Medical Malpractice

Tort reform, despite its many proponents, is not the cure-all to high medical costs. Torts, medical malpractice suits, and lawyers are the common scapegoats that lawmakers, hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies cite as the primary culprit for runaway medical...

Since 2015, health care regulators and lawmakers have devoted much time, energy and resources into investigating a series of outbreaks of "superbugs" related to the use of duodenoscopes. These devices, used to inspect and treat problems in the intestinal tract, have...

The hospital admitted your child for a simple tonsillectomy. The procedure went well and you expected to be able to bring your child home in the next day or two. But things started to go wrong. Your child's heart rate dipped and she went into cardiac arrest and...

It is not uncommon for patients undergoing colonoscopies to suffer adverse events or effects from the procedure. Each year, more than 14 million people are screened for colon cancer, and more than 5 million colonoscopy procedures are performed in the United States...

An outbreak of a rare infectious pathogen at a New Mexico nursing home has focused attention on a serious - and potentially deadly problem. In January 2014, a resident at Casa Maria Nursing Home in Roswell became infected with Clostridium difficile, a highly...

In addition to hospitals holding vicarious liability for the actions of its doctors and medical staff, hospitals may also be held to be liable for negligently credentialing doctors when they do not meet the basic standards as separate causes of action. Negligent...

Information about hospital negligence statistics is often closely guarded, making it difficult for the public to understand which hospitals have numerous violations. Illinois public hospitals have paid over $180 million in the past decade for patient deaths. These...

The statute of limitations can bar an otherwise viable medical malpractice claim because it was filed more than two years after the negligent act, but there are exceptions. A recent change to the discovery rules allows a claim even if the two-year statute of...

How many people know that medical device salespeople often participate in surgical procedures? Surgeons, surgical nurses, and medical device manufacturers certainly do, but the general public does not. Allowing healthcare industry representatives (HCIR) to provide...

According to medical studies, long work shifts and sleep deprivation are putting both medical students and their patients at risk for injuries. Studies show that sleep deprivation impairs medical residents' performance and exposes patients to increased medical errors....