

Rhode Island Hospital operates on wrong side of patient’s brain for third time THIS YEAR 

Remember that these stories are more common than one might think. The medical profession is not sufficiently regulated. Remember egregious mistakes like these the next time politicians begin waxing poetic about the tort reform.

In better news, trial lawyers are actually making legislative headway protecting the rights of the injured and unprotected. The article, however, makes it a point to mention how much money trial lawyers donate to the Democratic party and its candidates. It does not, however, mention how much money insurance companies donate to Republicans.

To learn more about medical malpractice issues, please visit medical malpractice law.  To learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, please click on medical malpractice lawyer maryland, and read about John Sellinger.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

According to the L.A. Times, an investigation has been launched into the doctor and the death of rap and music star Kayne West's mother, Donna West. The Los Angeles County coroner completed the preliminary autopsy and ruled Ms. West's death to be "as a result of surgery or anesthesia."

The doctor, Jan Adams, is not a stranger to complaints. Earlier this year, he was served with a complaint seeking to revoke or susend his license to practice medicine due to three convictions for alcohol-related offenses. Dr. Adams paid out $467,337 in settlements for medical malpractice claims in 2001. In 2005, Dr. Adams was sued for medical malpractice and sexual battery by a patient. That complaint alleged that Dr. Adams had sex with an incapcitated patient. That case was settled out of court with a confidentiality agreement.

 To learn more about medical malpractice issues, please see medical malpractice.  To learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger, please click on maryland medical malpractice lawyer, and read our firm bio.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As the 2008 election cycle nears, the American public will undoubtedly begin hearing about the legal boogeyman – frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits. Texas Republicans famously (and deceitfully) distributed a press release in 2002 that claimed that 86% of all medical malpractice claims were frivolous. President Bush has declared the need for tort reform regarding medical malpractice claims in his State of the Union address. There is no reason to believe that in the current political climate, candidates will not again try to score points with voters by trumpeting reforms of the tort system. But, should voters listen to that tired old song?

The argument goes that frivolous lawsuits are increasing medical malpractice insurance premiums, which in turn makes the practice of medicine prohibitively high. This argument has two main parts: (1) that there are a lot of frivolous lawsuits; (2) increased pay-outs for claims (by settlement or court judgment) increase insurance premiums. Research has shown that both of these claims are false.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks