September 2008
Monthly Archive
September 30, 2008
Madison County Record
9/30/2008 7:00 AM
A plastic surgeon who allegedly removed too much breast tissue in a reduction surgery nearly nine years ago will go on trial this week in Madison County.
Carrie Zang of Witt, Ill. filed suit against R. Craig McKee, M.D. in 2001, alleging McKee violated the standard of care while performing a bilateral reduction mammoplasty with free nipple graft operation on Nov. 22, 1999 at Anderson Hospital in Maryville.
According to Zang, 41, McKee ignored her directive and desire that she be left with average size breasts that would complement her frame when he proceeded to remove 2,553 grams from her right breast and 2,957 grams from her left breast.
There are 454 grams per pound.
Zang claims that prior to surgery, McKee submitted a pre-operative plan in which he stated he would be removing 1,000 grams of breast tissue from each breast.
She also alleges McKee failed to leave an appropriate amount of tissue necessary for a nipple graft causing one of her nipples to fail and “fall off her chest,” her complaint states.
Zang further alleges McKee severed a nerve and failed to properly close the surgical sites due to the lack of tissue needed to do so.
At trial, Zang will allege the surgery left her permanently and irreversibly disfigured. She will claim pain and discomfort, nerve damage, medical expenses, lost wages and psychological damage.
She is represented by Bob Perica of Wood River and will seek damages in excess of $50,000, plus costs.
Ransom Wuller of Belleville will represent McKee in the case.
Circuit Judge Andy Matoesian will preside over the trial that is expected to last a week.
01 L 1731
September 30, 2008
Posted by E.Nigma under
My Story
Leave a Comment
I’ll be honest with you – hospitals are overcrowded and dangerous, especially the Nation’s Emergency Rooms. At the last facility where I was employed; the Nurse to Patient ratio is 10-14 patients to 1 RN. That is DANGEROUS!!! and the patients are acutely ill, if not critical!!
What can be done?? Quite frankly who knows- you get these young kids coming in – eager, bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to say How Far??? when their employer says jump!!
Remembering one “tour of duty” that’s still fresh in my mind- I had 10 Patients, 5 of which were ICU patients. How can that be you ask – I don’t exactly know that answer. This also brings to mind that ICU nurse to patient ratio is 2:1 YES!! two patients to one nurse.
Informing your superior’s proves fruitless- they just said – what do you want me to do??? Isn’t that what YOU GET PAID FOR ???
My advice to all out there in cyberspace – DO NOT LEAVE YOU LOVED ONE IN THE ER …EVER!!!
September 30, 2008
Posted by E.Nigma under
Illinois
Leave a Comment
Go Here for More
CHICAGO — Negligent care at a West Side rehab center ultimately led to the death of a 67-year-old man. His hip was broken when he fell as a nurse tried moving him onto a wheelchair, the man’s daughter says.
A wrongful death lawsuit is filed on behalf of Cydney Kaplan in Cook County Circuit Court, according to the law firm of Levin & Perconti.
Martin Kaplan was admitted to Schwab Rehabilitation Center on Sept. 3, 2007, after having his leg amputated, the suit said. Prior to admission, Kaplan’s daughter did “extensive research” to determine the facility best suited for him. “I wanted to choose the most reputable rehabilitation center for my father. Schwab was a modern facility with a great reputation so it seemed like a no-brainer. I completely trusted Schwab to take good care of my dad,” she said.
Upon admission, Martin’s doctors assessed him as being at risk for falls and accidents during transfers and required he be transferred by two staff members using a mechanical lift. The following day, the suit says, a certified nursing assistant attempted to move Martin into his wheelchair by herself. She used a slide board instead of the mechanical lift his doctors ordered and Martin fell, fracturing his left hip and femur.
Kaplan was admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago the following day for surgery to treat his broken hip and femur. In the weeks after his surgery, according to the suit, his condition deteriorated rapidly. His hip and femur fractures immobilized him and he developed a serious pressure ulcer on his sacrum. In addition, he was diagnosed with sepsis, pneumonia and respiratory failure.
The illnesses developed after his fall at Schwab led to his death in early December 2007.
“We brought this case against Schwab because the staff failed to follow specific care orders,” attorney Steven M. Levin said. “Our goal is to help improve the system of care for other residents by revealing the mistakes made in Mr. Kaplan’s care.”
The suit was filed two months after the Illinois Department of Public Health completed an investigation into Kaplan’s case and cited the facility for improper nursing care..
