Florida Injury Attorney Blog

In Palm Beach County, the parents of Stephanie Kuleba are suing Boca Raton plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Schuster, Delray Beach anesthesiologist Dr. Peter Warheit, and Warheit’s employer Dr. Scott Berger for medical malpractice resulting in her Florida wrongful death. Stephanie, then 18, died in 2008 after a surgical procedure to correct breast asymmetry and inverted nipples.

In their Palm Beach County wrongful death lawsuit, Thomas and Joanne Kuleba claim the defendants neglected to properly diagnose in a timely manner, and treat, their daughter’s malignant hyperthermia, which can be triggered by anesthesia. The Kulebas also say that the defendants did not administer enough Dantrolene and waited too long to contact 911.

According to the family’s Boca Raton, Florida medical malpractice lawyer, Stephanie’s death was preventable. He claims that 95% of people with malignant hyperthermia survive, and physician error is typically the cause of related fatalities. According to Dr. Frederick Lukash, a plastic surgeon who was asked by CBS’s The Early Show to discuss the condition soon after Stephanie’s death, malignant hyperthermia can be treated with Dantrolene if the drug is administered immediately after the symptoms show up.

Plastic Surgery Malpractice
Like all other physicians, plastic surgeons can be held liable for medical malpractice if negligence or carelessness results in injuries or deaths. Plastic surgery malpractice can lead to serious injuries that may even require that the patient undergo additional surgeries to correct. In some case, a botched plastic surgery can lead to permanent disfigurement, permanent damage, infections, scarring, organ damage, severe asymmetry, and even death.

Anesthesia errors can also result in injury or death. It is the anesthesiologist’s responsibility to monitor the patient’s vitals and make sure prior to giving someone anesthesia that he or she does not have a medical condition or is taking certain drugs that could result in an adverse reaction. Unfortunately, anesthesia mistakes occur more often than we would like to believe.

Even if a surgical procedure was performed for cosmetic purposes, a plastic surgeon owes patients the same duty of care that other doctors do. Failure to provide that care can be grounds for a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit.

Parents of West Boca teen who died during breast surgery sue doctors, Sun-Sentinel, September 23, 2009

Fla. Teen Dies During Breast Surgery, CBS, March 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:
American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Living with plastic surgery mistakes, ABC News, July 29, 2009

According to the latest state figures, in the year ending June 30, 2008 Florida ranked #2 in the nation for the most cesarean deliveries. According to some obstetricians, these figures are a little high, especially considering that C-sections are more likely than natural births to lead to medical side effects and complications.

In South Florida alone, C-sections made up 41% of the births in Palm Beach County and 43% of the births in Broward County. Yet some South Florida doctors deliver 75% of their babies by C-section. At Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale and Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, 50% of deliveries are by cesarean.

One reason for the rise in C-section births is that hospitals and obstetricians in South Florida are worried that they could be sued for medical malpractice if anything goes wrong during delivery. Most doctors won’t allow a woman to deliver a baby naturally if she’s already had a C-section. Mothers that are obese or that are suffering from diabetes or other health issues are normally urged to undergo C-sections. Multiple births and breech births are often performed via cesarean. Doctors and parents may even opt to have a C-section delivery in order to accommodate their busy schedules—picking out the most convenient date for the baby’s birth.

Yet while cesarean births may prevent certain immediate risks, other side effects could come into play. Babies delivered by C-section may end up in intensive care, and anesthesia reactions and infections from the surgery can occur. Moms that deliver by C-section more than once risk abnormal placental growth that could lead to complications.

According to Boston University School of Public Health researcher Eugene Declercq, some doctors that perform C-section deliveries would be hard pressed to offer medical reasons for why they did not deliver the babies naturally. Some insurance companies are even calling on doctors to ease up on the number of C-section births because of the expense and the possibility of future complications.

