A recent article published in Imperial College London News discusses the ongoing research and development of a blood test prototype for brain damage in newborns who experienced oxygen deprivation during birth. Imperial College London, in collaboration with groups in India, Italy, and America conducted their research in Indian hospitals and published the findings in Scientific […]
In a recent decision out of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Chief Magistrate Judge Spero found that United Behavior Health, a unit of UnitedHealth Group, created policies designed to discriminate against patients with mental health issues and substance abuse disorders. In finding that the insurer violated its fiduciary duty, […]
In a recent study published in Risk Analysis, researchers analyzed over two million births between 2005 and 2010 to determine whether certain factors impacted maternal health during hospital births. The study focused on delivery complications that were within the control of the hospital staff such as severe perineal laceration, ruptured uterus, unplanned hysterectomy, admission to […]
A jury in New Jersey recently awarded $117 million ($37 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages) to a consumer who developed mesothelioma as a result of his regular use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc baby powder products. The jury apportioned 70% of the fault to J &J while the other 30% […]
While the use of health information technology (HIT) has the potential to promote efficient and higher quality healthcare, errors in electronic health records (EHR) have increasingly played a role in medical malpractice claims. Thus, instead of improving the quality of care by reducing medical errors as intended, HIT has introduced new errors contributing to medical […]
Every year in the United States, between 700 and 900 women die as the result of pregnancy or childbirth and approximately 65,000 come very close to death, leading some to conclude the United States has the worst maternal mortality in the developed world. Between 2000 and 2014, the number of maternal deaths in the United […]
A former nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs pleaded guilty last December to altering, falsifying and destroying records and committing computer fraud. The nurse falsified electronic medical records of a 76-year-old veteran who was under the care of Enrique Martinez while working for the VA in Florida. Martinez allegedly provided poor care to the […]
A woman has died from kidney cancer after medical staff incorrectly marked her surgical procedure as “semi-urgent” rather than urgent. As a result, the woman waited 78 days for the surgery. By the time, she had the surgery performed it was too late because the cancer had spread to other parts of her body. The […]
His own colleagues have referred to him as a sociopath and the worst surgeon. Christopher Duntsch stands charged with five counts of aggravated assault for allegedly mishandling spinal surgeries, and one count of injuring an elderly person, according to the Dallas Morning News. Law enforcement authorities allege that Duntsch’s behavior has risen to the level […]
It is estimated that 5% of spinal cord injuries occur in infants, the long term consequences can be traumatic. In the worst of cases, the infant dies or suffers injuries that results in quadriplegia or paralysis of all four limbs. Complications during the birthing process may lead to spinal cord injuries especially when too much […]
