However, doctors are not perfect and can be prone to mistakes. In some cases, their negligence may cause errors that affect their patient’s overall health and quality of life. For those who suspect being a victim of medical negligence, there are many potential solutions for compensation, especially if you’re working with experienced medical malpractice attorneys. 

At Kroot Law, we provide extensive experience helping medical malpractice victims understand their situation and explore their best options. Here’s a guide to helping you determine if you might be a victim of medical malpractice and should reach out to a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer. 

What Counts as Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury that can happen when any healthcare professional does any of the following:

• Fails to provide appropriate treatment because of their neglect
• Fails to take the necessary action to save a patient’s life
• Gives substandard treatment that harms, injures, or causes the death of a patient

The laws on medical malpractice cover the entire spectrum of medical care, from correctly diagnosing a condition, to administering the proper dosage, and to providing the appropriate treatment. The John Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality reports that around 12 million Americans are affected by diagnosis errors, resulting in up to 80,000 deaths yearly and about four million experiencing harm to their health.

Medical professionals aren’t liable for all types of harm and side effects a patient experiences. If you’re not satisfied with the outcome of your treatment, that doesn’t necessarily count as grounds for medical malpractice. Medical providers are only liable if one can prove that they were harmed by a deviation from the standard of care applicable to the medical professional. To file a case, the following must be present:

• A medical professional with a professional duty to a patient
• A breach of their duty
• Injury caused by the breach of duty
• Physical, emotional, and/or financial damages that the patient experienced as a result of that breach

Some examples of medical malpractice include:

• Medical misdiagnosis
• Surgical procedures that are done incorrectly 
• Surgical procedures that were unnecessary or improperly performed
• Prematurely discharging a patient from the healthcare facility
• Prescribing the wrong dosage or wrong medication
• Not giving patients the information that allows them to given informed consent for the treatment

What Are the Signs That You Need a Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer?

Medical professionals aren’t liable for all types of harm caused by treatment or a procedure. For example, doctors may not be responsible for patients who insist on leaving a hospital against their recommendation or don’t follow their doctor’s aftercare instructions. 

However, these are some instances where you might be a victim of medical malpractice. If any of these apply to you, contact medical malpractice attorneys to discuss your next steps for just compensation. 

1. You Didn’t Give Informed Consent

Unless you were in an emergency and could not consent, medical professionals can’t provide treatment without your say. They require your informed consent, which means agreeing to a treatment plan while knowing all the facts, procedures, treatment process, risks, alternatives, and potential future complications. 

If a medical professional didn’t have your consent or failed to provide all the relevant facts before you consented, you might have a case for medical malpractice. Even if you agreed to a procedure, if they failed to explain the risks or didn’t let you know about a reasonable alternative approach that could have affected your decision, they can be liable for malpractice. 

2. The Severity of Your Condition and Your Treatment Plan Don’t Match

There are many risks associated with surgery and other invasive procedures. As a result, these kinds of treatment are reserved for more severe cases where less invasive options aren’t effective.

If your doctor provides excessive treatments for your condition and results in harm, you may be a victim of medical malpractice. A Chicago medical malpractice lawyer can help you file a case for the physical, emotional, and/or financial damages caused by the treatment. 

3. Medical Misdiagnosis

Your doctor understands the risks associated with misdiagnosing your condition. This is why they should often perform appropriate tests before diagnosing you and prescribing the appropriate treatment. 

Failure to perform the necessary tests to diagnose your condition, which includes ruling out other conditions, can result in wrong treatment and be grounds for medical malpractice. If a hospital or laboratory uses faulty diagnostic equipment or fails to otherwise perform testing correctly, the hospital itself may also be liable for medical misdiagnosis. 

4. Delayed Diagnosis from Your Doctor

Early diagnosis gives doctors a lot of time to treat most illnesses and provide the best opportunity for patient outcomes. For example, they may fail to timely diagnose the condition before it becomes more serious or even fatal. This can occur in various types of cases including those involving cancer. In this case, medical malpractice attorneys can argue that the doctor’s delayed diagnosis prevented the patient from receiving treatment that could have prevented the patient’s cancer from spreading and becoming terminal. 

5. Your Treatment Isn’t Working

If your treatment doesn’t seem to improve your condition, it may be a sign that you’ve been misdiagnosed or aren’t getting the proper treatment or medication. These can be grounds for medical malpractice as your doctor may have misdiagnosed or not provided proper care to give you an effective treatment plan. 

In many cases, doctors may give you a treatment plan that is either not aggressive enough for severe illnesses or is too aggressive to the point that you undergo invasive procedures with severe side effects. Having a Chicago wrong diagnosis attorney can guide you to take the necessary steps. 

6. The Medical Facility Is Understaffed

Staffing issues are common across the country. However, medical facilities shouldn’t let this be the reason they failed to provide proper medical services to their patients. If your hospital is grossly understaffed, patients are likely not getting their medication or treatment at the right time. There’s also a risk the medical staff is being stretched too thin such that they aren’t focused on your condition or treatment. 

An understaffed team can also put you at risk because you might not get the immediate attention you need. For instance, if one of your medical devices goes off and no one responds in a timely manner, you may be unable to receive much-needed assistance. 

I’m a Victim of Medical Malpractice — What Are My Options?

If you suspect you are a victim of medical malpractice, your first step is to contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer who can guide you through filing a lawsuit against a medical professional and/or facility. They can advise you if your situation is grounds for medical malpractice and what kind of compensation you can potentially receive. 

An experienced medical malpractice lawyer is essential if you want to find justice and seek adequate compensation for your injuries. A study published in the Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research looked at 12 years’ worth of malpractice cases and found that medical malpractice cases are an uphill battle for patients even with solid evidence of medical negligence:

• Physicians win 90% of jury trial cases with weak evidence of medical negligence
• Patients with substantial evidence have a 50% chance of winning their case
• Up to 90% of defensible medical malpractice cases are dropped or dismissed with no payment
• For cases resolved outside of court, settlements can depend on the evidence’s strength.

This study shows that, even with evidence, your malpractice suit isn’t guaranteed. By having experienced medical malpractice attorneys by your side, you have a skilled team that works hard for your interests in or outside court. With the proper representation, you can build a solid case against a medical professional or facility that can give you a strong advantage whether you decide to settle or go to trial.  

Contact Kroot Law for Seasoned Medical Malpractice Attorneys 

With Kroot Law, you have a strong chance for the best possible results from your medical malpractice case. Find exceptional legal counsel and contact medical malpractice lawyer Jason M. Kroot for a free consultation and case evaluation.

Most of the time, surgeries successfully treat injuries and illnesses. However, complications from surgical mistakes can also happen. A study showed that at least 4,000 surgical errors occur in the U.S. every year and that they comprise the majority of hospital malpractice claims. Unfortunately, mistakes in the operating room do more than cause physical injury or even death to the patient. The consequences can also be life changing the patient’s family. 

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a surgical mistake and are interested in pursuing legal action, it helps to understand what surgical errors are. This article also shares the common types of surgical errors and the next steps you can take with a Chicago surgical error lawyer to seek the compensation you deserve. 

What Is a Surgical Error?

All surgical procedures come with risks. This is why patients or their legal guardians are asked to sign a consent form, as this can be used as evidence that they agreed to the operation and understood the risks of certain unavoidable complications. However, surgical errors are not related to these known, unavoidable risks. 

A surgical error is a mistake that occurs due to avoidable reasons such as: 

• Improper Technique or Care: Errors can happen when surgeons make mistakes when using improper techniques, when the team fails to recognize anatomical landmarks, and/or when other surgical team members fail to do their job such as carefully monitoring the patient’s vitals throughout the procedure. 
• Incompetence or Lack of Knowledge: When surgeons do not have the necessary training and experience to perform a specific procedure, they are more likely to make mistakes that result in complications. 
• Insufficient Preoperative Planning: Surgeons and surgical team members must thoroughly review the patient’s medical history and current condition and prepare the necessary equipment to avoid complications.  

• Fatigue: While maximum work hours are set to ensure patient safety, many surgeons are often overworked and unable to take enough breaks between their shifts. This makes them more likely to make mistakes.   
• Drugs or Alcohol: While it may seem absurd that a surgeon would enter an operating room while under the influence, this can happen and it endangers patients’ lives.

Common Types of Surgical Errors 

Mistakes in surgical procedures can happen in various ways, bringing consequences ranging from reversible to life-changing injuries and even the loss of life. While every case is unique, here are the most common types of surgical errors that affect patients and their loved ones: 

Foreign Objects Left in a Patient 

Foreign objects like a scalpel, clamp, gauze, or surgical sponges can get left behind in a patient after surgery. This happens when surgeons fail to check the surgical cavity thoroughly, and the staff fails to track or count the instruments used and retrieved. 

This mistake can cause pain and discomfort for the patient, but it can also lead to life-threatening infections and require additional operations to remove the foreign object. In the worst cases, it can even result in death. 

Operating on the Wrong Patient

Whatever procedure you need, you trust that you are being led to the right room and put in the hands of professionals who know the operation you need. 

Unfortunately, when medical records get mixed up or miscommunications among the staff arise, patients can receive the wrong surgery. When the mix-up isn’t caught early, unsuspecting patients can experience life-threatening complications from a procedure they didn’t need or even have their healthy organs removed.  

Operating on the Wrong Site or Body Part

This is another error that commonly happens when surgeons, nurses, and other staff fail to ensure the surgery occurs at the correct site or part of the body. 

Such mistakes can result in unnecessary incisions, the amputation of the wrong limb, or removing or replacing the wrong organ – all of which can lead to life-changing and dangerous complications.

Wrong Procedure

Performing a different procedure than intended can be especially harmful to patients. They not only have to deal with the harm done to their body by the wrong procedure but also have to continuously suffer from their condition that was not treated due to the mistake. A similar error is performing a surgery that is not indicated by the patient’s presenting condition. 

Anesthesia Errors 

Administering too much anesthesia can lead to complications such as lack of oxygen, permanent damage, and even death. On the other hand, administering too little anesthesia can result in the patient regaining consciousness during surgery. Still another error is failing to carefully monitor the patient’s vital signs which can signal something is wrong and require immediate intervention. 

Failing to obtain a patient’s complete medical history can also cause allergic reactions and drug interactions that can endanger their life while on the table. 

