Category: Medical Malpractice
June 24, 2019 / Medical Malpractice
Medical Overbilling and Bad Faith
You go to the doctor, you whip out your insurance card, and you make the very reasonable assumption that your insurer will cover the majority of your treatment costs. Unfortunately, when hospitals and insurance companies are dishonest in their billing practices, patients can end up being stuck with exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses. If you ever receive an outrageous medical bill, being familiar with medical bad faith claims and your legal rights will go a long way in helping you resolve the situation quickly and with minimum panic. You should also schedule a consultation with a health insurance bad faith attorney. Overbilling and Balance Billing: A Serious Problem All too often, patients are caught off guard by large medical bills as a[...]
June 30, 2017 / Medical Malpractice
Isn’t FDA Approval a Seal of Confidence?
Most of us assume that, once a drug reaches the marketplace, it has been thoroughly vetted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is therefore safe to take. But, according to a recent study, as many as one-third of the drugs approved by the FDA have safety problems that are not found until after the approval process. A study published in the May, 2017, issue of the medical journal JAMA reported on 222 drugs approved by the FDA between 2001 and 2010. The data showed that 32 percent of the drugs studied demonstrated safety risks that did not appear until the post-approval time period -- in other words, not until after the drugs were already being sold to consumers. The lead author of the study, Joseph Ross, noted that, “We seem to[...]
February 3, 2017 / Medical Malpractice
What are the Long-Term Effects of Erb’s Palsy?
Expectant parents fret endlessly over the birth of a child. They go to classes, read books and prepare their homes in hopes of ensuring that everything goes smoothly once their baby arrives. Birth injuries represent some of the deepest fears of parents-to-be, mostly because so many facets of the birthing process are beyond their control. It’s one of the many reasons that parents go to such great lengths to check a doctor’s references and pick the perfect obstetrician. Even with these precautions, birth injuries still happen. Somewhere between 1 and 2 percent of births involve some form of birth injury. One of the most common forms of birth injuries is called Erb’s palsy, and it is so often the result of an error on behalf of the he[...]
August 10, 2016 / Medical Malpractice
How Can Medical Malpractice Lead to My Going Bankrupt?
You might be scratching your head over this one. The doctor makes the mistake, and yet it is the patient who goes bankrupt from the medical bills for negligent care. How can that be possible? Unfortunately, it is possible, and it could happen to you. The Frequency of Medical Malpractice Medical professionals are only human, no matter how skilled and competent they are or how many years they have been practicing. The fact is, no one is perfect. However, an unavoidable outcome due to factors beyond the control of the medical professional is not the same as medical malpractice, which is caused by some form of negligence. A 1999 report revealed that, every year, between 44,000 and 98,000 hospital patients die there because of preventabl[...]
February 9, 2016 / Medical Malpractice
Risky Remedies: Overdosing on Cold and Flu Medications
Cold and flu medications are staples in most of our homes, especially during winter. A lot of us consider all over-the-counter (OTC) medications to be perfectly safe. After all, you can buy them without a prescription, so they must be harmless, right? Generally, OTC medications are innocuous as long as they are taken as directed. But some folks ingest one medication, feel it isn’t doing them much good, and then take another, different one. Some people routinely combine OTC medications. But doing so can be quite dangerous. Read the Labels One of the biggest hazards comes from overdosing on the painkiller acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol®. Most cold and flu formulas include acetaminophen as one of their active ingre[...]
November 5, 2015 / Medical Malpractice
Unnecessary Surgery, Insurance Fraud, and You
Have you had any surgeries in the past few years? Think back, especially if it involved your heart or circulatory system. Perhaps you had spinal fusion or a joint replacement done. Did you have any surgery done because the doctor told you that you needed it? Often we have surgery because the doctor tells us that surgery is the only option. Few of us have the medical knowledge to ask the right questions regarding alternatives. We do what the doctor tells us to do, especially if death is mentioned. The lure of easy insurance money, especially when it is from Medicare or Medicaid, can play a part in a surgical recommendation if the doctor is not ethical. Here in Indiana, a group of cardiologists and a hospital, Cardiology Associates of North[...]
November 4, 2014 / Medical Malpractice
Billion-Dollar Settlement For Stryker Hip Victims
About 120,000 hip replacement operations are performed each year in the U.S. For most people, this is an opportunity to escape the pain and disability caused by broken or degenerating hip joints. For thousands, though, the hip replacement surgery was just the beginning of increased pain and surgical procedures. Stryker Orthopaedics, a leading producer of joint replacement devices, announced on November 3, 2014, that they have reached a settlement agreement to compensate claimants who received a modular Rejuvenate or ABGII implant and were forced to undergo a revision surgery. The settlement is expected to reach nearly $1.5 billion. These Stryker medical devices were recalled in 2012 because of the number of patients who experienced wh[...]