Articles Posted in Hospital Errors

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It would seem to be a logical condition of surgery that surgeons first shave areas where the incision would be made. Many surgeons believe it is important to remove anything that would obstruct the place where the surgery takes place. Still other surgeons believe that shaving the area of the surgical entry spot will eliminate bacteria that can attach to hair.
In a recent article in the health section in the New York Times, it was pointed out that research now shows that shaving a patient’s skin before the surgery may actually raise the risk of infection.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), surgical site infections have become a leading cause of complications among hospital patients. This would account for one of five of health-care associated infections. Thousands of deaths are associated with surgical site infections.

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Physicians should be aware that patients can use their smart phones or other electronic devices to tape alleged malpractice or negligence and introduce this evidence at trial. The presiding judge will determine whether the videotape may be presented.

Videotape, audiotape, and/or photographs can be introduced at trial if a proper foundation is laid and the subject matter is relevant, according to Robert Kreisman, JD, medical malpractice and personal injury attorney with Kreisman Law Offices in Chicago.
Kreisman was quoted in a recent issue of ED Legal Letter.

“To inform the jury, videotape could be introduced to give time and place. On the other hand, it depends on the quality of the videotape and what it depicts,” says Kreisman.

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In November 2003, the defendant R.A. was driving while intoxicated on Route 173 in Spring Grove, Ill. He apparently fell asleep, crossed the center line and crashed head-on into the car occupied by L.M., who was a passenger. L.M. was airlifted to Rockford Memorial Hospital where he remained in intensive care for two months. He suffered numerous injuries, including broken ribs, lung contusion, a lacerated spleen and a stroke after the splenectomy surgery to remove his damaged spleen.

While L.M., age 56, was in intensive care, he developed a large Stage IV bed sore on his lower back. The ulcer had to be debrided and a bilateral flap procedure was done to cover the skin opening.
L.M. was an unemployed truck driver. He died prior to the trial, although no wrongful death claim was brought. His wife claimed loss of consortium, which is the spouse’s right of action for the missing love and affection that comes with companionship and marriage.

At the time of the crash, L.M. and three friends were driving to a fishing trip. The driver of the vehicle was killed and all three passengers, including L.M., were seriously injured.

The defendant R.A., age 46, admitted negligence and pled guilty to felony DUI charges, including reckless homicide. He served 5 ½ months in jail and 5 ½ years of probation. He had been drinking at an off-track betting facility operated by defendant Quad City Downs. The family of L.M. filed a lawsuit under the Illinois Dramshop Act against Quad City Downs and a separate medical malpractice claim against Rockford Memorial Hospital, alleging that it was negligent in not taking proper take care of L.M.’s bed sore.

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In January 2007, J.F. underwent a splenectomy, which is the removal of the spleen, at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago. J.F. had a condition known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), which is a blood disorder managed by steroid use. Reportedly more than two-thirds of the ITP patients who undergo a splenectomy achieve satisfactory remission to the blood disorder.

In this case, the attending surgeon opted to use the daVinci Robotic Surgical System, a minimally invasive surgical procedure, rather than a standard method of removing a spleen. Dr. Galvani, one of the co-surgeons, was assisted by a surgical fellow and a surgical resident. During the surgery, there was an incidental finding of severe liver cirrhosis, a disease of the liver.

Following the surgery, 49-year-old J.F. began showing signs of infection. The family alleged in their lawsuit that the surgeons punctured the duodenum during the surgical procedure. Six days later, Dr. Salti performed an exploratory laparotomy and discovered 1.5 liters of infectious pus inside the abdomen of J.F. But there was no detection of the hole.

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A Lake County jury entered a verdict in favor of a woman who was sustained a head injury after falling from a surgical table. While the original medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against both the hospital where the fall occurred and the anesthesiologist who administered an epidural prior to the fall, the $790,860 verdict was only entered against the defendant hospital.

The 59 year-old plaintiff presented to Victory Memorial Hospital, now known as Vista Medical Center East, for treatment of a lower back injury. The plaintiff had injured herself after falling in a parking lot, sustaining not only the back injury, but a mild concussion as well. To help improve her pain, the plaintiff was given an epidural by Dr. Eliza Diaconescu, a pain management specialist.

According to testimony provided at the Lake County medical malpractice trial, the plaintiff remained semi-conscious after Dr. Diaconescu gave her an epidural. Dr. Diaconescu then walked away from the surgical table in order to dictate her treatment into the operative notes. An operating room nurse stayed with the plaintiff while she awaited her transfer to the recovery room. It was at this time that the plaintiff fell off the operating table, cutting her head and sustaining yet another concussion. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Dr. Diaconescu and Victory Memorial Hospital for their negligence in causing her injury.

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In TV and movie trial dramas, we are always shown a jury hotly debating over the case facts, with one or two jurors holding out against the rest of the jury. However, in Illinois, in order for a jury verdict to stand it needs to be unanimous. This means that if even one of the jurors cannot agree with the rest of the jury, then the judge finds the jury to be deadlocked and declares a mistrial.

This occurred in the Illinois wrongful death lawsuit of Estate of Steven Prehn, deceased v. Dr. Sandeep Amin, University Anesthesiologists S.C., 07 L 1115. After the jury debated for over ten hours over the course of two days it was still unable to reach an unanimous decision. While nine jurors were in favor of the plaintiff, the remaining three jurors were in favor of the defendant doctor.

Prehn involved the death of a 46 year-old father of three from a pain medication overdose. Steven Prehn had visited Dr. Amin, a pain management specialists, at his Rush Pain Center facility with complaints of chronic pain. Dr. Amin prescribed Methadone, an opiate or narcotic medication typically prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain. Twenty-six hours after the office visit, Prehn was found dead at his home from a Methadone overdose.

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Jury instructions are invaluable in helping jurors make decisions that are in accordance with the law. It is through jury instructions that jurors are able to understand what questions they need to answer and how. Yet when a jury is given incorrect jury instructions it can bias its opinion and result in an unfair outcome.
In the medical malpractice lawsuit of Karen Graham, etc. v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 2012 IL App (1st) 102609, an Illinois appellate court found that the Cook County jury was given an incorrect jury instruction. The court also found that the improper jury instruction might have influenced the jury’s verdict. As a result, a new medical malpractice trial was ordered, this time with only the correct jury instructions being delivered to the jury.

The case facts in Graham involve the suicide of a 49 year-old woman who had been admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Upon admission to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Marilee Graham was heard expressing regret that she had not died. Another note in her chart stated that she was “falling apart mentally and emotionally” and was still in “severe emotional pain.”

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