Complications from Surgical Mistakes

No matter the cause, surgical mistakes can cause the following life-altering and even life-threatening complications for the patient: 

Nerve Damage 

Partial paralysis can result from nerve damage caused by a surgical mistake. In some cases, patients must undergo further surgeries and rehabilitation programs to regain mobility. 

Organ Damage 

Using the wrong surgical tool or technique can damage internal organs. This complication can be life-threatening and are likely to be repaired with additional procedures. 

Internal Bleeding 

Risks of bleeding are not uncommon in surgeries, but a reckless or negligent surgeon can cause unnecessary internal bleeding. When this happens after a procedure is done, it may go undetected and lead to severe complications. 

Disability 

The overuse of anesthesia, for example, can lead to a lack of oxygen during surgery and permanent brain damage. 

Disfigurement 

Operating on the wrong site or the wrong patient can result in an unnecessary amputation – a life-changing and traumatic consequence that could have been avoided. Improper surgical technique can also result in avoidable disfigurement. 

Death 

Severe surgical errors have also caused or contributed to deaths in many patients. 

What To Do When a Surgical Error Occurs

If you or a loved one was harmed from a preventable complication during a surgical procedure, consider consulting a Chicago surgical error lawyer as soon as possible. They have the expertise and know-how to investigate your case and gather the evidence needed to support your claim. 

The Importance of Working With a Chicago Surgical Error Lawyer

In general, surgical errors and medical negligence are among the most complicated types of personal injury cases. Trying to pursue legal action without the help of medical malpractice attorneys, especially when you are still recovering, may not give you the results you want and need. 

On the other hand, an experienced surgical error attorney knows about standard surgical procedures and errors from handling similar cases in the past. They also consult with other medical professionals to determine if an injury or death was caused by a preventable mistake. In addition, medical malpractice attorneys can gather evidence and file your case within the statute of limitations in Illinois to preserve your opportunity to fight for your rights. 

Most importantly, your surgical error attorney will advocate for you – even if it means standing up against insurance companies and large corporations behind hospitals.  

Let a Competent Surgical Error Attorney Fight for You While You Recover

Surgical mistakes often cause severe, life-changing complications. As such, you deserve to be compensated for your current and future medical expenses, not to mention the pain and suffering you’ve experienced from the error.

However, pursuing legal action for these medical malpractice cases can be complex. To increase your chances of receiving a favorable outcome, it’s best to work with a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer – a professional with experience handling surgical error claims in the state’s court system. 

If you or a loved one has been harmed due to a surgical mistake, Kroot Law is a top law office ready to take your side. We have successfully represented plaintiffs in serious medical malpractice cases in Illinois for over two decades, and we will be happy to do the same for you.  

Contact us today for a free consultation and case evaluation with Chicago medical malpractice lawyer Jason M. Kroot.

If you have been harmed by the negligence or recklessness of another party in Illinois, you may be able to file a personal injury claim. With the help of a Chicago personal injury lawyer, you can receive fair compensation for the expenses and losses you’ve incurred due to the injury. 

The steps you’ll have to take will be unique to your case. To give you an idea of how to file a personal injury claim, here’s a quick overview of what you have to do and what you can expect through the process. 

Get Checked by a Medical Professional

If you are interested in filing a personal injury claim, it’s crucial that you see a doctor as soon as possible – even if you think you may not be seriously injured. Seeking help from a medical professional not only ensures you receive the care you need but also helps you document your injuries properly. Filing a claim or lawsuit can be difficult without a professional assessment of your damages. 

Moreover, make sure to follow your doctor’s orders or treatment plan. Doing anything that can worsen your condition or hinder your recovery, like discontinuing care, can be used against your case. 

Gather Documents and Other Pieces of Evidence

In addition to getting the care you need, it’s time to gather evidence related to the injuries and damages you’ve suffered and how the accident affected your life and work. To help you get started, here are some essential documents to gather:

• Medical records 
• Bills of medical and other damage-related expenses
• Contact information from witnesses of the accident
• A written account of the events 
• Photos of the scene, if possible, and to you if you have markings of an injury

When it comes to maximizing compensation in an injury case, you have to demonstrate the degree to which you’ve been injured, how the accident may have created financial challenges, and how the resulting injuries impacted your life. 

Consult Personal Injury Lawyers

The state allows personal injury claimants to seek compensation for economic and non-economic damages, such as the following: 

• The costs associated with treating the injuries. 
• The costs associated with repairing property damage.
• Lost wages from the inability to work due to the injuries. 
• Loss of earning capacity due to permanent disabilities. 
• The physical pain and suffering you have experienced.
• The emotional distress that was caused by the accident. 
• The disability or loss of the enjoyment of life. 
• Any trauma and other psychological impacts caused by the accident or injury. 
• Grief and sorrow, as well as loss of consortium like companionship, in wrongful death cases

Considering this, valuing claims goes beyond simply adding bills. This is where consulting personal injury or medical malpractice attorneys becomes invaluable. 

While small personal injury claims can sometimes be settled without legal help, you’ll want to partner with the best Chicago personal injury lawyer if you have a serious injury case. With their expertise and guidance throughout the process, you increase your chances of getting the maximum recovery for your case. 

The good news is that most personal injury lawyers offer free initial consultations. You can leverage this to get expert advice on your case, the reimbursement you deserve, and the next steps you can take.  

Investigate the Accident and Injuries 

Once hired, your personal injury attorney starts looking into the accident by asking you about how it occurred, your injuries, and the treatment plan you’re undergoing. They may also work with accident reconstruction specialists and other experts to understand the factors that led up to the accident. 

Around this time, a personal injury or medical malpractice lawyer will also identify the individuals or organizations that may be responsible for the incident. This is especially crucial in complicated cases where two or more parties are at fault. Lawyers use their expertise and experience to find and review evidence to build a strong case against them. 

Initiate Negotiations and File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Your attorney will then notify the party at fault and their insurance provider about their liability for the injuries and damages you sustained from an accident. This can open negotiations between you and the other party. If these talks are successful, you will receive compensation, and the case will end. 

However, if the at-fault party fails to fully compensate you for your claim through a settlement, the claim can be filed as a personal injury lawsuit in an Illinois civil court. 

In Illinois, claimants typically have two years from the accident to file a lawsuit. This is known as the statute of limitations. However, certain cases may have different deadlines depending upon the situation and/or exceptions to the general statute of limitations. Failing to pursue legal action within the statute of limitations for your case can cost you your right to use the court process to seek compensation for your injuries. 

Present Evidence to the Court 

During a personal injury trial, both parties can present information or evidence supporting their respective sides.

If you have been affected by a misdiagnosis or surgical error, a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer can argue on your behalf to establish the facts of the case, the applicable standards of care, and how one or more deviations from the standard of care caused harm. This may include presenting medical records and opinions of qualified medical professionals, along with presenting witness testimony. 

The trial could last from weeks to months, depending on the case’s complexity, the severity of your injuries, and the availability of evidence.

Make an Appeal

If your case goes to trial and you believe the verdict was reached unfairly, you have the legal right to appeal the ruling. With that said, you can’t appeal simply because you are unhappy with the outcome. Instead, there has to be some legal mistake that was made that was prejudicial against you. 

Personal injury lawyers experienced in appellate work and/or appellate lawyers can review your case to determine if you have valid grounds to appeal a verdict.    

How To Know if You Have a Valid Claim

Knowing how to file a personal injury claim is only helpful if your case satisfies legal criteria. While the best way to know this is by consulting a Chicago personal injury attorney or medical malpractice lawyer for malpractice cases, here are some questions you can ask yourself to get started:  

• Did the injury result from someone else’s negligence or recklessness? 
• Will you need long-term care due to the injury? 
• Did the injury cause pain and suffering?
• Did the accident result in disability? 
• Are the medical treatments expensive? 
• Will you need a long time to recover?
• Did you have to miss work due to your injuries? 
• Has the accident caused financial strain? 
• Has the accident caused emotional or psychological distress? 

Anyone considering filing a claim should understand that they have the burden of proof. As you’re making allegations against an individual or party, you must prove that they are indeed liable for your injuries. Doing this requires evidence, but you cannot use anything you want. 

It’s best to work with personal injury or medical malpractice attorneys to find solid evidence and strengthen your claim. Proving another party’s liability for your damages takes work, but they know how to investigate your accident and gather the necessary documents to build a persuasive case. 

Pursue Full and Fair Compensation With the Best Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

Despite the simplified process described above, the personal injury claims process is often complex and overwhelming. Fortunately, you won’t have to fight for the settlement or result you deserve on your own. Experienced personal injury lawyers can take care of all the legal matters concerning your case for you and secure the most favorable outcome possible.  

Kroot Law, LLC is a Chicago-based law firm with a strong record of success in complex cases, including medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death. We treat all clients with dignity and respect and strive to deliver unmatched personal service and exceptional results. 

You deserve to work with the best Chicago personal injury lawyer. Fill out this form for a free consultation, and let our client-centered team evaluate your claim; if we take your case, we can help you obtain the maximum compensation you deserve.

Medical malpractice takes many forms, from misdiagnosis and medication errors to surgical mistakes. If your healthcare provider’s negligence has injured you or a loved one, it’s essential to understand each type and its unique set of circumstances to determine if you have a case. 

While the best first step is still to consult a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, we explore the most common types of medical malpractice below to help you protect your health and well-being. 

The Common Types of Medical Malpractice

Misdiagnosis 

Delayed or incorrect diagnoses make up most medical malpractice incidents, and a government report revealed alarming statistics proving so: 

• Around 7.4 million diagnosis errors are made every year
• 2.6 million people suffered preventable harm or injury
• Three hundred seventy thousand suffered permanent disability and death due to misdiagnosis. 

Strokes, heart attacks, aortic aneurysms, and spinal injuries are commonly misdiagnosed in the country. Unfortunately, an incorrect or delayed diagnosis can put patients with these conditions at risk of complications from receiving the wrong or delayed treatment. 

Diagnostic errors can happen in different ways: 

• When a patient is not diagnosed with a particular medical condition despite showing symptoms consistent with it
• When a patient is diagnosed with a condition they don’t have 
• When a patient is diagnosed with a condition after it has reached an advanced or incurable stage.

If your health declines and you suspect that you have been misdiagnosed, it’s crucial to seek a Chicago malpractice attorney to learn about your rights and options. They can also arrange for an expert to provide a medical testimony explaining how a competent professional would have diagnosed your condition early and correctly. 

