After a two week medical malpractice trial, a Texas jury has ruled in favor of the family of Stacy Meaux, who died after doctors and nurses at Christus Hospital St. Mary misdiagnosed her heart attack.  They awarded the plaintiffs $1.4 million for their loss.

Ms. Meaux reportedly went to the hospital emergency room because she was experiencing chest pains, tightness and discomfort.  After being seen by several triage nurses and Dr. Michael Peterson, she was told that she was in no immediate danger.  She was prescribed the drug Captopril, used to treat hypertension and heart failure, given a breathing treatment and discharged.

The following day, Meaux suffered a heart attack and died.

Court documents state that two EKG’s were performed on Meaux when she was in the ER, one of which was abnormal and her family claims should have raised a red flag to doctors about her risk level.  Additionally, the family claims that hospital staff failed to take into account other obvious risk factors for Meaux, such as her age and weight and the fact that she was a smoker and suffered from diabetes.

Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a heart attack is perhaps one of the most deadly forms of medical malpractice because it is almost always fatal to the patient.  The most common things that medical attorneys see when they are working with this type of case typically involve doctors or medical staff:

• Prematurely discharging a patient with chest pain
• Improperly interpreting EKG results
• Prescribing medication without first determining the effect it will have on the patient’s cardiovascular system

Sadly, all three of these things were present in the case of Ms. Meaux, and the results were devastating to her family.  If your loved one suffered a heart attack that you feel may have been misdiagnosed by a doctor, you may be entitled to compensation.  Contact a medical attorney to discuss your case.

A young woman who nearly died after she underwent a botched abortion at the Metropolitan Medical Associates Englewood Center for Women in New Jersey will receive a settlement of $1.9 million for her damages.

Rasheedah Dinkins went to the clinic, which is the largest in NJ, to have a second trimester abortion, during which she began to hemorrhage.  Instead of being referred to nearby Englewood Hospital to be assessed and treated for her excessive bleeding, she was sent home.

Shortly after going home, Dinkins became sluggish and began having trouble walking and talking.  After passing out, she was rushed to Beth Israel Medical center by ambulance where it was discovered that she had a ruptured uterus.  The subsequent blood loss led to a stroke, a collapsed lung, a tracheotomy and she ended up in a coma for three weeks.

Dinkins’ case caused hospital workers to be concerned and they filed a complaint with the state which led to an investigation of the abortion clinic.  Officials were shocked to find dirty and rusty instruments, and filthy conditions, including a pile of dark red “dirt and debris” beneath an examining table that was a quarter-inch thick.  The result was a mandatory shut down of the clinic for a month.

But the problems didn’t end there.  Once Dinkins’ lawsuit became public, two more women came forward with complaints of medical malpractice at the clinic.

Gloria Mozas is suing the medical center for misdiagnosing her heterotopic pregnancy in 2003.  Mozas claims she was told she wasn’t even pregnant, but needed to undergo a D&C procedure to remove dead tissue from a previous failed pregnancy.  She later found out that the procedure killed her live fetus, and she was ultimately forced to undergo emergency surgery at a different hospital to save her life after her tubal pregnancy ruptured.

Christina Ruvolo’s medical malpractice lawsuit against Englewood Center alleges that she suffered severe complications due to an incomplete abortion she received.

As for Dinkins, she is still dealing with the aftermath of the ordeal she suffered at the hands of the negligent doctors at Englewood.  She says that had she known the truth about the clinic, she would have made a different choice.

The other two lawsuits against Englewood Center are still pending.

Flu season is upon us and is in full force.  Couple that with this year’s H1N1 scare, or swine flu, and you’ve got a lot of concerned people.  Given the dangerous nature of this illness, when it is misdiagnosed, the doctor may find himself facing a medical malpractice claim.

One of the quickest ways for doctors to determine whether a patient has the flu, and if it’s the dreaded H1N1 strain is to perform what’s known as the “rapid flu test”.  Typically this is done with a swab in the mouth or nose.  This is the type of test that was performed on 9 year old Hayli Murphy in Florida, and unfortunately for her, it was misdiagnosed as negative, when in fact she was suffering from H1N1.

In fact, two rapid flu tests performed on Hayli were misdiagnosed, so her swine flu went undetected and worsened to the point that she ended up in the hospital where she spent 43 days in intensive care.

An expert on pandemic influenza has stated that rapid flu test misdiagnoses are not uncommon given the fact that, although they are fast and inexpensive, they are also somewhat unreliable.  In fact, studies have shown these types of tests can produce inaccurate results up to 50% of the time.

The problem is, with a bad case of the flu, particularly the H1N1 strain, time is of the essence.  When not properly diagnosed, the patient can end up hospitalized and in some cases even die.