September 30, 2008
Posted by E.Nigma under
Canada
Leave a Comment
WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg hospital is hiring round-the-clock staff to meet incoming emergency patients and give them green wristbands so that nurses know who still needs attention.
The move is intended to prevent another death like that of a homeless man at the Health Sciences Centre last week. Brian Sinclair, 45, waited in emergency for 34 hours without being helped and died, unnoticed, of a bladder infection.
Sinclair’s death has highlighted a serious flaw in all hospitals across the country, Brock Wright of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said Monday. Emergency rooms rely on patients, paramedics or family members to approach triage nurses to get care.
Sinclair was never registered with a nurse and was not examined until he had been dead for several hours.
“Something like this hasn’t happened before where we’ve had a patient waiting a long period of time in the emergency department without us knowing that the patient was there, waiting for care. Clearly that is not the fault of the patient,” said Wright, the health authority’s chief medical officer.
“Now that we know this is a vulnerability in our system, we have to take whatever steps are necessary to fix it.”
The health authority’s downtown hospital is adding the equivalent of 10 positions to ensure someone talks to all incoming patients. More staff, with training in social work, will also be added to regularly check on people in the waiting room, Wright said.
“With the changes that we’re talking about, the situation like the one that Mr. Sinclair experienced will not happen again. That’s our goal.”
The hospital is no closer to understanding how Sinclair sat waiting so long without care, he said. Wright suggested Sinclair’s difficulty communicating may have contributed to what happened, but that will ultimately be answered in an upcoming inquest.
Manitoba’s chief medical examiner has said the man’s death was entirely preventable and has called an inquest. The examiner said Sinclair’s bladder infection probably could have been treated by changing his catheter and prescribing antibiotics.
The health authority is conducting an internal review and will make any other changes it feels are necessary, Wright said.
Also on Monday, opposition politicians kept up pressure on the government to bring in an outside expert to examine Manitoba’s emergency departments.
Health Minister Theresa Oswald said there have been more than 50 “critical incidents” at the province’s hospitals since reporting unusual deaths or injuries became mandatory in 2006.
“We might take into account that about 200,000 people visited ERs during that time,” Oswald told the legislature.
Premier Gary Doer said the province has spent millions to follow recommendations of an earlier emergency room task force, including one for nurses to keep tabs on patients waiting in emergency.
“We’re not questioning his ability to spend money,” said Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen. “What we are questioning is their management of the health-care system.”
September 30, 2008
A Brimingham hospital is to be reported to Justice Minister Jack Straw over a catalogue of blunders surrounding the death of an elderly patient who died from superbug Clostridium difficile(C.diff).
City coroner Aidan Cotter recorded a verdict yesterday that Bernard Galloway died from natural causes after receiving an unsatisfactory standard of medical care at Heartlands Hospital over the preceding two days.
He said Heartlands had committed 14 failings in the care of the 76-year-old, which he would highlight to the Foundation hospital’s overseeing body, Monitor, and Justice Minister and Lord Chancellor Jack Straw in a bid to prevent any more patients dying in similar circumstances.
Errors included Mr Galloway not being seen by a consultant for more than 60 hours after being admitted to hospital; not being given the prescribed fluids even though he was dehydrated; not being seen on any ward round because he was missed off a consultant list due to ‘human error’ and nurses not recording patient observations or alerting a ward sister that they were unable to cope.
The family of Mr Galloway, a retired engineer from Lucas, who lived with wife Valerie in Ebrington Avenue, Solihull, said they now plan to sue the hospital.
Mr Cotter said: “The failures did not cause Mr Galloway’s death but they do raise the possibility that he might have lived a little longer if they had not occurred.
“I believe that it is of the utmost important that Mr Galloway’s time in hospital is reviewed by a body with the necessary skills and expert knowledge to determine what failures there were and what action if any should be taken to prevent such failures occurring again.”
The four day inquest heard Mr Galloway’s condition rapidly deteriorated after being admitted to Heartlands in March 2006 with C.diff, which causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration.
But the seriousness of his condition was not realised for more than two days by medical staff, until the day he died.
A Heartlands Hospital spokeswoman said a nurse was dismissed over the incident and added: “The failings highlighted by the Coroner have already been identified through our own internal investigation and appropriate actions have been taken.
“As a trust we remain keen to learn as much as possible from Mr Galloway’s death with the aim of preventing other similar incidents
September 30, 2008
Posted by E.Nigma under
Alabama
Leave a Comment
Sep 29 2008
A FORMER nurse whose elderly husband died after contracting MRSA at a Midland hospital has attacked the “shameful” hygiene standards on NHS wards.