Medication Errors 

Medications are meant to help stabilize or improve a patient’s condition. When mistakes are made at any stage of the medication process, patients may be given the wrong type or dosage of drugs and eventually suffer serious harm. Such errors typically occur due to failure to monitor patients, miscommunication among healthcare providers, mislabeling, and off-label prescribing. 

Who Is Liable for Medication Errors?

Different healthcare professionals can be liable for a medication error, depending on your unique circumstances. For example, doctors may be liable for prescribing the wrong medicines or recommending the wrong dosage. A nurse may also be held responsible for administering the wrong drug or dosage. 

Medication errors can have devastating consequences for patients, including prolonged hospitalization, adverse drug reactions, and even death. If you or a loved one has been injured by a medication mistake, it’s best to work with an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer to fight for the compensation you deserve. 

Surgical Errors

While surgical mistakes are rare compared to other types of medical malpractice, they are worth noting because of the life-changing consequences they can bring to a patient. 

Here are some examples of surgical mistakes that are considered medical malpractice: 

• Failing to monitor a patient’s vital signs, diet, and medication before surgery
• Using improper surgical techniques 
• Puncturing or cutting surrounding organs with a surgical tool 
• Operating or amputating the wrong body part 
• Leaving behind surgical instruments inside a patient’s body 
• Failing to provide proper post-operative care 

Birth Injuries 

Expecting parents partner with professionals like obstetricians and gynecologists to ensure a smooth and safe delivery. Unfortunately, when your trusted professionals make otherwise preventable mistakes during the planning, pregnancy, and delivery stages, lifelong problems for your newborn can arise. 

Common birth injuries include physical trauma, temporary paralysis, fractured bones, and brain damage, but some complications also lead to a tragic loss of life. These can happen due to a variety of reasons, such as the failure to: 

• Respond to complications like fetal distress, excessive bleeding, uterine rupture, or umbilical cord entanglement promptly
• Perform a timely C-section
• Use forceps or vacuum extractors competently. 

Negligent Prenatal Care 

Birth-related medical malpractice can also happen outside the delivery room and months before birth. As a woman trusts her obstetrician to monitor the pregnancy, negligence in ordering tests may lead to the failure to identify complications, such as ectopic pregnancy, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and birth defects. 

Wrongful Death

As mentioned earlier, medical malpractice is among the leading causes of death in the US. A medical professional’s negligence can cause complications, resulting in wrongful death. 

If you believe a loved one died prematurely due to medical malpractice, it’s crucial that you speak with an experienced Chicago malpractice attorney. Proving medical malpractice in wrongful death cases can be complex since it requires solid proof that your healthcare provider’s negligence directly caused the death. Medical malpractice attorneys specializing in wrongful death cases in Illinois can review your case and advise you on the next steps to take. 

Other Medical Malpractice Cases 

Besides the common types of medical malpractice enumerated above, here are some more medical errors to be aware of. 

Anesthesia Errors 

Anesthesia is essential in managing a patient’s pain and, at times immobilization while undergoing procedures like surgeries and dental work. However, when it is negligently administered during an operation, the patient can suffer awareness-induced PTSD, heart attack, stroke, brain damage, and even death. Spinal infections, nerve damage, and seizures can also arise from mistakes in administering spinal and epidural anesthesia. 

Hospital Infections 

The negligence of doctors, nurses, and hospital staff that results in hospital-acquired infections may also qualify as a medical malpractice case. Patients are particularly vulnerable to infections, so they must be adequately cared for and monitored throughout their hospitalization. Failing to timely recognize and properly treat a hospital-acquired infection can also constitute a medical negligence case. 

Lack of Informed Consent

As a patient, you have the right to know and understand the risks and benefits of the treatment you are about to undergo, along with other potential viable options. In the same way, your doctor has a legal duty to obtain your informed consent before prescribing you a drug, performing a procedure, implanting a medical device, or undertaking any other treatment. 

If you have suffered harm or injury due to a lack of informed consent, you may be able to demand compensation due to medical malpractice. 

What To Do if You Believe You Have a Medical Malpractice Case

If you believe medical malpractice has caused you or a loved one harm, it’s imperative to take action as soon as possible. We recommend following these steps, so you not only recover the compensation you deserve but also get on the road to recovery. 

• Seek Proper Medical Treatment

Your health is a top priority, so it’s best to get the medical attention you need for the illness or injury you suffered due to the suspected medical error before anything else. 

• Gather Documents

As you undergo further treatment, secure documents related to your case. This can include photos of your injuries, bills, invoices, and prescriptions. 

• Work With a Chicago Malpractice Attorney

Reach out to an attorney concentrating in medical malpractice cases in Illinois as soon as possible. The sooner you have legal counsel, the earlier they can investigate your case and advise you on the best course of action.

If they determine that your case involves medical malpractice, they can also collect and analyze vital evidence to recover maximum compensation for you. 

The Knowledgeable Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Kroot Law Can Help

If you have suffered harm from a preventable medical mistake, you need an expert to advocate for your rights and ensure you receive the best compensation. 

Founded by experienced trial lawyer Jason M. Kroot, our law firm concentrates in serious medical malpractice and wrongful death cases in Illinois. Within the last five years alone, we obtained top settlements in cases including those involving misdiagnosis, medication error, and wrongful death throughout the state. 

Consult our Chicago medical malpractice lawyer if you believe you’ve been harmed due to a medical error. We can review the facts of your case and explain your legal options in a free, no-obligation, and confidential consultation. Contact us at (312) 543-0030 or fill out this form to schedule your appointment.

Without a proper diagnosis, patients can experience adverse drug reactions or receive the wrong treatment. Incorrectly diagnosing a severe medical condition can also lead to permanent disabilities and even death. 

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a medical misdiagnosis, understanding its common types and learning what to do after discovering a diagnostic error can help you preserve your right to use the court process. This also gives you enough time to work with Chicago wrong diagnosis lawyers to seek compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered. 

Common Types of Medical Misdiagnosis

Healthcare providers, just like any other human being, are not perfect. However, their profession requires them to practice care and attention when working with patients, including examining their symptoms. Breaching this duty and care can lead to different types of diagnostic errors, including the following:  

Laboratory Test Errors and Misread Results

With medical labs processing hundreds of samples daily, mistakes such as testing wrong patient samples, contaminating samples, and sending results to the wrong patient can happen. In the same way, primary care doctors and specialists who regularly review several tests like x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and blood tests can misread results.

When lab test errors and misread results occur, life-threatening situations like the following can happen:

• A patient’s real health problem may not be identified. 
• He or she may be diagnosed with the wrong medical condition. 
• Severe conditions like heart attack, blood clots, and cancer can be missed. 
• He or she may receive the wrong treatment. 

Wrong Diagnosis 

With many diseases showing similar symptoms, inaccurate diagnoses resulting from negligence can bring about severe consequences. For example, misdiagnosing a heart attack as heartburn or anxiety can lead to fatal results, as the patient may not be able to receive the emergency care they need on time.  

Other commonly misdiagnosed conditions include stroke, bowel obstruction, appendicitis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and Lyme disease. A diagnostic error can result in organ damage, chronic illnesses, and serious disability.  

Missed Diagnosis

In contrast to wrong diagnoses, missed diagnoses occur when, instead of getting treated for the wrong disease, a patient showing signs and symptoms telling of a particular condition is told that he or she is fine. As a result, the patient is sent back home without receiving the necessary treatment. 

Delayed Diagnosis

In some cases of diagnostic errors, the diagnosis is correct — but it’s made later than a doctor or physician should have. The delay can cause serious, permanent, or fatal consequences, especially if the patient’s health has worsened or the disease has reached an incurable stage. 

Cancer Misdiagnosis 

Delayed cancer diagnoses can consequently lead to delayed care, often leaving patients with worsening conditions, unnecessary pain and suffering, higher costs of care, and even a lower chance of survival. 

This diagnostic error usually involves failing to perform tests like biopsies, mammograms, and MRIs. Cancer may also be belatedly diagnosed due to failure to recognize breast lumps, abnormal pap smears, rectal bleeding, and other symptoms that could indicate cancer, as well as failure to interpret test results correctly. 

Failure to Diagnose Other Diseases or Recognize Complications

Patients can have two or more diseases. As such, diagnosing one but failing to catch the others can be considered a medical diagnostic error. 

Similarly, correctly identifying a patient’s disease but missing the risk factors for medical complications can also be grounds for a medical misdiagnosis claim. With this mistake, patients can receive medications that aggravate their condition. 

Misdiagnosis in the Emergency Room

While many medical diagnostic errors happen in doctor’s offices, clinics, and other outpatient settings, patients can also receive inaccurate diagnoses in emergency rooms. In an environment where there is increased time pressure, healthcare professionals may be rushed to attend to patients. 

It’s worth emphasizing that emergency rooms often see severe and urgent illnesses and injuries. A wrong, missed, or delayed diagnosis can easily cause immediate harm to patients. 

Misdiagnosis and Medical Malpractice

A medical practitioner’s misdiagnosis does not automatically mean he or she has committed medical malpractice. Even the most experienced physicians can make errors, and a doctor can order tests and do everything correctly and still miss or make the wrong diagnosis. 

For a misdiagnosis to be considered malpractice and, therefore, become grounds for pursuing legal action, these elements must be present: 

• That the doctor owed a duty of care to a patient;
• That the doctor breached that duty, either by his or her action or inaction and;
• That the misdiagnosis worsened the patient’s medical condition and/or resulted in physical, psychological, or financial loss.

What to Remember About Pursuing Legal Action for Medical Misdiagnosis in Chicago

If you are considering pursuing legal action, the Illinois statute of limitations generally requires lawsuits to be brought within two years from when the error occurred or when they reasonably should have known it occurred. 

It can take a year or more for some patients to discover mistakes in diagnoses. In these cases, they are generally given two years from the time of discovery – but no more than four years from the date the diagnostic error occurred – to work with a Chicago wrong diagnosis attorney and file their claim. 

Misdiagnosis cases can cause a mental disability or affect already mentally disabled people. In general, there is no statute of limitation for mentally disabled persons who meet the requisite criteria to pursue a medical malpractice case. This includes cases involving misdiagnosis. 

