Erie Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Last week we wrote a post about an Erie couple who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit after their child sustained a permanent arm injury because of shoulder dystocia allegedly due to steps that were taken during the course of the delivery of the baby. Since then, a jury verdict was reached in another birth injury case, in the state of Pennsylvania, stemming from a 2008 delivery.

According to the attorney for the child's mother, the now 3-year-old child, has cerebral palsy due to a deprivation of oxygen it experienced while it was in her womb. After the mother arrived at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, an ultrasound reportedly initially indicated that the child had died in utero. When a second ultrasound found the baby's a heartbeat, the baby was delivered via cesarean section.

A recent study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, reports that professional translators for non-English speaking patients, while in emergency rooms, reduce miscommunication with medical staff. Minimizing misunderstandings minimizes the chance of hospital errors. Pennsylvania and many other U.S. states have increasing non-English speaking residents, generating a higher risk of miscommunication.

This study displayed that medical errors, with "clinical consequences," were 50 percent less likely with professional interpreters than if no interpreter or an "amateur" translator was present at the time of treatment. Professional translators appear to highly mitigate this dangerous risk.

After a doctor, hospital, or other medical professional makes an error, patients can suffer life-altering injury or wrongful death. It is often the case that when the mistake is brought to the attention of the doctor or hospital, extreme measures are taken to deny the allegations. A new study shows that malpractice claims are more likely to settle out of the courtroom when doctors own up to their mistakes.

A Massachusetts organization believes that doctors and hospitals that acknowledge and admit to errors can minimize lawsuits, improve patient safety, stop defensive medical practices and lower costs for patients. Several organizations have announced a pilot program to promote a process called Disclosure, Apology, and Offer, or DA&O. It is a new approach to medical liability reform, countering earlier measures which capped economic recovery and limited the legal rights of patients. With success in other states, it could soon be a strategy used in Pennsylvania.

Most Pittsburgh residents would agree that even one patient injury due to negligence in a medical setting is one too many. Despite this thought, patients are injured on a daily basis throughout the nation. When someone is injured due to the negligence of someone employed in the health care field via something like a medication error, the injured party may decide to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover damages.

Because most health care providers are interested in doing their job--healing the sick--rather than making them worse, they, along with other interested parties are doing what they can to combat the problem. One approach has been to use technology in the form of things such as and e-prescribing systems. These systems are commonly accompanied by warnings that appear and are designed to provide information about potential issues regarding safety related to the drug prescribed.