A study by Public Citizen’s Congress Watch (PCCW) revealed some interesting facts about medical malpractice in Maryland. Despite what you might have heard, there is no overall medical malpractice lawsuit problem in Maryland, according to the study. Doctors are not leaving the state because of lawsuits and high medical malpractice insurance rates. Secondly, according to PCCW, the medical malpractice problem in Maryland is attributed to negligent acts by a small number of doctors, which the state medical board does not discipline after a serious medical error. Three percent of doctors in Maryland are responsible for half of the medical malpractice payouts. This three percent represents 576 doctors, and each has made two or more medical malpractice payouts. The PCCW examined findings from the Institute of Medicine and found that there are about 836 to 1,862 hospital deaths in Maryland ever year. Each one of those deaths occurs from preventable medical…
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Virginia & Washington DC Personal Injury BLOG
Medical Errors Cause Over 1,000 Hospital Deaths Annually in Maryland
April 13th, 201229-Year-Old Receives Mesothelioma Diagnosis
April 11th, 2012A 29-year-old Virginia firefighter was too ill to attend his own fundraiser last month. He is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for mesothelioma cancer, which doctors think resulted from asbestos exposure as a child. Normally, the deadly lung cancer strikes victims later in life after years of exposure to asbestos on the job. It can take up to 50 years for mesothelioma symptoms to manifest. In this case, however, the victim received the diagnosis before the age of 30 – last February, just after beginning his career as a firefighter. He thought the initial cough would disappear in a few days, and then he started to have flu-like symptoms. An X-ray revealed a spot on his lungs followed by the mesothelioma diagnosis from his doctor. Patients and doctors often mistake mesothelioma symptoms for a much less serious condition. Asbestos exposure is a common risk for firefighters when they enter burning buildings that…
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The Many Faces of Medical Malpractice
April 9th, 2012Most people associate medical malpractice with doctors, particularly surgeons. While thousands of patients suffer injuries every year at the hands of negligent doctors and surgeons, victims report instances of medical negligence every day at the hands of other healthcare workers. Nurses, physical therapists, dentists, orthodontists, nursing assistants and occupational therapists have committed acts of medical malpractice and injured or killed patients. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional breaches his or her duty of care to a patient, and as a result, the patient suffers injury or death. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), approximately 225,000 people die each year from medical malpractice. Medical negligence occurs in different forms, including: Unnecessary surgery Medication errors Misdiagnosis Post-surgery infection Anesthesiology errors Surprisingly, a Healthgrades study revealed that only 2 percent of injured patients filed a medical malpractice claim. Has a medical error harmed you or someone you know? Koonz, McKenney,…
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