Obstetricians and gynecologists, like other medical providers, can be held liable for medical malpractice if error or negligence led to a baby getting hurt or suffering from health problems. Examples of complications that can lead to a birthing malpractice claim include:

• C-section complications
• Preeclampsia
• A ruptured uterine
• Toxemia
• Forceps injury
• Failure to properly monitor the fetal heart rate
• Failure to perform C-section as soon as it is needed
• Errors involving vacuum extraction

Florida is second in nation for C-sections, Sun-Sentinel, June 8, 2009

South Florida C-section rates too high, Examiner.com, June 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Understanding C-Sections, Parents.com

Repeat Cesareans May Put Babies At Risk, EmaxHealth.com, June 10, 2009

In Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Martha Quesada is suing Rainbow Ranch group home and psychiatrist Dr. Steven L. Kaplan for Florida medical malpractice and wrongful death. She says that her son, 12-year-old Denis Maltez, died in 2007 because he was overmedicated and the defendants neglected to properly monitor him while he was under their supervision.

Autopsy results from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office indicate that Denis, who has autism, died of serotonin syndrome—a life-threatening condition that can occur when a mix of drugs causes the brain to make too much serotonin, which regulates a person’s mood.

Serotonin Syndrome Symptoms can include:

• Nausea
• Hallucinations
• Rapid heart beat
• Poor coordination
• Blood pressure fluctuation
• Overactive reflexes
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

If not treated quickly, this condition may become fatal.

On May 23, 2007, Denis and a number of other people from the group home traveled by van to get a haircut. While in the parking lot, he started kicking and biting staff members. They restrained him and soon after he became unresponsive.

Quesada’s Florida wrongful death lawsuit contends that Rainbow Ranch owner David Glatt stopped taking Denis to Jackson Memorial Hospital after the boy was admitted to the group home in 2006. Instead, Kaplan began treating him. She says that Glatt switched her son’s medical care without her consent.

Kaplan prescribed and refilled four drugs for her son: anti-psychotic drugs Zyprexa and Seroquel, anti-seizure drug Depakote, and tranquilizer Clonazepam. Even though the Food and Drug Administration has not approved all of the drugs for use on kids and some of the medications are accompanied by strong warnings, Quesada’s medical malpractice lawsuit contends that Kaplan failed to make sure that her son did not experience any side effects from taking the drug.

Her complaint also contends that the psychiatrist only examined Denise once between May 26, 2006 and May 23, 2007 even though there were warning signs that he may have been experiencing medication side effects. Teachers at his school found the boy sleeping through class. in 2006, he had to be taken to the emergency room twice. The Rainbow Ranch group home is no longer in operation.

Currently, the Department of Children & Families is examining the way psychiatric drugs are used on foster children. This probe comes one month after the death of 7-year-old Gabriel Myers, a foster child that committed suicide.

Mother Claims Drug Cocktail Killed Her Son, CBS4, May 20, 2009
Lawsuit says too many psychiatric drugs killed boy, Miami Herald, May 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Serotonin Syndrome, Psychcentral.com

More Florida foster kids than thought are given mental-health drugs, Miami-Dade, May 28, 2009

Florida Department of Children and Families

Florida’s Department of Children and Families says that a Broward psychiatrist had prescribed a powerful drug that the Food and Drug Administration had linked to an increased risk of suicide in kids to a 7-year-old boy. Gabriel Myers, hanged himself in a shower at his foster home.

The Broward boy may have been taking up to three of the four psychiatric drugs prescribed to him at the time of his suicide. Three of the drugs prescribed to him came with FDA “black box” label warnings cautioning about children’s safety when using the drugs. Three of the drugs are not approved to be administered to young children, although they are used for “off label” purposes, which allow doctors to prescribe the drug even without formal approval.

Dr. Sohail Punjwani, the psychiatrist who may have treated Gabriel, had reportedly been included on a list of doctors in Florida that the Agency for Health Care Administration had red-flagged for engaging in prescribing practices that were “problematic." His name was on the list during every quarter that regulators have monitored the prescription of psychotropic drugs.