Medical diagnosis cases affecting children below 18 are another exception to the rule. If your child has been harmed or injured by a diagnostic error in Illinois, the state’s statute of limitations gives you up to eight (8) years from the date the mistake occurred to pursue legal action. However, the claim must be filed before the minor’s 22nd birthday, regardless of when the incident happened. 

With these timelines, it’s crucial that you speak with medical malpractice attorneys in Chicago as soon as possible. Filing a successful claim takes time, as you must gather substantial evidence and conduct thorough investigations to establish a strong case. Seeking expert help early on can help ensure you preserve your right to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. 

Steps to Take After a Misdiagnosis

• Seek Proper Medical Attention 

Before anything else, ensure you have any injury or illness that resulted from the medical error, like misdiagnosis, checked and promptly treated. Your health is a top priority, so it’s best to begin proper treatment as soon as possible.  

• Gather Documents and Other Helpful Evidence 

Proving misdiagnosis as medical malpractice can be difficult, so gathering key documents such as medical records, wrong prescriptions, bills, invoices, and records showing the correct diagnosis can help you build a solid case. 

• Seek Help From Chicago Wrong Diagnosis Lawyers

It’s crucial that you consult a lawyer specializing in medical misdiagnoses in the city as soon as you realize the error. Experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyers recognize the most substantial pieces of evidence to look for when pursuing these kinds of claims, so they can help you gather and preserve the medical records you need to build your case. 

Most importantly, since misdiagnosis claims can be complicated, they can offer knowledgeable guidance as you pursue legal action. 

• Direct All Communications to Your Legal Representative

Your doctor, hospital, or their malpractice insurer may get in touch with you in hopes of resolving the case without the need for legal proceedings. In these situations, it’s almost always better to refer them to your lawyer than entertain them yourself. The medical malpractice attorneys taking on your case can review the offers they made to protect your rights. 

Let an Experienced Chicago Wrong Diagnosis Attorney Help You Receive the Settlement You Deserve

Patients seeking relief from their pain or illness should not have to suffer from worsening conditions, mounting hospital bills, and even death due to diagnostic errors. Unfortunately, these mistakes happen across all areas of medicine, with a study showing that around 40,000 to 80,000 people die from complications due to misdiagnosis each year. 

Misdiagnosis cases can also be challenging to prove, as documents and thorough investigations are necessary to gather evidence about the malpractice. Some are not able to file a claim before the statute of limitations expires, so they end up forfeiting their right to due process and compensation. 

For these reasons and other reasons, we encourage you to get in touch with Kroot Law, LLC, about your case as soon as possible. Our law firm concentrates on misdiagnosis, personal injury, and wrongful death cases in Illinois and has a reputation for delivering unmatched personal service and exceptional results. 

Please fill out this form or reach us at (312) 543-0030 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with Chicago wrong diagnosis attorney Jason M. Kroot. 

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Chicago?

Illinois law allows the immediate family and, potentially, other relatives of the decedent to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Although all states have their own set of laws on wrongful death claims, they all allow immediate family members to initiate a lawsuit. 

In Illinois, immediate family members may indeed file a wrongful death claim, but they must be the decedent’s personal representative.

A personal representative is the legal title given to someone trusted to act as an executor. It’s customary for adults, especially those with substantial wealth and assets, to name an executor who will carry out the terms of their will. As such, the personal representative may or may not be a blood relative of the decedent.

What if the decedent did not prepare a will or name an executor before their death? The court can assign a decedent’s representative, and they often pick from among the surviving family members. Here are the most common choices:

• Spouse
• Parent
• Adult child (may or may not be the eldest)
• Siblings (if the parents are deceased and the decedent is unmarried and has no children)
• Grandparents, grandchildren, or other distant relatives (if there are no other next of kin)
• People who relied on the decedent for financial support

Can a friend hire a wrongful death attorney in Chicago and file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the decedent? Unless they are the decedent’s executor or were given power of attorney before the decedent’s death, then no, friends cannot file a case. Regardless, even if a friend is permitted to file the wrongful death suit, they cannot personally recover damages for the death of their friend. 

The purpose of a wrongful death lawsuit is to seek damages in the form of financial compensation. Therefore, in general, only immediate family members and/or other relatives can recovery damages for wrongful death. 

Beneficiaries for Wrongful Death Claims

Knowing who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Chicago is important because it affects who receives the damages awarded by the court.

According to Section 2 of the 740 ILCS 180/2, the amount received in a wrongful death claim will be “for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin” of the deceased. Moreover, the court may decide how to distribute the compensation among the surviving spouse and next of kin.

This explains why the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit is first awarded to the immediate family, as they are the ones to receive compensation from the people or entities responsible for their loved one’s untimely death.  

The deceased’s estate may also receive compensation for lost wages, damaged property, grief and suffering, medical expenses bills – claims the decedent would have filed themselves if they did not succumb to their injuries; but the lawsuit will be under the Illinois Survival Act. This is called a survival action, rather than a wrongful death action. However, both claims can be pursued. 

What if the decedent’s executor or personal representative is not a next of kin? Based on this section of the Wrongful Death Act, they are unlikely to get any compensation. However, there could be an exception if they are legal dependents of the decedent.

What if the decedent has no immediate family? The compensation will pass to the next of kin. Unfortunately, things can get complicated because Illinois law identifies “next of kin” as the next closest blood relation (as defined by the Probate Act of 1975). 

Below is the order in which Illinois law recognizes the closest next of kin:

• Immediate family: Spouse and children
• Next of kin
  • First: Grandchildren
  • Second: Parents and siblings
  • Third: Nieces and nephews
  • Fourth: Grandparents

The disadvantage of the “next of kin” rule is it tends to disregard the decedent’s pre-existing relationships (or the lack thereof) with distant relatives. Even if the decedent were on bad terms with an estranged sibling or spouse, for example, the latter could receive compensation instead of a fourth cousin with whom the decedent had a genuinely close relationship.

Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death in Chicago

The state of Illinois has a two-year window from the day of the decedent’s passing to file a wrongful death claim. If the personal representative doesn’t press charges within the year, they will generally lose the chance to demand compensation from the people or entities responsible for their loved one’s death. 

There are exceptions to this rule:

• If the decedent died because of violent intentional conduct, the statute of limitations is five years from the date of death. 
• If a criminal trial is held first, the personal representative can follow up with a wrongful death claim one year after the conclusion of the criminal case.

Initiating legal action while grieving is understandably hard for many. While no money can compensate for the pain of losing someone you love, it is a form of justice for surviving family members. The damages can also lessen the financial burden of medical, funeral costs, and potentially lost income. Therefore, the immediate family of an accidental death victim must find an experienced wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible. 

What Can a Wrongful Death Lawyer Do?

Recall that the purpose of filing a wrongful death claim is to seek compensation against the responsible party. Thus, a wrongful death suit is a civil action which means the goal is to seek financial damages (unlike a criminal action, which seeks to punish the convicted party by sentencing them to a jail term or other lawful punishment). A wrongful death lawyer, therefore, will demand a monetary recovery and urge the court to grant the surviving family maximum compensation.

Here’s what a wrongful death attorney in Chicago does when filing a claim:

• Take the lead in a wrongful death claim or survival action
• Investigate the events leading to the decedent’s death
• Collect evidence proving the defendant negligently caused the decedent’s death
• Determine the full extent of the losses the decedent and their dependents experienced
• Determine the maximum potential value that surviving family and/or estate deserves as compensation
• Review the decedent’s existing insurance policies and handle settlement negotiations with the insurance company
• Negotiate damages with the defendant’s attorneys and/or insurance company
• Take the case to court if necessary

Having an experienced wrongful death attorney in Chicago as your legal representative can give you a significant advantage and increase your chances of receiving the compensation you deserve. You’ll want a clever legal representative who fiercely negotiates for the best outcome for you.

A top wrongful death lawyer is vital when the cause of death is from medical malpractice. A Chicago medical malpractice lawyer would have to prove that the doctor, nurse, and/or hospital responsible for the decedent’s care had been negligent and caused their death. If you are a personal representative and next of kin of a victim of medical malpractice, file a wrongful death claim with the help of an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer.

Kroot Law Fights for Your Right to Fair Compensation

As the immediate family or next of kin of a wrongful death victim, you have every right to receive compensatory damages from the people or entities responsible for your loss. Kroot Law, a Chicago medical malpractice and personal injury firm, can help. 

We have years of experience filing civil lawsuits involving wrongful death in Illinois. Whether it’s medical malpractice, nursing home liability, automotive, aviation accidents, or other injury claims, our personal injury lawyer is one of the best people to represent you. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Many victims try to handle their personal injury claims themselves to avoid legal fees. However, not all personal injury cases are simple, and not all personal injury lawyers in Chicago ask for upfront fees. Moreover, they can handle the complexities of your case and fight for your rights so you can receive fair compensation. 

Knowing if you should hire a personal injury attorney might not be crystal clear when you’re going through a difficult time. Here are some considerations to help you decide.  

Proving Liability Can Be Tough 

When it comes to personal injury claims, the only way to recover compensation from the party at fault is by proving that they, indeed, negligently caused the injury. 

However, establishing liability can be challenging, as this involves obtaining and compiling evidence. This can include securing surveillance videos of the incident, statements by witnesses, medical records, photographs of the scene, photographs of the injuries, and more. The at-fault party can also deny the claim, file affirmative defenses, counter-claims, and employ a myriad other legal tactics to tip the scales in their favor. 

When recovering from an injury or dealing with a disability caused by the incident, gathering proof and protecting yourself from common defense maneuvers can be exhausting. Hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer can take this heavy weight off your shoulders so you can focus on your health. 

Personal Injury Lawyers Study the Value of Your Case

While attorneys cannot promise you a specific compensation award, they have the knowledge and experience to evaluate your case, including for settlement purposes, so you can obtain the recovery you deserve for the injuries and other damages you suffered. They do this by calculating all economic and non-economic losses, often through medical and other experts, while also factoring the likelihood of recovery at trial compared to settling before trial. 

This is crucial when pursuing personal injury claims, as insurance companies will try to devalue claims and offer the lowest possible settlement offers. Understanding the value of your case with the help of a personal injury attorney can protect you from unreasonably low offers. 

They Level the Playing Field 

At-fault individuals or parties will likely have an attorney representing them, especially if they were covered by insurance at the time of the incident. This means that pursuing your personal injury case yourself may not only be intimidating but also put you at an unnecessary disadvantage. 

Getting the best Chicago personal injury lawyer advocating for you means having a proven litigator fighting for your case and pursuing the maximum compensation for your losses.

They Help You Avoid Legal Pitfalls 

Navigating the personal injury claims process can be tricky, as it involves understanding how the law works. This can vary from state to state. Missing an important detail or even committing an honest mistake can derail your claim and, worse, cost you your right to pursue legal action. 

One of the most common pitfalls in personal injury cases involves the statute of limitations – the maximum time you are allowed to file a lawsuit. In Illinois, the statute of limitations on personal injury is generally two years from the time of the incident. If you wait too long or fail to take the necessary steps and this prescriptive period expires, you may permanently lose your right to prosecute the party at fault. 

Victims may also be led to say things that can hurt their claims. Insurance claim adjusters are experienced in getting victims who speak up on their own behalf to make statements that can be used against their case. 

However, when a Chicago personal injury lawyer is involved, they will be the one to handle all the intricacies of your case, including communication with all the other parties involved. Most importantly, they can help ensure that you are meeting all deadlines that apply to your case to preserve your rights. 

Most Attorneys Work on a “Contingency Fee” Basis

If your financial situation is keeping you from pursuing a personal injury lawsuit and hiring an attorney, the good news is that most personal injury lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis. This usually means you don’t need to pay any upfront costs related to your case. Instead, they collect fees for their services only if they obtain a favorable outcome on your behalf. 

If you or a loved one has a potential personal injury case, it’s possible to pursue your claim risk-free. And with the right personal injury or medical malpractice lawyer, you can get the compensation you deserve while avoiding costly legal fees. 

How to Know If You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer

Now that we’ve established the importance of hiring personal injury lawyers, it helps to discuss another question that gets thrown around often: how do you know if you need a personal injury attorney? 

If you have been affected by a motor vehicle accident, slip and fall accident, medical malpractice, or a similar incident, here are some key signs you have a potential case and can benefit from getting an attorney involved. 

The Incident and Resulting Injury Were Not Your Fault Or Not Primarily Your Fault

Personal injury cases generally involve accidents and injuries that are not the victim’s fault; in some instances, the victim is only partially at fault and can still recover. Some examples of such incidents include: 

• Car accidents 
• Motorcycle accidents 
• Pedestrian accidents 
• Slip and fall accidents on someone else’s property 
• Injuries from product defects 
• Medical Malpractice
• Nursing home negligence 

You Sustained Serious Injuries or a Permanent Disability as a Result

Some accidents tend to end with minor injuries like cuts, bumps, and bruises — conditions that can be easily treated after a couple of days. But if you’re looking at serious injuries that require weeks, months, or even years of treatment, or are causing chronic pain, brain damage, or permanent paralysis, it’s best to discuss your situation with a Chicago personal injury lawyer. 

You should never have to shoulder the overwhelming costs of your medical care if you sustained the injury because of another party’s fault. A personal injury attorney will evaluate your case and fight for the compensation you deserve. 

You’re Not Receiving Fair Compensation 

Recovering monetary damages for your losses is crucial in helping you cover your medical bills as you recover. 

Recovering from serious injuries often entails paying for a lengthy hospital stay, expensive medications, and even rehabilitation therapies. Of course, this is not to mention the other costs you incurred due to the incident. So when the party at fault provides or insists on a settlement that doesn’t adequately meet these expenses, this is a telltale sign of when to hire a personal injury lawyer. 

You Find Yourself Being Accused of the Incident 

In some cases, individuals or parties that want to avoid liability go as far as accusing you of fault or wrongdoing. 

Illinois is a modified comparative negligence state. This means that the victim can only recover damages if they are 50 percent or less responsible for the accident. Even then, the amount to be recovered can be reduced in proportion to the responsibility of the at-fault party. 

It’s also possible that individuals and parties at fault may counter-sue victims for any number of things. When this happens, they can seek attorney fees and other damages which can ultimately jeopardize your financial recovery. 

If you are facing or anticipating this situation, it’s best not to delay hiring a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer or a personal injury attorney. They can gather evidence to reinforce your claims and, most importantly, defend you from these pressuring tactics. 

Understand the True Value of Your Claim With the Help of the Best Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

From proving the other party’s liability to avoiding common legal pitfalls, pursuing a personal injury claim can be challenging. Insurance companies will also try different ways to devalue your claims and pay you less. With that said, an experienced and diligent attorney can help you understand your rights and, ultimately, obtain the best possible settlement for you.  

If you have suffered serious injuries from the negligence of an individual or an organization, you are not alone, and Kroot Law, LLC is here to help. We treat all clients with consideration and vigorously prosecute injury cases to ensure victims receive maximum compensation for their case.  

Whether you’re up against negligent individuals or large corporations, we invite you to contact us for a free consultation with Jason M. Kroot. 

What Constitutes a Misdiagnosis?

On its own, a medical practitioner’s failure to diagnose an illness or injury does not automatically constitute malpractice. Even the most experienced and highly competent physicians can make diagnostic errors from time to time. 

However, when a misdiagnosis worsens the patient’s medical condition as a result of delayed, incorrect, or nonexistent treatment, then a misdiagnosis can be the foundation of a successful medical malpractice lawsuit.

The following instances can constitute a medical misdiagnosis:

False Positive or Negative

A misdiagnosis can result if there is a false positive diagnosis, a false negative diagnosis, and/or a wrong diagnosis. A false positive result occurs when a physician diagnoses an illness that is in fact not present. A false negative shows the patient isn’t suffering from any medical condition when, in reality, they are. A Wrong diagnosis occurs when the physician diagnoses a patient with the wrong condition. These types of medical mistakes can occur in various settings including:

• Test results are corrupted by foreign substances
• Tests were conducted in improperly
• A physician misinterprets the tests
• A physician fails to order the proper tests
• A physician fails to recognize signs and symptoms of a condition
• A physician fails to proper perform a differential diagnosis

In some cases, the physician may not be liable for misdiagnosis when the fault lies with a different healthcare provider such as a nurse or technician that failed to perform their job properly. healthcare professional or technician administering the test or reading the slide. Under these circumstances, the nurse, technician, or other healthcare provider may be negligent and where the physician’s misdiagnosis was due to the other providers error.

Delayed Diagnosis

A delayed diagnosis is a common type of malpractice wherein a patient is diagnosed correctly only after an unreasonable amount of time has passed since first seeking treatment. In most cases, a delayed diagnosis causes the original condition to worsen before being given the proper treatment, resulting in extensive health consequences or, in worst-case scenarios, death. 

Malpractice due to a delayed diagnosis can be claimed when the physician is proven to have violated the medical standard of care owed to the patient. This can occur when:

• The physician miscalculates their own ability to diagnose the patient
• The attending physician rushes a consultation or examination to accommodate other patients
• The healthcare facility is understaffed
• Failure to perform a proper differential diagnosis 
• Test results are mishandled

Failure to Diagnose the Root Cause

Correctly identifying a patient’s illness while failing to detect its root cause can result in the erroneous treatment of the disease. Although the symptoms or manifestations of the disease are treated, it can still cause harm to the patient as the actual condition is left untreated and allowed to progress. 

The failure to diagnose the root cause of the condition commonly can occur when:

• No further tests were ordered despite observed abnormalities in earlier test results
• Reported symptoms were dismissed as minor, temporary, or signs of another less-serious illness
• The physician deems treatment unnecessary due to the less-serious nature of the symptoms
• Failing to refer the patient to a specialist, despite test results showing a much-serious condition

Example Cases of Medical Misdiagnosis

On September 11, 2016, Pensacola firefighter Michael Vahle’s leg developed blue discoloration and started to ache after exposure to the waters of Pensacola Bay, the Pensacola News Journal reports.

As the pain and discoloration worsened, Vahle sought medical treatment at the Ascension Sacred Heart Urgent Care Center, where it was diagnosed as an ankle sprain. He was discharged with crutches and was told to ice and elevate his leg.

Vahle later sought a second opinion from a podiatrist, who determined that the firefighter was suffering from a necrotizing bacterial infection that needed to be aggressively treated with antibodies and dead tissue removal. But despite the physician’s best efforts, Vahle ultimately needed an above-knee amputation of his lower right leg to save his life.

Cases like Michael Vahle’s are not uncommon in the United States. In fact, this is only one of nearly 12 million cases of misdiagnosis in America each year. While only about 33% of misdiagnosed cases end in death or serious physical damage, medical practitioners should be held liable for the subsequent damage caused by their failure to diagnose a patient correctly.

How Can You Prove Negligence?

The law does not automatically hold medical practitioners liable for diagnostic errors they make. That is, just proving a misdiagnosis is not enough. Instead, there must be proof of the following legal elements:

1. Duty: The plaintiff must be able to prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed at the time of the diagnosis, which means the physician had a duty to act as a competent provider of medical care to the patient.
2. Breach: The physician in question is held liable for breach of duty when it can be established that no medical provider would have made the misdiagnosis that was made, instead of making the correct diagnosis.
3. Causation: It must be proven that the misdiagnosis was at least a cause of patient’s harm.
4. Damages: The harm inflicted on the patient as a result of the misdiagnosis must lead to any actual physical or emotional damage before a medical practitioner can be held liable.

In many cases of misdiagnosis, the physician failed to properly perform the steps of differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis refers to the process by which physicians consider different conditions that may explain the patient’s presenting signs and symptoms and then attempt to rule in or rule out those conditions before arriving at the correct diagnosis.

The case for medical misdiagnosis can be strengthened by seeking a differential diagnosis from a different medical care provider, which will be used to prove the diagnostic error the first time around. 

What are Your Legal Options?

As the victim of a medical misdiagnosis, you have legal recourse to file a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit if you or a family member suffered some form of loss or damage due to the misdiagnosis.

If your condition was made worse due to a medical provider’s misdiagnosis and you lost wages or income such as from your job or business or if erroneous treatment caused permanent physical damage or the death of a family member, call your medical malpractice attorney immediately. They can help you put together a case to file for damages to cover the financial and non-financial costs of the medical misdiagnosis.

Additionally, your medical malpractice attorney can help with claiming damages for yourself or on behalf of a loved one if the misdiagnosis resulted in wrongful death. In this case, you can file a wrongful death claim or lawsuit to cover the cost of medical bills prior to death, emotional anguish, or the loss of support and guidance for the children.

