Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog
A Wisconsin court has approved an $18.2 million medical malpractice settlement from the government for a Milwaukee family whose daughter suffered severe brain damage during birth at a clinic. When the mother gave birth, her daughter was stuck in the birth canal for more than 20 minutes, and the girl suffered a major brain injury due to lack of oxygen. As a result of her birth injury, the girl will need assistance for the rest of her life, due to seizures, developmental delays and severe cerebral palsy. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.
Breast Cancer Malpractice
The family of a New York woman who died of a breast tumor in 2004 has been awarded more than $9 million in a medical malpractice case. The jury found that a surgeon failed to properly diagnose the mother of two, allowing her breast tumor to grow and kill her.
Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Meningitis – Medical Malpractice
A $1.25 million settlement has been reached in an Indiana medical malpractice case in which the parents of a deceased eighteen-month-old claimed that a doctor failed to timely diagnose and treat the child’s meningitis by negligently diagnosing a stomach problem. An antibiotic treatment and brain surgery failed to cure the child, and he died. The parents alleged that the doctor should have done a spinal tap and administered antibiotics earlier. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.
Pulmonary Embolism Medical Malpractice / Medical Negligence
A Plaintiff recently lost a medical malpractice case in which it was alleged that there was a failure to properly place a patient on anti-coagulants after orthopedic surgery, which caused blood clots to form and kill the patient (pulmonary embolism). Apparently, a 54-year-old former pastor died three weeks after undergoing surgery on his leg. He developed difficulty breathing that day and was taken to a hospital where he died. An autopsy found that his death was caused by a blood clot in his lungs that originated in his leg. The patient claimed in the suit that the doctor should have prescribed medications to reduce the chance of blood clots after the surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.
Hospital Failure To Care For Transerred Patient – Malpractice
A Florida jury has awarded $12 million for the death of a premature baby caused by medical malpractice. The parents contended in their suit that the hospital negligently accepted a transfer of the baby from another hospital, but did not have the appropriate specialists on its staff to deal with their baby’s infection. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.
Failure to Diagnose Cancer – Medical Malpractice
An Indiana jury has decided that a medical clinic must pay $2.75 million to a former patient for failing to test a tumor removed from the woman’s foot. A doctor later found that a second tumor removed from the foot was malignant. Jurors awarded an additional $500,000 to the woman’s husband.
Surgeon Operates on Wrong Part of Body / Altered Medical Records – Medical Malpractice / Medical Negligence / Medical Mistake
A New Jersey doctor’s medical license has just been suspended after regulators determined that he performed the wrong surgery on a patient, by removing the wrong lung, then tried to cover up the error. The New Jersey Board found Dr. Santusht Perera removed a portion of the patient’s right lung when he should have been removing a tumor in the left lung. According to the Board, the surgeon then told the patient that the right lung contained a life-threatening tumor, though there was no such growth. He also altered the patient’s records to show he intended to operate on the right lung. The board determined that Perera’s actions constituted gross negligence. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.
Medication Mistake
A Delaware jury has awarded a family $1.6 million in a medical malpractice case in which the wrong prescription medicine was allegedly prescribed by a doctor. In this particular case, the woman was given too much of a heart medication for her kidneys to handle. Since she was on dialysis, her body couldn’t process the amount of the drug that they gave her and she died.
Nursing Home Medical Malpractice (Medical Negligence / Medical Mistake) in the Baltimore, Maryland area
As an attorney who is well known for being successful in handling many medical malpractice (medical negligence / medical mistake / medical error) cases in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington areas, I am commonly asked by colleagues and friends whether I have ever had a case against a nursing home which a loved one is considering. Unfortunatley, I have handled medical malpractice / negligence cases involving almost a number of nurisng homes in the Baltimore-Washington area, including Genesis, Manor Care and Lorien. While the medical care at these nursing homes is generally good, there have been and still are instances of major medical mistakes that cause severe and permanent damages and injuries. I usually tell my colleagues and friends that, while the care generally is good at these nursing homes, they need to watch out for loved ones when they are in a nursing home. That means establishing a relationship with the aides, nurses and doctors who will be taking care of the patient, asking questions and visiting as frequently as possible to see what is going on.
