This week, a father of two filed a lawsuit against the hospital where his wife died shortly after giving birth to their new son. In the lawsuit, the father alleges that after what was supposed to be a joyous occasion, he saw his wife’s catheter turning pink with blood and…
The stress of a serious injury or illness can be heightened by not knowing which hospital is the best choice for your care. To make that process a little easier for people, the Leapfrog Group–in conjunction withThe Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety–publishes Hospital Safety Grades twice each year…
About one in every twenty patients is harmed by a medical mistake that could have been prevented. That is the finding of a recent report published in the medical journal, The BMJ. Understand, we are not talking about medical mistakes that sometimes just happen during medical care. We are talking…
The FDA announced recently that they plan to review and address the safety of surgical staplers. Surgical staplers are specialized devices used in surgery to close wounds or connect tissue, instead of using traditional sutures. The FDA‘s decision comes after a recent Kaiser News Health Report revealed that thousands of…
Going to the hospital can save your life. If you are a patient at a hospital with a poor safety ranking, however, it could cost you your life. That’s the conclusion of a recent report by the nonprofit group Leapfrog, which also gives 2600 hospitals a Hospital Safety Grade twice…
If a doctor had lost multiple medical malpractice lawsuits, you would think that he or she would stop practicing or, at the very least, move to a new town to flee their reputation for harming patients. According to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine, that is…
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 30% of birth injuries are preventable. Sadly, medical negligence is one of the leading causes of birth injuries in the United States. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), determined the following to be the most…
Patients undergoing major surgery or those dealing with chronic pain are often prescribed opioid medications. These opioids have given rise to a crisis of massive proportions. Opioid addiction and overdose deaths are increasing dramatically. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all fatal opioid overdoses…
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that results from damage to the brain. CP can lead to problems with movement, posture, and muscle coordination. Additionally, CP can shorten the lifespan of a child and require that the child have around the clock care. Cerebral palsy is often caused by insufficient…
About 80 times each week, patients undergoing surgery experience mistakes that safety advocates say never should happen. They’re called “Never Events,” but these events are happening far too often and costing patients significant pain and suffering. The types of surgery errors being made include: · surgical instruments such as sponges…