When we are sick and need medical care, we expect that the professionals tending to us are competent and that the risk of medical malpractice is low. However, medical malpractice cases are often cited as one of the leading causes of death in America. Read on for examples of some of the most famous cases of medical malpractice.
Duke University Hospital
In 2003, doctors at the prestigious Duke University Hospital performed a heart and lung transplant on a 17-year-old female patient. After the operation was complete, the patient began experiencing severe brain damage, eventually sending her body into shock.
Healthcare providers at the hospital then realized that the cause of the complications was the doctors not checking the blood type of the patient and donor organs to verify they matched. This breach of basic operating procedure created a clear and severe case of medical malpractice. By the time the error was discovered, the patient’s brain damage had reached fatal levels.
Rhode Island Hospital
In 2007, neurosurgeons at Rhode Island Hospital made not one but three extreme medical malpractice errors by performing surgeries on the wrong side of three different patients’ heads. While two of the surgery errors were detected and rectified in time, the third ended up being fatal for the 86-year-old patient.
Cases of medical malpractice involving brain surgery are considered “never events” because they are never supposed to occur. When they do, healthcare providers are expected to pay heavy fines and doctors can expect to lose their license. However, in this case, the doctor responsible at Rhode Island Hospital had his license suspended for only two months, leading one to believe the victims’ families did not elicit the services of an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Tampa University Community Hospital
In 1995, a 52-year-old male patient was set to have a diseased leg amputated. However, the surgeon performing the operation accidentally amputated the wrong leg. Multiple errors were discovered that led to this case of medical malpractice. For one, the incorrect leg was listed in a number of key locations in the operating room and hospital computer system. In addition, the staff had prepped the wrong leg for operation before the doctor even entered the room.
In this case, the doctor who amputated the leg was fined $10,000 and received six months of suspension. The medical malpractice case against the surgeon and hospital was settled for $1.15 million.
New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine
In 2004, a couple elicited the in vitro fertilization clinic New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine to become pregnant. It was not until the baby was born that the couple discovered that the wrong sperm was used, and the baby was a different race than its parents. The couple filed a medical malpractice case against the owner of the clinic and the embryologist who facilitated the operation.
Professional Medical Malpractice Counsel
Cases of medical malpractice can occur anywhere and during any procedure. For years, the attorneys at H&P Law have been helping malpractice victims in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada fight for their rights to fair compensation for damages. Contact H&P Law today to discuss your case.
