Medical Malpractice | InjuryBoard Northern Virginia

On Tuesday, February 5, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that a mother who was unhappy with how her baby's circumcision looked cannot sue a hospital in Fridley, Minnesota for medical malpractice.Unity Hospital and Dr. Steven Berestka were sued by Dawn Nelson who claimed that Berestka removed "the most erogenous tissue" after the boy's birth on January 1, 2000 without consulting either...

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A medical malpractice complaint has been filed against Maryland's Union Memorial Hospital and two doctors there by the family of a woman who was treated at the hospital after a 2006 head-on crash who eventually died.According to the claim, which was delivered to a Maryland arbitration board, the Nicole Smith's death was the result of a blood clot traveling from her broken leg to her lungs due to...

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In a $10 million medical malpractice case, the parties were unable to reach a settlement due to the opposition of the U.S. Attorney's Office to the demand of the plaintiff, Florencia Lewis.According to the opposition filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikel Schwab, the plaintiff was under the misconception that, in addition to the willingness of the federal government to pay $339,900, the United...

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A big difference to hospitals and patients could be made by a slight change in the wording of the malpractice reform law of the state of Georgia.Georgia Watch, a consumer advocacy group, is making a push for an amendment which would make it easier for patients who believe they have been harmed in the emergency room to file suit against hospitals.During the 2007 Georgia General Assembly, Senate...

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On Friday, January 11, a medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), by the family of Anne Ryan, a college sophomore who died from meningitis at the hospital on September 9. The family is alleging misdiagnosis and mistreatment by HUP. According to the family's lawyer, Thomas Kline, emergency room doctors at HUP failed to properly diagnose...

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Virginia is a very conservative state for practicing medical malpractice law. The Virginia docs won't testify against another doc, the university based medical school have basically told their docs that they'll get fired if they even try to help a patient and we have one of the worst malpractice cap laws in the country.And they just want to make it harder....Here's the text of a bill introduced...

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The United States has agreed to pay $750,000 as a settlement for a medical malpractice suit filed by the family of a woman from Florida who died after undergoing eight surgical procedures in a little over a month at Jacksonville Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida in 2005. Justice Department attorneys and relatives of Betty Jean Plato informed their court-appointed mediator on Wednesday,...

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It has been discovered that another doctor has been committing medical malpractice by reusing syringes to administer injections to patients. Last fall Dr. Jacob Simhaee, an obstetrician-gynecologist reused syringes while administering flu shots to at least 36 patients.Simhaee is not the first doctor to commit such an act of medical malpractice. Late in 2007, it was discovered that Dr. Harvey...

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We are thankful and pleased to report a verdict for one of our medical malpractice clients in Fairfax, Virginia, yesterday.The case involved a 3 year delay in diagnosing rectal cancer. During this time the defendant ignored signs of rectal bleeding, attributing repeated findings and complaints of bleeding to 'hemorrhoids.' As a result of the delay the plaintiff, a 45 year old male, was deprived...

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There is an interesting blog at the New York Times blog today. It really points out what most medical malpractice lawyers see every day. Tremendous loss compounded by health care providers that 'close ranks' and turn their backs on patients.Not all providers of course, but many. Not deliberate, I am sure, but more of a defense reaction to "what the heck do I do now?" and not having been taught...

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Thanks to Wisconsin medical malpractice attorney Mike End for emailing me to point out that Indiana has a medical malpractice cap that tops out at $1.25 million dollars.Here's what's really crazy about their cap. A doctor is only responsible for the first $250,000 for any claim and then a state fund kicks in. And the doctor's total annual "cap" is $750,000. So, in Indiana, the MORE malpractice...

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As we have pointed out before, Virginia is the only state in the country that caps total damages in a medical malpractice case. Most states that have enacted some form of tort reform have allowed an injured victim to recover all of their medical bills and lost wages (makes sense, doesn't it) but "capped" or limited recovery for such things as pain and suffering.No cap is a good cap but at least...

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The Supreme Court of Virginia recently decided King v. Cooley, a medical malpractice case. The decision turned on whether certain evidence should have been admitted. Overlooked so far is the fact that this case shows exactly how Virginia's medical malpractice cap punishes the most severely injured.Tamatha Cooley alleged that Dr. Bradford King of Surgical Associates of Fredericks burg was guilty...

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Every once in a while I think that Virginia couldn't be a worse place to be hurt or killed by a doctor and then I read stories like this.Seems that German doctors removed the top of a man's skull for an operation. They put it in the refrigerator during the operation but the fridge wasn't working, so the skull deteriorated and could not be replaced. The German court, reasoning that his new...

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The L.A. Times is reporting that three physicians in Orange County, California have been arrested for doing unnecessary surgery. This isn't like the other California horror described in Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry (where unsuspecting victims were subjected to unnecessary heart surgery.)No, these "patients" were allegedly recruited to be patients! Apparently 17 have been arrested...

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