Akron Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Common Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer Released to Encourage Women to Seek Medical Care

Rebecca Castell — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:38:00 GMT

The New York Times today reports that Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Cancer Society has recommended that women experiencing certain symptoms associated with ovarian cancer follow up with a doctor for exam in the hopes to increase early detection.

Not all women experience early symptoms, but an early diagnosis results in a 93% chance of survival 5 years out.

The symptoms to watch out for are bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate. A woman who has any of those problems nearly every day for more than two or three weeks is advised to see a gynecologist, especially if the symptoms are new and quite different from her usual state of health

In light of the high success rate after early detection, women are encouraged to report these symptoms. The hope is that by publicizing the link between these symptoms and cancer, which can spread quickly if left undiagnosed even for a few months, doctors and patients will become more aware of the signs of cancer and an earlier diagnosis will be made.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rebecca Castell

Stricter Warnings Needed for Diabetes Drugs

Rebecca Castell — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:59:57 GMT

This week, the F.D.A. commissioner announced a decision requiring stricter warnings on labels for Avandia and Actos, two oral medications for diabetes. After a year long review, the FDA determined that the Avandia"can potentially cause heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems" and Actos, a competitor, carries a risk of heart failure.

Today's New York Times reports that

{i]n a written statement, the commissioner, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, said the agency has asked the makers of Actos and Avandia to carry the more prominent warning, a so-called black box warning, of its heart risks because "despite existing warnings, these drugs were being prescribed to patients with significant heart failure."

While the hearings themselves were fraught with conflict and accusations of what risks were known by the drug companies and when those risks were discovered, consumers and doctors are more aware of the potential complications from these two drugs.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rebecca Castell

Physician Patient Communication is Critical

Paul Grieco — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:22:28 GMT

Many clients contact our office on a regular basis to discuss medical care they or a loved one received which resulted in some type of problem. Many of these clients believe that just because a complication occurred that the doctor or hospital must have done something wrong and therefore there must be a viable medical malpractice lawsuit. In discussing the issue with the clients and counseling them on their rights, frequently it s determined that the real problem is not always medical malpractice, but a lack of good communication between the physician and the patient.

Many times clients will say the doctor never told us what happened or fully discussed the problems or complications. While negligent medical care does happen, failure to properly communicate with a patient does not always lead to a malpractice case. Patients should try and create an open dialogue with their physician and ask as many questions as you can. If you need to schedule a further meeting with the doctor try to do so. In this day of managed healthcare it is often difficult, but most doctors take their patients and their jobs seriously and will be open and honest and will do the right thing. If you are not sure what to do, ask your attorney for insight as the job of a good attorney is to counsel clients and be open and honest.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Grieco

University Hospitals Makes Breakthrough in Treatment of Liver Tumors

Jack Landskroner — Tue, 15 May 2007 18:35:53 GMT

University Hospitals of Cleveland has made a breakthrough in the treatment of liver cancers which will improve the treatment and possibly the prognosis of cancer patients.

An innovative technique that assaults liver tumors with millions of radioactive beads has been tried for the first time in Northeast Ohio....While it isn't considered a cure, the minimally invasive therapy has been found to reduce tumors more than chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic colon cancer. Shrinking the tumors to a manageable size gives patients more treatment options, which can help prolong life and, in some cases, even produce a cure, said Dr. Christopher Siegel, an assistant professor of surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center

Even before treatment is provided, however, the timing of diagnosis is a critical factor in treating cancer. Patients must make sure that they choose qualified physicians who maintain high indexes of suspicion in their patients so they can quickly identify and where possible treat the cancer to arrest the growth of cancerous cells. In particular, Doctors must monitor patients whose risk factors are high, including those with a history of cancer in the family, when the patient is or was a smoker, or where they have been exposed to an environment where there are carcinogens (cancer causing agents) present. For those patients who present with signs and symptoms indicative of disease and the red flags are ignored, the delay in diagnosis can be the difference between survival and death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner

Explaining Damages in a Civil Law Suit: What's Your Case Worth?

