Misdiagnosis versus Failure to Diagnose

While you might not think it makes much difference whether your doctor misdiagnoses you or fails to diagnose you, there is a distinction in law. Speak to your attorney if you are in a situation like this.

We all look up to doctors and other medical professionals because by virtue of their training, they have the skills and ability to make us feel better – to fix what is wrong. Most doctors, etc., take this responsibility very seriously and follow the "Do no harm," oath of their profession. However, negligence does stalk the halls of many medical facilities, including physician's offices, and the act of acting in error or failing to act, becomes a very serious matter.

In medical malpractice law there are two common oversights we see on a regular basis – the misdiagnosis of a medical condition or the failure to diagnose a certain medical problem. It's a startling fact that roughly 40% of med mal lawsuits in the U.S. are the result of a doctor failing to diagnose someone promptly.

Let's take a quick look at misdiagnosis. This is when a patient is told they have something that they really "don't" have. Needless to say, subsequent treatment may cause any number of complications. The major point here is that the "real" condition is going undiagnosed and untreated. In reality, the patient then has two problems – the misdiagnosis of the real condition and the failure to diagnose the real condition.

If a particular illness is time sensitive, such as a viral heart infection or cancer, it is crucial that the proper treatment be started post haste. Not diagnosing the real condition results in leaving it untreated for far too long, causing the patient serious problems. Treatment given for the wrong thing may exacerbate the problem and/or cause another problem entirely, prescriptions given in error compound the original diagnostic error(s).

On the other end of the continuum, we see cases where doctors totally missed the boat in figuring out what is wrong with a patient, or managed to get it right too late. Again, with some diseases, time is of the essence and if treatment is delayed or not commenced, the consequences could be deadly. The sad thing is that in these cases, what was once possibly treatable then becomes untreatable if left too long.

If you're faced with a suspected failure to diagnose or a misdiagnosis, contact a highly skilled med mal attorney and discuss your legal rights and options.

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.

Know the Risks of Birth Injuries

Giving birth, while exciting and a miracle, is often fraught with some nasty complications. Be aware of your legal rights when dealing with birth injuries.

While many parents don't want to think about the possibility of something happening to their child as it is being born, the truth of the matter is that birth injuries do happen. They may include injuries such as paralysis, brain injury, fetal distress, cerebral palsy, dystocia, breech presentation, and cephalopelvic disproportion. All of these particular injuries may occur as the result of the doctor's negligence.

Is there a way to minimize things like this happening, and if so, what would you be able to do to avoid this happening to you during the birth of your child? The first thing is finding a doctor you are comfortable with and finding out if others have had positive experiences with that physician. This isn’t to say that something may not happen during delivery, but if the doctor has a good track record with other mothers, chances are you are in good hands.

Do your homework on what birth injuries are possible and make a list of questions to ask the doctor. Ask what is done to monitor you and the baby for any possible complications. In general, the most common cause of birth injuries is because the physician isn't properly monitoring mom and baby. If this is discussed prior to the baby's arrival, chances are the doctor will be more aware of his responsibilities.

While there is no need to feel paranoid about giving birth, it honestly doesn't hurt to be as well-informed as you can about things that have the potential to go wrong. Talking to the doctor about those things is also one more step toward understanding what the physician goes through to make sure your baby arrives safely.

If you are in a situation where you are certain a birth injury took place as the result of the negligence of your attending physician, contact a top notch med mal attorney and discuss your case options.

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.

Startling Surgical Errors

Stories about surgical errors abound by way of friends and perhaps reading about some them in the media. These errors seem to be on the rise.

From studies done after surgical events, it appears that most of the errors could have been avoided. Records indicate there are stories of surgery performed on the wrong site, the wrong person and other mistakes. "These errors are a concern to people facing surgery, and for those who may have experienced this," said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. Speaking to a highly skilled medical malpractice lawyer is a must in instances like this.

