Medical Malpractice

• Appeals Court Upholds Medical Malpractice Award

  Sandy Grinnell | July 09, 2007 4:48 PM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  The California 2nd Disctrict Court of Appeals upheld the decision of a lower court which awarded a County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center patient $150,000 in pain and suffering. Although the California medical malpractice awards caps are $250,000, a 28 year-old male patient of Harbor-UCLA hospital was awarded $150,000 for the pain and suffering he sustained due to complications from an emergency...

• Controversial Stent Study Open to Question

  Staff Writer | March 27, 2007 8:08 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  A recent study concerning the utilization of cardiac stents has found that the stents are no more effective than medcines in preventing future heart attacks. However, the study was funded in part by pharmaceutical companies. This brings up a broader ethical issue concerning the objectivity of medical research, especially when that research is funded by organzations or companies that have a...

• Safety of Drug Coated Heart Stents Still Up in the Air

  Staff Writer | October 25, 2006 8:31 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  After the third day of Transcather Cardiovascular Therapeutics show, the results are still mixed regarding the safety of drug coated heart stents. The stents, manufactured by Boston Scientific's Taxus and Johnson & Johnson's Cypher, many experts agreed, there appears to be a long-term clotting risk compared with the use of older bare metal stents. Even some physicians have been reluctant in...

• Boston Scientific Confirms Increased Risk Linked to its Stent

  Staff Writer | September 07, 2006 2:19 PM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  A leading stent manufacturer has admitted that there is an increased clot risk for those with Boston Scientific's cardiac stent. It is the first acknowledgment by a stent maker of an increased risk of the dangerous side effect of stents, which are small wire-mesh tubes used to keep previously clogged arteries open. Drug-coated stents, which are coated with medicine to prevent the growth of...

• Medical Malpractice 101

  Joe Saunders | August 06, 2006 9:36 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  There was an excellent editorial published in the Palm Beach Postyesterday. The editorial sharply criticizes the docility and unwillingness to monitor Florida doctors. The editorial cites Boynton Beach Dr. Mark Schreiber who was cited by state investigators 3 1/2 years ago yet continues to practice medicine. If public safety is paramount, the Board will start doing its job and discipline...

• Defibrillator Malfunctions on the Rise

  Joe Saunders | May 01, 2006 9:05 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  According to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, malfunctions in implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs, are on the rise. The device is designed to keep the heart pumping properly and efficiently. Between 1990 and 2002, a total of 2.25 million pacemakers and 415,780 ICDs were implanted in the U.S. Of the implanted pacemakers, 8,834 (4.6 per 1,000)...

• Tampa's VA Hospital Failure to Sterilize

  Joe Saunders | April 11, 2006 7:15 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  In an investigation made public yesterday, officials at Tampa's James A. Haley VA Medical Center disclosed that two cranial implants were not properly sterilized prior to surgery. This is a very serious failure on the part of the hospital and calls into question the basic care patients at the facility are likely to receive. When a patient enters a hospital, especially when facing the...

• First Guidant Defibrillator Trial Postponed

  Joe Saunders | April 11, 2006 6:52 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  The first Guidant defective defibrillator trial has been postponed because one of the witnesses is unavailable due to the Passover holiday. The judge has said that the case will most likely resume in July.

• Guidant's Own Commission Critical of Flaws

  Joe Saunders | March 21, 2006 6:20 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  An expert panel commissioned by Guidant Corporation to assess its handling of problems with cardiac medical devices cited the company for failure to properly assess patient safety. The commission noted that Guidant's decisions were guided by statistical projections provided by engineers rather than medical data provided by doctors. The group urged Guidant to create an outside panel of...

• Tampa VA Doc Uses Unsterilized Implant

  Joe Saunders | March 15, 2006 6:45 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  In a hastily called briefing for Congressional staffers, authorities at the James A. Haley VA Center in Tampa announced that an unsterilized cranial implant was placed into a patient last month. The mistake was nearly duplicated a few weeks later at the same hospital. The hosptial officials waited nearly two weeks before notifying anyone of the error! Of course, the usual political...