Medical Malpractice | Lane Brown, LLC

The last thing someone suffering from an injury or illness expects is to suffer even further due to the negligence of their healthcare provider. Fortunately, when your caregiver makes an inexcusable mistake, you can hold them accountable by pursuing an Illinois medical malpractice claim.

However, you may not have any idea how to launch a personal injury claim or even whether you have a viable claim. Below, we go into further detail about some of the most common types of medical malpractice cases in Illinois and other legal details you need to know before proceeding with your claim.

Common Types of Medical Errors in Illinois

Many patients are informed of the risks associated with a certain medical procedure or treatment, but there is a big difference between standard risks and issues that arise due to medical negligence. For a medical malpractice lawsuit to be successful, you must prove that the medical standard of care has been breached.

To put it more simply, a breach in the standard of care would be a mistake or error that another reasonable medical professional would not have made. Some of the most common types of medical errors to sue for in Illinois include:

Misdiagnosis
Failure to treat
Failure to provide follow-up care
Surgical errors
Anesthesia errors
Birth injuries
Medical product liability
Delayed diagnosis

If you have suffered an injury or illness due to one of the mistakes listed above, or some other medical error, you may be able to file a civil lawsuit against your healthcare provider and seek maximum compensation for your suffering.

Statute of Limitations for Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Those who are interested in having their attorney file an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit on their behalf will need to act quickly. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims in Illinois is only two years. This means you have just two years from the date of the medical error to fil a claim.

Although this may seem like more than enough time, building a compelling case and gathering the necessary evidence takes time and effort.

Making sure to get your claim filed before the statute of limitations expires is crucial, as failure to do so will surely result in the dismissal of your lawsuit. When this happens, you will lose the chance to not only be awarded compensation for your losses, but also to bring the liable party to justice.

Meet with an Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you have reason to believe that you may be a victim of medical negligence and are interested in learning more about your legal options, schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Illinois medical malpractice lawyer at Lane Brown, LLC.

To get started, call 312-332-1400 or complete the convenient contact form below.

If you’ve suffered a serious injury or illness and your condition was caused by the irresponsible actions of a pharmacist, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim against them. You should never be stuck covering the costs associated with your condition when it could have been prevented if you had a responsible pharmacist filling your prescriptions in Chicago.

Continue reading to learn more about when you can sue a pharmacist for medical malpractice, and the types of damages you should include in your claim.

Types of Pharmacy Malpractice

Before you can move forward with your medical malpractice claim, you’re probably wondering if your case has grounds for the pursuit of malpractice. Although pharmacy malpractice is less common than your standard medical malpractice claim, pharmacists can make reckless and irresponsible decisions, too, and when they do, they need to be held accountable.

Pharmacy malpractice can take a number of different forms. Perhaps the pharmacist didn’t give you the correct prescription, or maybe they didn’t fill your prescription with the correct dosage of medication.

Malpractice can even occur when the pharmacist doesn’t inform you of the risks that come with your medication. Any of these types of mistakes can cause serious injuries, illnesses, and even death.

Let’s look at a real-life example of pharmacy malpractice. A patient is prescribed insulin for their diabetes, and they need to take this insulin regularly in order to avoid going into a diabetic coma. When the pharmacist doesn’t fill the prescription with the right dose of insulin, the diabetic could go into a coma or even die because they didn’t have the insulin they needed to treat their diabetes correctly.

In cases like these, it’s important to pursue a Chicago pharmacy malpractice claim so that others aren’t put in harm’s way by a pharmacist who can’t be bothered to check their work twice.

Bringing a Claim against a Negligent Pharmacist

When your injury attorney is calculating the value of your claim, they’ll need to know every way your life has been affected by your injury or illness so that you can get the most out of your claim.

This would include compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, the loss of enjoyment of life, the loss of household services and companionship, emotional distress, the effects of disfigurement or scarring, and even inconvenience.

In addition to these damages, the judge could award you punitive damages in Chicago. However, this will only be done to make an example of a defendant who was intending to cause harm or whose actions were egregious in nature.

When the judge awards punitive damages, it isn’t done to give you more money, but rather to punish the defendant and set an additional standard of care so that other Chicago pharmacists don’t make the same mistakes.

Reach Out to a Chicago Pharmacy Malpractice Lawyer

When you’re ready to bring the negligent pharmacist in your case to justice for their errors, speak with an experienced Chicago pharmacy malpractice lawyer at Lane Brown, LLC. We proudly offer injury and illness survivors a free claim assessment where we can further discuss the details of your claim.