Seek Expert Help Immediately in the Chicago Area

At Kroot Law, we are committed to protecting your right to receive competent medical care. If you did not get the medical attention you deserve and have suffered damages due to negligence from your medical practitioner, call the medical malpractice attorneys at Kroot Law at (312) 543-0030 for a free consultation.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a medication error due to pharmaceutical negligence, knowing your rights and understanding the next steps in reporting medication errors can help you seek the compensation you deserve. 

Understanding Medication Errors — How Do They Happen?

Doctors assess their patients’ condition before prescribing medication. Some factors they consider include the patient’s health history, diagnosed condition, body mass index, and any drug allergies. 

As such, a medication error or pharmaceutical mistake can happen as a result of the following: 

• Diagnosing the patient’s condition incorrectly 
• Reading the patient’s test results incorrectly 
• Writing the prescribed drugs in illegible handwriting 
• Issuing conflicting prescriptions, or those that cause adverse reactions 
• Mixing up medical charts 
• Failure to advise patients on correct drug use 
• Using incorrect labels on medication bottles 
• Giving a patient the wrong dose or wrong type of medicine 

Why Health Professionals Commit Pharmaceutical Mistakes

Aside from human error, there are some other factors that can contribute to medication errors:

• Busy, understaffed hospitals creating high-stress environments 
• Insufficient or improper medical staff training
• Faulty or outdated computer systems 
• Inaccurate drug inventory systems 

While these are understandably out of a drug manufacturer, prescribing doctor, pharmacy, or hospital staff’s control, these do not excuse them from their fault. This means they may still be partially liable for the health complications you’ve suffered due to the medication error. 

What to Do After a Medication Error 

While every case is unique and the specifics of your situation will ultimately dictate your next steps, here are some of the first things you should do after discovering a medication error: 

Contact a Medication Error Lawyer

Whether you have sustained a minor injury or a significant health complication, it’s always a good idea to seek professional help from a medication error or medical malpractice lawyer. A legal practitioner can help you understand your situation, give appropriate legal advice for your circumstances, and guide you through the next steps in reporting medication errors. 

Seek Medical Attention 

Besides seeking legal help, you must also get the medical attention you need for your new or worsening health condition. Drugs can be life-threatening when misused, so it’s crucial that you work with a physician that can correct the issue. 

Gather All Relevant Documents 

As you move forward with your medication error case with your attorney, you will need to keep all medication bottles given to you and compile copies of your prescriptions and medical records. If you’ve had to miss work due to your injury or sudden disability, a letter from your employer could also help build your case. 

Filing Medication Error or Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Chicago

Medication errors committed by a drug manufacturer, doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or any hospital staff can lead to health complications, irreversible injuries, or even death. If this has happened to you or your loved one, know that you have the legal right to seek compensation for the damages you’ve suffered. 

Most cases of pharmaceutical mistakes are filed as medical malpractice lawsuits. With the help of your medication error lawyer, you can hold negligent parties accountable, which could be: 

• Your prescribing physician 
• The nurse or hospital staff who gave you the wrong drug or dosage 
• The nurse or hospital staff who administered the drug incorrectly 
• The pharmacist who gave you the incorrect medication 
• Other medical professionals who contributed to the pharmaceutical mistake 

Proving the Liability of Your Healthcare Provider

As the plaintiff, you will need to prove that your prescribing doctor or nurse has indeed performed medication errors that caused the adverse health effects or injuries. Documents or other pieces of evidence that demonstrate the following can help build your case:

• That you followed your physician’s instructions on how and when to take your medicine. 
• That you were not made aware of the drug’s harmful side effects. 
• That your physician did not consider how the prescription would react against your current medications. 
• That the drug issued by your pharmacy was incorrect. 
• That the pharmaceutical mistake directly caused the injury. 

Seeking Compensation and Damages 

Your medication error lawyer can help you gather evidence and hold the parties at fault accountable for the harm and other damages their negligence has caused you. Depending on the outcome of your case, you may receive compensation for:

• Medical bills (e.g., costs of ongoing medical care, hospitalization, surgery, and other anticipated medical bills)
• Disability-related costs (e.g., mobility aids, physical therapies, in-home care)
• Pain and suffering (e.g., physical pain, emotional distress, mental health conditions)
• Disability or loss of a normal life
• Loss of income (compensation for missing work days or losing the job entirely due to disability)

In the worst cases, medication errors also lead to fatal injuries and complications. If your loved one passed away due to their healthcare provider’s pharmaceutical mistakes, you may be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. A medical malpractice lawyer can guide you in the next steps to take to hold the negligent parties accountable and, ultimately, get the compensation you need and deserve to help ease your suffering in these difficult times.  

Entrust Your Case to a Dedicated Medication Error Lawyer and Get the Best Possible Outcome 

No patient should suffer due to the negligence of professionals who should be advocating for their health and recovery. Unfortunately, the FDA receives over 100,000 medication error reports annually in the U.S. alone. A John Hopkins study also revealed that more than 250,000 people in the country die because of medication and other medical mistakes. 

If a hospital or pharmacy error has caused you or your loved one harm, know that help is available, and that our law firm is here for you. We step in to help you understand your rights in these overwhelming situations and advocate for your case through your medical malpractice lawsuit until you get the best possible outcome. 

Please feel free to call Kroot Law, LLC at (312) 543-0030 or fill out this contact form for a free, no-obligation consultation with medical malpractice lawyer Jason M. Kroot in the Chicago area.

But emotional distress is just one of the many problems surviving families of wrongful death victims experience. There are also funeral and burial expenses to contend with, plus the long-term impact on the family’s quality of life if the decedent provided important financial contributions to the family. Therefore, as the distressed party, the family is well within their rights to hire a wrongful death lawyer and file a lawsuit. 

If a beloved family member or relative dies as a result of another person’s negligence, hiring an experienced Chicago wrongful death lawyer should be a priority. Winning a wrongful death lawsuit will bring justice to your loved one’s death, secure financial compensation for your loss, and prevent the people responsible from committing the same mistakes and putting others in peril in the future. 

What Is Wrongful Death?

A wrongful death occurs when a person dies because of someone else’s negligence or misconduct. 

Illinois defines wrongful death in its Civil Liabilities (740 ILCS 180/) Wrongful Death Act as the death of a person “caused by wrongful act, neglect or default.” The victims sustained fatal injuries because of these acts, causing untimely deaths.

The following are examples of common causes or incidents that can lead to wrongful death:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Workplace accidents
• Premises liability accidents
• Accidental poisoning and overdoses
• Drowning and boating
• Product defects

Notice that these events typically result in serious personal injury. It’s also not uncommon for a wrongful death lawyer to also specialize in personal injury law.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit: What You Need To Know

A wrongful death lawsuit is similar to a personal injury lawsuit, except the decedent can no longer pursue their own case, so it is up to the surviving family to find a Chicago wrongful death lawyer and file a claim. 

An attorney can explain the legal jargon and procedures, but if you want to have some background beforehand, below are some things you need to know.

A Civil Suit

Wrongful death is a civil cause of action because it’s often initiated by a private party, which in this case would be the surviving family members or relatives (in contrast to a criminal action, which is initiated by the federal or state government and requires the jury to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt for a defendant to be convicted).

Relatives who have lost a loved one can file a civil wrongful death case regardless of whether the government pursues a criminal case against the defendant. The fact a defendant may be found not guilty in a criminal negligence case does not mean they cannot be found guilty in a civil case (e.g., drunk driving or involuntary manslaughter). This can happen for a variety of reasons, including the fact the burden of proof in a civil case is guilty by a preponderance of the evidence (meaning what is more probably true than not true) rather than guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

People Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

All states allow immediate family members to file a lawsuit on behalf of a decedent. However, some states have additional requirements or criteria for who can initiate the case.

Illinois law, for example, mandates that only a decedent’s personal representative or executor can pursue a wrongful death claim. If the decedent doesn’t have a legally-appointed personal representative, the court can appoint one, often the spouse, parent, or any surviving immediate family member.

Burden of Proof

Anyone wanting to take someone to court would need to choose the best lawyers, but an experienced attorney is especially crucial in a wrongful death lawsuit. This is because the burden of proof rests on the plaintiff, the camp of surviving family members. They must present sufficient evidence proving that the defendant is responsible for their loved one’s death.

If you live anywhere in Illinois, hiring an experienced Illinois wrongful death lawyer would be a crucial determining factor to win your case and receive financial compensation from the people responsible for your loved one’s death. 

Damages Can You Claim

Depending on the outcome of the case, the court may award the decedent’s executor or family members financial compensation for the following:

• Grief, emotional pain, and suffering
• Any bills incurred for the decedent’s emergency treatment, hospitalization, ambulance transport, etc.
• Burial and funeral expenses
• Lost wages and benefits if the decedent supported the family and other dependents
• Loss of education for the decedent’s children
• Loss of companionship for the decedent’s spouse, partner, and family members

In Illinois, the court permits damages among the surviving spouse, children, and/or next of kin. If the case goes to the jury, the distribution will depend on how the jury assigns damages to each of the rightful heirs.

Other states have different rules for the distribution of settlement. For example, some award the damages to the declared heirs, while others follow their intestacy laws if the decedent didn’t have a will.

Wrongful Death Claims Are Often Settled, Not Tried

In most cases, wrongful death cases no longer go to trial. However, since the lawsuit’s goal is to demand compensation from the responsible party, expect your wrongful death lawyer to seek a settlement.  

This is also why you need a competent, experienced, and determined Chicago wrongful death lawyer who will demand the highest compensation applicable to your case. Of course, nothing can fully compensate for your loss, but financial reparations can relieve some of the financial burdens you may have to face following your family member or relative’s untimely death. 

Statute of Limitations

There is a time limit, starting from the day of the decedent’s death, for their representative or family members to pursue a wrongful death claim. The statute of limitations in Illinois is generally two years from the day of death; beyond that, a court may no longer allow representative or family members to ask for civil damages from the responsible party.

However, if the cause of death was “violent intentional conduct,” the surviving family can pursue damages within five years from the day of death. 

Seek Justice for Your Loved One With Kroot Law

It’s emotionally tolling to have to go through a legal battle while grieving the sudden death of a family member. But you don’t have to carry this burden alone. If you have a proficient Illinois wrongful death lawyer by your side, your family can get just compensation.

