Although anesthesia is crucial for surgical success, an overdose of anesthesia can lead to life-threatening conditions for a patient. The anesthetists are usually expected to be knowledgeable about the various types of anesthesia, the required dosage, and the rates of injection-for the anesthesia to work accurately during surgery.
According to a Boston Globe report, over hundred patients have died due to malfunctioning ventilators in hospitals since 2005. Moreover, an FDA study revealed close to 800 ventilator alarm errors detected in 2010 alone! A large proportion of these errors was regarded human negligence and could have been avoided.
A report published by the Institute of Medicine in 2013 revealed that approximately 98,000 patients die in US hospitals every year due to medical malpractice. One such malpractice is related to the administration of wrong medicines to child patients.
The New England Journal of Medicine reports that almost one third of all deliveries in the US are conducted via cesarean-section. During a c-section, a delivery passage in created in the mother’s abdomen through incisions to aid the child delivery.
When a patient discovers that a doctor failed to diagnose a serious health condition on time- which led to disastrous consequences for the patient-whether in the hospital or in the doctor’s chamber, the patient has the right to sue the doctor. The key consideration in a medical malpractice lawsuit related to misdiagnosis is whether there is an identifiable lack of qualification on the part of the doctor. Another angle may be “medical negligence.” which can lead to more serious legal proceedings against the doctor.
New Yorkers might be interested in a new study about nurses working in nursing homes. The study compared medication reconciliation errors made by licensed practical nurses and registered nurses.
New York residents may be interested to know that according to a study done by researchers at GlaxoSmithKline, nearly 33 percent of patients diagnosed with a respiratory disease may have in fact had asthma. Failing to diagnose asthma in patients in a timely manner could result in future complications for patients or even death. Data was collected from 2,090 patients who completed the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.
While medication is meant to help people with pain, injuries and illnesses, it is also causing adverse affects to patients in New York and around the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 700,000 people around the country make medication-related emergency hospital visits each year. For these reasons, it is important that medical personnel are familiar with the federal regulations regarding the administration of medication, as outlined by the CDC.
When the father of a girl who was born with birth defects sued the federal government for medical malpractice, the courts dismissed it based on the Feres doctrine. For New York readers who are not aware, the Feres doctrine keeps members of the armed forces and their families from filing injury claims against the federal government when the injuries occur during military duty.
New York residents may be aware that the amount of damages associated with medical malpractice cases involving anesthesiologists can sometimes be significant. When anesthesia is not administered correctly, patients can be left in the nightmare situation of being aware and able to feel pain yet not capable of moving or alerting operating room staff of their situation. Researchers with the National Practitioner Data Bank studied malpractice lawsuits involving anesthesiologists between 2005 and 2013, and they found that the compensation paid in these cases fell significantly during this period.