You can schedule yours today by filling out the convenient contact form we’ve provided at the bottom of this page or by calling our office at 312-332-1400.

Continue reading to learn more about when you can sue a pharmacist for medical malpractice, and the types of damages you should include in your claim.

Types of Pharmacy Malpractice

Malpractice can even occur when the pharmacist doesn’t inform you of the risks that come with your medication. Any of these types of mistakes can cause serious injuries, illnesses, and even death.

In cases like these, it’s important to pursue a Chicago pharmacy malpractice claim so that others aren’t put in harm’s way by a pharmacist who can’t be bothered to check their work twice.

Bringing a Claim against a Negligent Pharmacist

Reach Out to a Chicago Pharmacy Malpractice Lawyer

You can schedule yours today by filling out the convenient contact form we’ve provided at the bottom of this page or by calling our office at 312-332-1400.

When you turn to medical professionals, you like to think that they have a spotless record and that you can trust them to uphold their oath to protect your health and safety. What people don’t often know, however, is that many negligent and abusive doctors are still able to practice medicine.

Not knowing whether your own doctor has a record of abusive or dangerous behavior can be disturbing. Unfortunately, many medical malpractice cases aren’t shared over state lines, making it easy for doctors to abuse their power as they continue to practice medicine in different locations.

Dangerous Doctors and Their Crimes

Every year, hundreds of doctors make mistakes or intentionally hurt their patients, and few people know about it. That puts patients in danger.

Let’s say a California doctor made a major error during surgery, and the patient died on the table. It’s not the first time, and he loses his license to practice in California. Then, this doctor moves to Chicago, where you’re looking for a new doctor. In Illinois, this doctor’s record may be clean.

Whether it’s for medical malpractice or sexual abuse, hundreds of doctors have managed to avoid a bad reputation and consequences for their actions. It’s unfortunate for concerned consumers, but it’s possible that your prospective doctor could be known as a danger in another state. Unfortunately, many of them get away with it every year. Without changes to the system, you could become a victim.

How Do They Get Away with It?

It would stand to reason that a medical malpractice or abuse charge would follow a physician over state lines, but it doesn’t, and that’s how they get away with it. Most states provide protection from this through stricter laws on professional negligence claims or by not disclosing information about convictions, actions from the DEA, or malpractice claims.

Few states share more than local board discipline, although Illinois does include board discipline from other states. This lack of information, which varies in quantity in each state, is a key factor in how these negligent, abusive doctors keep getting away with their actions.

These regulation issues happen because every state makes its own laws about medical malpractice and the consequences doctors will face when negligent. For instance, if one of these doctors injured you in Illinois, your medical malpractice claim may be different from one that involved the same physician in Florida, and you may be left thinking you’re the only person this doctor has hurt.

We Can Fight Back

Helping victims of these doctors is our priority. Their dangerous actions go unpunished daily, and this means that even more patients will end up harmed by their actions. If it happens to you, Lane Brown, LLC can help.

An experienced attorney will investigate the doctor in question when you’re injured, looking for past cases of abuse and malpractice, so we can get that physician out of the office and away from other vulnerable patients.

If you’ve been hurt by a negligent or abusive doctor who’s still able to practice medicine, you more than likely need help building a strong personal injury case against him or her. For a free consultation about your case and how we can help you recover compensation, give us a call at 312-332-1400 or fill out the online contact form below.

Lane Brown Secures $22.2 Million Verdict for Client Whose Airway Was Not Protected by Hospital

In December 2015, we obtained a verdict of $22,185,598.50 for a client who suffered a devastating hypoxic brain injury after her tracheostomy became blocked while she was in the hospital. Our client had developed a dental infection and Ludwig’s angina which threatened to close off her airway. She had had an aortic valve replacement four years earlier, and was taking Coumadin, a “blood-thinning” medication, to protect her blood from clotting. An emergency tracheostomy was performed to protect her ability to breathe, and our client was recovering well until she began bleeding from the trach site five days after surgery.

The client’s sister was with her when our client began bleeding. Throughout the late afternoon and evening, she repeatedly asked the hospital staff for help. The nurses reportedly appeared unconcerned, telling our client and her sister that she couldn’t really be choking because the vital signs were stable, and they presumed that her complaints were just another trach patient’s common discomfort from her tracheostomy. During the afternoon, an ENT resident cauterized and repacked the trach site. Within a short time, however, our client began bleeding again. At that time an FFP (fresh frozen plasma) order was initiated to counteract the Coumadin.