Kroot Law is ready to assist and provide fierce legal assistance to the surviving family and personal representatives of wrongful death victims in Chicago and the rest of Illinois. We have successfully represented plaintiffs in wrongful death, personal injury, and medical malpractice cases. Whether you’re aiming for a settlement or want to pursue a trial, our capable and empathetic team, led by Atty. Jason M. Kroot will work tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve.

Contact Kroot Law at (312) 543-0030 or schedule a free consultation on our website.

Dr. Adajar had sought treatment for callouses and a chronic ulcer. Despite months of treatment, his condition did not improve. In June 2021, Dr. Baloga prescribed a total contact cast for Dr. Adajar. A day later, an infection flared up so severely that Dr. Adajar’s temperature spiked to over 102 degrees. This required an urgent visit to the emergency room. Dr. Adajar fell into septic shock and suffered numerous other health complications, resulting in an emergency surgical amputation of his right leg to save his life.

As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, infection cases come across my desk from time to time. In some cases, amputation led to amputation. It is rare, however, when the patient is also a doctor. As with any medical malpractice case, the plaintiff, or person filing the civil suit, will need to prove the defendant doctor deviated from the standard of care and that this deviation caused or contributed to the amputation.

A deviation from the standard of care generally means that the medical care that deviated from what is expected of a particular health profession under the same or similar circumstances.  In this case, the article did not specify exactly what is being alleged against the defendant, Dr. Baloga. However, broadly speaking, I’d expect there is an allegation that Defendant failed to properly manage the patient’s foot chronic ulcer, a type of sore, and failed to properly treat the condition. In this instance, part of the treatment included a total contact cast which is sometimes used to treat foot sores. This treatment may or may not have been the right decision. If it was the right decision, the cast may not have been placed properly or it may have been placed too late to be effective.

Another area that will likely be in dispute is causation. In particular, the defendant doctor will likely argue that the infection was due to the patient’s underlying, preexisting foot ulcer caused by vascular disease, or poor blood flow, most likely related to the patient’s underlying Type II diabetes.

Patients with Type II diabetes sometimes develop sores due to poor blood circulation. These vascular problems place patients at higher risk for developing skin sores or ulcers. These sores or ulcers can become infected, particularly if they are not managed properly, and can cause gangrene. In turn, gangrene causes tissue death from a lack of blood flow and can ultimately lead to amputation in order to save the person’s life.

Returning to this case, the defendant will likely argue that the patient’s amputation was inevitable due to patient’s chronic foot ulcer or sore and that contactless foot cast was the proper treatment. However, based on the timing of events, the severe infection leading to a fever seemed to occur within 24 hours or so of the cast being placed.

As a medical malpractice lawyer, I would be curious to know whether this patient should have been placed in a cast to begin with. If it the treatment plan was proper, I wonder if the cast should have been placed sooner or if it was simply placed improperly. The answer to any of these questions would require the use of a medical expert’s testimony. As a practical matter, the patient’s medical malpractice lawyer will probably need to a hire an expert in the defendant doctor’s expertise, podiatry in this case, and some sort of surgeon or vascular specialist to connect the deviation from the standard of care to the severe infection and resulting amputation. The defendant will undoubtably need to also hire one or more experts to refute the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert. How well each expert is able to explain their opinions and the basis of their opinions will go a long way in determining how a jury might decide the case if the case does not settle. The fact that the plaintiff in this case is a doctor, himself, and the fact his injury is the loss of his leg, makes this case unusual and compelling.

By: Jason Kroot of Kroot Law, LLC

Sources Used:

Richard, L (2022, February 2). Doctor sues fellow doctor for malpractice after infection leads to his leg being amputated. New York Post.

Abdominal procedures comprise of a significant percentage of emergency procedures in which the patient dies shortly thereafter. Examples of abdominal emergency procedures include bowel resections, partial colon resections, and gallbladder removal. Complications from these surgeries can involve bleeding and infections. According to one study from the JAMA Surgery, roughly 15 percent of all patients undergoing GI tract surgery will be readmitted to the hospital within one month of surgery due to a post-operative complication. Other abdominal surgery cases will involve post-operative complications that occur before the patient every leaves the hospital and are not directly caused by the surgery itself.

Whether an abdominal surgery complication or post-operative care is due to medical malpractice or simply an accepted risk of the procedures can be a complicated question. One of the first inquiries is whether the surgery was medically indicated. Another is whether the surgery was properly performed. Even if the surgery was indicated and properly performed, the medical staff may not have properly responded to signs and symptoms of a complication such as infection or bleeding. Still other cases may involve complications related post-operative care in the hospital, meaning the complication was not directly caused by any surgical error. For example, many medical experts believe Artist, Andy Warhol’s death, was caused by preventable post-operative care when a nurse allegedly pumped way too much fluid into him after a routine gallbladder procedure.

In order to properly evaluate whether a serious complication or death from abdominal surgery was preventable, expert testimony is nearly always needed. This begins with the medical expert reviewing the relevant medical records. After completing their review, the expert and medical malpractice lawyer conduct a meeting, whether by phone or in person, to discuss the expert’s opinions. During the meeting, the expert and lawyer discuss the necessary elements of a medical malpractice practice case, namely duty, breach of the duty, causation, and damages.

In medical negligence cases, assuming the physician or other healthcare provider like a nurse owed the patient a duty of care, the lawyer and expert must determine whether a deviation from the standard of care caused the harm. In many instances, the most difficult question is causation—that is, whether deviation from the standard of care caused the patient’s injury or death. If the patient was going to die not matter what the healthcare provider would or could have done, there is generally no case. In the Warhol matter, the defense lawyers argued Warhol died from a heart attack rather than from fluid overload. This case is just one example of why medical malpractice cases are seldom simple and must be carefully evaluated on all of the elements of a medical malpractice case including causation. Even though the case may have start with an abdominal surgery, the complication that developed is not necessarily a direct result of the surgery.

By Jason M. Kroot – Kroot Law, LLC

Posted: 3-18-19

Sources Used Include:

Huffington Post, 7 Emergency Surgeries Account for Nearly 80% of Deaths and Costs, August 26, 2016

Associated Press, Warhol Lawyer: Lack of Care Killed Pop Artist, December 5, 1991

You may have heard or read the front-page news about Sterigenics recently. There is evidence that this Chicago-area business has for decades been releasing toxic, cancer-causing fumes into the Willowbrook community. There is further evidence that some government entities knew about the great public risk this entailed, but did not alert the public.   As the evidence against Sterigenics continues to rise, so too do the number of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against the company.

Sterigenics

Sterigenics is a plant in Willowbrook, located in DuPage County, west of Chicago. As part of its operations, Sterigenics routinely emits the gas ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize medical equipment, such as surgical trays.  Sterigenics operates over 40 facilities in 13 countries.

Cancer Clusters

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), when a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases within a group of people in a certain area over a certain amount of time appears, it may be a cancer cluster. Could there be a cancer cluster in Willowbrook?

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) seems to indicate yes. The agency examined findings from a recent federal NATA (National Air Toxics Assessment) report showing that ethylene oxide is a significant cause of cancer risk. Preliminary findings show that the Willowbrook area is experiencing an exceptionally high rate of cancer, and links it to the gas emissions from Sterigenics.

Ethylene Oxide and Cancer

Ethylene oxide is a known human carcinogen, per the EPA. Over time, exposure to the gas leads to an increased risk of cancer. Many types of cancer are associated with ethylene oxide. These include breast cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, and lymphocytic leukemia.

Use and emission of ethylene oxide is a major part of Sterigenics’ operations.

Possible Cover-up

The EPA concluded that even low levels of ethylene oxide cause increased risk of cancer. According to reporting by the Chicago Tribune, state and federal officials were aware of, but did not disclose in a timely manner, the risks that Sterigenics posed to the Willowbrook community. Although some officials knew of the risks as early as December 2017, the information was not released to the public until August 2018.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner himself owned stock in the company. After first stating that Sterigenics had followed the rules and that there was no emergency, Rauner has since joined calls for Sterigenics to be closed until it is proven safe.

All individuals are susceptible to harm from exposure to ethylene oxide, but children are at increased risk from the chemical air pollution. Thousands of people live within a one-mile radius of the Sterigenics plant, and there are several schools and daycare centers nearby.

Lawsuits Against Sterigenics

A number of Chicago’s top personal injury lawyers have or will be filing lawsuits against Sterigenics on behalf of families whose loved ones lived, worked, or attended school near the Willowbrook facility. These lawsuits allege multiple theories of liability, including negligence, strict liability, and willful and wanton misconduct. Each claim is based on the general contention Sterigenic emission of ethelyne oxide caused serious injury to, and at times the death, of people in close proximity to the plant. At this time, all the lawsuits are in the early phase of litigation. Although it is too early to determine the ultimate outcome of these lawsuits, what is clear is that Sterigenics will attempt to mount a vigorous defense against the serious allegations by those who maintain the company is responsible for the preventable injury and death of many people in the community.

Community Meetings

Town hall meetings in Willowbrook and nearby Darien are scheduled in the coming weeks. Many members of the community are expected to voice concerns not only about the harm Sterigenics may have caused over the last several decades, but also concern over whether the facility continues to pose a danger. A number of state and federal officials are expected to attend these meeting and may or may not provide answers to many of these pressing questions.  Thus far, there is no indication whether Governor Rauner will send a representative.

State Lawsuit Against Sterigenics

In the latest development against Sterigenics, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and DuPage County State’s Attorneys Office have filed a complaint Sterigenics.  The complaint alleges, among other things, that Sterigenics has emitted over 254,000 pounds of cancer-causing ethylene oxide into the facility’s surrounding neighborhood from 1993 to 2017. The complaint requests the state court to either shut down Sterigenics or enforce stricter limitations on the emission of ethylene oxide based on the cancer risks. According to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, it took longer than necessary to built the case against Sterigenics because Governor Rauner’s Illinois led-EPA office delayed providing key records and struggled to find an expert witness to testify in court. She further asserts the Rauner administration “hid information on the increased risks from the Sterigenics plant for over eight months.”

