Category: Surgical Errors | Page 2

Technological and medical advances have streamlined the work Cook County doctors and hospitals do. Surgical robots have been employed for more than a decade, particularly in less-than-traditionally-invasive laparoscopic surgeries. U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety regulators monitor products, including medical devices, used to treat patients. Health care professionals and product manufacturers are responsible for informing […]
Surgical Errors

Carelessness is not exclusive to accident-prone people. When you trip over a child’s toy, who’s to blame – the daughter who was told to put away her things or you for not watching your step? Consequences of careless actions vary. An at-home mishap could result in a bruise, cut or, in your daughter’s case, a […]
Surgical Errors

Testimony in a medical malpractice lawsuit against an orthopedic surgeon suggests that the defendant not only botched the operation, but that he should never have tried to perform it in the first place. One expert witness said that the procedure the defendant attempted, inserting a metal plate onto the patient’s clavicle, was like trying to […]
Surgical Errors

For the first time in American history, a dentist is accused of allowing hepatitis C to spread among his patients. The dentist’s practice has been shut down, but not in time to possibly infect dozens of people. Authorities in the state where the dentist practiced shut down his clinic in late March. Inspectors found at […]
Surgical Errors

According to a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the manufacturer of a robotic surgery system is listed as a defendant in approximately 30 different product liability lawsuits. Intuitive Surgical is the company and its product is the da Vinci robotic surgical system. Adoption rates for this system have been climbing in […]
Surgical Errors

Technological advancements in the medical industry are absolutely crucial. They allow doctors and surgeons to push the boundaries of medicine, hopefully granting us a better quality of life. But there are dangers to technological advancements in healthcare. For one, they may be improperly used, or the medical staffers may not be properly trained to use […]
Surgical Errors

In our last post, we discussed a surgeon who harmed so many patients with his errors that his colleagues said he was one of the worst they had ever seen. One fellow surgeon compared him to Hannibal Leceter. We detailed several cases of the doctor committing horrific surgical errors against his patients, crippling and even […]
Surgical Errors

If you heard of a doctor called “the worst surgeon I’ve ever seen” by a colleague and repeatedly compared to fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter by another, you would not exactly be rushing to his office. In fact, you would probably be wondering how a physician with a reputation for committing horrific surgical errors on […]
Surgical Errors

A medical center in California was issued a $75,000 fine by the state’s Department of Health after an unnecessary incision was made during a surgery that occurred in December 2011. According to reports, a 33-year-old man was supposed to have his left testicle removed due to the discovery of a lesion. When surgeons began the […]
Surgical Errors

A surgical error that led to a patient having the incorrect testicle operated on caused officials in the state where it ocurred to fine the hospital $75,000. This case of wrong-site surgery appears be a sadly typical example of how this seemingly basic mistake can happen. The patient went to the hospital in 2011 for […]
Surgical Errors

The prospect of going to the dentist creates enough anxiety for many people as it is. What if the dentist fumbled one of the instruments and let it fall into your mouth and down your throat? This frightening surgical error scenario actually happened to a Chicago-area man last November. He went to a dentist in […]
Surgical Errors

Wrong-site surgeries are relatively rare, but they do occur more often than anyone would like. In fact, this type of surgical error is often referred to as a “never event,” or a medical mistake that should never happen to patients. Yet, surgeons sometimes operate on the wrong body part. Sometimes they replace the left knee […]
Surgical Errors

A surgeon is facing bizarre and troubling accusations from hundreds of his former patients. They say he only pretended to operate on them, collecting payments for joint replacements and other operations that he faked. The patients say they continued to experience pain and other symptoms as a result of the doctor’s fake surgeries. While we […]
Surgical Errors

Though most medical professionals are just that — professional — some in Cook, Illinois, may not have their patients in mind all of the time. If a doctor loses her or his focus, it is possible for mistakes to occur. This may be what happened in the case of one woman who recently filed a […]
Surgical Errors

A man who was left with a virtually useless nose after a string of 24 operations says his cosmetic surgeon is responsible for his current state. He has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the surgeon for allegedly performing operations he was not qualified to do, causing the man’s nose to become little more than […]
Surgical Errors

Many business contracts in Illinois contain an arbitration clause that requires the parties to go to arbitration to resolve a legal dispute instead of going to trial. Like other forms of alternative dispute resolution, arbitration typically costs less and damages are frequently capped lower than state law. Readers can likely understand why businesses would like […]
Surgical Errors

Medical malpractice cases in Chicago usually do not involve federal agents, doctors wearing a wire or criminal charges. But the staff of a for-profit Chicago hospital is dealing with a FBI investigation after allegations arose that surgeons were using their patients as cash cows by performing unnecessary surgeries on them, a particularly sinister form of […]
Surgical Errors

Last year, The American Journal of Surgery published a study that analyzed whether sleep-deprivation would affect medical students or not when the students performed new tasks and tasks that they were already familiar with performing. Researchers concluded that the students had to use more energy in order to perform new tasks well when they were […]
Surgical Errors

As we have mentioned in other posts on our Chicago medical malpractice law blog, there are risks that are associated with any type of surgery. However, surgeons, nurses and hospitals also have a duty to minimize and prevent these risks by providing their patients with the quality care that they need and deserve. When doctors […]
Surgical Errors

When Chicago doctors and hospitals are negligent, they risk making mistakes that may never be fixed or repaired. In addition to suffering physical scars and injuries, victims of medical malpractice may be left with emotional scars that they must deal with for the rest of their lives. This week, one couple’s lawsuit against two medical […]
Surgical Errors