Tag: Baltimore medical malpractice lawyers

BLADDER INJURY DURING C-SECTION DELIVERY

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The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reports that Cesarean section (C-section) is the most common surgery performed in the United States. With more than 30% of deliveries resulting in caesarian section, it is important to be aware of childbirth-related injuries to the mother. Although surgery carries risks, bladder injury during cesarean delivery can be a direct result of medical negligence. A negligence claim related to C-section bladder damage may be filed for a number of reasons.

For example, if:

  • Injury, such as bladder laceration and/or ureter transection, occurs during the operation, but is not identified at the time of operation
  • The proper protocol was not taken for a woman who has had a cesarean section before (patients with prior cesarean deliveries are at significant risk for bladder injury at the time of the repeat cesarean delivery)
  • Timing of cesarean delivery was not properly handled by doctors (cesarean section performed at the time of the second stage of labor carries a significant risk for bladder injury)

The most common injury at the time of either obstetric or gynecologic surgery, such as a C-section, is a urologic injury, with the bladder being the most frequently damaged organ. Though not life-threatening when discovered at the time of the C-section, a bladder injury can be an extremely painful and unpleasant experience and lead to permanent injury such as loss of bladder retention, loss of bladder control,  urine leakage and a neurogenic bladder.  Treatment may require continuous bladder drainage through the use of a catheter and subsequent surgical procedures including fistula repair and bladder augmentation surgery.

If the bladder injury caused during a C-section is not discovered at the time of the C-section, the repair of the injury is delayed and this delay can be life-threatening.  If the bladder or ureters have been cut during C-section, serious symptoms will occur within just a few hours following the C-section, including blood in the urine, bloating of the abdomen, abdominal pain, abnormal urinalysis results (elevated BUN and creatinine levels) and infection, including peritonitis and sepsis, may develop.

If you or a loved one has experienced bladder complications during a cesarean section as a result of medical negligence, call The Yost Legal Group right away. If you have been a victim of a medical mistake, there is a limited time to file your claim. Call 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529) today to speak with an experienced Baltimore Birth Injury attorney for FREE.

When you call The Yost Legal Group, Baltimore, Maryland Medical Malpractice and Birth Injury law firm, you will speak with an experienced, compassionate attorney that will help you understand the details of your case and provide the answers you need.

When you trust The Yost Legal Group to represent you, we will never charge an attorney’s fee unless we achieve a recovery for you.

Every mother has the right to a safe, healthy and extraordinary childbirth experience. If your pregnancy had a bad outcome, call The Yost Legal Group today.

 

 

PREVENTABLE MEDICAL MISTAKES IN HOSPITALS

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Hospital-acquired conditions, also known as “never events”, are particularly awful medical mistakes that should not ever occur. Some examples of these preventable errors include:

  • Operating on the wrong place on the patient’s body
  • Discharging a newborn to the wrong parents
  • Leaving a foreign object, such as a scalpel or sponge, inside the body
  • Mismatched blood transfusion
  • Causing an air embolism during treatment of a patient

Unfortunately, not all medical mistakes are avoidable at all times. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported medical errors account for as many as 98,000 deaths per year. A more recent study specific to surgical errors conducted in 2013, found that more than 4,000 surgical “never events” occur annually in the United States.

Due to the fact that these events are preventable, health care organizations are attempting to get rid of them completely and health insurance providers, including Medicare and Medicaid, are no longer paying for costs related to hospital-acquired conditions (HACs). Also, many of these “never events” are being openly reported by the public. All of these strategies aim to inspire hospitals and medical professionals to accelerate the progress of patient safety.

Never events within hospitals can point to a major safety problem within an organization. It has been reported these error rates are much higher in the U.S. than in other developed countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Some states, such as Minnesota (the first state to pass a statute that required obligatory reporting), have enacted legislation requiring reporting of hospital-acquired conditions but not all states are required to do so. It has been up for debate whether or not required reporting of HACs has affected how frequently they occur.

