Medical Errors Result in a High Death Toll

Sadly, medical errors that were preventable in the first instance are the reason that thousands of Americans are badly injured or die each year.

This is yet another great debate among trial lawyers, Cleveland malpractice lawyers, and the public in general, over the number of medical errors that were preventable. This subject inevitably comes up when anyone reads a story about medical negligence or is discussing how to reform the medical health system to prevent these errors. Actually, the core of the discussion is medical negligence resulting in medical errors.

It's funny, but most people who wind up talking about this topic usually cut a wide swath around the issue of the inherent negligence, which is the underlying problem and causation of medical errors. Usually when this argument raises its ugly head, people dodge the real issues. When it comes to actually tackling negligence itself, there tends to be a resounding silence unless you have a chance to speak to a Cleveland malpractice lawyer well versed in the nuances of this debate.

Frankly, the only way to make a significant difference in the health care system today is to deal with the negligence that causes medical errors. If medical errors were reduced, many of the other companion problems would be addressed. This isn't to say they would be one hundred percent resolved, but it would be a good start. Here is the real truth – if medical errors were decreased, the costs of health care would go down, medical malpractice insurance premiums would be scaled down and patients would remain healthy and safe. This is an opinion shared by many Cleveland malpractice lawyers.

If you seriously don't think medical errors are that much of a problem, consider the fact that they cost the system close to $29 billion dollars a year. Yes, billion. A staggering number that is highly preventable if someone takes the bull by the horns about avoiding negligence and does something about it.

If you need further convincing, then do some research on the extent of medical errors as outlined by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Their numbers estimate 15 million people are medically harmed every year. Don't stop there, ask a highly skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer what the real scoop is and be prepared for an honest and in-depth answer.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg that sank the Titanic. The unaddressed negligence issue will founder the medical care system if left unchecked. And yet, many Americans today remain unaware of the problem, and how all encompassing it appears to be. This is really quite odd when you consider that one in three people has personally experienced a medical error and one in five were seriously harmed or died. What is even more interesting is that the public generally estimates death by medical error to be about 5,000 yearly, and not numbers running into the millions.

The odd twist to this debate is that while Americans think medical malpractice negligence suits are rampant, the reverse is really the truth. The problem is preventable medical errors causing serious harm and taking lives.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Myths About Justice

There are quite a few myths about justice that many Americans don't seem to be aware of, likely due to the fact that even the media gets it wrong.

Haven't we all heard this one before: "Of course the number of lawsuits, including medical malpractice suits, being filed is just staggering." Well, guess what? This is definitely not the case and hasn't been true since at least 1985. "Just to throw around a few statistics here, consider this: personal injury cases dropped 79 percent between 1985 and 2003. This is the most interesting thing though - that in 1985 there were 3,600 trials floating around in US District Courts. By 2003 the number had plummeted to a modest 800 or so," indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

While some might think these are old and out-of-date figures, the trend of fewer personal injury lawsuits continues, not only nationally, but at the state level. Sure, we all read about cases in the paper, but they are nowhere near as prevalent as the media makes them out to be. The ones that get reported are the big cases, and they are by no means representational of the number of cases actually tried per year.

Another prevalent myth that seems to make the rounds on what appears to be a daily basis, is that rising health care costs are making it insurmountable for doctors to practice because of all the lawsuits. "It's true that the costs of health care are rising every year, the medical bills alone certainly prove that, but medical malpractice lawsuits don't have anything to do with the cost of health care," commented Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

The truth of the matter is that med mal suits are roughly less than 2 percent of the total health care spending. In other words, call this a drop in the bucket. So rather than doctors dropping like flies because they are being picked off by med mal suits, the numbers of physicians is actually rising – a reassuring fact to say the least.

Everyone has heard about, or perhaps participated in a situation where a small business owner was driven out of his or her livelihood by a lawsuit, so to address this issue, legal reform is well past due. "This is not accurate either and lawsuits rank dead last as a concern for small business owners," said Mellino. What really appears to be happening is that the larger concerns are trying to upset the legal apple cart to avoid being held culpable for malfeasance and neglect.

This last myth is rather counter intuitive if anyone bothers to dig past the initial impression the words create – that trial lawyers are driving corporations out of business. "That couldn't be further from the truth. Justice is for everyone and wrongdoers need to be held accountable for their deeds, whether they're a large corporation or not," added Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

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Insurance Company Tactics Really Bite

Many people who run across an insurance company that deals in bad faith and other tactics, wishes they'd never had to deal with the company in the first place.

It's depressing, to say the least, to think that the insurance industry, one of the biggest money makers in the US with profits over $30 billion a year, have been known to stoop to engage in dishonest tactics and a flagrant lack of ethics to inflate their profits.

Given the tough economic times America faces currently, it's not too much of a stretch of the imagination that those same insurance companies will jack up their rates even more and deny more claims. While this might be called a defensive position to support their bottom line, it certainly plays havoc with the industry as a whole. "Not only that, it seriously hampers consumers who ultimately suffer the consequences of denied insurance despite paying their contractual obligations monthly – meaning premiums," commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer.

People might once have thought that the big name insurance company we all thought was the salt of the earth and had earned our family's trust was above reproach. Nowadays people are finding out that the family friend has turned into Uncle Scrooge overnight and is not only denying reasonable claims for strange reasons, but is delaying payments, burying customers in insurance legal jargon and even refusing people retroactively who file claims. One might well ask, "What is wrong with this picture?"

"As horrendous as it may seem, there is evidence that those once friendly companies have gone out of their way to deny claims by actually offering rewards to employees who were successful in turning down claims, added Mellino. Workers who would not engage in that kind of behavior were fired. If denying claims didn't work, some of these companies were not above perpetrating fraud to not pay claims.

While denying claims is bad enough, get ready for the worst stunt in the book - delaying claims until death. This has been done in instances by long-term care insurers whose rationale is simply this: if they don't pay a claim they make money. Some of them have waited until an aged policyholder died to avoid paying. "This behavior is just the tip of the iceberg in an industry that is now also using credit reports to decide who gets insurance or not and how much they will pay," said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer. Brings to mind another good question: "When will it end?"

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Tragic Wrongful Death

Not only does a wrongful death devastate a family, but also it may dramatically affect their financial survival.

The pain of losing a loved one suddenly due to the possible negligence of someone else is heart rending. At times like this, the family is not only coping with the wrongful death, but also wondering how they are going to be able to make ends meet. "Financial security becomes a very real concern for those left behind," indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

Although it is incredibly painful to function after the loss of a loved one, someone must take the first step forward and contact a highly skilled and compassionate wrongful death attorney for advice and guidance. This needs to be done as soon as possible, partially because of the statute of limitations and partly because filing a wrongful death lawsuit quickly, while the details are sharp and clear, makes the most sense.

"Never assume that just because the death may have been an unintended accident that something cannot be done to obtain compensation for the resulting death," indicated Mellino. Even if the idea of filing a lawsuit seems foreign, and not likely to happen, contact an attorney and find out how a wrongful death lawsuit is handled and what it may mean in terms of financial compensation.

"Wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases, not criminal cases, and usually deal with emotional pain and material loss, not the question of guilt," added Mellino. In these kinds of circumstances, it must be proven that another person or a company caused the death of an individual due to negligence. The person filing the wrongful death claim must also be a legitimate dependent or surviving member of the deceased, and the damages received are to financially assist the surviving family.

Be aware that each state has its own wrongful death statute and it is best to ask the wrongful death attorney what is applicable in the case being discussed. One such first rate wrongful death attorney is Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

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The Problem with Defective Car Seats

Having the proper safety harness and infant car seat is crucial in the event of a car crash.

It is vitally important to have the correct type of car seat and harness for a baby when traveling anywhere in a vehicle. Actually, it is not only important to have the right car seats and harness for your child, it is the law. "The seat needs to be installed in the rear seat of a vehicle and for an infant, it must be rear facing," explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.

Unfortunately, these days it seems there are a fair number of car seats tagged for a manufacturer's recall. While the maker may send out an additional part for a seat that is already installed, it makes one wonder just how safe it is to be adding extra parts that weren't there in the first place. It may somehow affect the integrity of the whole unit. Other manufacturers will choose to send a whole new car seat as a replacement.

If anxiety had a name, it would be called the child car seat. Installing it according to the proper safety instructions is often a task for a mechanic, not a mom or dad. "Cutting corners when installing it is not an option and having the installation checked by someone in the know is crucial. If any part of that seat happens to be defective, the consequences may be severe injuries or death," added Mellino.

"When on the hunt for an approved child car seat, avoid car seats made before 1981 and seats that do not have a label on them clearly stating the date they were manufactured and the model number," said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.

Never buy second hand child car seats and do not simply glue a part back on that comes off. Any child car seat that is falling apart has the potential to be dangerous. Take the time to invest in a replacement.

Typically if someone is dealing with a situation where they had problems with a child car seat, it was due to defective handles, weak construction, sudden and unexpected releases and unanticipated rotation. This is possibly due to the manufacturer's negligence, and any situations like this need to be discussed with a dangerous products attorney. One such top-notch attorney is Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.

