Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

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According to a recent medical malpractice lawsuit, two year old Malyia Jeffers was brought to the emergency room by her parents, Ryan Jeffers and Leah Yang, in November with a constant fever, skin discoloration, and weakness. The malpractice lawsuit claims that her parents begged for attentions from doctors and nurses as Malyia’s condition worsened. After five hours, Malyia was seen by a doctor and was flown to Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for lifesaving care. Doctors at that facility discovered that Streptococcus A had reached Malyia’s blood and organs and as a result her feet, her left hand and part of right hand had to be amputated.

The doctors at Stanford said that Malyia’s condition could have been related to genetics and they are unsure whether quickness would have saved her limbs. Court documents provide details of the settlement in which emergency room has agreed to pay $9 million and the other $1 million will be paid by the Emergency Physicians Medical Group. The money will be used to repay expenses already paid by the state’s health care plan and for attorney fees. The rest of the money will be used for a “special needs trust” for the girl’s needs.
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In Tennessee and all across the country, our loved ones sometimes need more care than we can provide for them. This usually means that they have to enter a nursing home. However, when we choose a nursing home for our loved ones we expect that they will be properly cared for. Unfortunately, many nursing home patients can be seriously injured or die due to the nursing home neglect. This may be because many nursing homes are understaffed or improperly trained. Whatever the reason, if you or one of your loved ones has been seriously injured or died as a result of nursing home medical malpractice then you should talk to a Tennessee nursing home and medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to.

According to this case, a jury awarded Dorothy Douglas’ family $11.5 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages after finding the nursing home indirectly responsible for causing the woman’s death. The family claims that Douglas died from complications from dehydration after being transferred to the nursing home three weeks before her death. During the trial, the lawsuit claimed that the nursing home did not have enough staff members and this claim was confirmed by former employees that stated because of the poor working conditions, they could not properly care for patients.

The lawyers for the nursing home are claiming that the $11.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages should be reduced according to the state’s medical malpractice law. In 2003, the state amended the law to place a cap of $500,000 plus inflationary adjustments, on non-economic damages for medical negligence. The Supreme Court ruled that the cap was constitutional. The lawyers for the nursing home also state that the $80 million in compensatory damages far exceeds what the facts justify in the case.

The lawyers for Douglas family claim that the law does not apply to nursing homes and nursing home aides.
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When Tennessee residents and people all over the United States have to decide to place their loved ones in the care of a nursing home, they expect that their loved ones will be treated with respect and receive proper medical care and attention. Unfortunately, however, many nursing homes are understaffed and improperly trained and this leads to infections and serious injuries for the nursing home patients. If you or someone you care about has suffered from a medical condition or injury while in a nursing home, then you should talk to a Tennessee nursing home neglect lawyer right away. They will hear your case and help make sure you get the compensation you need.

According to this lawsuit, attorneys for a fifty-five year old woman claimed that a home care nurse failed to a report a bacterial infection in the woman’s feeding catheter. The woman was being treated for complications from Crohn’s disease and the delay in treatment for the infection led to a near fatal bloodstream infection in October of 2008 resulting in the woman losing portions of both of her legs.

The jury found the nurse and the St. Luke’s Miners Memorial Home Care liable and awarded $23.1 million for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering to the woman. The attorneys for the woman stated that the woman hoped that, “the verdict would result in St Luke’s redoubling its efforts to help prevent such infections during home care.”

St Luke’s spokesman, Ken Szydlow conveyed sympathy for the woman but stated that the jury award was, “excessive” and that the nurse “provided appropriate care and practiced within applicable standards of care.”
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In Tennessee and all across the country when people enter any type of medical facility seeking treatment for an illness or problem, they expect to be feeling better by the time they leave. Unfortunately, however, sometimes careless mistakes are made by physicians and other medical staff that can cause additional injury or even lead to the death of a patient. If you or someone you love has received treatment at a medical facility and then suffered serious injury or even death after receiving the treatment, then you should talk to a Tennessee medical malpractice and wrongful death lawyer right away. They will hear your case and help to make sure you get the compensation you deserve for what you have suffered.

In this case, The New Life Lodge Rehabilitation Center faces its second multimillion dollar lawsuit by a woman whose son died last year two days after entering the facility. The rehabilitation center, New Life, and its former lead doctor, Dr. Jonathan W. Butler are being accused of medical malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death in the death of Patrick Bryant who died on his twentieth birthday.