About 300-400 of Florida’s 17,000 doctors that prescribe drugs to kids on Medicaid are included on the list. Punjwani says he doesn’t remember Myers, but that he may have been one of a number of people to treat the boy. He says that anti-psychotic drugs are routinely used to treat insomnia and mood instability.

Also, per Florida law, a judge or a parent must give consent before a foster child can take a psychotropic drug. Broward Circuit Judge Lisa Porter approved Myer’s medications even though a court-appointed guardian disagreed.

The Miami Herald reports that it has seen records indicating that an older boy may have sexually molested Myers. Last Thursday, after getting into an argument with his foster dad’s 19-year-old son, Myers went into a bathroom and used a detachable showerhead to hang himself.

The 7-year-old had been prescribed the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug Vyvanse, anti-depressant drug Lexapro, and anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa. The latter two may have recently replaced with Symbyax.

Florida lawmakers in 2005 had approved a law curbing the use of dangerous, mind-altering drugs on children. Also, doctors are responsible for making sure they provide the correct drugs and their dosage to patients. They also are supposed to make sure that children and other patients are not given drugs that can lead to adverse side effects. Over two million people a year are hospitalized, injured, or killed in the US because of adverse drug reactions.

You or your family may be entitled to Florida medical malpractice or wrongful death compensation.

7-year-old boy prescribed powerful drug before suicide, Sun-Sentinel, April 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
4000 kids under 10 on mood drugs, The Australian, December 3, 2008

Antidepressant Medications for Kids: Information for Parents and Caregivers, 4therapy.com

Continue reading "Florida Psychiatrist Prescribed Drug Linked to Suicide to 7-Year-Old Broward Boy Who Hanged Himself" »

A Broward County woman who claims she lost her legs and arms because of the negligent treatment she received at a local hospital has won a second Florida medical malpractice trial. Lisa Strong lost her first trial in January when a Broward county jury ruled in favor of South Broward Hospital District, Memorial Hospital West, Dr. Jason Strong, Dr. Laurentina Kocik, and Dr. Rajkumar Nebhrajani.

Strong had sought $75 million against the defendants. In her Florida medical malpractice lawsuit, she contended that defendants' delayed diagnosis of a kidney stone infection resulted in her suffering from septic shock, which lead to catastrophic complications, including the amputation of her forearms and lower legs. Strong has three young children.

Now, Broward Circuit Judge Charles M. Greene has overturned the jury’s findings. He says that he agrees with the 45-year-old plaintiff that negligence on the parts of the defendants was established during the trial.

The judge said that Jason Strong, Memorial Hospital’s admitting physician, and Laurentina Kocik, the emergency room doctor, had placed the blame on each other for failing to diagnose that Strong was suffering from kidney stones. Greene, however, says that trial testimony showed that at least one of the doctors, if not the two of them, are to blame for delaying Strong’s CT scan, which could have correctly diagnosed her condition. If her infection had been treated sooner, her limbs may have been saved. Greene did, however, uphold the part of the jury’s verdict that ruled in favor of South Broward Hospital, which runs Memorial Hospital West, and Dr. Rajkumar Nebhrajani.

Septic Shock
Septic shock can occur when there is bacteria in the blood. This can lead to a deadly decrease in the person’s blood pressure, multiple organ failure, respiratory failure, or death. Immediate and proper medical treatment is required to prevent such catastrophic consequences.

Davie woman who lost limbs in 2003 wins a new trial, Sun-Sentinel, February 28, 2009

Jury Finds For Uninsured Doctor in 75 Million Dollar Malpractice Suit, MMD Newswire, January 13, 2009

Related Web Resources:
The outcomes of Septic shock, SteadyHealth.com

Kidney Infection, HealthSquare.com

In Miami, the Thomas More Society has filed a Florida wrongful death lawsuit against 13 defendants over the death of a baby girl. The lawsuit contends that Shanice Denise Osbourne was born alive at an abortion clinic but that the clinic owner later allowed her to die.