Our client’s sister continued to ask for help. The hospital’s records indicate that our client was coughing up blood and blood clots through the trach. Eventually, a nurse paged the medical resident who was on call, and waited an hour and a half before paging her again. Eventually, the medical resident paged a senior resident. Neither the medical resident nor the senior resident had prior experience with tracheotomies. The nurses and residents failed to respond to our client’s airway crisis in a timely manner, failed to prevent her tracheostomy from becoming obstructed, and failed to clear the airway in a timely manner. Tragically, because our client’s tracheostomy was allowed to become obstructed, and the hospital’s staff failed to clear the obstruction quickly enough, a preventable and avoidable medical accident was allowed to progress to medical disaster, and resulted in permanent brain damage. Sadly, our client died during the jury’s deliberations the evening before the verdict was handed down.

No one should have to endure what our client and her family suffered because of a medical professional’s negligence. Nurses and doctors should use reasonable care and respond to airway obstructions in a timely manner. This is why we fought for our client’s legal recovery and this is why we will continue to fight for justice for other victims of medical malpractice.

Tracheostomies are life-saving measures. The one thing that cannot be allowed to happen to a patient with a tracheostomy is that the tracheostomy becomes obstructed. All medical providers taking care of trach patients must know that the tracheostomy is their patient’s lifeline, and all complaints relating to breathing and choking need to be taken seriously. If they are not taken seriously, needless and avoidable catastrophes can occur.

Tracheotomies Can Be Necessary Life-Saving Measures

Tracheotomies (also known as tracheostomies) are medically necessary when a person is having significant difficulties breathing independently. The procedure may be important when a person has:

Medical conditions that obstruct breathing through the mouth and nose. This includes conditions such as throat cancer, paralysis, neurological disorders, and other illnesses.
An emergency trauma that impacts breathing. This includes neck injuries, facial injuries, and sudden and serious infections such as Ludwig’s angina.

When performed correctly, tracheotomies allow patients to breathe until the underlying medical condition is resolved or indefinitely if the medical condition is permanent.

The Danger of Medical Malpractice

Tracheotomies are generally safe medical procedures, according to the Mayo Clinic. As with all medical procedures, doctors have a duty to provide treatment that meets standards of accepted care. If a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional fails to provide that standard of care, then serious and life-threatening complications may result.

Some of the specific malpractice risks associated with tracheotomies include:

Bleeding.
Obstructions or dislodgments of the tracheotomy;
Damage to the trachea.
Breathing problems.
Lung collapse.
Infection.
Brain damage.
Death.

These harms may occur by the medical providers’ negligence (medical malpractice) in failing to properly monitor and assess the patient while the tracheotomy is being performed or after it has been placed in the patient. Tracheotomy patients are at risk of serious injury and death if they are not properly monitored by experienced medical personnel. Any and all complaints or complications need to be addressed in a timely manner in order to protect the patient’s safety.

The Frequency and Far-Reaching Impact of Missed Diagnoses

Most people in today’s society—including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists—are operating in a bit of a hurry. Unfortunately, working in a rush or just not being careful enough can lead to mistakes that cause devastating injuries or death. Patients rely on medical professionals to accurately diagnose ailments and to recommend effective treatment. They put their lives in the hands of doctors and nurses, and they trust that healthcare providers have and use the experience and training they need to help patients recover. When healthcare providers make a mistake and miss a diagnosis, conditions that may have previously been easily treatable can progress into serious or even life-threatening situations.

New Report Finds That Most Americans Experience an Incorrect or Late Diagnosis in Their Lifetimes

A recent report from the National Academy of Medicine, featured in an article by NBC News, contained some disturbing information about the prevalence of missed and late diagnoses, as well as some disturbing information about the effect that those wrong diagnoses have on patients. While it can be difficult to measure because there is no agency that collects information about doctor and hospital errors, ultimately making up part of the problem in the first place, the study found that the problem is still a big one.

Dr. John Ball, chairman of the committee that prepared the report, said that “everyone will experience one meaningful diagnostic error in their lifetime.” Even with the limited data on diagnostic errors, the study found that:

Diagnostic errors account for six to 17 percent of adverse events in hospitals.
Each year, five percent or more of adults in the United States who receive outpatient care experience an error in diagnosis.
Looking at available postmortem exams, missed and late diagnoses contribute to 10 percent of patient deaths.

Ball also says that the issue is “an under-represented and understudied area in medicine, and we need to shine a light on it.” Currently, there is no government body that patients or doctors can report to when something goes wrong, and there is no government oversight in place that protects patients from errors.

Previous Studies Draw Similar Conclusions About the Problem of Wrong Diagnoses and Medical Mistakes

The Institute of Medicine released a report in back in 1998 that showed that tens of thousands of patients die from mistakes made by hospitals, doctors, and care providers.

Also, according to a HealthDay report in 2013, “Most malpractice claims against primary care doctors are the result of drug errors and missed diagnoses, particularly of cancer, heart attack, and meningitis.” After analyzing 34 studies, researchers found that “the most common consequence of missed diagnoses in malpractice claims was death, which occurred in 15 percent to 48 percent of the claims.” The review also found that “the second most common reason for malpractice claims were drug errors, accounting for between 5.6 percent and 20 percent of all claims in the studies.”

Preventing Diagnosis Errors and Improving Patient Care

While there are many factors that contribute to the problem, the researchers in these studies have identified a number of changes that could help to prevent diagnostic errors and the impact on patients. These recommendations include:

More involvement from radiologists and pathologists
Better communication between care providers
Allowing billing for doctor-to-doctor communication about patient care
Changes to medical malpractice laws that make it more likely that professionals will admit diagnostic mistakes
More regular performance of autopsies and postmortem exams
Development of better guidelines for patient care and error reporting
Better training for care providers and medical staff
Changes to the culture of hospitals and other medical facilities that discourage reporting doctor mistakes
More widespread use of technology and more integrated electronic medical record systems
Identifying medical mistakes and using that information to improve procedures and patient care
Development of a government body to handle reporting and data collection for diagnostic errors

Ultimately, these studies tell us how important it is for doctors and patients alike to be thorough in their attention to diagnosing a patient’s problems. Doctors are urged to take the time they need with their patients to fully understand their signs, symptoms, and complaints. Patients, in turn, are cautioned to make sure their doctors and therapists take the time to listen to them and to make sure they really do understand what the patient is going through. Errors in diagnosis can often be prevented, and as we’ve heard so many times, “an ounce of prevention is often worth a pound of cure.”

If you or a loved one has suffered injury because of a missed diagnosis, an improper diagnosis, or another medical error, you may be able to seek compensation for what has happened to your family. For more information, please contact the experienced attorneys with Lane Brown today at312-332-1400 to speak with us about your options, or fill out the confidential contact form on this page with more details about your concerns.

Mismanaged Anesthesia Can Cause Severe Injuries or Death During Dental Procedures

The mismanagement of anesthesia during a dental procedure or dental surgery is only one of the three potentially deadly risks of dental malpractice, but it is often the gravest. Dentists often use different form of anesthesia to help ease discomfort and make difficult surgeries possible, but the use of anesthesia comes with serious risks. If something goes wrong with the anesthesia, the patient could “wake up” to weeks or years of disability—or the patient might not wake up at all.

Potential Problems With Local Anesthetics in Dental Procedures

Although rare, patients can have a negative reaction to an overdose of local anesthetics used in dental procedures. This is especially a risk in children, who can reach toxic levels more quickly because of their lower weight. If a dentist isn’t careful to control and adequately plan for the correct dosage of local anesthetic, the patient can suffer from complications. Dentists could also cause trauma to nerves in the mouth during injection, which might create lingering feelings of numbness, tingling, or “pins and needles” in the area. In these rare cases, the injuries are often mild, but there is a risk for more severe issues—even for in-office procedures.

Potentially Serious Risks for Patients Who Are “Going Under” for a Dental Surgery

Although dental surgeries may not seem as invasive as a hip or knee surgery, they share a similar risk as the patient is being “put under” with general anesthesia. Administering the wrong dosage or otherwise mismanaging anesthesia during these kinds of dental surgeries can similarly result in neurological difficulties, brain injury, spinal cord damage, and even death. These difficulties can range from mild to severe, and patients may be dealing with symptoms for the rest of their lives following the mistake.

Get Informed About Your Rights After a Potential Anesthesia Mistake Harms Your Family

The injuries that result from the mismanagement of anesthesia during dental procedures can create physical difficulties, emotional strain, and financial stress—even though it isn’t the patient’s fault. In many cases, these injuries could have been prevented if the dentist or anesthetist had taken appropriate action or been more careful about patient safety. If you aren’t sure what happened or why you came out of surgery with an injury, it’s important that you find out.

If you believe that you or a family member may have suffered an injury due to dental malpractice, you can get more information about your legal rights and how to investigate your case by calling our law office today at 312-332-1400.