Surgical error | Cirignani Heller & Harman, LLP

Doctor errors happen. That is a fact. Medicine isn’t the only occupation in which errors occur. There are mechanic errors, fast food errors, printing errors, etc… Every sort of work is going to have errors. Doctor errors, however, can have pretty significant, even life-threatening, consequences. We go to a doctor and expect that he or […]

Surgery isn’t an uncommon event for people in the United States. Almost everyone either has had some form of surgical procedure or knows of someone who has. Some of these procedures are not necessary but can lead to an enhanced quality of life. Other surgeries, however, are potentially life-saving or prevent significant disability. Some such […]

Every year thousands of surgical errors occur. Surgical errors are different from bad outcomes, which are the known risks of undergoing a surgical procedure. The document you sign before surgery called a “consent” form, is where the doctor lists these known risks. The consent you give, however, must be “informed;” that is, the doctor must […]

A spinal cord injury is a terrible event.  It will change victims’ lives dramatically, leaving them to deal with problems like difficulty breathing, paralysis, and often bouts of severe pain.  Every year around 17,000 spinal cord injuries (SCI) occur in the United States. Unfortunately, 5% of those injuries occur as a result of medical/surgical procedures. […]

Understanding medical malpractice and why it happens can be difficult. This post and infographic will hopefully help. When we go to a doctor or hospital, we put our faith in the ability of our doctors to provide us with a certain level of skilled health care. We do so because one of the most fundamental […]

Avoiding doctor errors is something everyone wants to do.  After all, a visit to the doctor or a hospital is about feeling better, not worse.  Most of the time patient safety is a high priority for healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, there are times that mistakes are made and patients find themselves worse off than when they […]

A bad outcome to a medical procedure is the last thing anyone plans on when going to the doctor.  After all, you go to the doctor to be healed. It is possible, however, that despite a doctor’s best efforts you won’t get better. If a doctor does the best job he or she can do […]

Medical Expertise Helps Identify Doctor Errors During Surgery. There are many reasons for surgical errors. One is the failure of the surgeon to recognize that a postoperative complication is related to the surgery itself. Some complications occur because a surgeon fails to recognize the unusual anatomy of an individual patient and ends up either cutting something […]

Victims of Medical Malpractice Often Need Help Overcoming Guilt When a client comes to talk to us about whether they should file a medical malpractice case or not, one of the greatest hurdles that we have to overcome right away is guilt. Surprisingly, when we talk to people about the fact that doctors were responsible […]

No one goes to the hospital and thinks of it like staying at a hotel. There is always a risk of a bad outcome. When treatment at a hospital results in injury or death, victims or their families may question whether it was the result of hospital negligence (a form of medical malpractice). As complicated […]

A bad medical outcome is an unfortunate result of receiving medical care.  Every patient that receives medical care does so with the intention to get better and heal. When that doesn’t happen patients can rightfully be very frustrated. While a bad medical outcome does not always mean that medical malpractice has occurred it may be […]

Complications and bad outcomes are always a possibility in medical treatment. When doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals fail to adhere to an established standard of care and that leads to injury, illness or death, it is a case of medical malpractice. Malpractice can take place at almost any stage of medical treatment — from […]

Change is hard. At some point in time, everyone has had to try to change a habit in order to improve at something. That kind of change is hard because people get comfortable in their routines. It is difficult because people have to act deliberately to avoid slipping into their old habits. That kind of change […]

No one likes admitting they made a mistake.  It is no fun owning up to where you fell short.  In the world of medicine, this is amplified.  A recent study published in The Journal of Patient Safety found that it is the exception, not the rule that Patients who are victims of a medical mistake or […]

Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that several doctors and at least two hospital officials were arrested for being involved in an alleged kickback scheme at Sacred Heart Hospital. After the arrests were made, authorities reported that they had been investigating the hospital for three years. Authorities suspected that hospital officials and doctors were performing […]

As we have mentioned in other posts on our Chicago medical malpractice law blog, there are many actions that hospitals and medical professionals can take to prevent patients from suffering from surgical errors, medication errors, hospital-acquired infections, and other medical mistakes. Although patients in Illinois might assume that hospitals are focused on finding ways to […]

Incidents of medical malpractice in Illinois and throughout the U.S. often result in devastating injuries or the loss of a life. Although one woman did suffer emotionally and physically from a surgical errorthat was made over a year ago, the mistake has also given her and her family a lot to celebrate. In fact, the […]

A caesarean section is a surgical procedure, and like any other patient in Chicago who undergoes a surgical procedure, a patient who undergoes a C-section must be closely monitored and carefully treated by medical professionals. Women who deliver babies via C-section may experience complications during and after these surgical procedures when their doctors and nurses […]

Last month on our Chicago medical malpractice law blog, we had mentioned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking doctors to take part in a survey regarding a newer medical device that is gaining popularity in hospitals in Illinois and throughout the country. The FDA wants to learn more about how surgeons are […]

Earlier this month, USA TODAY published a horrifying article about surgical errors involving retained sponges. Although leaving a sponge inside of a patient’s body is considered to be a surgical error that doctors, hospitals and nurses should never make, USA TODAY reported that the mistake is being made about 12 times a day in Illinois […]