The case stems from an allegedly botched abortion procedure that occurred in July 2006. The baby’s mother, Sycloria Williams, sought to have her pregnancy terminated by Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique, who gave her prescription medicine and inserted laminaria sticks in her body to help her get ready for the procedure.

When Williams arrived at the clinic, she was in a lot of pain. The clinic’s receptionist allegedly gave her Cytotec to dilate her cervix and induce labor. She then waited for hours to be seen by a doctor.

During this time, her water broke and she delivered her daughter onto a recliner. The baby, who was alive, was breathing. At this point, clinic owner Belkis Gonzales allegedly entered the room, cut the umbilical cord using shears, put the baby in a red biohazard bag, and threw the bag into the garbage. A doctor soon arrived at the clinic to sedate Williams.

Medical records fail to reveal that Shanice Denise Osbourne was alive when she was born. Miami police, however, reportedly received multiple anonymous calls about the alleged incident. A search was conducted to retrieve the baby’s body, which was found decomposing in a cardboard box in one of the clinic’s closet.

The Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s autopsy indicates that Sharon’s lungs did take in oxygen prior to her death. The examiner, however, says cause of death was “extreme prematurity.”

Dr. Renelique, Gonzales, and four South Florida abortion clinics are among the wrongful death defendants being sued for allegedly botching the abortion, unauthorized medical practices, falsifying medical records, engaging in evasive tactics, murdering the baby, and concealing/getting rid of her body.

Medical Malpractice
Medical facilities and their employees owe all patients a certain duty of care. If that duty of care is not followed and a patient gets hurt or dies, you may be able to file a Florida wrongful death lawsuit. Medical mistakes, failure to diagnose, and failure to provide medical care in a timely manner are just a few examples of what might be considered medical malpractice.

Lawsuit Filed for Baby Born Alive at Abortion Clinic then Killed and Hidden from Police, Lifesitenews.com, January 30, 2009

Medical Malpractice, Justia

Related Web Resource:
Birth Injuries, Justia

In Florida, the widow of Ronald Carl is suing Oak Hill Hospital staff and a number of doctors for medical malpractice resulting in wrongful death. Carl died last year after contracting methicillin-resistant Staphyococcus aureus (MRSA).

According to the Florida wrongful death lawsuit, the doctor that Karl visited last July failed to diagnose that he was suffering from MRSA. Instead of determining what kind of infection Carl had, the doctor prescribed medication and sent him home.

Within several days of the visit, however, Carl was admitted to Oak Hill Hospital for high blood sugar. Tests determined that he had MRSA, but the lawsuit contends that no one told him that he was suffering from the infection. Staff members also allegedly neglected to tell his doctor or note the information on his medical chart. Carl was administered antibiotics and sent home.

The prescription drugs helped keep his MRSA under control until September 19 and 20 when Carl went to see two doctors. No one physically examined him, however, until September 21 when a doctor determined that he was septic with MRSA and sent him to the intensive care unit.

Carl’s condition deteriorated. After going into cardiac arrest and being revived, Carl died the next day.

MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections are caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Symptoms can include small red bumps that look like spider bites, boils, or pimples that can turn into deep abscesses that may need to be drained. MRSA can lead to life-threatening infections affecting the bones, bloodstream, surgical wounds, the lungs, or heart valves.

Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can be grounds for a Florida wrongful death lawsuit if a patient received a wrong diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis and the mistake contributed to decreasing his or her chances of recovery.

Lawsuit Blames Doctors For Alleged MRSA Death, Hernando Today, January 7, 2009

MRSA infection, Mayo Clinic

Related Web Resources:
Florida's Wrongful Death Statute

Medical Malpractice, Justia

According to investigators, seven patients treated by West Palm Beach Dr. Sergio Rodriguez died of drug overdoses—some while using medication that the pediatrician had prescribed to them. Rodriguez has been charged with prescribing prescriptions to patients even though he did not fully examine them, trafficking oxycodone, and delivering Xanax, methadone, and Soma. The Florida pediatrician is currently behind bars. His bail is set at $2.7 million.