Jack Landskroner — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:21:01 GMT

Attorney Scott Smith does a nice job of summarizing the role of damages in a civil law suit in his April 7th blog post. Scott talks about compensatory, punitive and nominal damages and how they come into play when a jury makes its decision of what verdict to award a plaintiff in a personal injury law suit.

The law permits you to seek recovery after an accident to "make you whole again." The central concept is that you should be compensated in a manner that, as best as the law can arrange, places you back in the same position as you were before the accident.

The key in obtaining appropriate compensation for an injured client is to assure that the jury is provided with both comprehensive subjective evidence (e.g. the diary of the patients experiences) as well as objective evidence (xrays of broken bones or MRI findings) of the plaintiffs treatment and care. This evidence may come from the medical records, the treating doctors, the plaintiff himself or the family and friends who observed the effects of the injury upon the plaintiff.

There are no guarantees as to what a jury will elect to award in a personal injury trial however, when provided with competent testimony and quality evidence any plaintiff should feel comfortable that they will get a fair recovery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner

Class 1 Recall of Bard Composix Kugel Mesh Patch

Jack Landskroner — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:20:16 GMT

Patients who have been implanted with a Bard Kugel Mesh Patch used in hernia repair surgery should be aware that the product has been recalled by the manufacturer and patients should seek medical attention immediately if they experience symptoms that could be associated with ring breakage such as unexplained or persistent abdominal pain, fever, tenderness at the implant site or other unusual symptoms.

The Bard Composix Kugel Mesh Patch is used to repair ventral (incisional) hernias caused by thinning or stretching of scar tissue that forms after surgery. The patch is placed behind the hernia defect through a small incision. The patch is then held open by a "memory recoil ring" that allows the patch to be folded for insertion and later spring open and lay flat once it is in place.

The problem with patch involves the memory recoil ring" that can open and break under the stress of placement of the large sized products in the intra-abdominal (inside the belly area) space. The risk is bowel perforation (rupture) and/or chronic (recurring) intestinal fistulae (abnormal connections or passageways between the intestines and other organs).

We have had clients present with a pointed object pressing out on the skin from inside the abdomen. Others have presented with perforations of other organs of the body. If you have received one of these patches it would be wise to seek medical consult and where necessary, legal representation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner

Limit Overturned in Kids' Malpractice Lawsuits

Christina Cole — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:10:59 GMT

A decision by the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday, gives parents more time to file lawsuits against doctors for anguish they suffer when their child is victim of medical malpractice.

The new ruling extends the window that parents can files suits from one year up to the child's 19th birthday. The decision was unanimous and based on claims brought upon by the parents of a 17-year-old Tara Fehrenbach.

The decision means, parents of a child injured by medical malpractice, will not be put in the position to file a lawsuit within a year of the injury when the impact may not be fully known yet.

With the old system, parents were allowed one year from the time of the injury to file suit, while the child had until their 19th birthday to sue.

For doctors, this means they are exposed to longer potential suits but it may lessen litigation because both the parents and child's claims will come at the same time.

"Rarely do we get the opportunity to change Ohio law for the better, but the Fehrenbach v. O'Malley case released today ... finally recognizes how goofy it was that a parent had to bring suit before the child's statute of limitations had run (out)," said First District Court of Appeals Judge Sylvia Hendon, who wrote the original decision.
The Fehrenbachs' lawyer, John Metz, said the decision is a victory for both sides of the litigation. "It eliminates the duplication and possibility of contradictory results," he said.
Tara's parents, Gina and Thomas Fehrenbach, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tara and themselves in 1997 against her pediatrician, Kathryn O'Malley, and O'Malley's employer, Suburban Pediatric Associates. They claimed negligence because the defendants failed to diagnose and treat the meningitis that led to Tara's health problems.

The case was dismissed due to the statute of limitations running out. The couple appealed and the 1st District Court of Appeals reinstated the claim last year, with Ohio Supreme court agreeing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole