Patients go to the hospital to improve their health, but each year 1.7 million Americans become worse when they suffer a healthcare-associated infection (HAI). These infections may involve deadly bacteria like clostridium difficile (C. diff), methicillin-resistant...
Detroit Medical Malpractice Law Blog
Prescription Painkiller Overdoses Soaring, Especially In Women
Prescription painkiller addictions have quickly become a widespread problem in the U.S., a phenomenon that has been closely followed by officials and lawmakers. However, even after Michael Jackson's death, the prevalence of prescription painkiller overdoses hasn't...
Decontamination Process Reduces MRSA Infections By 40 Percent
Deadly bacteria like MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, kill more people every year than AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The problem is especially serious because the majority of these infections occur in...
Study: Procedure For Robotic Surgery Needs Safety Upgrade
Robotic surgical systems have recently come under scrutiny after many patients have suffered poor outcomes. Lawsuits allege that surgeons, hospitals and robotic device manufacturers, such as Intuitive Surgical, Inc., all bear blame for botched procedures. Fortunately,...
Unsterile Endoscopes Not Only Disgusting, But Deadly
A colonoscopy, gastroscopy or duodenoscopy isn't on anyone's list of favorite things to do, but every year 15 to 20 million patients go through these uncomfortable procedures for the positive impact on their health. Disturbingly, a new medical study reveals that it's...
Despite Rising Demand, Emergency Rooms Becoming More Scarce
Approximately 20 percent of Americans visited an emergency room (ER) in 2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There were a total of 130 million visits to ERs in 2011, a 33-million visit increase from 1995. Despite the rise in need,...
Women Disproportionately Injured By Medical Devices
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) recently analyzed the history of women's medical products and found that women are disproportionately harmed by devices. The research is particularly unsettling because women in the modern era seem just as likely to be harmed...
Medical Malpractice Suits Spur Safer Hospitals, Clinics
Medical malpractice lawsuits provide accountability for medical errors and allow injured patients to recover compensation. However, another benefit of malpractice suits has been overlooked: the improved safety of American health care. More than 95 percent of hospitals...
Johns Hopkins: Malpractice Suits Not Cause Of Costly Healthcare
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recently completed a study that supports what medical malpractice attorneys have been saying for decades: malpractice lawsuits are not the cause of soaring healthcare costs. Researchers found that huge medical malpractice...
Study: Diagnosis Errors Are No. 1 Reason For Malpractice Payouts
Diagnosis errors account for more than 35 percent of all medical malpractice claim payouts, according to a study published by BMJ Quality and Safety. In malpractice suits involving wrongful death of the patient, a diagnosis mistake was involved 41 percent of the time....