Patients whose deaths are under investigation include 25-year-old Tommy Nunn, whose autopsy showed that the same drugs Rodriguez prescribed him were in his system when he died, Robert Miller, and 27-year-old Port St. Lucie resident Robert Bowes Jr., who died from an overdose after he took Xanax, oxycodone, and methadone—all prescribed by Rodriguez.

The probe into Rodriguez’s medical practice began earlier this year after other businesses in the area complained that adults that appeared to be strung-out were frequenting the pediatrician’s practice, located at a strip mall on Dixie Highway.

An undercover officer that pretended to be a patient says that Rodriguez prescribed pain and anxiety medications to her on five different occasions without conducting a medical exam.

Rodriguez has told investigators that he was likely an addict and that he lacked the proper training to prescribe painkillers or help patients manage their pain. He also admitted that he knew that all of his patients who needed medication to manage their pain abused the drugs and that he let his patients tell him what (and how much) medication he had prescribed to them in the past. Rodriguez also says he prescribed over 1,000 methadone and oxycodone tablets to his girlfriend for his own use.

It is considered an act of medical malpractice for a doctor to incorrectly prescribe medication to a patient—whether too much or too little. Doctors are also supposed to conduct proper examinations of their patients before prescribing medication to them. When a doctor fails to exercise his or her duty of care and a patient dies as a result, family members may be able to file a Florida wrongful death lawsuit.

Seven of doctor's patients died of overdoses, detectives say, Palm Beach Post, September 26, 2008

West Palm Beach pediatrician faces new drug charges, Palm Beach Post, August 25, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Overdose deaths on the rise, CDC says, Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2008

Calls for doctor-prescription database raise privacy warnings, Palm Beach Post, August 2, 2008

Wrongful Death, Justia

Continue reading "Seven Patients of West Palm Beach Doctor Charged With Illegally Prescribing Pain Medicine Reportedly Died of Drug Overdoses" »

In Florida, the family of a Boca Raton woman who died after two hospitals were unable to find a neurosurgeon following her stroke has received almost $2 million from Tenet Healthcare Corp. The family and Tenet settled the medical malpractice case in April but the amount was not disclosed until June.

The lawsuit said that the four-hour delay to treat Barbara Masterson after her stroke caused her death. The 52-year-old woman woke up with weakness on her right side and slurred speech on February 22, 2004, and there was bleeding in her brain by the time she arrived at the West Boca Medical Center emergency room.

The hospital contacted four neurosurgeons, but they all refused to come to the hospital to treat her. A doctor at Delray Medical Center, which had a transfer agreement with West Boca, also refused to treat her. Masterson was then transported to Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. By this time, she was unresponsive and her right side was paralyzed. She died several days later.

Palm Beach County hospital ERs have developed a spotty reputation over the last several years due to a shortage of specialists, including neurosurgeons. Stroke care, however, has improved at a number of hospitals since 2004.

Medical Malpractice in Florida
In Florida, family members can file a medical malpractice lawsuit and sue over the death of a loved one. A medical malpractice claim can be brought if the person that caused injury or death to the victim was a medical professional. If the patient died as a result of the negligence, then the lawsuit can be brought under the Florida Wrongful Death Statute. A lawsuit against a hospital owned by the state, county, or city must be filed under the Florida Tort Claims Act. If the hospital where the medical malpractice incident occurred took place is federally owned, then the lawsuit must be filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Plaintiffs have two years from the time of injury/or death or when the patient or family members should have known (or knew) about the malpractice to file a case. Florida’s “statute of repose” also makes it impossible to sue a health care provider more than four years after the malpractice accident occurred unless concealment or fraud was involved. The exception to this is “Tony’s law,” which prohibits the statute of repose from cutting off a medical malpractice claim involving a child until he or she turns eight years of age. The state's two year statute of limitations, however, can still apply if parents/guardians knew or should have known that medical malpractice was the cause of the child's injury.