The surgeon has a high duty of care to the patient they are operating on, and on the other side of the coin, the patient has every right to place their complete faith and trust in the doctor to not do something wrong. However, if something does go wrong, it is the patient's right to consult with an attorney.

"Generally speaking medical malpractice is the failure of a medical professional to use reasonable care to prevent patient injury or illness. And this is a normal thing to expect," explained Mellino. Non-fatal errors of a surgical nature happen relatively often and may cause patients problems they didn't have before surgery, including such things as permanent disabilities or paralysis. It's definitely a cause for concern when one realizes that over 98,000 people die each year because of surgical medical negligence. Medical negligence is a good reason to hire a leading med mal attorney.

Patient consent forms allow surgeons permission to operate, but don't cover what happens if there is an error in surgery. "We don't anticipate there will be surgical errors. We "do" however anticipate that the surgeon is skilled enough to not make mistakes," commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

If faced with what appears to be a med mal situation that may have been caused by a failure to take a proper medical history, to note all drug allergies, inattentiveness, bad handwriting on patient charts, and poor pre-operative planning, contact an experience med mal attorney to discuss the possibility of filing a medical negligence lawsuit.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Cerebral Palsy Malpractice

While most people tend to think of medical malpractice as something a doctor does to cause someone a physical injury, med mal may also mean causing pain and suffering in instances such as cerebral palsy.

"Medical malpractice, or call it medical negligence, may also be the result of human mistakes; mistakes with the potential to end up with tragic consequences such as cerebral palsy," said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. This kind of medical error/mistake may cost a child and their family permanent pain and suffering, as cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that is not curable.

In most cerebral palsy medical malpractice lawsuits, the damages may cover a wide range of areas from emotional and physical to monetary awards, or in other words, non-monetary and monetary damages. The toughest thing for the families to endure are the costs associated with cerebral palsy med mal that include physical therapy, surgery, special equipment, drugs, etc. "It's not uncommon to hear of horrendously high bills when caring for a cerebral palsy patient," indicated Mellino.

If the cerebral palsy was the result of negligence on the part of a doctor or other medical provider who did not follow the required standard of accepted medical care during a pregnancy, the delivery or very soon after labor and the birth, the victim and their family have every right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

"In any case where a person feels they have been the victim of medical malpractice, the first thing then need to do is speak with a highly skilled med mal attorney who is intimately familiar with these types of cases," explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. Lawyers with a proven track record in these situations have more than a passing familiarity with legal jargon and know precisely how to evaluate these cases.

If the attorney feels there is a strong enough case, a medical malpractice lawsuit will be filed. "Parents of a child suffering from cerebral palsy may claim damages for things such as – the pain and suffering of the child (and family), medical bills, child care, cost of future care, and loss of future earning capacity," added Mellino.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

The Tragedy of Birth Injury

When something is wrong with a newborn, the first thing that comes to mind is birth injury malpractice.

"Birth injury malpractice is not to be confused with birth defects, as these are two different things," explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio. A defect is usually something that happened before pregnancy or during gestation, causing something to go drastically wrong with the baby's health and normal development.

A birth injury refers to something that happened during delivery – say shoulder dystocia – which was a direct result of a botched delivery. These things should never have happened in the first place.

"Most birth injuries are due to a fault of the physician (or other medical staff) who were working as a team to deliver the baby," said Mellino. If something does go wrong and the personnel provide less than sterling care and skilled medical intervention, the conditions are ripe for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

"When dealing with a birth injury malpractice lawsuit, there are usually four elements that need to be present in order to proceed: proximate cause, injury, breach of duty, and the fact that a duty of care was owed to the patient," outlined Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

To show duty of care, the attorney needs to prove the doctor owed the patient a duty to provide reasonable care. "The breach of care aspect is relatively self-explanatory, in that it means the physician didn't provide the professional/reasonable care anticipated and expected," added Mellino.

