Tag: medical malpractice lawyers baltimore

Vacuum-Assisted Delivery And Birth Injury

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Sometimes, during the labor and delivery process, the baby needs a little help getting through the birth canal. Approximately 1 out of 20 vaginal deliveries in the United States result in some form of assistance being required. Prolonged labor can be dangerous to the baby as well as extremely painful and exhausting to the mother. Two common forms of assisted delivery, used by medical providers to when labor is stalled, are vacuum extraction and forceps delivery.

Vacuum extraction involves placing a small round cup on the baby’s head, which attaches to a vacuum pump creating suction to help guide the baby out of the birth canal. If performed incorrectly, suction during vacuum extraction can cause permanent and even life-threatening injuries, including: massive bleeding (hemorrhage and hypovolemic shock) beneath the scalp or within the brain (intracranial hemorrhage and encephalopathy); brain damage; skull fracture; and, retinal hemorrhage. Forceps delivery (another assisted delivery method), can also cause skull fractures, skull bleeding, and bruising on the baby’s head and face. These injuries have been known to cause permanent brain damage, neurological injuries and more specifically, cerebral palsy (CP).

In the hands of an inexperienced or untrained physician, a vacuum-assisted or forceps-assisted delivery can cause you and your child serious and permanent injuries. The cost of care for a child with cerebral palsy, or any birth injury, is very high. If your child’s birth injury was caused by a complication during vacuum-assisted or forceps-assisted delivery, 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.

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. 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. A The Yost Legal Group, there is no fee or expense unless you recover.

 

Foreign Objects Left In Surgical Patients

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Leaving foreign objects (including sponges, needles and instruments) in patients during surgical procedures is a widely recognized medical error classified as a “Never Event”. The term “Never Event” refers to a hospital-acquired condition that should not, under any circumstances, occur. A surgical tool, such a sponge or forceps, placed inside a patient during surgery but not removed at the end of the surgical procedure, can result in serious complications including infection, vascular injury, organ damage, uncontrolled bleeding or other, life-threatening, injuries.

With more than 4,000 surgical “never events” occurring annually in the United States (as reported by a 2013 study of surgical errors), it is important to be aware of the circumstances and consequences surrounding retained surgical instruments (RSI) following a surgical procedure.

A surgical sponge is the most commonly reported RSI following surgery. However, instruments such as scalpels, needles, scissors, tweezers, forceps, clamps and tubing have also been documented. Once inside the patient’s body, an RSI can cause various complications depending on the type and location of the object left behind. Complications include: bacteria collection around the foreign object, producing infection; intestinal perforation; and, internal bleeding. The most common symptom is excruciating, unexplained pain in the patient – days, weeks or even months after a surgery. Additional surgery (frequently more extensive than the patient’s original, scheduled, procedure) is usually required to remove the item, once diagnosed.

Proper patient care and safety should always be the top priority in any medical setting.  In the operating room, standard procedure includes performing needle, sponge and instrument counts at the end of each surgical procedure but these counts are not always accurate. Medical negligence has occurred whenever a surgical instrument is left in a patient.

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.

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.

Injury During Cardiac Catheterization

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally. Because more people die annually from heart disease than from any other cause, it is important to take preventative measures to examine how well your heart is working. Diagnostic procedures and medical tests are commonly performed by medical professionals to monitor the heart and keep people from suffering fatal heart attacks.

Cardiac catheterization, a procedure used to diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions, involves inserting a flexible wire into an artery or vein in your neck or groin, threading this wire through your blood vessels to your heart and, finally, guiding a long, thin tube, called a catheter, over the wire and into coronary arteries, veins or even a chamber of the heart.

Complications of this procedure can include:

  • Creation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel (thrombus), triggering a stroke, heart attack, or other serious problems.
  • Dislodgment of atherosclerotic plaque (plaque rupture) from the interior wall of a blood vessel, triggering a stroke, heart attack, or other serious problems in patients with atherosclerosis (a condition commonly known as “hardening of the arteries”)
  • Damage to blood vessels (the wire or catheter may cut, scrape or puncture a blood vessel as they are threaded to the heart), causing severe bleeding (hemorrhage or hematoma).
  • Accidental placement of the catheter into the wrong artery, vessel, heart chamber or, rarely, into a lobe of the lung.

The use of ultrasound imaging to guide catheter placement and the degree of technical experience greatly influence the incidence of vascular complications. If ultrasound imaging is not used to provide visual guidance during the procedure, or if the doctor performing the catheterization is careless or inexperienced, risks of complication skyrocket. These complications may all fall into the category of medical malpractice. An injury during cardiac catheterization can cause permanent damage or even result in death.

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.

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.

 

Hypoxic Brain Injury- Intubation

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Tracheal intubation (TI), usually simply referred to as intubation, is a procedure performed by medical professionals in the setting of respiratory failure and shock. This procedure involves inserting a flexible plastic tube into the patient’s trachea (windpipe) to maintain an open airway, assist with breathing and can also serve as a channel through which to administer certain drugs.

Although intubation is a life-saving intervention, life-threatening complications may arise if this complex procedure is not done correctly. Negligent placement of the endotracheal tube into the esophagus, instead of the trachea, is a major cause of cardiac arrest and brain damage associated with intubation.  If this mistake is not immediately recognized and the tubing withdrawn from the patient’s esophagus, the patient’s airway remains blocked and hypoxic brain injury or anoxic brain injury can result from the asphyxiation caused by negligent intubation.

Patients must have a continuous supply of oxygen to the brain in order to survive. If the oxygen supply is interrupted, even for a short amount of time, the functioning of the brain is disturbed immediately and irreversible damage can quickly follow. Despite intubation guidelines and years of training in airway management, medical mistakes continue to be made, causing catastrophic complications to arise.

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, there is no fee or expense unless you recover.

 

Sepsis Following Weight Loss Surgery

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The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults suffer from obesity. High blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and stroke are all life threatening conditions linked to obesity and are some of the leading causes of preventable death.

There are various surgical procedures that doctors perform in order for patients to achieve desired weight loss and avoid obesity-related complications. These procedures are referred to as bariatric surgery and include a variety of surgical approaches, including gastric banding, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgery. All bariatric surgeries shrink the size of the patient’s stomach in order to limit the amount of food that can be consumed. During banding procedures, (laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, or LAGB), a flexible band is placed around the upper portion of the patient’s stomach wall and tightened, to restrict the size of the stomach. During gastric bypass surgery, part of the stomach may be removed (gastrectomy) and the surgeon will also re-route, or bypass, part of the digestive system so that a much smaller amount of nutrients from food are absorbed by the intestinal tract.

Unfortunately, sometimes bariatric surgery brings with it consequences in the form of medical mistakes. There have been many instances where patients have suffered from an anastomotic leak (AL) during gastric bypass surgery, when fluid from within the gastrointestinal tract leaks into the sterile abdominal cavity. As a result, these patients suffer from severe peritonitis (a deadly infection in the abdomen) and sepsis. Early diagnosis of an AL is crucial for the prevention of life-threatening complications. In countless instances, medical providers have failed to diagnose this complication at the time of surgery.

Symptoms of sepsis include:
• Fever
• Hypothermia (lower than normal body temperature)
• Heart rate >90 beats per minute (bpm)
• Fast respiratory rate
• Altered mental status (confusion/coma)
• Edema (swelling)
• High blood glucose without diabetes

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, there is no fee or expense unless you recover.

Perforation of Small Intestine During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

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Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, commonly referred to as a “lap choly,” is a procedure that involves removing the gallbladder. A patient may need removal if the gallbladder is full of gallstones (cholelithiasis), inflamed, or infected (cholecystitis). When a lap choly is needed, laparoscopic techniques are used to perform this minimally invasive surgery with the assistance of a video camera and several thin instruments.

The laparoscopic incisions, each one about ½” in size, limit the surgeon’s view of the patient’s abdomen. This limited view during surgical dissection and electrocautery can be associated with serious complications. Several factors may play a role in causing these injuries, such as the complexity of the case and the experience of the surgeon.

Although injury to the common bile duct (the tube that carries bile from the gallbladder to the small intestine) is one of the most serious complications of gall bladder surgery, injury to the small bowel (small intestine) can occur as a result of a medical provider’s incorrect use of surgical tools during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.  Perforation or laceration of the small intestine during lap choly can occur when the nearby wall of the small intestine is cut by a surgical tool or burned during electrocautery.  If left undetected and not quickly repaired, a hole in the small intestine can cause bile to leak into the abdomen and can lead to life-threatening infection (abscess, peritonitis and sepsis). The duodenum (upper section of the small intestine) or jejunum (the middle portion of the small intestine) are the two most likely sections of the small intestine to be negligently damaged during laparoscopic gall bladder surgery.

Before laparoscopy is performed on a patient, the patient must be properly evaluated, including a full clinical history and thorough clinical examination. If you would like to discuss your potential claim arising from an intestinal injury during laparoscopy, the attorneys at Yost Legal Group are experienced professionals ready to investigate your claim with compassion and determination.

Call The Yost Legal Group today at 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529) for a FREE, confidential, no-obligation consultation. At The Yost Legal Group, there is no fee or expense unless you recover.

Smith & Nephew Multi-District Litigation Comes to Maryland

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People from all over the United States suffering from injuries due to Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) and R3 Acetabular system hip devices are now closer than ever to receiving the compensation they deserve. On April 5, 2017, a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) was created to combine over 40 federal cases into one proceeding before one judge. The cases will be presided over by Judge Catherine C. Blake of the United States District Court of Maryland in Baltimore. This MDL allows for plaintiffs to maintain their right to a jury trial while benefitting from the efficiency and consistency of rulings by one judge.

