Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

It’s fairly common for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to use smart phones in the operating room (OR). They may check medication dosages or search for important medical information. However, sometimes, those cell phones are used for non-medical purposes and a nursing group says that when that happens, there's a serious risk of medical errors.

There are a number of reasons why doctors and nurses may use cell phones in a operating room. For instance, sometimes a doctor may need to text the patient's relatives for important information, or may need to look up information about the disease. There's no doubt that the use of smart phones is important in the OR.

However, in an increasing number of cases, doctors as well as nurses are using smart phones for non-medical reasons inside the operating room. According to a report by NPR, you can now find medical personnel chatting, looking at Facebook status updates, playing games, and performing a variety of other non-medical-related activities using their smart phones in the operating room.

Continue reading "Smart Phone Use in OR Could Increase Medical Error Risks" »

In spite of ongoing efforts to reduce the incidence of medical errors, American surgeons make as many as 4,000 preventable medical errors every year. Those findings come from new research conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers, and published in Surgery journal.

A patient shouldn’t check into a hospital for surgery, and end up with a surgical sponge sewn inside his body. He should not have to worry that the surgical team will operate on the wrong part of his body, or will perform the wrong surgical procedure on him. No patient should have to worry that he will have a surgical procedure performed on him, when he's not in line for surgery at all.

Continue reading "Surgeons Make As Many As 4000 Preventable Errors Every Year" »

Every week, there is at least one wrong site surgery occurring in a hospital or clinic somewhere in the United States. This is a surgery in which the surgeon operates on the wrong part of the body. Such mistakes may seem fantastical to the general public, but as Indiana medical malpractice attorneys will tell you, these incidents are far too common to brush aside.

Recently, Becker's Clinical Quality and Infection Control ran a list of 8 steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of wrong site surgery.

The number one factor that must be in place in order to minimize the risk of wrong site surgery in a hospital is a culture that holds that patient safety is paramount. This culture must be ingrained not just in the people on the ground like the nurses, surgeons and junior doctors, but also the management. There must be frequent discussions about the topic in the form of regular e-mails, and conferences.

Continue reading "Steps to Reduce Wrong Site Surgery Rates" »

Surgical site infections that develop after a person has undergone a hip or knee replacement, and which are severe enough to require readmission back into the hospital, cost the US health care system approximately $65 million every year. That information comes from an analysis of data that was presented recently at a meeting of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

The researchers analyzed health insurance claims belonging to approximately 40 million insured adults. They were looking at employer-provided health plans, and the re-hospitalization rates for persons who had undergone hip and knee replacements. There were specifically looking at the cost of hip and knee replacement surgeries, beyond the actual cost of the initial hospitalization.

Hip and knee replacement surgeries were included in this study because these are typically complicated and long drawn-out procedures. Treatment for an infected joint may be complex, and may stretch out over a long period of time. Additionally, these persons may be on a extensive course of antibiotics, and may also be at a risk of additional surgeries.

Continue reading "Surgical Site Infection Rehospitalizations Cost $65 Million Every Year" »

Alcohol abuse and addiction issues are much more prevalent among American surgeons than believed. According to a new survey, approximately 15% of surgeons struggle with alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency issues, a rate that is much higher than the average alcohol dependency rate among the general population.

The survey was conducted in 2010, and included doctors who were members of the American College of Surgeons. According to the survey which has been published in the Archives of Surgery February issue, approximately 14 % of male surgeons in the US report alcohol dependence, compared to 26% of female surgeons. Taken together, these rates of alcohol dependence and alcohol addiction among surgeons is much higher than the 8% to 12% rate that is believed to exist in the general population.

The researchers, however, mention that it's highly unlikely that a surgeon would be so impaired by the use of alcohol that he would make serious medical errors. According to the researchers, the risk of a patient being harmed by a surgeon operating under the influence of alcohol is something like 1 in 10,000.

Continue reading "Alcohol Use Increases Risk of Surgical Errors " »

Stereotactic radiosurgery is designed to use minute amounts of radiation to treat tiny tumors, like those in the brain and spinal cord. The New York Times is continuing its series on radiation errors in the nation's hospitals, and has found that this highly sophisticated and complex therapy too has been linked to serious errors.

Stereotactic radiosurgery typically requires highly expensive equipment called a Gamma Knife, a complicated piece of medical equipment. Many hospitals and facilities can't afford the extra expenses involved in purchasing the equipment and setting aside a specific room for it. Several hospitals have begun to use linear accelerators instead. These devices are already designed to deliver targeted amounts of radiation to specific spots in the body. The linear accelerators are equipped with a cone attachment that allows them to emit the required amount of high-intensity radiation to the exact site of the tumor without affecting the surrounding tissue.

Continue reading "Radiation Errors from Stereotactic Radiosurgery" »

As we wrote earlier, Indiana patients now have a tool that will allow them to make more informed decisions about where they receive their care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has added new search data to their Hospital Compare web site.

Indiana medical malpractice attorneys are encouraged by this updated information and believe it will make a positive difference in the care Indiana medical consumers receive. The ability to compare the outcomes of procedures, the quality of nursing care and patient satisfaction will influence area hospitals to invest more heavily in improvements in an effort to capture more of Indiana’s healthcare dollars.

Though limited to only a few specific areas of medical care, the site’s information illuminates frequently requested areas of service, including nursing care, bedsores, pulmonary care and pediatric diabetes. This information can assist patients by evaluating a hospital’s ability to provide adequate care. For example, the site provides encouraging information if you have any need for cardiac care in the Indianapolis metro area. On average, a central-Indiana resident will only wait seven minutes before they receive care in a cardiac specialty facility; this is compared to the national average wait time of 43 minutes.

Continue reading "Indianapolis Hospitals Self-Rate Care" »

For long now, doctors have noticed that the number of medical errors is constant for all months of the year, except in July when there is a noticeable spike in medication errors. It has been suspected that this spike is because more interns are coming in at teaching hospitals during this month. A study by researchers at UC San Diego, now confirms this.

The researchers have published the results of a study, that show that July is easily the worst month when it comes to medication errors. In fact, it's the worst month that you could choose to check into a hospital, simply because you're likely to be treated by inexperienced interns. The rate of medical errors in the month of July is 10% higher than in other months of the year.

Continue reading "July Is the Worst Month for Hospital Errors " »

The Georgia Supreme Court this week shot down a key provision of the state's 2005 tort reform laws capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $350,000. That comes just weeks after the Illinois Supreme Court declared that caps on medical malpractice damages violate separation of powers, by allowing lawmakers to interfere with judicial verdicts.

The Georgia Supreme Court decision involved an appeal by a hospital against a verdict awarding $1.15 million in non-economic damages to a patient. The patient had been severely scarred by a botched cosmetic surgery procedure performed at Atlanta Oculopasty Surgery. A jury awarded her $1.15 million in non-economic damages including pain and suffering, against a statutory cap of $350,000. The cap was part of sweeping tort reform laws passed in Georgia in 2005. The law’s proponents claimed these caps would reduce medical practice insurance premiums, and encourage more doctors to stay in the state.

Continue reading "Georgia SC Strikes Down Medical Malpractice Caps: Will Indiana Be Next? " »

As truck accident lawyers in Indiana, we have been very concerned at our state’s decision to close truck stops in an effort to deal with budgetary deficits. Last year, the Indiana Department of Transportation closed seven truck stops in the state. Other states around the country have followed suit, shutting down rest areas in an effort to meet budgetary shortfalls, and in the process, placing truckers and motorists at risk from fatigue-related accidents, violence, robberies and other adverse incidents.

A new piece of federal legislation called Jason’s Law could change all that. The bill, if passed, will provide for financing of new truck stops across the country, enhancing existing parking areas for 18-wheelers, and improving access to truck stops and parking facilities on our highways.

Continue reading "Jason’s Law Will Help Pay for Parking Facilities for Indiana Truckers" »