Articles Posted in Hospital Negligence

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Medical overtreatment is a scary reality in Maryland and throughout the US. If you or a family member has suffered harm because of medical overtreatment, you should reach out to a Baltimore medical negligence attorney as soon as you can. Sadly, overtreatment is very common and can lead to a variety of negative health consequences for a patient and we believe that you shouldn’t have to deal with these consequences on your own.

The Research

Medical schools and facilities need to try and challenge the culture of medical overtreatment, says Barnett Kramer, MD, MPH, and the director of the cancer prevention division at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda. The main issue recognized by a medical historian in the study is the insufficient training surrounding uncertainty in medical schools. In some cases, doctors must accept uncertainty because failing to do so leads to overusing tests and treatment. Another thing medical schools and doctors need to understand, according to the expert, is that it is okay to wait and see in some situations, and decisions do not have to be made right in that moment in every case.

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Medical malpractice is a massive problem in Maryland and across the US. When visiting a physician or other healthcare provider, you assume you will be receiving reliable care. If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, it is vital to contact our Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys to schedule a free consultation. If we accept your case, we will stand by your side throughout the entire legal process, acting as your advocates against medical negligence.

The Study

A recent study published in BMJ sought to examine, among other things, whether patients who are admitted to American hospitals, which are accredited, have more positive results than individuals who are admitted to hospitals assessed by state surveys. The study observed a total of 4400 hospitals across the country, of which 3337 were accredited and 1063 went under state based review between 2014 and 2017. The main outcome measures were mortality and readmission rates. Researchers concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that patients choosing a hospital accredited by the Joint Commission, the largest and most well known accrediting body, provides any healthcare benefits over choosing a hospital accredited by another independent accrediting organization.

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Oftentimes, when a person sustains a medical injury, multiple parties are to blame. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a healthcare provider’s negligence, you need skilled legal counsel to review your case to identify any and all potentially responsible parties. Medical malpractice cases that have multiple defendants are not only incredibly complex; they require an enormous amount of paperwork so having an experienced Baltimore medical malpractice attorney is vital to your case.

Medical Malpractice

In order to understand the concept of joint and several liability, you must first understand the basics of medical malpractice. Medical malpractice is defined as any act or omission by a physician or other healthcare provider that departs from the generally accepted standards of practice in the medical community and is the direct cause of injury or death to a patient. As a practical matter, medical malpractice claims are civil claims that are filed against healthcare providers whose negligence caused harm to a patient.

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As a society, we put great trust in medical professionals to help us to get better. If you or someone close to you has been injured at a hospital due to a medical professional’s negligence, we can help. At Arfaa Law Group, our highly skilled hospital negligence attorneys will examine the facts of your case and provide you with an honest assessment of your claim.

A recent study by the Leapfrog Group found that hospital errors have decreased from 2016-2017. The study used a wide range of sources, including Medicare; the American Hospital Association and surveys that the hospitals filled out on a voluntary basis to compile its data. After being ranked in the bottom five of the country’s safest hospitals, the state of Maryland has taken proactive steps to improve its safety rating by reducing medical mistakes and preventing injuries and infections. According to the Leapfrog Group’s evaluation, the safety measures did take Maryland out of the bottom five; however, there is still room for improvement.

Leapfrog assigned Maryland hospitals letter grades based on a range of patient safety measures. In the last assessment, only one of the state’s 44 hospitals earned an A, while seven received a B. The majority earned a C, while eight got a D and one even received an F. According to the most recent assessment, ten hospitals in Maryland have improved their grades. However, the majority of hospitals still received a grade of C or below, indicating the work that still needs to be done.

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Mistakes on the part of a gynecologist can pose significant dangers and cause serious harm to both the mother and the child. If you or your loved one has been hurt as a result of OBGYN medical malpractice, you need to reach out to a seasoned Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer who can analyze your case. You can rest assured that we are committed to helping you obtain the compensation you rightfully deserve for your harm.

Hospitalists play an important role in health care. A hospitalist is a dedicated in-patient physician who works exclusively in a hospital. An obstetric or OBGYN hospitalist is an obstetrician and gynecologist physician who is either an employee or an independent contractor whose duties include providing care for laboring patients and managing obstetric emergencies. Hospitalists aim to reduce the confusion of a hospital stay and guide patients through their treatment.

According to Dr. Mark Simon, chief medical officer of the OB Hospitalist Group, when physicians partner with hospitalists, the risk of malpractice can decrease because tired and overworked OBGYNs can take a night off and have their patients be treated by a competent medical professional. This also helps with burnout issues and can mitigate malpractice lawsuits. In fact, one large health system that partnered with an OB hospitalist group cut its severe harm events by 31 percent.

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If you or your loved one has been injured by a medical professional’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At Arfaa Law Group, our Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys can provide aggressive legal representation to you throughout the process. We understand that dealing with an adverse health outcome can be stressful, which is why we will handle your case with the utmost compassion.

