medical malpractice claims

Published on: May 21, 2017

Georgia Residents Overwhelmingly Reject Proposed Medical Malpractice Bill

Georgia residents are overwhelmingly opposed to a bill that would restrict their access to medical malpractice damages. They’re also strongly in favor of holding nursing homes accountable for the neglect and abuse of residents.

Those are the results of a new survey conducted by the Public Policy Polling Institute, which found that residents across seven states are overwhelmingly in opposition to HR 1215. The recently introduced bill seeks to limit noneconomic damages available in cases involving medical malpractice and nursing home abuse. The bill would also cover any damages from lawsuits related to malfunctioning or defective medical devices, as well as pharmaceutical company drug-related lawsuits.

The Public Policy Polling survey specifically focused on residents living in seven states: Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Utah and Arizona. These are states that are either red (Republican) or purple (have voted Republican or Democrat in the past few years). Typically, voters who live in red or purple states favor restrictions on medical malpractice damages.

Published on: April 26, 2012

Risk of Infections from Bacterial Contamination of Pharmacy Robots — Medical Malpractice Claims Likely

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

An increasing number of hospitals around the country are making use of robotic drug dispensers that can prepare intravenous medications to be administered to patients, in a sterile environment.You don’t have to be an Atlanta medical malpractice attorney to know that when there is a risk of contamination of the intravenous medication, a patient could be at a high risk of infections.Contamination is exactly what researchers found when they inspected one of these robotic drug dispensers at a hospital.

The contamination was found by chance during a routine screening at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina.Hospital staff were conducting an inspection of the robotic drug dispensing machine, and found to their shock that there were cultures of Bacillus cereus bacteria in the dispenser. The researchers believe that is the very first time that there has been a known contamination of these robotic drug dispensers.

Fortunately, the researchers were able to conduct an inspection, based on quality assurance measures that were developed by the manufacturer of the robot.The contamination was found before it resulted in dangerous infections.Atlanta medical malpractice attorneysknow just how serious any infections caused by the Bacillus cereus organisms can be.

Published on: November 21, 2011

Court Awards $144 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Michigan jury has awarded $144 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged that negligence by her doctors left her baby with severe brain damage and in need of long-term care. Medical malpractice attorneys in Atlanta and elsewhere recognize the potential for sizable injury awards in all cases in which an infant suffers brain damage during birth. However, this is one of the largest medical malpractice awards in this settling.

The verdict came out this week against the Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.It was here that the woman had been admitted for delivery in 2006.According to the lawsuit, the hospital as well as the doctor in charge of the delivery was negligent in failing to perform a cesarean section on the woman.The baby, a 10 lbs. 12 oz. girl was instead pushed through the birth canal.As a result, the baby suffered a fractured clavicle and began hemorrhaging severely.The baby was ultimately left with severe brain injuries and in need of long-term care.

The hospital and the doctor have said that they will appeal the verdict.The hospital alleged that the child’s injuries were the result of a genetic condition, and not due to negligence by the doctor or the hospital.However, an eight-member jury has now found in favor of the woman, and has found the hospital negligent.

Published on: October 25, 2011

Georgia Medical Malpractice Caps Affect Patient Rights to Compensation

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A congressional committee, which has been convened to look at ways to trim the federal budget and reduce budget deficits, has been hearing from physician lobby groups and other representatives of the healthcare industry.According to these people, healthcare costs can be reduced by limiting damages available to patients through medical malpractice lawsuits.As any Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer will tell you, nothing could be further from the truth.Opponents of medical malpractice caps and Atlanta medical practice lawyers know that this is an old trick – raising financial concerns during these troubled economic times in order to limit patient rights to compensation after being seriously injured by medical negligence.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are an essential part of policing the conduct of doctors and other medical professionals. Just as with anyone else in our society, each medical professional should be responsible for their own conduct in causing a personal injury or wrongful death. Further, the presence of such claims forces physicians and other medical professionals to make certain they are both aware of and adhere to appropriate standards of care. In reality, approximately 5% of the physicians commit approximately 90% of the medical errors which occur. However, the medical professional has refused to revoke the medical licenses of medical doctors who are consistently negligent in their care of patients.

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has been considering ways to reduce budget deficits, and will be considering healthcare cutbacks as part of those measures.A number of consumer safety groups, including the Alliance for Justice, Center for Justice and Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog, Consumers Union, Patient Safety America, Public Citizen, and Texas Watch have written a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Published on: October 5, 2011

Killer’s Family Can Sue Georgia Psychiatrist for Medical Malpractice for Discontinuing Medication

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In a groundbreaking ruling, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that the family of a man, who stabbed his mother to death, can proceed with a lawsuit against the psychiatrist who discontinued the man’s medications.It has long been the law in Georgia that third parties who suffer a personal injury or wrongful death due to a psychiatrist failing to properly treat a patient can recover damages. However, this case adds a new twist in that the family of the patient and the victim are the same. The decision is important because it now allows families most directly impacted by the conduct of a patient to retain a medical malpractice attorney and sue the psychiatrist.

The case involves Victor Bruscato, who was undergoing psychotic treatment by Derrick Johnson O’Brien.The doctor had placed Victor on antipsychotic medication, but decided to discontinue two of the most powerful medications when he became concerned that Bruscato was showing signs of another dangerous syndrome.

