Baltimore Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Bedrail Injuries in Maryland Hospitals

Published on: January 24, 2017 | by Arfaa Law Group

Although bedrails are designed to improve safety, they are often the cause of injuries. If you have been injured in a hospital bed, we may be able to help. At Arfaa Law Group, our skilled Baltimore hospital negligence attorneys can advocate for your rights at every step of the way. You can trust that we will make every effort to get you the compensation you deserve in your case.

Bedrails are plastic or metal rails that run along the side of a bed to prevent people from accidentally falling. Unfortunately, bedrail injuries and deaths are more common than you think. Deaths and injuries often occur when the patient becomes stuck in the rails, mainly with his or her head or neck getting caught.

The Food and Drug Administration reports that since 1985, nearly 1,000 elderly care patients have been caught, trapped, or entangled in the bedrails of their hospital beds. This includes over 500 bedrail injuries that ultimately ended in death. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has also reported about 160 incidents of bedrail injuries, including 155 deaths between 2003 and 2012.

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.

Dental Malpractice in Maryland

Published on: December 6, 2016 | by Arfaa Law Group

Dentists, just like other medical professionals, must provide their patients with competent care. The sad reality is that this does not always happen. If you or a loved one has been hurt due to a dental error, you may be entitled to compensation.

Many different types of dental health care providers can be liable for malpractice, including a general dentist, an oral surgeon, an orthodontist, or even a dental hygienist. Dental malpractice typically involves an injury to a person’s mouth, jaw, or head. Some example of serious dental injuries include:

Gum infections;
Root canal errors;
Nerve injuries to the jaw, lips, or tongue;
Wisdom tooth extraction injuries;
Facial deformities;
Crown and bridges errors;
TMJ damage;
Oral cancer; or
Crown errors.

Dental malpractice, like other forms of medical malpractice, takes place when a dental health care provider is negligent. A dental professional isn’t considered negligent simply because the desired outcome was not achieved. Instead, a dental malpractice claim requires establishing the following elements. The dental professional owed the patient a duty to adhere to a certain standard of care, the dental professional breached that duty by deviating from the acceptable standard of care (i.e., the dental provider failed to act as a reasonable and prudent dental provider would have acted under the same or similar circumstances), and the dental professional’s deviation from the standard of care was a direct cause of the patient’s injury.

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.