The mistake concerns Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. Women who use these products should check the expiration date of their meds: The recalled drugs have expiration dates spanning from July 31, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
]]> [Click here to read Brian McKeen's press release concerning the Pfizer birth control recall.]The serious mistake occurred at the packaging stage, as the birth control packets contain too few active pills and too many inactive pills, or vice versa. In the former scenario, women face a much higher risk of an unanticipated pregnancy. Pfizer states that women using the defective packets are not at risk for health problems, unless - of course - pregnancy itself poses a health risk to the woman.
A woman who is unknowingly pregnant may use alcohol or take medications that are harmful to a fetus. Even seemingly harmless medication such as acid-reflux pills can present an increased risk of birth defects to a fetus. Should this unfortunate situation occur, Pfizer can be held liable for the harm caused by its serious medication error.
If you have been exposed to Pfizer's defective birth control packets and experience an unplanned pregnancy, contact an experienced Michigan medication error attorney to discuss your legal options.
Source: NyDailyNews.com, "Pfizer recalls 1 million birth control packets," Associated Press, Feb. 1, 2012
]]>In 2003, a 21-year-old woman visited the hospital with severe abdominal pain. She consulted a surgeon, who advised her to have part of her intestines removed the following day. The patient agreed and returned for her surgery, but the doctor changed his mind and said they could delay the procedure. The woman's condition worsened over several days and she ended up having emergency surgery performed by another surgeon.
]]> The patient's entire bowel needed to be removed, as she had been suffering from ischemic bowel disease - also known as "dead bowel." She filed a medical malpractice lawsuit, claiming that part of her bowel could have been saved had the surgeon performed the procedure as originally planned.A Clark County jury agreed, but - as in nearly every malpractice case - the victim would gladly return the money if she could reverse the devastating effects of the surgery error. With her dramatically-shortened digestive system the patient has trouble getting adequate nutrition, as she passes food within a half-hour of eating. Her life is not only full of constant inconvenience, but pain, too. The victim suffers from bloating, severe enough that it's physically visible.
Nobody should have to go through such daily pain and suffering because of medical negligence. If you or a loved one has suffered severe harm from a doctor's error, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to discuss your legal rights for financial compensation.
Source: newsandtribune.com, "Jury awards $1.5 million in medical malpractice suit," Matt Thacker, Jan. 20, 2012
]]>In the drug industry, the medical needs and safety of consumers has often been placed at a lower priority than sales figures. Pharmaceutical companies routinely rush drugs onto the market without conducting medical studies that properly examine the side effects and effectiveness of the medication. The U.S. government is seeking ways to halt this dangerous practice and a soon-to-be-implemented rule is an important step toward this goal.
]]> Drug firms are now required to disclose the payments they make to doctors who study, test and promote their products. The rule will provide more insight into the financial relationship between drug makers and physicians. When a drug firm pays a physician to examine a drug, it encourages an undeniable bias in the product. The government hopes that the new rule will help make the initial medical studies more transparent, ultimately resulting in an increase in the safety of drugs.The new requirement is just a small step toward getting a tighter grip on an industry that has routinely been compromised by the greedy need for bigger profits. Unsafe drugs will still enter the U.S. market, putting people and families at risk.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a dangerous drug, contact a skilled medication error attorney to discuss your legal options for recovering financial damages.
Source: The New York Times, "U.S. to force drug firms to report money paid to doctors," Robert Pear, Jan. 16, 2012
]]>In the meantime, even under the current law, the current Zoloft litigation may be viable in Michigan. Injured Michigan families should have the same rights to be compensated for meritorious drug product liability lawsuits as do citizens in the other 49 states.
]]>If you experience lack of sanitary conditions in a doctor's office, clinic, or hospital then develop an infection, please contact McKeen & Associates, P.C.; we will discuss your situation and provide you with sound legal advice.
]]>A bump had been growing on the girl's body since she was born. It took a pediatric oncologist's diagnosis - one year later - to identify what exactly the bump was: alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a muscular cancer that was already in stage IV because the cancer had spread.
]]> But her parents did not bring their medical malpractice claim against the pediatric oncologist; they brought their claim against their primary physician and the Family Practice Medical Center in Willmar, Minnesota, because it took over a year to reach that cancer diagnosis.Presumably, the primary physician shrugged off the risk of the girl's bump, or misdiagnosed the bump entirely, and as it either grew or the girl began experiencing symptoms, her parents decided to take the next step and seek another opinion.
But, by then, their daughter was already in stage IV.