Ina Gordon, 79, from Kingshurst, Birmingham, lost husband Alpheus, 74, when he picked up the killer superbug at Heartlands Hospital following a back operation last year.
Ex-nurse Ina and her daughter Susan, 38, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, launched legal action against the hospital, accusing the nursing staff of negligence.
Last week Heartlands settled out of court for a five-figure sum.
Stank
Grandmother-of-twelve Ina, who worked as a midwifery nurse at Solihull Hospital in the late 70s and 80s, claimed that her husband had been treated “like a dog” by nursing staff.
“It was so sad to see him die like that,” she said.
“I wasn’t even with him for his final breath, as the night nurse had made me leave the room so she could turn him in his bed. It broke my heart.
“The wards stank, there was muck on the floor, it was filthy. From what the standards were in my day to what they are like now, it’s terrible. He was treated like a dog.
“It was very different back when I was a nurse. The matrons were very strict, and that was good for the patients because they felt safe and well looked after.
“Every piece of equipment we used was aseptic, untouched and sterile. It wasn’t like that at Heartlands.
“When they brought in trays and dressings, there were no gloves and the nurses were putting their dirty fingers all over the equipment.
“I had to take one of the girls and teach her how to do a sterile dressing. The germs were everywhere.
“I’m not blaming the girls, I’m blaming the management because the staff are not being taught what they need to know.”
Her daughter Susan, who works as a singer, said her father faded quickly after catching the superbug.
“He was taken into Heartlands Hospital after falling at home back in January last year,” she said.
“Then he was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth for an operation on a tumour on his back. Four days after the surgery he fell ill and was tested for MRSA, but found not to have it and was then transferred back to Heartlands.
“We were told the operation had been successful and he was going back to Heartlands to prepare for his discharge home.
“After a couple of weeks there he was moved to a side room and the staff nurse told us he had MRSA. She was very flippant and told us it was nothing to worry about.
Terrible
“We would go every day to clean him, he just needed someone to make him comfortable, but the care he was given was terrible.
“His dressings were hanging off and his previous, dirty dressings were on the shelf where his personal belongings were. He was lying in his own faeces and his catheter was leaking on to his wound. The pain from the septicaemia that had set in was making him scream.
“He got taken to the intensive care unit on March 28 and died the next day. The consultant sat with us and told us the MRSA was in his bloodstream and that his body had given up.
“My dad died because of dirty wards and shameful standards of care.
“We have reported this to the Healthcare Commission which said it has sent inspectors to Heartlands.”
Sarah Huntbach, a solicitor specialising in medical negligence cases for Birmingham-based Anthony Collins Solicitors, handled the Gordon family’s case.
Last night, she said: “The family first came to see me in May 2007 just before the inquest. They were concerned as to the cause of death. We carried out some enquiries prior to the inquest to assist the family and were able to represent the family at the inquest.
“The pathologist accepted that MRSA had caused Mr Gordon’s death. As a consequence of this an early out of court settlement was achieved.”
Lisa Dunn, director at Heartlands Hospital, said: “We would like to again extend our deepest sympathy to Mr Gordon’s wife and family.
“We have undertaken a thorough investigation in light of the family’s concerns and have learnt lessons.
“Infection prevention remain a key trust priority.”
ben.goldby@sundaymercury.net
September 30, 2008
KATE HAMMER
September 30, 2008
GO HERE
The most serious allegations against a family doctor accused of endangering his patients by performing cosmetic surgery without proper training were dropped yesterday as he pleaded no contest to lesser allegations and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario restricted him from performing most surgical procedures.
Jimmy Poon, a Toronto-area family physician, performed invasive procedures including liposuction, breast augmentation and vaginoplasty without formal surgical training, until a patient complaint launched a college investigation. He will be allowed to continue his family practice, but will be subjected to unannounced inspections and required to take a physician review course.
The decision was based upon a joint submission from Dr. Poon’s lawyer and the lawyer for the college, and approved by a disciplinary panel consisting of three doctors and two members of the public.
It comes more than a year after the death of Krista Stryland, a 32-year-old real-estate agent who died shortly after a liposuction procedure performed by another general practitioner. That renewed pressure on the college and the province to more effectively police cosmetic surgical procedures not covered by OHIP.
Piecemeal regulation changes were recently proposed by the college to Queen’s Park, but have yet to take effect. As the first disciplinary hearing relating to cosmetic surgery, Dr. Poon’s case has set a precedent.
Despite evidence that Dr. Poon “fell below the standard of practise in his performance of cosmetic procedures, his administering of anesthesia for cosmetic surgical procedures and in his charting, there’s no evidence of misconduct or standards issues in relation to his family practice,” college lawyer Lisa Spiegel said.