Sources Used:

Chicago Tribune: Trump and Rauner administrations knew about Sterigenics cancer risks months before telling public, by Michael Hawthorne, 10-26-18

Chicago Tribune: Citing cancer risks, Lisa Madigan, DuPage prosecutor urge court to shut down Sterigenics in Willowbrook, by Michael Hawthorne, 10-30-18

Sterigenics.com

The practice of medical device and drug companies providing gifts and payments to physicians is nothing new. A recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that over two-and-a-half years, physicians licensed in Massachusetts received over $76 million from those companies. This figure does not gifts of less than $50. Doctors received these payments for attending lectures, dinners, or conferences sponsored by companies hoping to promote their products, raising the question of conflict of interest. For example, if a patient sees two different doctors for a medical issue and one recommends surgery while the other opts for a wait-and-see approach, the patient might wonder if one doctor has some kind of relationship with the device and drug industries.

Currently a few states have laws requiring corporations to disclose payments to health providers. The Physician Payment Sunshine Act goes into effect in 2014, making corporate payment information available nationwide. Having this sort of transparency about financial influences on physicians will mean better options for patients. They will be able to seek out information when picking a doctor or making a decision about a medical procedure. Patients may also consider checking payment information when a doctor switches a long-time prescription medication from a generic to a name brand.

Even when a doctor believes he is not being influenced by an occasional lunch provided by a pharmaceutical representative, he may subconsciously develop positive feelings about a product as a result. Another common subconscious manipulation occurs when drug companies pay doctors consulting fees to listen to descriptions of new medications and evaluate their performance. The simple repetition of information can often be enough for the doctor to see the product in a favorable light and therefore prescribe it before a cheaper or generic drug.

While most doctors work diligently to provide the best possible care for their patients, the fact remains that corporations are willing to spend millions of dollars to sell their products. The more knowledge patients have about physicians’ relationships with drug companies, the better equipped they will be to make informed decisions about where to find the best care. This new transparency may also dissuade the small minority of unscrupulous doctors from recommending a drug or device that is not in the best interest of their patient.

Sources:

New York Times, Doctors’ Lucrative Industry Ties, 5-13-13

Demographic changes can account for some of the increase in complications. Many women are delaying parenthood until their late 30s and early 40s and experiencing issues that go along with advanced maternal age. The steady rise in obesity in the U.S. means that more expectant mothers are overweight, so their health may be compromised even before their pregnancies. Chronic conditions, such as diabetes or liver disease, can also put women at higher risk for complications throughout pregnancy. However, the most common cause of death after childbirth, severe bleeding, or hemorrhage, can affect even healthy women with no history of problems during pregnancy.

Danielle Dargatz, a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman, had experienced a healthy pregnancy and wasn’t considered high-risk for complications when she delivered her daughter in 2012. Unfortunately, following the birth she began hemorrhaging and her doctor was unable to stop the bleeding with medication and other traditional measures. A surgical team was called in to perform an emergency hysterectomy. Ms. Dargatz’s story has a happy ending, but some women and their children aren’t as lucky.

While most complications in pregnancy and childbirth are not life-threatening, a certain percentage will result in death. In the U.S. annually, severe birth injury and labor and delivery complications affect over 50,000 women per year. $17.4 billion in annual U.S. hospital costs comes from obstetrics-related complications, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Premier, Inc. They estimate that over a quarter of a hospital’s total of medical malpractice claims is attributed to birth injury lawsuits and other obstetrical complications.

While the healthcare industry works toward creating a safer environment for mothers giving birth and their newborn babies, expectant parents should choose their obstetricians carefully. Likewise, if given the choice, expectant parents should also select a hospital that providers a high degree of care for both routine and non-routine deliveries. Choosing the best possible obstetrician and hospital will reduce the risk of birth related complications. In the event a complication does arise, top quality physicians and hospitals staff will also decrease risk that a labor and delivery complication will result in permanent harm to mom or baby.

Sources Used:

The Wall Street Journal, Steep Rise of Complications in Childbirth Spurs Action, 12-10-12.

Lead by lead researcher, Dr. Clara N. Lee of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, the retrospective study evaluated the decision making process of early stage breast cancer patients regarding surgical treatment. Surveys were mailed out to adult women with a history of early-stage invasive breast cancer treated at one of four academic medical centers: The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; University of California, San Francisco; and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Based on answers to basic questions about their disease and treatment options, patients answered only half their questions right (52%), demonstrating these patients had a large knowledge gap regarding their disease and treatment choices.

Because study data was collected an average of 2 ½ years after the patient’s surgical procedure, researchers recognized that some patients are likely to forget some information over time. However, the information that was forgotten was simply too basic, according to researchers, to be simply forgotten. For example, only half of breast cancer survivors from the study knew the survival rate was the same for breast-conservation therapy and mastectomy. Likewise, breast cancer survivors who underwent a partial mastectomy routinely did not know the local recurrence rates (compared to women who had a mastectomy).

According to Dr. Lee, “patients and providers need to have transparent conversations about treatment options, risks and goals in order to make fully informed decisions.” Dr. Lee’s remarks are fully supported by the American Medical Association stated beliefs on informed consent. According to the AMA, “[i]nformed consent is more than just getting a patient to sign a consent form.” The AMA acknowledges the communication process requires the physician to provide the patient: their diagnosis (if known); nature and purpose of the proposed treatment or procedure; the risks and benefits of the treatment or procedure; alternative treatment, along with the risks and benefits of the alternative treatment; and the risks of benefits of not receiving treatment. In addition, doctors must give the patient the opportunity to ask questions about any of this information in order to better understand of their options. As the AMA recognizes, informed consent is more than just a legal obligation necessary to defend against medical malpractice claims. It is an ethical obligation. Unfortunately, as this most recent study illustrates, some doctors often fail to honor either obligation.

With virtually all same-day surgery procedures, the most significant risk is from the anesthesia. Although there are many forms of anesthesia, general anesthesia poses the greatest risk of serious injury or wrongful death. Indeed, most medical malpractice lawsuits stemming from anesthesia error involve general anesthesia. Common general anesthesia complications are from aspiration, changes in vital signs, and adverse reactions to anesthetic.

Regarding adverse anesthetic reactions, the most significant and potentially fatal condition that can develop is called malignant hyperthermia (or MH). This occurs when a patient’s body temperature rapidly increases and causes muscle rigidity. With proper management, many patients will experience a full recovery. Without proper management, patients can and do die from MH.

An expert panel from Penn State College of Medicine recommends that all ASCs develop policies for managing malignant hyperthermia. One key guideline recommended by the panel is that ASCs develop plans for immediately transferring patients who experience MH to a nearby hospital for more advanced care. According to the report, MH patients must be immediately transferred to a hospital that is equipped to provide critical care crisis management. After all, most ASCs do not have the ability to manage potentially life threatening anesthesia complications like MH. The panel also recommends that ASCs implement guidelines on giving immediate muscle relaxant medication to MH patients before transfer. After all, for every 30 minutes of delayed muscle relaxant medication to patient with MH, the risk of serious complication doubles.

Although relatively rare, anesthesia complication can be very serious if not fatal. Consequently, any patient with a history of anesthesia complications or who is otherwise at increased risk of anesthesia complication should strongly consider having any surgery involving anesthesia at a hospital rather than an ASC. Indeed, any patient considering surgery that involves general anesthesia should do their homework before blindly agreeing to have their surgery performed at an ASC. Although many ASC have excellent medical staff, few can handle major anesthesia complications as well as competent hospital.

Sources Used:

Medical News Today Website, Guidelines For Managing Rare Anesthesia Complication At Ambulatory Surgical Center, January 3, 2012.

Wikipedia, Outpatient Surgery, January 3, 2012.

WebMd, Anesthesia Risks And Complications, January 3, 2012.

Setting aside whether an arbitrary cap on damages in all medical malpractice cases is fair (regardless of patient’ injury or the health professional’ misconduct), do caps actually work? That is, do caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice achieve the goal of reducing malpractice insurance premiums or is there another solution? Based on the results in California, Texas, and other states, as well an independent study conducted by Duke University, the answer seems to be no.

Malpractice Premiums in States with Caps on Non-Economic Damages

The malpractice premiums in states with caps on non-economic damages are 12.4% higher than in states without caps. (Medical Liability Monitor, October 2005) In five states that recently enacted medical malpractice caps (Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas), premiums rose to nearly double the rates as states that do not have caps on damages. (Medical Liability Monitor, October 2004)

Malpractice Premiums in Texas after Caps on Non-Economic Damages

In 2003, Texas passed a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. The cap was enacted after an intense campaign in which the Insurance Commissioner of Texas claimed caps would reduce insurance rates by 19%. However, just two months later, major malpractice insurance carriers requested rate increases of 35 % for doctors and 65% for hospitals despite earlier promises that the caps would lower rates. (See “Mythbuster: Specific State Examples that ‘Caps’ Don’t Work!” Center for Justice & Democracy, June 13, 2005).

In a document filed by GE Medical Protective to the Texas Department of Insurance, obtained by the Foundation for Taxpayer Consumer Rights, the company admitted “capping non-economic damages will show a loss savings of 1.0%.” This document may be viewed at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/malpractice/rp/2059.pdf, August 18, 2006.

Malpractice Premiums in California after Caps on Non-Economic Damages

About fifteen years ago, California passed their Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act capping non-economic damages at $250,000. Thereafter, malpractice premiums for physicians in California rose 450%. Rates did not fall until the 1988 passage of Proposition 103, an insurance reform initiative that lowered physicians’ premiums 20% in the first three years after enactment. (Press Release, “Third Time’ a Charm: Another Malpractice Insurer Admits Damage Caps Won’t Lower Doctors’ Premiums,” Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, February 15, 2005.)

Duke University Study on Med Mal Caps in Illinois and Insurance Premiums

In 2005, Illinois passed its own cap on damages in medical malpractice cases (which is now being appealed). Like in Texas, proponents of the statute argued malpractice insurance premiums were so exorbitant because of runway jury verdicts and went on to claim doctors were fleeing the state as a result. However, these arguments were dispelled by an independent Duke University study conducted by Professor Neil Vidmar. (Duke Study)

The Duke study shows the number of doctors in Illinois had actually increased between 1993 and 2003, including specialties like obstetrics and gynecology which are vulnerable to larger verdicts.

The study found that “[t]he Illinois Tort System does not appear to be the cause of the undisputed fact that doctors’ liability insurance premiums showed dramatic rises.” Regarding a cap on non-economic damages, the Duke study concluded a $500,000 cap “would have resulted in a minimal reduction in overall payouts to plaintiffs and would be unlikely to affect doctors’ liability insurance premiums.”

Posted by Jason Kroot, Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney of Kroot Law, LLC