According to the lawsuit, Penny Lynn Bryant claims that her son Patrick was given medications including Phenobarbital, phenergen and suboxone. He was also prescribed the antihistamine vistaril, despite being allergic to other antihistamines. Bryant cause of death was determined as a hypoxic brain injury; however no autopsy was performed at the family’s request. Also according to the lawsuit, Bryant was not on hourly supervision despite the fact that he had been vomiting, was over-sedated and had labored breathing or was asthmatic. Finally, according to the mother, Penny Lynn Bryant’s claims her son was unresponsive for an estimated four hours before he was found by the New Life staff. According to claims by several patients and their family members over medication is a frequent problem for the rehab center. The New Life rehab center claims that Bryant’s medical records would show no malpractice or negligence but that they could not release the records because of patient confidentiality laws.
Patrick Bryant’s mother, Penny Lynn Bryant is seeking a total of $13 million in compensation and damages.
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According to a recent lawsuit, Lawrence Dixon, 59, died in May of 2007, two days after suffering from a pelvis fracture after a fall. When the lawsuit was first filed it included the Montgomery General Hospital and other medical staff but finally was limited to Dr. David Harding, Dixon’s primary care doctor. The lawsuit claims that Dr. David Harding failed to note Dixon’s internal bleeding during his examination. Dixon’s family who filed the lawsuit claim that if Dr. Harding had noted the internal bleeding that he would have been able to save Dixon’s life and that his failure to diagnose the bleeding led to Dixon dying from multiple organ failure.
The lawsuit also claimed that Dr. Harding should have seen multiple signs that could have made him aware of the problem and one of those signs included that Dixon had failed to produce urine in twenty-four hours. Some of the other signs included a rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, and a loss of lucidity.

The defense for this case claimed that Dixon died due to a medication called kayexalate. It is a thick drink that causes a reduction to potassium levels. They claimed that Dixon drank the shake and it went into his lungs cutting off his oxygen. However, Dr. Harding failed to state this anywhere on Dixon’s death certificate. The jury awarded Dixon’s estate and his wife each $1 million in non-economic damages and also awarded $250,000 to each of Dixon’s children.
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In Tennessee and all across the country, when people go into doctors’ offices or hospitals, they expect to receive the proper medical tests and treatments in order to make them feel better. Unfortunately, sometimes physicians and other medical staff fail to properly test for certain illnesses or conditions and this may lead to serious injuries or even death. If you or someone you care about feel that you have failed to receive proper medical treatment or care while at the doctor or in the hospital, then you should speak with a Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. They will hear your case and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.

According to this lawsuit which claimed that medical professionals at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, failed to test Staff Sergeant Adam Cloer’s wife for rectal cancer despite constant symptoms. Also, according to the lawsuit her cancer spread and even with multiple surgeries she died in May of 2010 at age fifty-three.

Based on information from the lawsuit, Melodee Cloer went into the Ft. Campbell Hospital with symptoms in 2006 complaining of pain, blood in her stool, and constipation. The lawsuit also stated that she went to the hospital several times with symptoms but received a hemorrhoids diagnosis. A bariatric surgeon recommended that the hospital perform a colonoscopy but the hospital failed to follow up on the recommend or perform any rectal cancer screenings.

In 2007, her husband received orders to move to a New Army Installment in Missouri where his wife learned that her cancer had spread. She received chemotherapy and radiation treatment as well as had multiple surgeries to remove some of her organs. Following her death in 2010, Staff Sergeant Cloer filed an amended complaint claiming that the hospital’s negligence when diagnosing and treating his wife’s cancer resulted in her death.

The federal government denied the malpractice claim and claimed that the lawsuit was filed too late under Tennessee’s medical malpractice statues. Both sides agreed to a settlement of $2.15 million before the July trial was set to begin. This settlement is subject to final approval by the U.S. Attorney General.
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When Tennessee residents and people all across the country go to the doctor or the hospital, they expect that the doctors and other medical staff will do everything they can to make sure they are feeling better by the time they leave. Unfortunately, sometimes mistakes and errors are made and this can cause serious injuries and medical problems for many patients. If you or someone you love feels that you have been the victim of medical malpractice while seeing a physician or in the hospital, then you should speak to a Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you receive the compensation you need.

In this case, Erin Webster filed a lawsuit against Lower Bucks Hospital, Dr. Richard Turner and Nurses Megan Blatcher and Laura Tedesco, claiming that the medical staff was negligent when they left a laparotomy sponge inside of her in March of 2004. According to the lawsuit, Webster claims that because of surgical malpractice she suffered from severe abdominal pain, a severe infection, bowel perforation, bowel obstruction as well as digestive problems. The sponge was found two months after the surgery when Webster complained about stomach pain. She had to have additional surgery to remove sixteen itches of her small bowel which still did not eliminate all of her medical problems.

