Providence Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Man Dies after Rhode Island Surgeon Operates on Wrong Side of Head

Courtney Mills — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:56:24 GMT

A man has died a few weeks after his neurosurgeon operated on the wrong side of his brain.

As an emergency operation at Rhode Island Hospital was underway to stanch bleeding in a patient's brain, Dr. Frederick Harrington's nurse practitioner allegedly neglected to record which side of his patient's head needed surgery. According to reports, when another nurse pointed out what required information was lacking, the doctor proceeded without consulting any patient charts and operated on the wrong side of the brain. When the doctor realized what he had done, he righted himself and operated on the correct side of the brain.

The hospital suspended Dr. Harrington's surgical privileges pending a review into the incident. State health authorities are also looking into the botched operation. According to the Boston Globe, this is the third wrong-side surgery error at Rhode Island Hospital's neurosurgery unit in six years.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Courtney Mills

Naples Medical Malpractice Trial Wrapping Up

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 14 May 2007 23:19:27 GMT

A medical malpractice case in Naples, Florida is close to finishing and being put before the jury. Melvin Dill is suing gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Marks for the death of his wife. The doctor performed a colonoscopy on Judith Dill, which resulted in complications that lead to her death.

Dill, who lived at Citrus Park in Bonita Springs with her elderly blind father each winter, went to Naples Community Hospital, now called Downtown Naples Hospital, for a total knee replacement. The April 4, 2003, operation was successful, but Marks, of Consultants in Gastroenterology, was consulted four days later, after Dill -- who often felt ill after anesthesia -- became nauseated and vomited. The next day, Marks performed an endoscopy and on April 12, a colonoscopy, which ended in Dill vomiting violently and aspirating. It entered her lungs, causing an infection, and later caused her organs to shut down, ending in her death on April 25, 2003.

The hospital and anesthesiologist have all reached a settlement with the plantiff in the medical malpractice case. Defense witnesses provided testimony today and closing arguments may soon be heard.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

$4M Medical Malpractice Award in NY

Staff Writer — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:47:38 GMT

A jury has awarded nearly $4 million to a man whose condition was only made worse by supposed corrective surgery. Brian Baslin, a former exterminator whose career has more than likely ended due to his injuries, underwent surgery at Maimonides Medical Center to correct a problem with blood flow to many vital organs, but the surgery didn't work, and a second procedure required a bypass because scare tissue from the first surgery was so dense.

Baslin's troubles began in February 2002 when he was diagnosed with a condition called "arcuate ligament syndrome," in which a ligament connected to the diaphragm compresses the celiac artery, which provides blood to the stomach, intestines, and other organs. Consequently, Baslin suffered from severe diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and dramatic weight loss.

As an exterminator, Baslin was licensed in multiple states, but he likely will not be able to get his licenses renewed due to his health problems.

Read the full medical malpractice article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer