Medical Malpractice

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.

Malpractice Cases Arising from Overlapping Surgeries in Maryland

Published on: November 18, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

The idea of surgery naturally makes people nervous. The surgeon performing the surgery is typically the one who addresses the patient’s fears and gives the patient an understanding of what he or she is to expect. While patients have a lot of fears about surgery, they may not even realize that the surgeon may be booked for multiple surgeries at the same time. If you have been injured during surgery, it is important to reach out to a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney who can analyze the facts of your case and determine the cause of your harm.

Overlapping surgeries, also sometimes referred to as concurrent surgeries, occur when an attending surgeon is responsible for multiple surgeries in multiple operating rooms at the same time for at least part of the procedure. This is more common than you may think. In fact, in some places, this is a standard procedure intended to maximize a surgeon’s efficiency. For example, a surgeon may start one procedure, and before it is complete, typically with just stitches remaining to be performed by residents or trained physicians’ assistants, will start another procedure.

According to an investigative report by the Boston Globe, more than 44 medical issues arose due to overlapping surgeries between 2005 and 2015. In one case, a patient was left paralyzed after a spinal surgery. The surgeon performing the procedure was claimed to have been performing another procedure at around the same time. Due to problems such as this one, the American College of Surgeons has released new guidelines on this issue, one of them being that overlapping surgeries should not be taking place at all.

Can You Sue Your Doctor for an Opioid Addiction in Maryland?

Published on: November 9, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

Many Americans in Maryland and across the United States struggle with chronic pain. To help patients manage their pain, doctors often prescribe medications. While these medications can be extremely effective, they can also be addictive. If you or someone close to you has developed a dependency on prescription pain medication due to a doctor overprescribing such medication, you may be entitled to seek damages through a medical malpractice claim. We can thoroughly examine the facts of your case and determine whether or not you have a viable legal claim.

Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin as well as the legal prescription pain relievers known as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and more. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), of the 21.5 million Americans aged 12 or older who had a substance use disorder in 2014, 1.9 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription painkillers. ASAM also reports that drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., with 47,055 fatal drug overdoses in 2014. Opioid addiction makes up many of these deaths, with 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription painkillers.

The Concept of ‘Respondeat Superior’ in Maryland Medical Malpractice Cases

Published on: November 7, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

Medical malpractice claims are common in Maryland and throughout the United States. These claims are intended to hold negligent health care providers accountable for the harm that they cause. If you or someone close to you has been hurt due to a medical professional’s error or carelessness, we can help. At the Arfaa Law Group, our skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys have years of experience helping clients seek the compensation they deserve for their harm.

Medical malpractice claims are not strictly limited to your physician. In fact, they can be brought against nurses, dentists, osteopaths, chiropractors, and virtually any other health care provider. In order to establish medical malpractice, the plaintiff must show that the health care provider failed to follow the standard of care that another health care provider in the same specialty would have followed under the same or similar circumstances.

Falls in Maryland Hospitals

Published on: November 2, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

Making sure patients are safe is the responsibility of any health care provider. Unfortunately, each year, many patients in Maryland and throughout the United States are injured in falls that could have been prevented. These falls can seriously injure patients and interfere with their ability to make a full recovery. In fact, the fall can create entirely new medical problems for the patients. If you or someone close to you has been hurt in a fall in a hospital setting, it is important to seek the help and guidance of a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice attorney.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, up to 40 percent of all hospital accidents are falls that could have been prevented. A report by the New England Journal of Internal Medicine highlighted that between 2.3 and seven falls happen for every 1,000 patients in hospitals. In Maryland, hospitals are required to report serious ‘adverse events’ to the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality. Level 1 adverse events are the most serious category of adverse events. The most frequently reported adverse event for 2009 was falls, comprising 52 of the Level 1 adverse events. Fourteen of these falls resulted in death.

Physician Communication Errors in Maryland

Published on: October 25, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

When you go to see a doctor or any other health care provider, you expect competent care. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that medical errors, including communication errors, take place all the time. In some cases, these errors leave the patient’s condition untreated, while in other cases, they make the patient’s condition worse. If a medical professional has injured you or someone you love due to a communication failure, you may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim.

Unfortunately, communication errors are a common form of medical malpractice. One report, entitled “Malpractice Risks in Communication Failures,” found that communication failures in the health care setting could be linked to many deaths each year. In fact, nearly 2,000 patient deaths and $1.7 billion in malpractice costs could have been avoided if there had been better communication between medical professionals and patients.