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Medical Errors Still A Problem, Speakers at Richmond Conference Say

Doctor Allows Patient to Die to Steal Watch

In an appalling story covered by multiple new outlets recently, a California Emergency Room physician was indicted in August for grand theft after stealing a Rolex watch from a dead patient.

The family of the dead man have filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The allegation is that the doctor did not make appropriate efforts to resuscitate the patient, who died of a heart attack. The doctor then pocketed the dead man's Rolex watch, and was apprehended by security soon afterward.

While the great majority of medical malpractice/negligence cases are far less egregious than this, they do happen often. If you or a loved one has been hurt by medical negligence, protect your rights by contacing an attorney at Williamson & Laveccia.

Tips for Preventing Medication Errors

Preventing Medication Errors

Too many lawsuits or too much malpractice?

Watching the news and listening to politicians you would assume there are far too many frivolous lawsuits that are driving doctors out of business.  Is there any truth to those claims?  Well the facts show that the frivolous lawsuit theory is nothing more than a myth according to a recent article published in the Canadian Medical Journal.  Click here to read the article.

Serious Injuries from Retained Surgical Objects

Why is Medicare refusing to pay to remove surgical sponges?

The reason is simple and logical: it is a never event.  There is no legitimate reason why a patient should leave the operating room with a surgical sponge, towel, or instrument left inside her body.  These events should never happen.  They only happen when someone is not being careful.  In most cases responsibility falls with the nurse for failing to properly account for each sponge placed in the patient's body. 

It is a basic principle of surgical nursing that prior to surgery the nurse must have an accurate count of the number of sponges in the surgical field.  The nurse must keep an accurate count of the number of sponges placed in the patient's body during surgery and then count each sponge removed.  Before the surgeon sews up the patient, it is the nurse's job to tell the surgeon if a sponge remains in the patient's body.

The complications of leaving sponges in a patient are serious.  In most cases the patient will require further surgery with risks of anesthesia, infection, and even death.  Even in the best case scenario the patient must go through a painful recovery and miss time from work and family activities.

At Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. we have represented numerous patients who were injured because foreign objects were carelessly left in their bodies.  Examples include hysterectomies, c-sections, and gall bladder removal.   For more information please read our retained object practice page.

Unfortunately Virginia has a short statute of limitations so if you or a loved one was injured because a surgical object was not properly removed, please call us at (804) 288-1661 or contact us by email to discuss your legal rights.

1/3 of Nursing Home Residents Given Wrong Medication

What are the chances that you will become a nursing home patient?

Ever wonder what life is like in a nursing home? Read this

The New York Times published a great article about medical students who volunteer to experience life as a patient in a nursing home.  They went to nursing homes with a mock illness or disability like a stroke and had to live life as a patient.  The students experienced everything nursing home patients endure ranging from full body checks for pressure ulcers to learning how to maneuver a wheelchair in a small room. 

The experience should help these future doctors better understand the struggles their patients will experience.  Imagine being trapped by a stuck wheelchair and out of reach of your call bell.  Or needing to use the bathroom and no one is available to assist you.  Those are some of the struggles and adjustments nursing home patients endure. 

I commend these future doctors for taking a very unusual approach to better understand their patients.  I have no doubt that their future patients will reap the benefits of their experience.

Click here to read the article.

Nursing Home Patient Freezes To Death