In Palm Beach County and other areas throughout South Florida, our medical malpractice attorneys have helped many injured patients and their families recover compensation from negligent doctors, hospitals, nurses, dentists, and other medical providers.

Tenet pays $2 million over delay in stroke treatment, PalmBeachPost.com, July 14, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Medical Malpractice, Justia

Federal Tort Claims Act (PDF)

Continue reading "Family of Boca Raton Woman Receives Nearly $2 Million to Settle Medical Malpractice Case Involving Wrongful Death Caused by Delayed Surgery" »

In Florida, a jury has ordered Bon Secours-St. Joseph Health Care Inc. hospital to pay Lisa and Joseph Ferrentino, a Port Charles couple $364,928 for failing to detect pre-birth injury defects that caused their baby’s death.

Joseph Ferrentino Jr. died on February 20, 2001, three days after he was placed on a respirator. He was suffering from a Trisomy 13, syndrome that leads to chromosome number abnormalities.

The Florida jury agreed that St. Joseph Hospital, now called Peace River Regional Medical Center, committed medical malpractice when it acted negligently and failed to detect deformities or disease during testing. The obstetrical ultrasound took place during the second trimester of Lisa’s pregnancy and failed to include key images, including a chamber view of Joseph Jr’s’s heart.

The Ferrentino’s medical malpractice attorney says that the ultrasound would have found the heart defects if the hospital staff had done the test correctly, and Lisa would have had the option of terminating her pregnancy.

Trisomy 13
Trisomy 13 is a genetic disorder that can result in a number of birth defects, including problems with the different organ systems in the body and mental retardation. 20-30% of infants born with Trisomy 13 die within a month of being born. 90% of infants with Trisomy 13 die by age 1.

Obstetricians and gynecologists owe a duty of care to parents and babies to provide them with the proper medical care and attention, including proper testing. When medical errors or the failure to provide that proper care/testing results in injury or death to an infant or the mother, the medical provider can be held liable. Examples of these kinds of medical malpractice include failure to induce labor, failure to provide proper prenatal care, and failure to test for defects.

Our South Florida medical malpractice law firm can help you determine whether you have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against a health care provider.

Jury awards $364K in medical malpractice case, Sunnewspapers.net, June 4, 2008

Trisomy 18 & 13, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Related Web Resources:

Peace River Regional Medical Center

Doctors Visits and Tests, Womenshealth.gov

Continue reading "Florida Jury Awards Port Charles Parents $364,000 for Medical Malpractice Case that Led to Baby's Pre-Birth Injury Defects" »

The family of William T. Fain, 80, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Westside Regional Medical Center. Fain was admitted to the hospital’s ER on Super Bowl Sunday in 2006 after having a seizure. Hospital doctors told nurses to take him to the intensive care unit and to make sure that he didn’t fall off the bed. The nurses were ordered to lower the bed, install bedrails, and frequently check on him.

The agency nurse monitoring Fain did not follow these orders. Soon after kissing family members goodbye for the night, Fain was found on the floor after falling off the bed. He sustained brain damage from hitting his head and died two weeks after the fall.

The family alleges that the fact that agency nurses are unfamiliar with or do not follow hospital procedures is an issue at Westside Regional. The hospital has responded to this accusation by stating its confidence in the care that the nurses at the hospital provides. Nightingale Nurses is the staffing agency that provided the agency nurse to the hospital.

Agency nurses are being used more often to staff hospitals because of the shortage of full-time nurses. In two hospital surveys conducted in 2007, results showed that 10% of nursing posts are vacant. This does not take into account the fact that many hospitals reportedly wish that they could hire more nurses than the number of posts that their budgets allow.

