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Personal Injury Law

Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

By Hurley, McKenna & Mertz

Post Frequency: 0.8/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 14:34:18

FDA aims to rein in radiation-based medical scans

Posted on February 22, 2010
As a personal injury attorney in Chicago, who has seen the effects of radiation gone bad, I fully support the FDA in their new initiative to rein in radiation overdoses. In response to a problem that has becoming increasingly apparent for decades, ?the Food and Drug Administration is working with doctors and medical manufacturers to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from medical scans...

Birth Injury Cases ? Recent Success:

Posted on February 14, 2010
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin posted a recent trial success of Hurley, McKenna, & Mertz regarding a major birth injury case (2/4). Attorneys Christopher T. Hurley and Mark R. McKenna were able to obtain a $9 million verdict for our client, ?a disabled 20-year-old man whose mother claimed her son sustained severe brain damage and spastic quadriplegia as the result of an injury during his birth at Cook County Hospital...

Chicago Cases of Nursing Home Sexual Violence ? too many cases, too little arrests

Posted on February 07, 2010
The Chicago Tribune (1/26, Jackson and Marks) reports, ?Authorities have investigated at least 86 cases of sexual violence against elderly and disabled residents of Chicago nursing homes since July 2007, but only one of those cases resulted in an arrest...

Group urges recall of drug for fibromyalgia

Posted on January 31, 2010
Matthew Perrone reports, ?A consumer advocacy group is asking government regulators to recall a drug they approved last year for a little-understood pain ailment, saying the pill can lead to dangerously high blood pressure? (AP for FindLaw, 1/20). The drug in question is Savella, which has been on the market for nearly a year after it was cleared by the FDA...

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Radiation Offers Cures, but Small Mistakes can cause Inordinate Harm

Posted on January 31, 2010
At Hurley, McKenna & Mertz we seek to represent victims who have been devastated by medical negligence. Unfortunately, those who are victims of medical negligence often do not know where to turn. It is always a good idea to seek a consultation from a lawyer about your medical malpractice case...

Critics say large hospital operators that are amassing cash are doing so at the expense of patients

Posted on January 10, 2010
As a Chicago attorney dedicated to representing victims of medical negligence, I am disheartened by the following story. During a time when all consumers are hurting financially, it is fundamentally unfair for hospitals to be spending seemingly unlimited amounts of money on the newest technologies and pass on such costs to patients...

Tylenol Arthritis Caplet voluntary recall expanded

Posted on January 10, 2010
Consumer complaints of a moldy smell as well as stomach pain and nausea lead to a recent voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets manufactured by Johnson and Johnson. The New Jersey based company is ?now recalling all product lots of the Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-Open Cap,? an expansion from the earlier, more limited recall of only five product lots (12/29, AP for FindLaw)...

Temporary Firms are a Magnet for Unfit Nurses

Posted on December 17, 2009
The LA Times reports, ?Firms that supply temporary nurses to the nation's hospitals are taking perilous shortcuts in their screening and supervision, sometimes putting seriously ill patients in the hands of incompetent or impaired caregivers? (12/6, Weber and Ornstein)...

Illinois Supreme Court to rule on Medical Malpractice

Posted on December 17, 2009
This week, the Illinois Supreme Court will release a decision regarding the constitutionality of the state?s medical malpractice law (12/17, AP for FindLaw). Of particular concern is the Court?s ruling on whether damage awards in medical mistakes may be capped...

Study: New device improves heart failure survival

Posted on November 29, 2009
Recent news of a new medical device has doctors and researchers excited of a possible ground breaking discovery. Doctors say that a ?new type of heart pump greatly improves survival of people with severe heart failure,? and could become the first one of these devices to be widely used as a permanent treatment (AP for FindLaw, 11/17)...

?Loser Pays? bill is a Medical Malpractice Nightmare

Posted on November 23, 2009
Adding to the partisan turmoil surrounding the recent health care bill that passed the House of Representatives, is the republican introduced ?so-called Loser pays legislation that would require patients in medical malpractice cases to pay their opponents costs should their cases not succeed? (Joanne Doroshow, 11/5)...

Chicago psychiatrist received nearly $500K from AstraZeneca.

Posted on November 23, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am discouraged by the following story. Doctors who are essentially allowed to work for drug companies are often affected by a misalignment of incentives with their patients. This practice leads to substandard medical care and should not be allowed...

Nursing Home Doctors are untouched even as facilities are cited

Posted on November 08, 2009
Hurley, McKenna & Mertz of Chicago handles cases against doctors and nursing homes for abuse, neglect, and wrongful deaths that occur in these facilities. The following story discusses one of the most serious recurring problems plaguing nursing home care ? the fact that even when facilities are cited, doctors remain fully licensed and undisciplined...

Substandard Medical Care: More is not always better

Posted on November 02, 2009
Hurley, McKenna & Mertz of Chicago represents many clients that have been harmed by substandard medical care, focusing primarily in nursing home, obstetrics and gynecology, and wrongful death cases. As medical malpractice lawyers, we find the issue of substandard medical care to be a critically important societal issue...

