Something we at McKeen & Associates have witnessed is the inadequate care of SCFE (Slipped capital femoral epiphysis). SCFE is a very common hip disorder in adolescents. A growth plate (physis) is found between the femur head (epiphysis) and the neck of the femur,...
Surgical Errors
McKeen Wins More Than $3 million on Behalf of Permanently Disabled Hockey Player
McKeen and Associates attorneys Brian McKeen and Todd Schroeder recently settled a case for $3,250,000 on behalf of an athlete who suffered a spinal cord injury due to physician negligence. The young man experienced a hemothorax-- an accumulation of blood within the...
Hospital miscommunication costs Port Huron man his life
ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a blockage in one of the heart’s major arteries, resulting in a very serious type of heart attack. A STEMI is a life-threatening emergency, and any delays in receiving medical care can mean the difference...
The Injustice of Medical Malpractice Caps
McKeen & Associates attorneys and Kenneth Lee recently obtained a $550,000 settlement for a wrongful death arising out of the negligent placement of what was supposed to be a central venous catheter. As the name suggests, this catheter...
The importance of checking for contraindications before surgery
When undertaking any surgery, doctors must make sure the patient has no dangerous conditions that are “contraindications” – that is, reasons not to do the surgery. This is particularly true with elective surgeries and those which are not immediately...
Assistant to Convicted Doctor Found Culpable
recently won a court of appeals case against an assistant surgeon who worked along Dr. Aria Sabit. Dr. Sabit was a neurosurgeon who convinced dozens of patients to have spinal surgeries that they did not need. Dr. Sabit and his...
Hospitals nationally pay attention to Leapfrog’s graded assessments
“It doesn’t matter how sick you are,” says Leah Binder. “The surgeon and operating room team shouldn’t be leaving sponges or surgical tools in you.”We suspect that every one of our blog readers in Michigan and across the country...
Detroit Medical Center cited for jeopardizing patients’ health
Detroit Medical Center (DMC) could lose its federal funding due to multiple violations of infection control requirements. This marks the second instance of infection control violations by DMC in the last two years.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS)...
Upcoming hospital procedure? Avoiding having it done in July.
Life is unpredictable. You can’t anticipate every turn of events that could lead to a hospital stay. However, if you’re having elective surgery or treating a non-urgent condition, you may have some flexibility in scheduling your procedure. If at all...
Michigan firm looks to prevent common surgical ‘never events’
There are certain things that should never happen in an operating room. Because of how often such things do happen, patient safety advocates have launched major efforts in recent years to put policies and processes in place to prevent these so-called "never events"...