There are some things you can do to help prevent a misdiagnosis of the flu.  The Center for Disease Control has released a list of warning signs to watch for:

For Adults:

• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Difficulty breathing
• Dizziness
• Persistent vomiting
• Confusion

For Children:

• Fever accompanied by rash
• Flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with cough or fever
• Difficulty breathing
• Not waking or interacting
• Irritability to the point of not wanting to be held
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Bluish skin color

Anyone exhibiting these types of symptoms should seek treatment immediately.  And if the rapid flu test is used and produces a negative result, go with your gut.  Don’t be afraid to ask for a second test, and an actual lab one.  It may take longer for the results to come back but getting a correct diagnosis could mean the difference between life and death.

In a rare move, a Florida judge decided to throw out a jury’s verdict and grant Lisa Strong a new trial in her medical malpractice claim.  He felt the evidence was overwhelming in the case where a kidney stone was misdiagnosed causing a life threatening infection that resulted in amputation of all four of Strong’s limbs.

In September of 2003, Strong was at work when she started feeling ill.  She decided to go to the ER when her fever hit 106 degrees and she was having trouble walking.

Strong immediately informed the nurse treating her that she’d had a history of kidney stones and felt that she was experiencing another one.  But her concerns were ignored, and so was her kidney stone.  Left untreated for a month, the stone led to a deadly infection and septic shock which cut off the blood flow to her arms and legs.

When the infection first started to set in, Strong thought if she exercised she could get the circulation to her limbs back.  She was gravely mistaken.  A month after her first ER visit, doctors were forced to amputate all four of her limbs to save her life.

Ms. Strong sued the doctors for negligence but the jury ruled against her.  Judge Charles M. Greene disagreed, however, and reversed the jury’s decision.  He stated that the verdict was “contrary to the law and the manifest weight of the evidence”.

It’s extremely rare that a judge reverse a jury’s verdict.  In fact, it happens in less than a half a percent of cases.  Judge Greene clearly saw the impact that the misdiagnosis and other medical mistakes had on Ms. Strong’s life and felt it warranted justice.

Learn more about Lisa’s story at www.lisastrong.org.

The family of Heather Sloan, a 29 year old woman who died after doctors failed to diagnose a twist in her intestines, has agreed to settle their wrongful death lawsuit in the amount of $3 million.
In March 2007, the young mother of three went to the Chester Hospital in South Carolina complaining of severe abdominal pain.  The medical staff, informed of the fact that Ms. Sloan had previously undergone gastric bypass surgery, ordered a CT scan of her abdomin and pelvis.  Unfortunately, the results of that test were misread and the problem was subsequently misdiagnosed as constipation.
Sloan was sent home, but the pain continued forcing her to return to the ER two more times.  Doctors finally chose to operate on her, and it was only then that they discovered that Sloan’s intestines were twisted and had cut off the blood supply to her bowels.  By the time the true diagnosis was discovered, it was too late.  Heather died just hours after surgery.
Her family claim that the misread CT scan coupled with a lack of communication among the doctors resulted in wrongful death that could have been prevented had the medical malpractice not occurred.
The doctors decided to settle in the amount of $3 million just days before the trial was set to begin.

A medical negligence lawsuit was filed last week by Molly Millsop and her parents against Ohio University, where Millsop attended for journalism.  The suit claims that doctors at the university’s Hudson Health Center failed to diagnose and treat a dangerous infection, ultimately leading to the amputation of her right arm and shoulder.

According to the lawsuit, Millsop sought medical treatment at Hudson in September 2007, where she was examined twice and ultimately diagnosed with a simple sore throat, muscle strain and a case of anxiety.

They were terribly wrong.  What Millsop was actually suffering from was a rare bacterial infection called necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating bacteria.

Initially, Molly went to the medical center complaining of nausea and dizziness.  She also mentioned a pain in her right arm.  The lawsuit claims that doctors dismissed Millsop, giving her anti-nausea medication and sending her home.

Later that same day, after the pain had increased to the point where Molly could barely walk, she returned to the medical center.  That time she was diagnosed with anxiety and made to breath into a paper bag.

Her parents then became involved, and took her to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, where she was finally properly diagnosed and airlifted to another facility for the amputation to save her life.

The lawsuit claims that had Millsop been properly diagnosed when she had initially sought treatment, she would most likely have been able to avoid the amputation or at least saved part of her arm.  They are seeking damages caused by emotional pain, physical pain, future lost earnings and a lessened ability to enjoy life.

Just as in any medical setting, dental practices are held to a certain standard of care for their patients.  Unfortunately, sometimes that standard of care is not adhered to, and the result is dental malpractice.

Negligence and poor quality of care performed by a dentist or a dental professional is defined as dental malpractice, and can have devastating results to its victims.

Some of the more common types of dental malpractice include:

• Misdiagnosis of oral disease or malformation
• Failure to diagnose oral disease or malformation
• Use of defective dental products
• Injury to oral cavity or surrounding bone and tissue
• Improper use of dental or surgical instruments
• Wrongful death

Of course, as with any type of malpractice, each case is different and there are countless situations that aren’t listed here.

The bottom line is that you have the right to expect the same standard of care from your dental professional as you do from your medical doctor.  If you have suffered at the hands of a negligent dentist, know your rights.  Consult with a medical lawyer who specializes in dental malpractice right away.