Birth Injury Medical Malpractice / Medical Negligence
A Fort Lauderdale, Florida jury Friday awarded a family $35 million in a medical malpractice case alleging that Broward General Medical Center caused permanent brain damage to their child during his delivery. As a result of the malpractice, the child is profoundly mentally disabled, can’t walk, can’t engage in routine activities of daily living and requires a lifetime of care. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.
Medical Malpractice During Open Heart Surgery
A Rhode Island man has been awarded $2 million due to allegations that he suffered brain damage because he did not receive proper care during open heart surgery at a Rhode Island hospital. The man alleged in his lawsuit that he got low amounts of oxygen to his brain during the 1998 operation.
Summary Judgment Standard in Maryland Medical Malpractice Cases
Under Maryland Rule 2-501(a), summary judgment is only appropriate where there is no dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Therefore a motion for summary judgment should be denied where the opposing party has shown that “there is a genuine dispute as to a material fact by proffering facts which would be admissible as evidence.” Beatty v. Trailmasters Products, Inc., 330 Md. 726, 737 (1993). “A material fact is a fact the resolution of which will somehow affect the outcome of the case.” Carter v. Aramark Sports and Entertainment, 153 Md.App. 210, 224 (2003) (quoting Sterling v. Johns Hopkins Hosp., 145 Md.App. 161, 167 (2002), cert. denied, 371 Md. 264 (2002)).
“When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, a court must view the facts, including all inferences drawn therefrom, in the light most favorable to the opposing party.” Carter, 153 Md.App. at 224, (citing Sterling, 145 Md. App. at 168, quoting Jones v. Mid-Atlantic Funding Co., 362 Md. 661, 676 (2001)). “The moving party bears the burden of establishing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Carter, 153 Md.App. at 224, (citing Sterling, 145 Md.App. at 168, citing Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157 (1970)), therefore the Defendant must show the absence of disputed facts. Furthermore, the standard is such that the trial court is not to draw inferences in favor of the moving party. Rather, if the facts are undisputed, but these facts “are susceptible of more than one permissible inference, the choice between those inferences should not be made as a matter of law.” Carter, 153 Md.App. at 225, (citing, Porter v. General Boiler Casing Co., 284 Md. 402, 413 (1979), quoting Fenwick Motor Co. v. Fenwick, 258 Md. 134, 138 (1970)).
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Injury during childbirth Caused by Medical Malpractice
A New York jury on Tuesday ordered a hospital to pay a former patient more than $17 million in a medical malpractice case. The woman claimed a Caesarean delivery in 2003 damaged her organs and resulted in the removal of the transplanted pancreas she received in 1995 to treat her diabetes. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.
Death From Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice
The parents of an 18-year old who died as a result of a negligent liposuction procedure were awarded $20.5 million on Friday by a Philadelphia jury. The young girl died two days after undergoing liposuction during which a blood vessel in her neck was severed. Despite falling oxygen levels, the surgeon did not call an ambulance until the patient was near death, after almost 2 1/2 hours in the office.
Childbirth Medical Malpractice
Documents filed this week in an Ohio court revealed that lawyers for the Cleveland Clinic and the mother of a brain-damaged child settled a medical malpractice lawsuit on May 1 for $10 million. Apparently, a jury heard the two-week trial and reached a $15.9 million verdict, but the lawyers settled the case before the verdict form was signed. Part of the settlement called for the verdict forms to remain sealed, but the verdict papers were placed into the public case file by accident, revealing the jury’s award, which would have been one of the largest verdicts ever in Ohio. A copy of the article regarding the settlement can be found here.