As the term “never events” indicates, these events should under no circumstance be occurring however, they continue to occur. If you or a loved one feel you are the victim of a medical mistake contact The Yost Legal Group today at 1-800-YOST-LAW (800-403-7259). When you call, you will speak with an experienced Baltimore Medical Malpractice attorney absolutely FREE.

The attorneys at Yost Legal Group are experienced, caring professionals ready to investigate your claim with compassion and determination. Call us today to receive a free, confidential consultation about your possible case.

At The Yost Legal Group, we will investigate every detail of your situation at no cost to you, and fight hard to ensure that your rights are protected.

We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you will never pay an attorney’s fee up front, and you owe us nothing unless we win your case.

 

Prince George’s Hospital NICU Shut Down After Infants are Exposed to Dangerous Bacteria

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The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, MD has been shut down following the discovery of a dangerous, and potentially deadly, form of bacteria. Infants at the NICU are currently being transferred to other hospitals in an effort to prevent the spread of bacterial infections. At this time, nine infant patients have been transferred out of the Prince George’s Hospital Center NICU.

Infants in the NICU may have been exposed to a dangerous bacterium called Pseudomonas. The presence of the Pseudomonas bacteria was discovered following two recent deaths of infants being held in the NICU.

Officials at the hospital made it clear that these two infant deaths have not officially been linked to the bacterial outbreak. However, thus far three infants in neonatal intensive care at the hospital have tested positive for Pseudomonas.

Pseudomonas is a dangerous form of bacteria that is often found in hospitals. Pseudomonas can live on the hands of hospital workers, as well as on tainted medical equipment. Proper sanitization measures can help prevent the spread of Pseudomonas and other dangerous bacteria.

Unfortunately, exposure to Pseudomonas and other forms of dangerous bacteria in hospitals is more common than you might believe. According the Centers for Disease Control, these types of bacterial infections impact thousands of hospital patients every year:

  • An estimated 51,000 healthcare-associated Pseudomonas infections occur in the United States each year.
  • Pseudomonas infections cause an estimated 400 fatalities every year.
  • More than 13% of Pseudomonas infections are estimated to be multi-drug resistant, meaning that traditional antibiotic treatments may be unable to help affected patients.

Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care are at an extremely high risk of suffering from infections and other diseases due to their weakened immune systems. Exposure to Pseudomonas could be deadly for these children. An investigation is ongoing to determine how the bacteria was introduced to the NCIU as well as how long it may have been present.

Hospital errors cause an estimated 250,000 deaths in the United States every year.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury, infection, or any other serious harm as a result of the negligence of a hospital or medical professional, The Yost Legal Group may be able to help.

Call us today at 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529) for a FREE, confidential consultation. When you call, you will speak with an experienced Baltimore Medical Malpractice attorney about your potential case. We will investigate every detail of your situation at no cost to you, and help provide the answers you seek.

The Yost Legal Group is made up of experienced attorneys ready to pursue your case with compassion and dedication. At The Yost Legal Group, you will never pay an attorney’s fee up front, and you owe us nothing unless we recover for you.

The Yost Legal Group – Experienced Attorneys Dedicated to Protecting Your Rights

Common Bile Duct Injuries Can Have Devastating Consequences

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A healthy gallbladder stores bile, which is produced in the liver, and releases the bile into the small intestine to help in the digestion of food. Gallstones are small, hard, gravel-like deposits that can form inside the gallbladder. Gallstones cause pain, inflammation, infection, and blockages of the tubes, called bile ducts, which enter and exit the gallbladder. Gallstones are the most common cause of gallbladder surgery. The surgical procedure to remove the gallbladder is called cholecystectomy, and this surgery can be performed by entering the abdomen through a single, long, incision (known as open cholecystectomy) or through 3 or 4 small cuts (known as laparoscopic cholecystectomy).

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (known as “lap choly”) is the most common and effective way to remove the gallbladder. During laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the surgeon attaches a camera and light to a scope which is inserted through one of the small incisions. The camera projects the inside of the abdomen in real time, and the doctor uses the live-feed video to guide the surgical instruments through the other small incisions and perform the surgery.

The smaller incisions typically allow the ”lap choly” patient to recovery more quickly and less painfully from gallbladder surgery, but there can also be downsides. Since the surgeon is looking at the gallbladder through a video camera there is only a two-dimensional view of the surgery being performed, rather than the three-dimensional view that open surgery allows. This affects the surgeon’s depth perception, leaving room for medical error, such as a cut, clipped or pinched bile duct. When this unfortunate form of medical malpractice occurs, blockage can occur or bile can seep from the duct and cause an infection which may even enter into the bloodstream (sepsis).

An injury to the common bile duct during gallbladder removal surgery can be very serious and even deadly if not treated in time. Symptoms can include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), intense abdominal or stomach pain, fever, chills, nausea, or swelling of the abdomen. Treatment of a common bile duct injury often requires surgical repair and can include additional gastrointestinal surgical procedures such as Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. Even patients who have had surgery to repair their common bile duct injuries can have further issues such as obstruction of bile flow.

Over half a million people have gallbladder surgery every year, making it a very common practice in the United States. Unfortunately, due to medical negligence, approximately one in every one thousand laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgeries results in bile duct injuries.

If you would like to discuss your potential claim arising from a common bile duct injury, the attorneys at Yost Legal Group are experienced professionals ready to investigate your claim with compassion and determination. For a free consultation, please call us at 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529).

Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular Hip System Recall

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Thousands of Americans receive hip replacements every year due to sports injuries, falls, aging and a host of other reasons. The goal of a hip replacement surgery is to return to your active lifestyle as quickly as possible. There are many different hip replacement medical devices on the market, from plastic implants to metal on metal implants.

Over the past decade, there have been a number of recalls on many of the top, name brand, metal on metal hip implant devises. It is the FDA’s duty to be the guardhouse for safe products, but sometimes defective products are passed through the system due to inadequate testing, manipulated reporting and of course, from human error.

Stryker is letting patients know that they should undergo a hip revision surgery to replace their metal on metal hip device for another model. Stryker will cover the cost of the revision surgery, but there is more to having a revision surgery then the procedure alone. There is prep time, the surgery itself, the recovery time and the hopes that the revision surgery will go well and not create any further medical problems.

Unfortunately, sometimes, medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs get fast tracked through the system, meaning the FDA approves them for market use, before enough research and testing has been conducted.

This is what happened with many metal on metal hip implant devices. The FDA approved them all, but as they were used, more and more adverse reaction reports were being sent to the FDA, so an investigation began. Usually this takes years for a medical device or prescription drug to be recalled off the market. And while the FDA waits, innocent patients continue to be harmed.

Over two years ago, on July 6, 2012 Stryker issued a voluntary recall of its Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck hip stems due to the increased potential for neck-body dissociation and increasing amounts of metal debris generated and deposited by the device.

Long-term toxicity of metal particles is not well known, but doctors have expressed concerns about metal exposure and there are numerous reports showing significant effects on organs. Metal toxicity has been linked to serious illnesses and is a very real concern for patients.

The modular interface of the Rejuvenate and ABG II creates corrosion, causing an inflammatory response, which results in a local reaction, such as metallosis, eventually affecting the entire body. Many patients have suffered a range of adverse reactions, such as:

  • Osteolysis (bone dissolution)
  • Synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane)
  • Pseudo-tumors
  • Fluid in the joint
  • Tissue and bone necrosis
  • Hypersensitivity to metal

Adverse reactions that affect the entire body include:

  • Decreased total lymphocyte cells, which defends against tumors and virally infected cells
  • Decreased CD8+T cells, which fight intracellular pathogens and malignancies
  • DNA changes
  • Chromosomal aberrations

If you have a Stryker Rejuvenate or Stryker ABG II implant and require a revision surgery call The Yost Legal Group at 1-800-YOST-LAW (1-800-967-8529). We’ll speak with you for free to discuss your situation and help you to understand your rights.

If we take your case we will do so on a no win/no fee or expense basis only. That means you do not pay a fee or expense unless you recover.

Call now for a free confidential consultation.

The Yost Legal Group, Experienced Lawyers Dedicated to Protecting your Rights.

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