Giving babies Tylenol may blunt vaccines' effects

Posted on October 26, 2009
Marilynn Marchione reports on surprising new research that suggest, ?Giving babies Tylenol to prevent fever when they get childhood vaccinations may backfire and make the shots a little less effective? (AP for FinLaw, 10/16). The new research, which only studied the use of Tylenol to prevent fever, not its effect in reducing a fever, is the first substantial study about the potential link between the use of fever-reducing medicines and reduced immunity...

Nursing home dangers: Illinois Attorney General demands Reforms

Posted on October 19, 2009
The Chicago Tribune reported attorney general Lisa Madigan called for nursing home reform in Illinois and instructed nursing homes to ?beef up inspections and improve record keeping of criminal activity,? in order to protect elderly and disabled citizens from mentally ill felons who live in the same facilities (David Jackson and Gary Marx, 10/8)...

FDA tells doctors new heparin formula less potent

Posted on October 11, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration is ?alerting doctors that a widely-used blood thinner has been reformulated to improve its safety, though the change could open the door to dosing errors? (AP for FindLaw, 10/1). The FDA is alerting doctors about the change in potency so they will be aware that patients may need higher dosages to achieve the same effect...

FDA approved device despite problems during review

Posted on September 28, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am concerned by the following story. The FDA, as the chief regulatory agency for new medical devices, has a duty to make sure the devices are as safe as possible, and it is crucial, therefore, that the review process is untainted...

45,000 deaths per year are associated with lack of Health Insurance

Posted on September 27, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am very disheartened by the following story, which illustrates the major affect that health insurance has on health outcomes and the health care system in general. Madison part reports for CNN, ?a freelance cameraman's appendix ruptured and by the time he was admitted to surgery, it was too late...

Health care issues: Medical malpractice lawsuits

Posted on September 21, 2009
A recent article broke down the key issues in the health care debate and supported assertions with nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office Data (AP for FindLaw, 9/10). As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am pleased to see the use of unbiased data to explain realistic conclusions...

Columnists oppose tort reform.

Posted on September 14, 2009
With the recent press about health care reform, the issue of tort reform is once again at the forefront. As a medical malpractice lawyer, I want to expel the incorrect notion that litigation is the primary cause of the rising cost in health care. Several columns around the country have addressed this issue, and a few were summarized in a recent AAJ news brief...

FDA: Problems with Genzyme study of Leukemia Drug

Posted on September 08, 2009
The AP reports (8/28, FindLaw) ?Federal regulators are questioning whether Genzyme?s leukemia drug should be approved for older patients based on limited studies conducted by the biotech drug maker.? Genzyme has asked the FDA to approve the drug Colar for use by adults who are over 60 years of age, but are not healthy enough to undergo chemotherapy...

Study: Ibuprofen is best for kids with broken arms

Posted on August 28, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago, I am intrigued by the following story. Most generic medicines are tested on adults, but may have very different effects in children or elderly patients, so it is important to consider how bodies of drastically different ages may respond to the same medicines...

6 more cases of botched cancer treatment at Pa. VA

Posted on August 28, 2009
The AP reports, ?six more cases have been found of cancer patients being given incorrect radiation doses at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia? (FindLaw News citing to the Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/18). These errors occurred during a common surgical procedure to treat prostate cancer...

Suit alleges medical device used to treat pelvic organ prolapse caused injury, deformity.

Posted on August 17, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am upset by the following story and believe that this is just another example of why medical device safety needs to be evaluated more thoroughly. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/31, Poole) reports, several plaintiffs are "suing the maker of a medical device used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, alleging the product caused them serious injury...

Process of getting informed consent seen as "haphazard at best."

Posted on August 17, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am disappointed that many young doctors are not being trained to obtain adequate informed consent. Informed consent is a necessary part of every medical procedure, and every patient should make sure they are aware of the potential benefits and risks of any procedure...

WI court: Doctors must tell patients all options

Posted on July 30, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I am pleased with the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision. The standard of care should require a physician to disclose all the treatment and diagnostic options, especially before sending a patient home from the emergency room...

Former Umpire seeks accountability for Failed Hip Replacement

Posted on July 30, 2009
Mark Hirschbeck ?had his dream job as a Major League Baseball umpire and reached a career high with the 2001 World Series, but he says what started as a routine hip replacement surgery cost him his career and has led to years of pain? (New Haven Register, Sullo 7/21)...

When Caregivers Harm: Problem Nurses Stay on the Job as Patients Suffer

Posted on July 24, 2009
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I find the following story extremely disturbing. In my opinion, the California Nursing Board is clearly not doing its job protecting hospital patients from bad nurses. Especially since people generally have no choice in their nurse and no way of knowing the nurse?s past disciplinary history, the Nursing Board plays a critical role in protecting these people...

$148,000 claim for preauthorized back surgery initially denied

Posted on July 24, 2009
John Yates reports for the Chicago Tribune, ?Michael Napientek of Clarendon Hills was in excruciating pain and needed back surgery. His wife has worked in the healthcare field for 30 years and thought she knew how to navigate the insurance bureaucracy...

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