Posted on August 28, 2015 in Prescription Drugs

By Daniel M. Kotin

Many times, injuries caused by prescription drugs are the fault of a medical doctor committing medical malpractice.  Other times, the injury is caused by a defective drug and the claim is a product liability case against the drug manufacturer.  A third category of cases involves injuries caused by prescription errors due to misfiling of prescriptions at pharmacies.

The Basics of Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical malpractice cases are personal injury cases brought against medical professionals and others connected with the healthcare field for injuries alleged to have resulted from negligent medical care. Similar to most other personal injury cases, the injured plaintiff must show that the doctor or healthcare worker delivered substandard care; that is, care that was below the care a reasonable doctor or healthcare worker in the area with similar experience and knowledge would have provided. This standard of proof takes into account the geographic location the care was provided, the experience and knowledge of the individual worker, as well as customs, norms, and practices in that area.

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 Posted on August 11, 2015 in General

By Timothy S. Tomasik

Vena cava filters were introduced in 2005.  Since their introduction, thousands of adverse reports involving these filters have been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The vast majority of these reports involve fragments from the filters immobilizing or migrating in the body causing serious complications or death.

What Are IVC Filters?

IVC filters are cage-like devices that are small enough to be inserted into the inferior vena cava.  The inferior vena cava is adjacent to the aorta and is the main vessel responsible for returning blood from the lower half of the body to the heart.  IVC filters are intended to capture blood clots to prevent them from reaching the lungs.  They look like tiny badminton birdies.

Patients at risk for pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs) frequently have IVC filters placed when anticoagulant blood therapy would not be appropriate.  Often, patients who have sustained catastrophic injury and undergo surgery have IVC filters placed to protect against pulmonary embolism.  Most IVC filters are intended to be permanent implants although some of the devices have the option of being removed in the future.

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 Posted on June 25, 2015 in General

By Robert Geimer

As if having a colonoscopy isn’t bad enough, doctors mocked a patient undergoing such a procedure while he was anesthetized. As reported in The Washington Post, doctors in Reston, Virginia were recorded saying they wanted to punch the patient in the face; joked that a rash was syphilis; and referred to the patient as a “retard.” They were recorded talking about avoiding the patient after he awoke, even using a “fake page” to do so. Despite the recording, the doctors fought the case all the way through trial, but a jury ordered them to pay $500,000 for this inexcusable conduct. Do doctors talk about us this way behind our backs or when we are incapacitated? I hope not. But even worse, when these doctors were caught on tape, they still refused to accept responsibility and forced this poor patient to go through a trial. Shame on them.

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 Posted on June 18, 2015 in General

By Robert Geimer

Use of popular sleep aids such as Ambien double the risk of car accidents according to researchers at the University of Washington.  In a recent study, drivers who used sleep aids ran about the same risk of crashing their vehicles as drunk drivers.  This startling finding should serve as a wake-up call – pardon the expression – for the increasing problem of impaired driving due to medication.

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 Posted on May 09, 2015 in General

By Robert Geimer

With summer just around the corner, it is time to remember that some pool drains pose a very serious hazard to swimmers, especially children. In 2007, Abbey Taylor, an adorable six year old girl, died from injuries sustained when she encountered a dangerous drain in a wading pool. In her memory, Abbey’s Hope was established to warn other families about the dangers of pool drains: www.abbeyshope.org

Obviously we need to keep an eye on our children when they swim; but we also need to be aware of dangerous pool drains that can create powerful suction that can trap a child under water. Please visit www.abbeyshope.org to see examples of dangerous and safe pool drains, and have a wonderful and safe summer!

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 Posted on April 17, 2015 in General

By Robert Giemer

Popular TV doctor Mehmet Oz, M.D. is being accused of quackery by a group of physicians who are calling on Columbia University to remove him from its faculty. According to CBS News, the group accuses Dr. Oz of “promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.” This is yet another reminder that just because medical information is on TV or the internet does not mean it is inherently trustworthy. We have a responsibility to vet the information we obtain from media and discuss it with our own physicians, who know us best and are in the best position to make appropriate recommendations.

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 Posted on April 13, 2015 in General

For the fourth time since October, a Chicago-based Megabus was involved in an accident early this morning in Indiana, sending 19 passengers to the hospital. The accident occurred in the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 south of Indianapolis, according to reports, and was caused when the double-decker Megabus could not slow quickly enough to avoid a stopped semi-truck. The impact created a chain-reaction which subsequently included two additional passenger vehicles. The driver of the truck and the other vehicles were uninjured.

The Megabus was en route from Chicago to Atlanta at the time of the accident and authorities have not yet announced if charges are pending against the bus driver. Investigations into the crash remain underway, as the bus will undergo inspections to determine if mechanical problems played a role in the accident. A spokesman for the bus company stated that with safety as a priority, Megabus is providing full cooperation to authorities throughout their investigation.

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 Posted on February 27, 2015 in General

The law firm Tomasik Kotin Kasserman filed an Amended Complaint today adding Pentax Medical, the manufacturer of a medical instrument, as a defendant in a lawsuit pending against Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois related to the outbreak of the “superbug” CRE in 2013.

Donna Pirolli was a patient at Lutheran General Hospital on June 25, 2013 and underwent a procedure during which a duodenoscope was inserted into her stomach through her mouth. Because the duodenoscope had not been properly cleaned, Donna Pirolli became infected with the antibiotic-resistant “superbug” carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). A lawsuit has been proceeding in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of Ms. Pirolli alleging that Lutheran General Hospital was negligent in failing to adequately clean the duodenoscope after using it on another patient before inserting it in Pirolli.

During the same time period that Donna Pirolli was infected, approximately 43 other Lutheran General patients contracted CRE during these procedures. Since 2013, CRE infections from similar duodenoscopes have occurred in many states across the country, including, most recently, at UCLA Medical Center in California. Last week, the FDA issued a safety alert warning that the complex design of these duodenoscopes may prevent effective cleaning.

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 Posted on February 18, 2015 in General

By Robert Geimer

Going to a hospital or a doctor’s office often brings its own kind of suffering – long waits, poor communication, being awakened in the middle of the night for a routine blood draw.  In some cases the patient experience is worse than the medical condition being treated.  Some hospitals and physician groups, however, are focusing on reducing patient suffering caused by their own doing.  As described in an article in The New York Times, things as simple as reducing the amount of noise at night in hospitals are allowing better sleep and a better patient experience.  In an effort to avoid needlessly waking patients at night for routine blood draws, one physician in charge ordered that they be done only if necessary – and if it was medically necessary, he would expect to be awakened and notified.  No one ever called him.

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 Posted on February 05, 2015 in General

By Timothy S. Tomasik

When a generic prescription drug causes injury to a patient – even permanent neurological injury or death – the patient cannot sue the maker of the generic drug, even if the patient could have sued had he or she been administered the name brand drug instead.

Why Are Generic Drug Manufacturers Essentially Immune From Suit? 

Two Supreme Court product liability cases have slammed closed the courthouse doors to injured patients while protecting the manufacturers of generic drugs, no matter how horrific the harm to the patient.

Historically, the Supreme Court of the United States has permitted brand name drug companies to be sued for failing to adequately warn consumers furthers Congress goals of safer drugs and better informed patients.  Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U.S. 555 (2009); Erwin Chemerinsky, The Case Against the Supreme Court (2014).  Chereminsky’s book is a must read for anyone who cares about protecting consumer rights.  Chemerinsky’s take in The Case Against the Supreme Court is dead on, so let’s discuss how he got it right.

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