A jury awarded Webster $525,000 and found the hospital as well as Blatcher and Tedesco liable. According to the lawsuit, the two nurses failed to a proper count of medical equipment during and after the procedure. The jury did not find Turner liable. Webster is also seeking an additional quarter million dollars in damages for interest fees since the lawsuit was first filed in 2005.
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This week Governor Haslam signed a bill limiting non-economic damages to $750,000.00 for people injured by the neglect or even intentional acts of others. It is strange to me that a man who ran for office on promises of making government small has decided that the voters are not smart enough to sit on a jury and determine a fair verdict for the lose of a life. I realize that this blog can sound self serving because my business is pursuing these cases but my feelings are sincere. I truly believe the system works. A juror brings to the system a life of experiences that allows them to determine the difference between a tragic case and a person who is just looking for a windfall. This Tennessee legal system has worked for over 100 years but now our government has decided it is more important to protect a corporation that it is our citizens.

The other bizarre thing about the tort reform law is that it caps punitive damages at $500,000.00. Sure that would be plenty to punish your average small company but do you really think a fortune 500 corporation would care if they lost $500,000.00 if they new the could profit millions on a dangerous drug or product? Throughout history we have seen this happen with asbestos, defective cars & drugs. This law has crippled the one system we had that would allow your average citizen to stand toe to toe with a giant corporation. It is wrong Continue Reading

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In Tennessee and all across the country, when we go to the emergency room for care, we expect to be treated properly and feeling better or on our way to feeling better by the time we leave. However, sometimes doctors, nurses, and other medical staff miss something or make a mistake and this leads to improper and negligent care. When this happens, we expect to be able to hold the emergency room accountable for what happened. However, a bill that is going to be introduced into Tennessee legislation would allow hospitals and physicians to provide negligent medical care without holding them accountable for these actions. If you have questions about this bill or your own medical negligent case, you should speak with a Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer right away. They will hear your case and see if you are entitled to compensation.
This legislation would allow a patient to go into the Emergency Room with something as serious as chest pains and if the doctor were to mistake these symptoms for bronchitis and send you home, and then you were to have a heart attack and die, the doctor who saw you would not be held accountable or considered negligent for this treatment. This legislation also will protect physicians in surgery or in the OB unit if the person is admitted through the emergency room. A patient will have little protection from negligence while in the emergency room and also during their whole hospital visit.
This bill is unreasonable for women, children, and lower income families that are more likely to use emergency room services and care. These Tennessee residents will have little to no protection when they seek medical attention in the emergency room. This bill will also affect taxpayers by having them pay the bill for people without insurance after they receive negligent care. Negligence already adds up to 37.6 billion a year for the nation and this bill would add to that cost.
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In Tennessee as well as all across the United States, people expect that when they enter a medical center or hospital for a problem that they will receive the proper care and treatment. However, in many cases, patients leave and still have the same medical problem or different and worse medical problems than they had before. If you or someone you love feels that you have received inadequate care in a hospital or medical center, then you may have a malpractice claim and should speak with a Tennessee malpractice lawyer right away. They will work with you and help to make sure you get the compensation you need.

Justin Owen, of the “Tennessee Center for Policy Research” has recently claimed that “Tennessee needs more jobs, not more lawsuits.” Mr. Owen went on to claim that a $19 million judgment last year represents a growing trend of lawsuits in our civil justice system. However, the number of lawsuits filed in Tennessee last year was lower than any other year over the last five years. Ten years ago, approximately 1,000 lawsuits were tried each year compared to only three hundred and eighty four last year.

Mr. Owen went on to claim that, “a staggering 47 counties do not have an emergency room physician.” However, there are only fifteen counties in Tennessee that do not have emergency rooms and this is because these counties are in rural areas that do not have hospitals. The remaining eighty counties have emergency rooms with a physician and provide twenty-four hour care seven days a week.

In 2008, the Tennessee Association for Justice worked with and the Tennessee Hospital Association and the Tennessee Medical Association to help lower the number of lawsuits against Tennessee health care providers and still hold negligent health care providers accountable for their actions. Since 2008, malpractice lawsuits have been lowered by forty-four percent. Tennessee juries have also proved themselves to be reasonable and trustworthy because they must all agree on the amount of the verdict.
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