Victims of the defective Smith & Nephew hip devices are in severe pain due to premature failure of the devices.  With normal use, components of the implant rub together causing metal particles to be released into the bloodstream. These metal particles cause elevated blood metal levels of Chromium and Cobalt called Metallosis. The side effects of Metallosis include severe hip and leg pain, tissue and bone death, loosening of the device, and pseudotumors.  These Smith & Nephew hip devices, which were supposed to improve the lives of hip replacement patients, have instead led to difficult complications and the need for revision surgeries.

The Maryland MDL gives victims new hope. They can now join together to fight for justice against Smith & Nephew. This is just the latest wave of lawsuits plaguing the medical device industry. Several other MDLs have already been formed to manage cases against hip device manufacturers like Stryker, DePuy, and Zimmer. Although it may take several years for the MDL proceedings to advance to the point where the first cases will be tried, there is no doubt that the consolidation of these Smith & Nephew claims is a step in the right direction.

Our experienced lawyers fight for individuals who have been harmed by defective products. If you or a loved one has been injured or required revision surgery following a Smith & Nephew or other defective hip device, the attorneys at the Yost Legal Group will investigate your potential claim and lawsuit. For a free consultation, please call us at 1-800-YOSTLAW.

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.

 

 

Colonoscopies Help Millions of People Annually, But What Can Go Wrong?

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There are over 14 million colonoscopies performed annually. This can be a life-saving procedure for many individuals. Colonoscopy exams allow doctors to go inside the large intestine and the colon with flexible tubing attached to a small video recorder. The purpose is usually to use the video image from the recorder to identify polyps, ulcers, cancer or pre-cancerous growths. Tissue samples can also be collected and polyps can be removed during a colonoscopy.

Each year, colonoscopies are responsible for discovering about half of all diagnosed colon cancer, allowing them to save lives. Unfortunately colonoscopies can also do damage if the doctor performing the colonoscopy is unskilled, under-trained or negligent.

Injuries that can occur from colonoscopies include:

  • Hemorrhaging
  • Bowel Perforation
  • Splenic Tear or Rupture
  • Peritonitis
  • Sepsis

Up to 2.5% of colonoscopies involve serious injuries, with 0.03%-0.7% being colon perforation (CP). CP is widely recognized as one of the most serious complications following a colonoscopy. A perforated colon can occur during colonoscopy if too much force is used to advance the scope, creating a puncture or tear in the wall of the intestine. Perforation can also occur if the biopsy forceps cut a hole completely through the wall of the intestine. If perforation occurs, causing air and bacteria to leak into the abdomen, it is a medical emergency.

Symptoms of a perforated colon or large intestine may include:

  • Severe abdominal pain and tenderness
  • Chills
  • Fever
  • Nausea and vomiting

Most patients notice these side effects within 24-48 hours after the colonoscopy takes place. If the perforation goes untreated the patient can become septic. Sepsis occurs when the body has an extreme reaction to bacteria or germs. Symptoms of peritonitis and sepsis include:

  • Fever
  • Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
  • Rapid respiratory rate (tachypnea)
  • Confusion.

People who have CP almost always need emergency surgery to repair the hole, either by closing it or by removing the torn or punctured section of intestine. However, occasionally the hole may close on its own, allowing the individual to only need antibiotics and very careful monitoring, with x-rays and CT scans to confirm the hole remains closed and no abdominal infection or abscess develops. Failure to recognize and treat perforation due to colonoscopy is medical negligence.

Complications due to the perforation during colonoscopy are the cause of preventable injury and death. Our experienced attorneys fight for individuals who have been negatively impacted by the negligence of others.

If you would like to discuss a potential claim arising from an intestinal perforation during colonoscopy, the attorneys at Yost Legal Group are experienced professionals ready to investigate your claim with compassion and determination. For a free consultation, please call The Yost Legal Group at 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529.)

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

Recent Study Finds Medical Errors are Third Leading Cause of Death in the United States

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Even though medical professionals strive to provide the highest standard of care to their patients, thousands of medical mistakes take place every day in the US. Medical mistakes occur regularly due to communication breakdowns, diagnostic errors, poor judgment, and inadequate skill. These mistakes can directly result in patient harm and death, and are not identified on a person’s death certificate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compiles an annual list of the most common causes of death in the United States. The list is created using death certificates filled out by physicians, funeral directors, medical examiners, and coroners. However, a major limitation of the death certificate is that it relies on assigning an International Classification of Disease (ICD) code to the cause of death. As a result, causes of death not associated with an ICD code, such as medical error by a healthcare professional or medical equipment failure or hospital system failure, are not captured.

A new study published in a respected medical journal finds that hundreds of thousands of patients are fatally injured every year due to preventable medical mistakes. This study estimates that patient harm caused by medical errors is responsible for more than 250,000 deaths every year.

To put this figure into perspective, it would mean that medical care itself is the third leading cause of death in the United States, with medical errors accounting for nearly 1 out of every 10 fatalities in the U.S annually.

The doctors who conducted this study say that 250,000 patient deaths per year is actually a conservative estimate. The real number of patient deaths may in fact be much higher, due to the fact that medical errors leading to fatalities have been severely underreported for years.

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 (800-967-8529). 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.

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

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