About 1 out of every 8 nurses working in Florida is a fill-in nurse. The Florida Hospital Association has acknowledged the downside of employing someone who is only a temporary worker and not a permanent part of an organization. It also, however, noted that hiring a temporary nurse is better than being understaffed. The use of agency nurses is reportedly an even more common practice at hospices and in the home health service.

Problems that can arise with fill-in nurses include:

• They may be unfamiliar with the facility, its policies and procedures.
• Because they don't always work with a patient regularly, they may not notice when there has been a change in the patient's condition.

Groups who represent Florida nurses are supporting bills that would obligate Florida hospitals to report staffing levels, including nurse-to-patient ratios. They are hoping that such a mandate would improve work conditions for nurses and provide better care for patients.

Our Florida personal injury law firm handles wrongful death cases as well as claims and lawsuits involving medical malpractice.

Lawsuit over man's death puts use of agency nurses in spotlight, Sun-Sentinel, March 10, 2008

Measure would require hospitals to divulge nurse staffing levels, Naplesnews.com, March 9, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Westside Regional Medical Center

Nightingale Nurses

Continue reading "Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuit Focuses on Use of “Fill-In” Nurses in Hospitals " »

The family of 20-year-old Rachel Finzi has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Florida psychologist Adam Feder, who has been criminally charged with her manslaughter death and of trafficking in controlled substances.

Finzi was a patient of Feder, 40, for two years. He also was sexually involved with Finzi, who he started treating when she was 18. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed today in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, accuses Feder and Compass Health Systems (CHS), the company that employed Feder, of being responsible for her death.

Finzi’s family brought her to CHS for treatment because she was suffering from psychological problems and depression. Feder was her psychologist and he gave her illegal prescription drugs and marijuana. Prosecutors say that Feder used other doctors’ prescription pads to write the prescriptions and obtain them illegally. As a psychologist, Finzi is not allowed to prescribe medication.

Finzi was found dead at his apartment from an OxyContin overdose in 2006. Finzi’s family says that CHS acted negligently by hiring Feder.

Medical professionals are required by law to provide their patients with the proper and ethical medical care. When failure to do so results in the serious injury or death of a person, that medical provider can be held liable via a medical malpractice or wrongful death lawsuit.

In South Florida, our wrongful death law firm has successfully handled all kinds of death and injury cases, including claims and lawsuits involving medical malpractice. We would like to offer you a free consultation to discuss your case.

Finzi’s family is seeking financial compensation for their daughter’s medical costs and their pain and suffering caused by her death.

Victim's Family Files Lawsuit against Florida Psychologist Arrested for Patient's OxyContin Death, EMediaWire.com, March 3, 2008

Psychologist charged in girlfriend's OD death, Miami Herald, February 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:

OxyContin, DEA

OxyContin Side Effects, RxList

Continue reading "Family of 20-Year-Old Girl Sues Florida Psychologist for Her Wrongful Death by Prescription Overdose" »

The son of a 63-year-old woman who died while recovering from a thigh operation at the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center in Florida is suing the center for medical malpractice.

Vernon “Chip” Kooser was shocked to discover that the cause of Janice Kooser’s death was a “blunt force trauma” to the head. He says that the hospital never told him that his mother had fallen and hit her head on September 2. Her injury made her a high-risk candidate for a fall accident. Two days after the fall, she went into a coma. She died the following day.

Fort Walton Beach Medical Center claims that it was their night nurse that prevented Janice’s head from hitting anything other than the bed mattress.

Kooser had been hospitalized for four years. She had been characterized as physically unsteady, sometime delusional, and most of the time incoherent. On her chart, she was rated as a 31 in terms of being at risk for falling. The chart’s maximum is 30. She also reportedly had subdural hematoma, which makes a person more vulnerable to head injuries.

The medical malpractice trial is taking place this week. One issue at stake is whether the hospital did enough to prevent the fall from happening. One of the witnesses, a nursing field expert, testified that the staff took reasonable precautions to prevent the fall from happening. She says that the fall could have happened to anyone.