In a recent study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published in the journal mBio, scientists conducted a five-year study to explore the NIH hospital in Bethesda, Maryland to understand in a deeper way how hazardous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria live and develop. Often, bacteria thrive in hospital settings. Since very sick patients are sometimes treated with antibiotics of last resort, hospitals can become warehouses for multi-drug resistant bacteria, which can be easily transferred through tiny pieces of genetic material called “plasmids.” The NIH found that, many times, these plasmids live under the sink and in the plumbing. In fact, the bacteria from different sources mix and match, sharing their drug-resistant plasmid pieces.

The study found that the dangerous plasmids found in sewers and plumbing did not seem to be a contributing factor to increased infections among hospitalized patients. The safety protocols being taken at the hospital to control infections are working. However, while the bacteria from the plumbing is not reaching patients and increasing infection rates, there is still a huge storehouse of general material present in the plumbing and backwater of the hospital sewer system.

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No one should be denied emergency medical care due to an inability or perceived inability to pay for it. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to patient dumping, a skilled Baltimore hospital negligence attorney can help. At Arfaa Law Group, we are dedicated to getting our clients the justice and compensation they deserve for their harm.

Earlier this year, a video showing four hospital security guards at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore dropping a patient off at a bus stop in freezing weather, wearing nothing but a hospital gown, went viral. The 22-year-old patient with Asperger Syndrome was a victim of “patient dumping.” Patient dumping can take place in a number of ways, including but not limited to situations in which a hospital:

    • Turns away someone in need of emergency care;
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If you have been injured due to a medical professional’s negligence, you need to reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney who can help. At Arfaa Law Group, we are familiar with Maryland malpractice laws and can help you hold medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause. You can rest assured that we can help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your losses.

A recent study by Syneos Health Communications examines bridging the gap in the conversation surrounding the use of technology in medicine. The study collected responses from patients being treated for Type 2 Diabetes, breast cancer, and atrial fibrillation. Of the 800 respondents, the vast majority felt that there was no substitute for a doctor. In fact, fewer than 20 percent reported seeing any benefit to their future health if health care was provided by AI-based solutions. The primary concern was that machines might miss things that a human doctor would catch. However, when it came to nurses, 64 percent of respondents thought technology could be very useful, since patients could have on-demand access to information and health monitoring and ask the questions they needed to ask.

As medical technology advances, it will play a greater role in patient care. While this can provide better care for patients, it can also create complex legal questions when it comes to malpractice. What happens when technology results in an injury to a patient or worsens a patient’s existing condition? While working with complicated technology, medical professionals are expected to provide competent care by using the technology properly. In short, if doctors are relying on technology, they have to be able to use it correctly. In cases in which this does not happen, a medical professional may be liable for medical malpractice.

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The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) that, among other things, implements medical assistance programs for veterans. People who are eligible for VA health care benefit programs must have served in the active military, naval, or air service and left the service under any condition other than dishonorable. If you or someone close to you has been harmed due to the negligence of a VA doctor, you need to speak to a seasoned Baltimore hospital negligence attorney who can evaluate the facts of your case.

Unfortunately, medical malpractice at VA hospitals is more common than you may think. The VA pays out an average of $100 million each year to settle more than 3,000 medical malpractice lawsuits. According to a recent USA Today investigation, the Department of Veteran Affairs has knowingly hired doctors who had a history of misconduct allegations, licensing problems, malpractice accusations, and patient settlements.

Medical malpractice claims can have many causes, including:

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The spine is central to our ability to sense and function normally. As a result, spinal surgery is daunting, and dural tears during such surgery can have serious consequences. An incidental durotomy refers to small tears of the outer membrane of the spinal cord and is a common occurrence in spinal surgery. In some cases, the tear is unavoidable. In most cases in which a tear occurs, the surgeon will identify it and repair it in a second procedure without any long-term consequences to the patient. If the dural tear is undetected, however, it can cause serious health problems for a patient. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to a dural tear, it is important to reach out to a diligent Baltimore surgical error attorney who can help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your harm.

A recent study, entitled Medical Malpractice Claims Following Incidental Durotomy Due to Spinal Surgery, examined the role of durotomy in malpractice cases. The study found that delayed diagnosis and treatment of durotomy and improper durotomy repair correlated with risk of malpractice lawsuits and increased surgeon liability. In other words, medical malpractice claims arose when dural tears were not discovered in time and led to spinal fluid leaks and other conditions. The findings highlighted that claims involving minor tears did not result in a settlement as often, whereas dural tears that led to neurological complications or even death were more likely to be successful.

Surgical mistakes denote errors that are avoidable with proper care. Under Maryland law, individuals who have suffered harm due to a spinal surgery error can typically seek compensation through a medical malpractice claim. Medical malpractice is defined as a medical professional’s failure to follow the accepted standard of care for their specialty, resulting in patient harm. In other words, surgery malpractice takes place when a surgeon causes harm because his or her conduct deviated from the standard of care that a prudent surgeon performing the same spinal cord surgery would have used under the same circumstances. As a result, if a surgeon fails to recognize a dural tear and then does not perform a second operation to fix it, that surgeon would likely be liable for malpractice.

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