Maryland Medical Malpractice FAQ: What Is a Certificate of Merit?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by HWAdmin

The Maryland medical malpractice statute requires that a person pursuing a Maryland medical malpractice claim follow certain procedures. The first requirement is to file a claim with the Director of the Health Claims Arbitration Office. A “claim” is akin to filing a legal complaint in court. Unless the sole issue in the claim is lack of informed consent, the plaintiff must also file a certificate of merit within 90 days of filing the claim.

A certificate of merit is essentially a document provided by a medical doctor attesting that the health care provider deviated from the applicable standard of care, which proximately caused the plaintiff’s injury. The requirement is designed to prevent frivolous medical claims from being filed.

In Maryland medical malpractice cases, the certificate of merit must contain the following elements:

• Where the doctor is licensed;

• That the doctor reviewed the relevant medical records;

• That the doctor believes within a reasonable degree of medical probability that the treating doctor departed from the applicable standard of care in treating the plaintiff and that deviation(s) were the proximate cause of the alleged injuries; and

• That the doctor does not devote annually more than twenty percent (20%) of his professional activities to testifying in personal injury claims.

The necessary qualifications of the medical doctor depend on the subject matter of the particular claim. With limited exceptions, the doctor must be board-certified in the relevant area of medicine.

How We Can Help

Maryland medical malpractice actions are often complicated. Therefore, it is important to have the assistance of a skilled and experienced attorney by your side.

If you believe that you may have suffered from medical malpractice, it is important to speak with an attorney who specializes in this area as soon as possible. Upon meeting with a medical malpractice attorney, you will be asked to explain what happened in as much detail as possible. It is helpful to bring a copy of your medical records as well. The attorney will then be able to discuss your legal options with you.

The personal injury attorneys of Hyatt & Weber, P.A. understand the potentially devastating impact of a serious accident or medical mistake. If you or someone you love has been injured due to someone else’s negligence, we are here to help. Our Maryland personal injury attorneys are experienced and dedicated to pursuing the compensation you deserve.

To better understand your rights, contact us today at leads@hwlaw.com or (410) 513-9349 for a free consultation.

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MRSA (and other infection related) CASES

Posted on November 2, 2011 by HWAdmin

We are being asked to review a large number of infection related cases.  Although MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is generally considered to originate in the hospital setting, except in unusual situations (reported outbreak, numerous patients known to be infected at the same time/location), it is not possible to prove that negligence caused the infection.

Infection/MRSA cases that do warrant investigation are as follows:

 1.         Failure to recognize MRSA soft-tissue infection.  Conventional teaching is to treat skin and soft-tissue infections with agents such as cephalexin or its intravenous counterpart, cefazolin.  Patients who fail to respond require either or both a culture and switch in treatment to include an agent that covers MRSA such as vancomycin, trimethoprim-sulfa, or linezolid.  Failure to do so or delay in doing so can lead to necrotizing fascitis, osteomyelitis and other life-threatening complications and death.

2.         Patient with history of MRSA and recurrent soft-tissue infection is assumed to have MRSA until proven otherwise.  To treat such a patient with a wound infection with an agent such as cephalexin delays appropriate therapy and subjects the patient to unnecessary complications.

3.         Failure to appropriately screen for MRSA. Preoperative patients who undergo hardware or prosthesis material placement including vascular grafts are now recommended to be screened preop for MRSA.  If screen is positive, the options are decolonization (which can take several days to a week) or use of prophylactic vancomycin preoperatively.  Failure to take either of these steps can lead to hardware and wound infection.

4.         Delays in recognition and treatment of MRSA bloodstream infections still occur, often with devastating results.  No bacteremia with S. aureus, MRSA or MSSA (Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus) is ever considered a “skin contaminant” (such thinking was common years ago but has been shown to be incorrect).

5.         Failure to appreciate that a deep space infection usually requires drainage.  This can occur with MRSA or MSSA but is more likely to be more devastating with MRSA.