A doctor that has been testifying as a medical expert for the plaintiff said that staff did not follow proper protocal, which requires armbands to be fitted onto patients that are at high-risk of falling. The witness also said that the hospital did not provide a card-ex, which is a card that provides all the data about Janice’s condition.

A sign was not posted at the entrance to her hospital room notifying staffers that she was a “fall” risk. The medical expert says that the hospital could have done more to ensure that she did not leave her bed. He said that staff members should have notified Janice’s doctor about the seriousness of her fall or that she was displaying certain symptoms, such as not using the morphine pump to relieve her pain, not eating, and being nonresponsive.

Janice fell while trying to leave her bed to use the restroom.

Doctors, nurses, hospitals, and are medical providers most provide all patients with a certain quality and level of medical care. Failure to do so can result in an medical malpractice claim or lawsuit if a patient is injured or dies because of negligence or carelessness.

Common causes for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit:

• Wrong diagnosis
• Failure to diagnose
• Surgical mistakes
• Prescription errors
• Failure to provide the proper care
• Not providing the proper information on a patient’s medical chart
• Medical negligence
• Lack of informed consent
• Delayed diagnosis
• Nursing care errors
• Physician error
• Hospital errors

The statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim in Florida is two years from the time that the injured patient or family members found out that an injury occurred because of medical malpractice.

FWB Medical Center facing malpractice lawsuit for woman's death, Northwest Florida Daily News, September 26, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Fort Walton Beach Medical Center

Medical Malpractice, Public Citizen

Continue reading "Florida Medical Center Faces Medical Practice Lawsuit After Death of Elderly Patient" »

A recent report on CNN.com emphasizes the need for patients to examine whether they have been misdiagnosed by a physician. The article offers five situations that might indicate that a wrongful diagnosis has taken place:

1. You fail to improve after treatment.
2. Your symptoms are different from what your diagnosis says they should be.
3. Your diagnosis is based purely on a lab test; labs make errors too.
4. Your physician says that you have a rare illness even though your symptoms are pretty common.
5. You are diagnosed for an ailment that normally requires a specific test, which you never received.

In 2005, the Journal of American Medical Association reported that studies of autopsies revealed that doctors misdiagnose ailments 10 percent of the time.

In 2006, the Annals of Internal Medicine published a report that said that simple physician-related errors caused nearly 60% of incidents where patients sustained injuries because of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.

Out of 307 medical malpractice claims, 30% of the patients died. Nearly 60% of the patients reported personal injury. 187 incidents were attributed to mistakes made during diagnosis. Wrong diagnosis, failure to diagnose, and delayed diagnosis are just some of the many kinds of medical malpractice errors that can occur.

Doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentists, and other medical professionals are obligated to provide all patients with proper medical care, including proper and timely diagnosis. Failure to do so is considered medical malpractice and can be grounds for a claim or lawsuit from any injured parties.

Here are a few Florida statistics regarding medical malpractice provided by WrongDiagnosis.com:

• 13,498 (7.2%) medical malpractice payment reports were made against physicians in Florida 1990-2003 (2003 Annual Report, National Practitioner Data Bank, US DHHS).
• 353 (7.9%) medical malpractice payment reports were made against nurses in Florida 1990-2003 (2003 Annual Report, National Practitioner Data Bank, US DHHS).
• 5.0% of medical malpractice payment reports made against dentists were in Florida 1990-2003 (2003 Annual Report, National Practitioner Data Bank, US DHHS).

If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice, you should contact a medical malpractice attorney immediately.

Has your illness been misdiagnosed?, CNN.com

Medical Malpractice in Florida: Related Medical Malpractice Statistics, Wrong Diagnosis?

Annals of Internal Medicine

Related Web Resources:

Medical Malpractice, Insurance Information Institute

Medical Malpractice/Litigation News, Medical News Today

Continue reading "5 Reasons to Suspect Wrongful Diagnosis and A Few Florida Medical Malpractice Statistics" »