What makes this cancer misdiagnosis case unusual is the apparent ambiguity in Minnesota law: lawyers representing the doctor claim that the law only allows injured patients to sue if their odds of survival go from likely to unlikely, as Simons reports, as a direct result of delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis.
"The case involves tragic, tragic circumstances, but it also involves an extremely aggressive, rare and naturally occurring disease," said defense lawyers.
The appeals court recently allowed the case to proceed.
Doctors cannot always spot signs of cancer; the signs simply may not exist, leading to a delayed diagnosis that is not necessarily the doctor's fault. However, in some delayed cancer diagnosis cases, the signs were there all along - like the girl's bump - yet the doctor failed to recognize or investigate them.
Source: Star Tribune, "Will false diagnosis cost Minnesota girl her life?" by Abby Simons, 1/4/12
]]>Such is the case with 60-year-old Rollie Parrish, who, now wheelchair-bound, brought a claim for medical malpractice against his health care providers after suffering paralysis (from a stroke) after doctors administered a steroid injection meant to ease chronic pain in his neck and back.
]]> Of course, the market for steroid injections, as Armstrong reports, is said to be in the $300 billion range. So many Americans suffer from chronic back and neck pain, and the injections take very little time to administer - the costs of which are billed back to Medicare and private health care insurers.The population is getting older, which leads to more people who have chronic pain. That's the first factor. The second factor is that it costs relatively little to administer the injections, yet Medicare and private health care insurers seem to be almost overpaying when it comes to reimbursement.
These two factors add up to a "boom in epidural shots," writes Armstrong,
The drugs used in steroid injections are known to be good at fighting inflammation, a significant cause of pain, but many injections are done too close to the spinal cord, or the drugs themselves are injected directly into arteries that cause blockages - which can lead to strokes, which is exactly what seems to have happened to Parrish.
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, "Epidurals Linked to Paralysis Seen With $300 Billion Pain Market," by David Armstrong, 1/4/12
]]>The study suggests that when doctors and nurses use gloves they wash their hands even less frequently than when they do not wear gloves. The problem created by this false sense of security is that bacteria on the outside of gloves can be snapped back onto the bare hand when the gloves are removed. If the contaminated hands are not washed or disinfected, bacteria can be transmitted to the next patient.
Be an active participant in your health care. Be informed. You have the right to ask your health care provider to wash their hands before they take care of you, whether they wear gloves or not.
If you, a friend, or family member develops a hospital-acquired infection due to lack of sanitary conditions or there was a delay in diagnosis and treatment of an infection, contact McKeen & Associates, P.C.; we will review your information and advise you on your legal rights.
]]>This study, while showing encouraging results, highlights common limitations in clinical trials involving humans. The test subjects were healthy persons between 18 and 50 years old; however, those persons at greatest risk for complications from norovirus infection are not healthy persons between 18 and 50 years old-they are persons under 18, over 50, and those who are not healthy. It remains to be seen how effective the vaccine is (and what side effects occur) when tested on persons most at risk of complications from norovirus illness.
]]>It's not clear how Mitchell came to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy, based on the report in the Boston Herald; what is clear, however, is that this young man serves as an inspiration to others in his community.
]]> Online reader 'bridgeview,' for instance, writes: "One of the most powerful men in MA, the Majority Leader of the Senate, has CP, the reason you never see him giving speeches. Don't confuse a different thought methodology with lower intelligence. The sky is the limit for Sean. Go get 'em, kid."Clearly, 'bridgeview' was inspired to comment based on Mitchell's determination. It's tough to read the description of how Mitchell runs: his knees collapse inward, his body leans to the right. But despite being diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, Mitchell just finished his fourth season of high school track, for a total of 12 seasons spent running through the years.
One of Mitchell's achievements includes halving his 5k time from one hour to less than 30 minutes. One of Mitchell's teammates says, "The other guys have become aware of someone who can overcome physical limitations."
As for Sean Mitchell, he says, "[Running] makes me feel free."
Source: Boston Herald, "Cerebral palsy can't stop Mass. high school runner," 11/13/11
]]>The legal complications of in vitro fertilization can arise when the clinic causes a mix-up of eggs or sperm, for instance, or improper screening of donor eggs or sperm.
]]> Nonetheless, in vitro fertilization is a tremendous medical advance for women who experience infertility, for whom pioneer Robert G. Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010.In a short time, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case regarding in vitro fertilization - but it has nothing to do with improper screening or sperm mix-ups.
As James Vicini reports for Reuters, Karen Capato was denied Social Security survivor benefits for her twins, who were born one year after her husband's death. If the natural timeline seems wrong, it's because Capato underwent in vitro fertilization using her husband's sperm, which he deposited at a clinic after his cancer diagnosis, prior to his death.
