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Personal Injury Law

Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Personal injury issues.
By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Post Frequency: 9.1/day

Last Entry: June 19, 2013 at 09:18:15

The Chamber of Commerce & Protecting Consumer Rights

Posted on June 19, 2013
Litigation is an inherently contentious process, because it involves two sides with adverse interests. One party claims that a harm was done and demands redress from the other. However, it is a mistake to assume that all such matters in the civil justice system must therefore be filled with animosity, extreme disagreement, and prolonged feuding over every detail...

New Research; Malpractice Lawsuits Critical for Patient Safety

Posted on June 17, 2013
Accountability breeds improvement. That basic mantra has long-been shown true in many different kinds of settings. Focusing on quality and care in any job depends on the consequences of providing inadequate services. It does not take much deep thinking to realize that quality may be sacrificed if mistakes do not have repercussions...

High Court Rules on ?Loss of Chance? Medical Malpractice Claims

Posted on June 14, 2013
One of the most contentious legal issues facing courts in medical malpractice cases over the years has to do with ?loss chance.? Here?s the situation: To file a lawsuit and recover on a claim, a patient must show that the negligence on the part of the defendant actually caused harm...

The Role of Expert Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases

Posted on June 12, 2013
Expert witnesses are absolutely critical in medical malpractice cases. That is because many of these matters revolve around complex distinctions in medical terminology and protocols. The expert witness is able to connect the dots, providing professional explanation of how a certain course of conduct deviate from acceptable standards...

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Another Tort Reform Law Goes Down - Violates Constitutional Rights

Posted on June 10, 2013
One interesting aspects about tort ?reform? legislation is that it highlights the very reason why a strong judicial system is necessary--to protect the rights of citizens. Even when legislature move to limit their rights to the very judicial system itself, courts can stand firm and refuse to allow such encroachment when constitutions have been breached...

CPSC Considering Complete Ban on Bed Rails

Posted on June 07, 2013
There are many dangers hidden in the very places where we are supposed to heal. For example, many hospital rooms have bed with rails on the side. These bed rails are familiar to everyone. They are usually made of metal and run along the side of the sleeping space, presumably to prevent the sleeper from rolling off accidentally...

Helping Your Doctor Avoid Malpractice

Posted on June 05, 2013
Patients assume that doctors know what they are doing at all times. There is a tendency to trust doctor decisions without question, simply doing as one is told and expecting the outcome that the doctor says is likely. But, as the hundreds of thousands of patient who suffer at the hands of medical errors know--doctors are not perfect...

ITLA President Responds to Letter Regarding Proposed Illinois Legislation

Posted on June 03, 2013
The battle over legal fairness in Illinois rages on. Many believe that ?tort reform? is synonymous with damage caps. However, big companies, chronic defendants, and high-profile interests groups can chip away at the legal rights of community members in many other ways...

A ?Stoplight? Approach to Patient Safety

Posted on May 31, 2013
Prioritizing patient safety usually requires concentrated effort from entire medical caregiving systems--hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, aides, and all those involved in medical care. Many different individuals interact to provide services to patients, and ensuring that mistakes are avoided means that all those involved commit to doing everything in their power to prevent problems...

Back to the Basics: Understanding Medical Malpractice

Posted on May 29, 2013
Last week Forbes published a helpful primer that goes over many general, but critically important and practical topics related to medical malpractice. Considering the large number of people who may one day be affected by a medical error, it is helpful to re-visit some of the general issues that all Illinoisans should know about the legal ramifications of medical negligence...

The Challenge of Altered Medical Records in Malpractice Cases

Posted on May 28, 2013
With all of the discussion of ?rampant? lawsuits and doctor?s fear of malpractice laws, one might get the impression that winning a case for negligence is easy. The opposite is true. In all civil lawsuits, the benefit of the doubt goes to the defendants, as the plaintiff (injured patient/family) is required to prove each element of the claim...

Nursing Levels -- Cutting Back Hurts Patients

Posted on May 24, 2013
Our team of attorneys working on nursing home neglect matters frequently point to staffing levels as a key factor in the prevalence of widespread mistreatment at long-term care facilities. The logic is pretty straightforward. Nurses and aides perform the bulk of basic caregiving and routine medical functions at these facilities...

Medical Device Company Hospira Warned by FDA Over IV Pump Concerns

Posted on May 22, 2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a critical role in keeping consumers safe. There is a reasonable expectation that a product that is bought at a store will be safe for use. That expectation is even more secure when it comes to products that are used by medical professionals in critical health care processes...

Refocusing the Debate: Litigation Improves Patient Safety

Posted on May 20, 2013
Many aspects of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) are set to take effect this year. Expectedly, this is causing certain groups to make dubious claims about the effect the law will have on businesses and the ?tyranny? of requiring health insurance. Those who support the law are doing a decent job of reminding that the goal of the law is actually to lower costs--and there are signs that the goal will be met over the long-term...

Settlement in Stent Malpractice Case

Posted on May 16, 2013
The Clinical Advisor reported recently on the end of a high-profile medical malpractice case that made headlines across the country. The situation involved a cardiologist who was accused of performing a mountain of unnecessary surgical procedure to implant stents into patient hearts...

Patient Safety Attorneys Call for FDA Review of ?Loophole? That Allowed DePuy Hip Implant Approval

Posted on May 14, 2013
DePuy hip implants trials and settlement negotiations are underway. Though, the legal ramifications of the defective hip implants will likely continue for a while into the future. That is because there are so many who have been affected, and because some patients may eventually be harmed in the future...

More Federal Medical Billing Transparency on the Way?

Posted on May 13, 2013
Few people truly understand the complexity of medical billing. For the vast majority of community members, receiving a medical bill is similar to getting a book in a different language. You understand the basic structure, but it is impossible to make heads or tails of the details...

Criminal Medical Malpractice Hepatitis C Trial Set to Begin

Posted on May 10, 2013
We often explain how medical malpractice cases refer to civil lawsuits where an injured party (or their family) is seeking financial accountability for the consequences of medical errors. Because they are civil lawsuits, they are filed between two private parties, which can include individuals, businesses, or even public entities...

Federal Agency Removing Medical Error Data From Safety Website

Posted on May 08, 2013
Patient safety advocates often explain the value of transparency when it comes to medical errors. Sloppy service, negligent treatment, and harmful conduct by medical professionals can only truly be understood and addressed when those involved have an idea of the scope and nature of the problem...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Against Proposed Tort Reform Law

Posted on May 06, 2013
The repeated attempted to limits the rights of medical malpractice victims continues in our neighboring state to the south. State lawmakers in Missouri tried last week to pass a bill that would once again place arbitrary caps on damages that a jury could award in medical malpractice cases...

Do Negligent Hospitals Actually Profit from Malpractice?

Posted on May 02, 2013
In an ideal world, medical professionals would do everything in their power to eliminate every manner of preventable error, because they would have to pay for the consequences of mistakes. Medical malpractice lawsuits are supposed to work somewhat in that manner--requiring hospitals to pay for the consequences of their inadequate care, spurring the to make changes that eliminate harmful care...

Levin & Perconti File Illinois Med Mal Lawsuit Against Passavant Hospital in Jacksonville

Posted on May 01, 2013
We recently discussed the report in the international medical journal, BMJ Quality & Safety which indicated how diagnostic errors were the most common type of medical mistake which led to legal liability. Failure to make a proper diagnosis in a timely manner or missing a diagnosis completely continues to cause untold suffering and even death throughout the country, including here in Illinois...

Leading Cause of Litigated Medical Malpractice - Diagnostic Errors

Posted on April 29, 2013
Medical malpractice occurs any time that a medical professional breaches a duty of care equal to that of other reasonable professionals in the area. When that breach causes real injury to a patient, then the injured party (or their family) can pursue accountability and redress via the civil law...

Using ?Accountable Care? to Save Medical Costs

Posted on April 26, 2013
Few policy issues are fraught with more confusion, complexity, and disagreement that health care costs. Many argue that ballooning state and federal budgets are driven by the rise in healthcare costs being borne by governments. This is mirrored in rising healthcare insurance premiums being paid by individual community members...

From Psychiatrists to Psychologists: New Questions About Psychiatric Malpractice and Medication Errors

Posted on April 24, 2013
Medical malpractice does not always occur in hospital emergency rooms or surgical facilities. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health providers can also be liable for medical malpractice ? this is often called psychiatric malpractice. As we discussed earlier this week, a pending Senate bill in Illinois has brought psychiatric malpractice, particularly medication errors , into sharper focus in this state...

Would a Proposed Law Increase Medication Errors in Illinois?

Posted on April 22, 2013
Medication is so pervasive in society that it is easy to forget about the delicate nature in which drugs must be used. Just because someone has bottles of pills lying around or receive prescriptions on a routine basis does not mean that drugs do not pose incredible risks that need to be balanced properly...

Kickback Scheme Arrests at Chicago?s Sacred Heart Hospital

Posted on April 18, 2013
Doctors perform perhaps the most important tasks of any professional: keeping us healthy. Considering the magnitude of their work, all medical care providers are held to high standards, as the consequences of mistakes are as serious as it gets. Quality patient care must be the priority at all times, and nothing can be allowed to get in the way of that...

Kermit Gosnell, Medical Malpractice, and Criminal Charges

Posted on April 17, 2013
Few legal news stories have generated more debate and argument in recent weeks than that involving the horrific abortion clinic work of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. Obviously abortion is an incredibly volatile issue with a myriad of political implications. Social networks have been alight as those urging the banning of all abortions verbally spar with those who support its legality in some circumstances...

Jury Reaches Verdict for Wrongful Death Following Gallbladder Surgery Delay

Posted on April 15, 2013
Medical malpractice refers to all cases where there are claims of professional negligence caused by doctors, nurses, and other care providers. Sometimes these are traditional negligence claims filed by the patient themselves when they are injured as a result of medical errors...

Florida Moves to Drastically Limit Injured Patient Rights

Posted on April 12, 2013
The battle to protect the legal rights of medical patients continues on across the country, as certain state legislatures push measures championed by the insurance industry and big medical interests. Make no mistake: we need to be permanently vigilant about preserving the rights of medical patients, because big companies with a stake in taking away legal rights are constantly evaluating ways to minimize plaintiff legal options for their own benefit...

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