Dr. Poon’s lawyer, David Leonard, who appeared at the hearing on his client’s behalf, pleaded no contest to allegations that Dr. Poon failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession.
“They’ve struck an appropriate balance in terms of what the college is concerned about with Dr. Poon’s practice, addressing the public’s concern and allowing him to carry on the rest of his practice, where there were no concerns expressed,” Mr. Leonard said.
In three separate reviews of Dr. Poon’s patient charts submitted to the college’s discipline committee, experts found evidence of “unsafe” and “unacceptable” practices. These included the discharge of patients minutes after eight- and 10-hour-long procedures, administering nearly double the recommended safe dose of local anesthetic and performing numerous complex procedures at once on a single patient.
“Dr. Poon’s care displays a woeful lack of knowledge and judgment,” wrote one of the reviewers, Peter Neligan, chief of plastic surgery at the University Health Network.
Allegations that Dr. Poon “breached a term, condition and limitation on his certificate of registration,” that he “engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct,” and that he is “incompetent,” were dropped.
September 30, 2008
Go to the » Hackensack forum
1081. Does anyone have any information
by pedro045, 9/29/08 9:05 ET
regarding a medical emergency on Central Avenue approximately 12 days ago?
From what I was told, Hackensack Fire Dept. Rescue Company was on the scene as First Responder for a call in which an elderly female had lost consciousness and was having difficulty breathing.
Hackensack University Medical Center Ambulance (Vanguard) arrived and the Vanguard EMT’s chose to ignre the information that the Fire Rescue Officer attempted to pass on to them and cancelled the Paramedic Unit that was responding but had not yet arrived.
Reportedly the HUMC/Vanguard EMT’s concluded that there was nothing wrongand convinced this woman to RMA (Refuse Medical Aid).
Apparently some time later, this woman still not feeling good went to HUMC where she suffered a severe stroke.
Can anyone confirme that this happened?
1081.1. Shocking….
by HackBiz, 9/29/08 13:27 ET
Re: Does anyone have any information by pedro045, 9/29/08
NOT! I understand that there have been substantial delays with getting the first responder units notified. Plus, it would seem the Vanguard folks are very touchy about having the FD units on the scene with them. Guess they figure there’s less risk of being charged with incompetence if nobody on the outside sees it. Yup, equal or better indeed!
1081.2. True
by USAG0223, 9/29/08 16:08 ET
Re: Does anyone have any information by pedro045, 9/29/08
Woman was incoherently babbling and not making sense, one of the major signs of a stroke – brain activity not normal. AN EXPERIENCED EMT WOULD RECOGNIZE THESE SYMPTOMS RIGHT AWAY AND KNOW PARAMEDICS ARE NEEDED ON SCENE! “Corcone HPD-GPS” was on scene advising HUMC Vanguard, RMA signed. HFD engine 1st responder was advised to clear scene by HPD supervisor on scene. Woman was a local elderly resident that has been extremely vocal/critical in that neighborhood over the years trying to improve it for the residents, City Government had seen her as a thorn. She owns multiple properties on Central/First. She had suffered a stroke and was brought to hospital later in the day. If it was one of our “SAVE OUR 8” HFDEMS professional responders, she would not have suffered further injury as it now seems. TOP QUALITY CARE MY A**, it’s only a matter of time when someone dies and it will be covered up if your disposable.
September 30, 2008
Posted by E.Nigma under
New Jersey
Leave a Comment
February 18, 2008 — billgarcia
Hackensack University Medical Center is used to being named to lists of the best places for medical care. Now it’s ended up on the FBI’s weekly top 10 list of cases, its executives mentioned prominently in the corruption indictment of a state lawmaker.
Read the rest HERE!
September 30, 2008
Posted by E.Nigma under
Cases
Leave a Comment
(Newser) – The Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in what could be one of the biggest consumer-rights cases in years, reports the New York Times. The case focuses on whether customers who have been harmed by products that meet federal regulations can sue the manufacturer for damages, and is centered on a Vermont woman whose arm was amputated after an intravenous migraine drug gave her gangrene.
The woman sued the drug company in Vermont and won more than $6 million—but now that award is being disputed in the Supreme Court, whose term opens next month. The legal principle in question is called pre-emption, and the Roberts court has taken on a slew of similar cases in an attempt to clarify what one expert calls “the fiercest battle in products liability law today.”
Source New York Times
Next Page »
YOU CALL THIS HEALTH CARE?! 