Now, the question is whether kids who are conceived posthumously should be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits. The Court is expected to rule in June of 2012.
Source: Reuters, "Court to hear in vitro fertilization benefits," by James Vicini, 11/15/11
]]>Many infants fully recover from Erb's palsy but there are those who never will - despite efforts at rehabilitation and surgery.
]]> "Though there are reports of C-sections becoming more widely used when not necessary," writes Annette Manwell for the Holland Sentinel, "there are times the procedure should be used."After a difficult birth that did involve a C-section (rather, it involved the doctor and nurse pulling on the newborn), doctors discovered that Manwell's only son Gabriel had Erb's palsy, for which he has been treated since he was a week old. Manwell fears that treatment will always be necessary; that her son will never fully recover; that he will never be able to participate in sports like swimming.
It's unclear exactly how seriously Gabriel's injuries are, but his case appears to be one of the most serious, necessitating a surgery (probably some form of tendon transfer) that may or may not improve the outcome.
But what clearly galls Manwell is the cause of her son's affliction.
Her son's Erb's palsy didn't come about from a car accident or gunshot wound or anything like that - both of which can cause Erb's palsy in adults. Manwell ends her piece with: "It was preventable."
Source: Holland Sentinel, "Brachial plexus: A child's injury that doesn't have to happen," by Annette Manwell, 10/31/11
]]>According to the Wall Street Journal, one such case involved an apparent emergency room error, where a woman hit by a car may have suffered subsequent brain injury caused by a lack of proper monitoring while she was in the hospital.
]]> The case was settled for a fraction of what the injured patient asked for.These "intense" settlement discussions are part of a pilot program in New York City-area courthouses that handle medical malpractice cases. Judge Ann Pfau is heading up the program.
The focus is early settlement, prompting the president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association to say, "There shouldn't be any pressure on the plaintiffs to settle. It should be voluntary."
The question is whether it's as voluntary as it's made out to be - especially given the so-called benefits of the program - which, in the brain injury case mentioned above, consisted of a fraction of the initial amount asked for by the injured patient, along with no fault admitted by the hospital.
Source: Wall Street Journal, "More NY courts to focus on medical malpractice," 11/11/11
]]>Either way, most efforts at tort reform focus on taking crucial decisions away from the jury. But some decisions are always meant to be considered by a jury. Take, for instance, a life-changing birth injury caused by fetal distress that went ignored by the doctor. For many patients, there is no going back from some types of medical malpractice.
]]> But House Republicans want a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages (a.k.a. the patient's pain and suffering caused by medical negligence) in federal cases, much as states like Texas have done. Texas Gov. Rick Perry's much touted efforts at tort reform are said to have led to an influx of doctors seeking lower malpractice insurance premiums, due in part to a $250,000 cap in that state.There are, however, conflicting reports on whether caps on pain and suffering and other tort reform measures will do anything substantial in lowering health care costs in the long-term. After all, tort reform does nothing to remove the inherent profit motive in the insurance industry, and it certainly does not guarantee to improve the quality of health care provided by negligent doctors.
Source: Politico, "Medical malpractice reform efforts stalled," by Brett Norman, 11/7/11
]]>Libertarian arguments often rest on "rationalism"; in this case, how a rational buyer or seller would behave in a free market, unfettered by excessive courthouse intervention, when insuring against medical malpractice ranging from preventable spinal cord injury to medication errors.
]]> Olson argues that if the rational health care consumer had the opportunity to purchase medical insurance coverage (rather than through jury verdicts handed down in our "paternalistic" civil justice system), the consumer would opt out of pain and suffering coverage in favor of other benefits, like lower co-pays for doctor visits.What Olson doesn't explicitly state is the consumer probably wouldn't opt out; the insurance company wouldn't offer the option of pain and suffering coverage and the consumer probably wouldn't be able to afford it to begin with.
Insurance itself would operate as a kind of "filter" through which most would-be medical malpractice claims would travel. Rather than going to the courthouse, many claims would be disposed of via compensation spelled out in the insurance contract.
But just because it's difficult to measure pain and suffering - Olson refers to "arbitrary lines" - doesn't mean we should allow the free market to opt out of providing such compensation.
After all, pain and suffering really does mean something.
Just ask any patient who has been seriously injured, irreversibly, by medical malpractice.
Source: Cato @ Liberty, "Libertarians, Medical Malpractice and Contract," by Walter Olson, 10/24/11
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