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Lipitor the Cholesterol Buster

Touted as a new cholesterol buster, Lipitor was said to have very few side effects. That turned out not to be true.

Atorvastatin seemed to be a dream drug, the answer to those who were diagnosed with high cholesterol levels. Pfizer marketed this drug like there was no tomorrow and made it a point to mention that Lipitor had very few side effects.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and many people across the nation found themselves talking to a dangerous drug attorney to assess their case. Lipitor is in a class of drugs called statins whose major function is to lower cholesterol.

Pfizer has a history of bringing out blockbuster drugs and you might recognize some of them because they are so popular: Viagra, Diflucan, Zithromax, Celebrex and Zoloft. They are also noted for the groundbreaking drug, Aricept, used to treat Alzheimer's patients.

Lipitor/atorvastatin turned into a virtual success overnight, raking up sales of close to $12.9 billion in 2006 when it was first released on the market. From then on, sales have continued to soar and return healthy revenue to Pfizer.

Then, one day the roof fell in, and Lipitor patients were reporting rhabdomyolysis and severe liver damage. Lipitor sales plummeted to about $6 billion for the first quarter of 2007 compared to $6.2 billion in the same quarter in 2006.

Despite the damaging reports from Lipitor patients, statins are still in high demand, as more than 52 million people suffer from high cholesterol. Roughly one-third that number seeks treatment for it. The sales potential for this drug is virtually unlimited. The patent on Lipitor is good until 2010 even though the drug company wanted an extension until 2011.

Things were going well until the Food and Drug Administration started getting reports that people were dying from liver damage, heart problems and severe muscle deterioration as a result of taking Lipitor. It turns out that Lipitor's side effects may be numerous, including diarrhea, muscle pain, headache, joint pain, memory loss, severe liver problems, and non-functioning muscle fibers (rhabdomyolysis).

Non-functioning muscle fibers means muscle breakdown, with the muscle cells purging their contents into the blood stream. This winds up in the liver and causes severe damage or death. This drug inhibits an enzyme needed to make cholesterol in the liver. It also blocks the manufacture of CoQ10 that benefits the heart.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the Division of Public Health Sciences found Lipitor to be one of the most dangerous drugs on the market. In fact, it ranked it as the eighth most dangerous drug with over 6,000 adverse events. That's pretty hard to ignore.

If you have experienced Lipitor side effects, contact a highly skilled dangerous drug attorney and discuss your situation. Knowing your rights will help you decide whether or not to file a dangerous drug lawsuit.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Appendix Removal Potential Medical Malpractice

Who really has an appendix left these days? It seems like most of us had them out when we were kids and could still eat a bowl of ice cream as a reward.

Appendicitis, the end result of an inflamed and diseased appendix, is referred to as a surgical disease, as it usually requires the removal of the organ from the body. Often it becomes irritated and enlarged and at that point becomes what doctors classify as a medical emergency. Removal of this organ is considered an emergency because if it bursts and spills out toxic contents into the system, the problem becomes even worse, if not life threatening.

The interesting thing about the appendix is that no matter what stage the appendicitis is at, surgeons still recommend its removal as soon as possible. Most of these operations are safe and go as planned; however, there is the possibility of developing post-operative complications thanks to surgical malpractice. In some instances, there have even been cases cited where a patient had an unnecessary appendectomy of a healthy appendix.

The more advanced the infection of this organ, the more difficult and risky the surgery. In these cases, patients have been known to develop either an abscess or sepsis after surgery. Sepsis is a dangerous condition that presents as a whole-body inflammatory state, also called a systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

These possible complications of performing surgery if an appendix is too diseased, is usually one of the things that prompts physicians to operate early and avoid the problem of advanced appendicitis. This isn't to say that all cases of appendicitis are correctly diagnosed in the first place, as it tends to mimic many other illnesses and is thus hard to correctly diagnose. There are also cases of appendicitis patients who have no symptoms and no one knows that until the disease is seriously advanced.

Unfortunately there are still no reliable medical tests these days that are totally accurate in diagnosing appendicitis, and for this reason, if the surgeon suspects a diseased appendix; their first instinct is to remove it before problems develop. Yes, it's a risk to remove a healthy organ, however given the alternatives most surgeons would err on the side of caution.

Removing an appendix in young children is another proposition altogether and surgical statistics indicate at least 9% of children who have an appendectomy had a healthy appendix. One of the reasons children's appendixes tend to be healthy when removed is due to the fact that it’s a lot more difficult to diagnose appendicitis in kids.

If you feel you are the victim of medical malpractice, contact a highly qualified medical malpractice attorney and discuss your case. The attorney will be able to explain your rights and assess your case.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.