These two elements must result in an injury or death to show there was medical malpractice. This leads us to proximate cause, which means that without the negligent act, the injury would never have occurred. Or, to put this another way, the harm would not have happened if the doctor had not made a mistake.

If someone has suffered the trauma of birth injuries, the best thing to do is to contact an experienced and highly knowledgeable birth injury lawyer. The attorney will assess the case and advise how to proceed to justice.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Traumatic Brain Injury May Progress to Vegetative Coma

With the rising car crash statistics across the nation, it's no small wonder the numbers of traumatic brain injuries are also on the increase. Traumatic brain injury patients are at higher risk to slip into a vegetative coma.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are also called contrecoup brain injuries that, in a nutshell, means "A specific area of brain injury located directly opposite to the site of impact to the head that results from linear violent collisions of the brain with the skull." While many TBIs appear to be just fine after their accident (e.g. Natasha Richardson), they rapidly develop a variety of symptoms that may include headache, nausea, dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, and problems concentrating.

While a TBI may be classified as mild to severe, even a mild form of TBI may have life altering and long-term consequences. Mild brain injuries usually wind up with the patient either briefly losing consciousness or not, and then feeling dazed and confused later. Moderate brain injuries may last for mere minutes or hours, with the resulting confusion hanging on for weeks or months. The length of time for cognitive impairment may range from months to permanently.

A diagnosis of severe TBI has the potential to last months to years with the patient being unconscious the whole period of time. In these particular cases, the patient runs a very high risk of slipping into what is called a "vegetative state" or "locked in" syndrome. In most instances such as this, impairment, even if there is recovery, is permanent.

TBI cases are touch and go and leave doctors without many options to handle this kind of injury. Treatment mainly consists of stabilizing the patient to prevent further injury and making sure the brain is properly oxygenated, keeping consistent blood flow and controlling the fluctuating blood pressure.

Depending on the cause of the accident that resulted in a TBI, the patient or a representative on behalf of the patient, may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you or a loved one faces something like this, speak to a highly skilled medical malpractice lawyer to obtain compensation.

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.

Are You Awake?

If you've ever had a medical test done at a hospital under something called "conscious sedation," be aware this has the potential to be a highly risky procedure.

These days the use of conscious sedation is on the increase in outpatient centers, clinics and hospitals. This isn't to say that the increasing rate is necessarily a bad thing, but you should be aware that there are serious risks associated with conscious sedation.

Many times this procedure is performed without any anesthesia personnel present during the administration of the drugs, during the actual test or while the patient is recovering. Anesthesia personnel include an anesthesiologist or a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA); people who assess and/or give sedation drugs. For the most part, the reason for not using anesthesia personnel is strictly a cost saving measure. It is not for patient safety.

While this might not bother the person who is undergoing the procedure, they really need to know that the drugs that are used for sedation are respiratory depressants. Where the danger arises during this type of protocol is problems assessing a patient's physical status classification – as in how well they will tolerate anesthesia, especially if they have other health issues.

Other areas that cause concern are the dose levels of the sedation drugs and being aware of, recognizing and responding when a patient is in trouble or has slipped over the edge into a deep sedation. Personnel on deck during the procedure (who must be Advanced Cardiac Life Support or “ACLS” trained and certified) need to be able to immediately reverse the drugs, rescue a deeply sedated patient or be able to resuscitate someone who goes into cardiac arrest. The ACLS training is supposed to be updated every year; however this is not always the case.

Although conscious sedation is supposed to help patients deal with the pain and/or anxiety of certain not so pleasant tests, this "twilight sleep" has the potential to do them more harm than good. In fact, these days, the drugs to induce this kind of "sleep" are even more potent than before and are usually short acting compounds. Being more potent means the patient slips "under" much more quickly than ever.

If you or a loved one has had a brush with danger during the use of conscious sedation, and has suffered lingering side effects, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney and discuss your potential 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.