Hospital Mistake Medical Malpractice Resources | Page 2 | CHH Law

When a patient is harmed in a hospital, few people hear about it, especially other patients. That’s why the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Patient Safety Excellence will use a $3 million federal grant to study how Chicago-area hospitals respond when a patient is harmed. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of […]

Medical Whistleblowers and the Sovereign Immunity Roadblock The heroic actions of two individuals recently brought the little town of Kermit, Texas, into the limelight. Two nurses at Winkler County Memorial Hospital found themselves in an astonishing situation after reporting suspected ethical violations of a doctor. Not only were they fired but also indicted on felony […]

In an article published earlier this year, a group of doctors at the University of Illinois Medical Center (UIMC) in Chicago explained their “seven pillar” method of handling “patient safety incidents,” or, put simply, medical errors. Given the model’s success of handling medical errors, a federal grant was recently awarded to implement in other hospitals […]

When Is The Best Time of Year For Elective Surgery? Thinking of scheduling that hip replacement next summer? Based on two recent studies, you might want to have the surgery done in the spring or fall instead, when your chances of medication errors, hospital born infections and other preventable medical errors are lower. The July […]

Staph infections, which can form during or following hospital stays, can be deadly. Fortunately, recent news reports and studies indicate that reported cases of staph infections are on the decline in the U.S., mainly due to hospital staff taking more aggressive preventive actions. While these efforts continue, patients can also take measures to avoid catching […]

A study by The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 20 percent of elderly patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. The study indicates that this high percentage of readmission costs Medicare over $17 billion every year. Making these staggering numbers appear even worse is the fact that, according to […]

Medical errors that occur while shifting a patient from one physician’s care to another has sparked an increase in medical malpractice claims over the last five years, according to Alan Lembitz, MD, vice president of COPIC, a Denver-based professional liability insurance company. Incomplete patient information, missing test results and poor communication among physicians head the […]

According to a study conducted by USA Today, the way patients perceive a hospital may be completely different from that facility’s actual record of care. The newspaper looked at data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (HCAHPS), which is conducted by Medicare, and Medicare’s Hospital Compare tool, which includes information about the number […]

Electronic medical records are intended to improve the care patients receive when they enter the hospital. EMRs put a patient’s medical record at the finger tips of doctors and nurses throughout the hospital, without having to track down the paper record. Ultimately, EMRs are intended to reduce and prevent medical errors. However, as Reuters Health […]

When people go into the hospital, they expect that the staff there will attend to their needs and help them recover. Many people feel safer in hospitals than at home when they are ill, given the availability of health care workers who can respond should a crisis arise and medical technology that can help monitor […]

After an extended stay in a hospital, many people want nothing more than to be able to go home and recuperate. Often people do not want to see the inside of a hospital again for a very long time. However, new research suggests that those leaving the hospital are likely to have to return. A […]

Wrongful death cases have been all too common in Illinois public hospitals News about healthcare and the healthcare industry is not hard to come by. From the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, numerous articles on healthy living, to medical tort reform, news outlets are constantly updating the public about the cost and effectiveness of […]

A recent case held that a hospital could waive its liability for medical malpractice through a consent form given to a legal guardian in the emergency room. A recent case out of Will County, Illinois shows how hospitals attempt to limit their legal responsibility for medical malpractice. Anyone who has ever stayed at a hospital […]

Medical errors that can be traced to the automation of the U.S. health care system are increasingly an issue in medical malpractice lawsuits. Electronic health records (EHRs) were first introduced as a way to improve patient safety. Many believed EHRs would make doctors’ notes more comprehensive and legible. Electronic health records can also alert doctors […]

Veterans of the armed services being treated at a veterans’ hospital in Missouri didn’t expect anything less than clean and competent care. Yet nearly 2,000 veterans were stunned when they received letters from John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis informing them they were at risk for several diseases and infections, including hepatitis B, […]

Patient safety is always spoken of in terms of being the most important factor in healthcare. After all, if the healthcare system can’t keep its patients safe, any good individual doctors or nurses may have achieved is eliminated. Research on harm suffered by thousands of patients every year suggests the current system is far from […]
Patient Safety

Joy and celebration should fill the home when a new child joins your family. But there are cases where sadness, fear, and anxiety dominate the day. This is because sometimes our children are the victim of a birth injury. While advances in medical care and better training and attentiveness of doctors and nurses have brought […]
Brain Injuries + Medical Malpractice + Pregnancy-Related Injuries

Every patient in the hospital should know that there is at least some risk associated with any medical procedure. There is really no guarantee that an operation or course of treatment will be completely safe or effective. However, people should be able to have reasonable expectations that medical staff will do whatever they can to […]
Surgical Errors

Why does transparency matter? We are a society that makes purchasing data based on research and comparison. We want to read others’ reviews of services and service providers before we buy. We are genuinely curious about how well they performed the service. We think it is valuable to know how well their customer service was […]
Medical Error

When Chicago residents are seriously injured in accidents or violent attacks, they will most likely need to receive immediate medical treatment in order to reduce the risk of suffering from fatal complications. However, when patients are hospitalized, they may face additional risks and health complications if hospitals fail to prevent the spread of dangerous germs. […]
Wrongful Death