Seattle Injury Blog

$40.1 million was awarded by a Snohomish County Superior Court jury to a man whose heart was ruined by a malfunctioning machine during an operation at an Everett hospital.

Lawyers stated that the jury award is the largest in county history and thought to be one of the state's largest personal injury verdicts.

54 year old Paramjit Singh’s lawyers had asked for up to $38 million in damages to as compensation for Singh, who had to undergo a heart transplant and is suffering other problems as a result of the injury. He also has to take anti-rejection drugs.

The company that manufactured the defective device, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. of Irvine, Calif., said it is willing to pay reasonable damages, but not as much as Singh's lawyers were seeking.

Continue reading "Man with destroyed heart gets record $40 million awarded by jury" »

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Charles Momah, a former obstetrician and gynecologist in the south Seattle area, was convicted of raping four patients in 2005. He was also charged with taking indecent liberties with the patients. Momah had clinics in Burien and Federal Way.

Three of the women who said they were sexually abused by Momah were awarded more than $2.2 million by a King County jury this week.

Complaints against Momah include his making passes at former patients, giving prescription drugs in exchange for sexual contact, and using a vaginal ultrasound in a sexual manner.

Momah is currently serving 20 years at the correctional facility in Monroe.

According to the attorney who represented the women during the civil trial, the civil cases he filed on behalf of dozens of other former Momah patients have been resolved. This particular Seattle medical malpractice trial lasted nearly a month.

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Following an uproar over attempts to keep the public from learning of serious medical errors, the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) has reversed its position on reporting mistakes.

According to The Spokane Review, the WSHA now advocates the disclosure of errors, such as operating on the wrong part of the body, as long as the report includes an explanation of why and how the mistakes occurred. This is a change that would require legislative action.

Continue reading "State Hospital Association Reverses Position on Error Reporting" »

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According to the Millennium Research Group (MRG), medical errors are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. The report states that there are approximately 98,000 deaths caused by medical errors annually. MRG conducted the analysis through the acute care clinical information system (CIS). CIS is a computer based inpatient system that is designed to collect, store, manipulate, and make available information that is important to the health care process. When medical professionals use CIS they are able to access and use information pertaining to a patient’s medical history and profile.

David Plow, a senior analyst at MRG stated, “Medical errors in the healthcare system arise from miscommunication, physician order transcription errors, adverse drug events, or incomplete patient medical records.” He goes on to say, “Generally, medical errors are caused by overcrowded, understaffed clinical areas with complex workflow patterns and incomplete or inefficient communication between clinic areas.” According to MRG, the use of CIS will help medical facilities provide adequate, timely care and help to reduce the amount of preventable errors.

Article Source: http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/health/8133207.html

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A Glendale Superior Court jury decided 9-3 to award $15 million to a child who developed a serious neurological disorder caused by untreated jaundice. Aidan, born March 24, 2003 at Verdugo Hills Hospital in California, reportedly exhibited several risk factors for a neurological disorder called kernicterus when he developed jaundice after birth. Jaundice is a sign of the buildup of bilirubin, a yellow bile pigment. Aiden’s parents were told that the jaundice would go away by itself and were handed a pamphlet that stated that jaundice did not produce a serious medical risk. Aiden’s attorney’s stated that the hospital and Aiden’s doctor should have been attentive and given him appropriate treatment to reduce the buildup. Lawyers for Verdugo Hills Hospital argued that Aidan was born healthy and was still in excellent health when he discharged from the hospital. Aidan was no longer the hospital’s responsibility.

Aidan, now four 4 years old, has normal intelligence but can’t control a single muscle in his body. He is unable to do such things as walk and feed himself and is in need of constant medical attention. His lawyers argued in court that this was all preventable. The current value of the award, $15 million is expected to reach $96 million over the course of his life to cover all future medical treatment. Lawyers for both Verdugo Hills Hospital and Aidan’s doctor said they would appeal the award. California does have a $250,000 cap on medical malpractice awards so it is now unclear how this would affect the jury’s award.

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Katie Shreffler, of Broward County Florida, was awarded $2.15 million for her medical malpractice claim against Dr. Marc Philippon, a well known orthopaedic hip surgeon. When Shreffler, who had been a ballerina for 15 years, underwent surgery for pain in her hip, she never expected that 10 years later she would still be in pain, would need to walk with a crutch, and that she would need more surgery to correct the damage done form the original procedure. This ended her career as a dancer. Attorneys for Shreffler stated that she was the victim of an unnecessary surgery and Philippon was using the teenager for practice. Lawyers for the doctor disagreed by stating that her pain and problems were not caused by the surgery. Rather they were caused by Shreffler being born with an abnormal hip.

The surgery, called a hip arthroscopy, took place July 31, 1997. The surgeon makes a small incision in the patient and inserts a camera to look at the hip area. The doctor then makes another incision for a device, in this surgery a bone shaver, to provide the treatment. In Shreffler’s case, a different doctor discovered grinding in her hip caused by torn cartilage. It appears that Philippon put too much pressure on the bone shaver, or may have broken a shaver during the surgery and caused cartilage damage while retrieving it. Shreffler was one of the first patients Philippon had performed this particular surgery on. The $2.15 million settlement will cover Shreffler’s past suffering, her future medical treatment and her inability to work. Attorneys for the doctor said they would appeal the jury’s decision.

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Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/138935.html

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