In August 2002, Bruscato attacked his mother with a battery charger, causing her severe head injuries and stabbing her seventy-two times.He was charged with murder, but was judged incompetent to stand trial.His father sued the psychiatrist for medical malpractice, alleging that the doctor’s negligence in discontinuing the medication had causes his son’s psychosis to get out of control.The psychiatrist refuted the allegations, saying that Bruscato’s family was not eligible to file a civil lawsuit in a crime that was committed by their own son.

Published on: March 23, 2010

Georgia Throws out $350,000 Cap on Medical Malpractice Claims

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia SC Throws Out $350,000 Cap on Noneconomic Damages in Medical Malpractice Claims

It’s been a while coming, but the much-awaited judgment that trial lawyers in Atlanta and victims of medical malpractice have been waiting for, is finally here. The Georgia Supreme Court yesterday threw out the $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims.. The ruling nullifies a key provision of tort reform laws passed by Georgia’s legislators in 2005.

The 7-0 Supreme Court decision involves the case of Betty Nestlehutt, who suffered severe disfigurement after a botched plastic surgery procedure. Nestlehutt had visited Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery to correct bags around her eyes. The resulting procedure left wounds on her cheeks, which have since resulted in permanent scarring.

Published on: April 3, 2009

Fulton County Boy Awarded $2.3 Million for Botched Circumcision

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There could be not a medical malpractice awardthatcould compensate this boy and his family for the unimaginable horror they have been made to suffer.While a Fulton County Jury has awarded them damages of $2.3 million for a circumcision procedure that went wrong, the boy and his family will need counseling for a very long time.

The award relates to the injury caused to the young boy during what should have been a fairly routine circumcision procedure performed soon after he was born. The procedure however ended with the doctor removing a small portion of the tip of the penis. There was bungling on the part of more than one doctor at the hospital, Tenet South Fulton Medical Center where the procedure was performed in 2004. The pediatrician who was informed by a nurse after the boy began to bleed heavily, failed to respond to the call. Due to the negligence and failures of both the doctors, the boy suffered a permanent injury.

In 2006, his mother filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor who performed the circumcision, as well as the pediatrician who failed to respond to an emergency. The jury was convinced that the doctor Haiba Sonyika snipped off a portion of the organ and that the pediatrician Cheryl J. Kendall could have reattached the cut off portion if she had responded to the emergency immediately.The boy has been awarded $1.8 million in damages, while his mother has been awarded an additional award of $500,000. The hospital where the procedure was performed was not found negligent.

Published on: January 27, 2009

Georgia Supreme Court Hearings in Medical Malpractice Case Soon to Begin

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Medical malpractice lawyers in Georgia will be looking with interest at the outcome of a civil case that’s due to begin hearings this week.The judgment in the case that involves four doctors who were cleared of negligence by a jury, has lasting repercussions for medical malpractice lawsuits in the state.

In 2003, 13-year-old Justin Smith was sickened with a rare tick-borne condition called Rocky Mountain spotted fever.The disease is spread by tick bites, and as symptoms worsen, can quickly lead to flat, pink rashes, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and joint pain. It can be a potentially life threatening illness. Justin was first taken to pediatric doctors, and then transferred to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where he finally recovered from his illness. By then however, he had already suffered some amount of brain damage.His parents, in their medical malpractice lawsuit against the four doctors, alleged that the doctors had been negligent in falling to diagnose the illness.The doctors claimed that the condition itself is so rare that it’s difficult to diagnose. In 2006, the four doctors were cleared of any wrongdoing by the jury.

Now, the Georgia Supreme Court will consider whether instructions given by the judge to the jurors regarding hindsight could have been inaccurate or confusing.Plaintiff’s attorneys claim that the hindsight instruction should only be given in case of a claim of negligence where the defendants had no knowledge of certain information.Here, the doctors were aware of the tick bite.The defendant’s attorney argue that Justin’s rashes, which are a symptom of the fever, only became evident when the child was taken to the Egleston facility, and therefore, the doctors were not aware of the symptomatic rashes.

Published on: May 29, 2008

Multi-Million Med Mal Verdict Awarded in Gwinnett County

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Monday a jury in Gwinnett County awarded a plaintiff a five million dollar verdict against the Gwinnett Hospital System for a nursing malpractice.

Plaintiff, Wendy Wyckstandt, 34, returned to the hospital four days after giving birth due to medical complications of postpartum high blood pressure.She collapsed while taking a shower in her hospital room.When her mother entered her room, she found her near lifeless body in the running water. She died a day later; her death caused by drowning.

The nursing staff claimed to have checked on her during the day, but video surveillance proved otherwise.The plaintiff’s attorneys claimed the hospital staff altered records and kept evidence from the plaintiff’s attorneys.Eight years of legal wrangling has finally resulted in a huge verdict award for the plaintiff.The hospital has indicated it will appeal the verdict.

Published on: March 4, 2008

Medical Malpractice Rights Denied by Tort Reform

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Tort Reform Act of 2005 may be going up on appeal. In 2005 Georgia legislators saw fit to pass a Tort Reform Act that, among other things, gave emergency room doctors virtual immunity from negligence suits.

That bill provided that the ER staff cannot be held liable for damages unless it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the doctor or health care provider’s actions showed “gross negligence.”Gross negligence is defined as the absence of that degree of care that every man of common sense, however inattentive he may be, exercises under the same or similar circumstances.Another common definition of “gross negligence” is “reckless disregard for the safety of the patient.”

In addition to this standard of care change, pain and suffering damages in a medical malpractice case were capped at $350,000.Thus, if you are injured as a result of medical malpractice, your right to recover has been greatly diminished.