6.         Failure to appreciate side effects and limitations of therapies such as linezolid and vancomycin.  Linezolid, for example, should never be used beyond two weeks due to bone marrow toxicity.  It is also bacteriostatic and not cidal which renders it suboptimal for osteomyelitis for which the drug is not FDA-approved.

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Medical Malpractice FAQ: Do You Have a Maryland Surgical Injuries Case?

Posted on October 22, 2011 by HWAdmin

Despite efforts to improve patient safety, surgical errors still occur far too frequently in Maryland hospitals. In fact, an estimated five to ten incorrect surgical procedures occur daily in the United States, some with devastating effects.

As Maryland medical malpractice attorneys, we want to make sure that patients understand their legal rights. In many cases, patients may be able to recover from those who are responsible for the surgical injuries.

Below are a few examples of surgical errors caused by medical malpractice:

  • Performing the wrong procedure;
  • Performing the procedure incorrectly;
  • Giving a patient the wrong blood type;
  • Anesthesia overdose;
  • Drug errors;
  • Operating on the wrong body part; and
  • Leaving surgical instruments or sponges inside the patient.

Unfortunately, surgical errors can commonly occur during routine procedures, including colonoscopies, appendectomies, gall bladder surgery, and plastic surgery. In addition, injuries may also occur after the surgery while the patient is recovering as a result of malpractice by nurses, doctors, or other health professionals.

An injury due to a surgical error can have life-altering consequences. If you believe that your physician has committed a surgical error and caused you injury, it is important to speak with an attorney who specializes in this area as soon as possible.

Upon meeting with a medical malpractice attorney, you will be asked to explain what happened in as much detail as possible. It is helpful to bring a copy of your medical records as well. The attorney will then be able to discuss your legal options with you.

The personal injury attorneys of Hyatt & Weber, P.A. understand the potentially devastating impact of a medical mistake. If you or someone you love has been injured due to someone else’s negligence, we are here to help. Our Maryland personal injury attorneys are experienced and dedicated to pursuing the compensation you deserve.

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Speech Recognition Software May Lead to Medical Errors in Maryland Hospitals

Posted on October 21, 2011 by HWAdmin

As Maryland medical malpractice attorneys, we often find that medical technology can sometimes do more harm than good. For instance, a recent study found that breast-imaging reports prepared using a speech-recognition system are eight times more likely than conventional dictation transcription reports to contain major errors. Major errors were those considered to affect the understanding of the breast-imaging report’s findings or errors affecting patient care.

The study, which is published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, relied on reports made by the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada spanning from January 2009 to April 2010. To conduct the study, researchers evenly divided the breast-imaging reports into two categories. In one, 307 reports used conventional dictation transcription in which the radiologist dictates the report and a team transcribes and reviews the report. The other 308 reports used automatic speech recognition (ASR) in which the radiologist dictates the report and software immediately transcribes the report onto a computer screen.

Alarmingly, researchers found at least one major error in 23% of ASR reports, as opposed to 4% of conventional dictation transcription reports. Additionally, the error rate was even higher in breast MRI reports (35% of ASR compared with 7% of conventional reports). The lowest error rates occurred in reports of interventional procedures (13% of ASR and 4% of conventional reports) and mammography reports (15% of ASR and no conventional reports).

The study also found that major errors affecting patient care “were often caused by an incorrect unit of measure (millimeter/centimeter) or a missing or added ‘no,’ such as ‘mammographic signs of malignancy’ instead of ‘no mammographic signs of malignancy.’”

Anabel Scaranelo, lead author of the report, said the study’s findings suggest that breast radiologists need to allow additional time for proofreading and review. She also noted that they should probably have a 6- to 12-hour timeframe to look over the notes rather than sending the notes as soon as they are dictated using the speech-recognition software.

“Basically the study’s findings tell us that despite the speed and other benefits that speech-recognition technology provides, it has its flaws, too, and we need to recognize them and find creative solutions to minimize their impact,” Scaranelo told InformationWeek Healthcare. “There is pressure on radiologists to produce breast-imaging reports in the earliest time possible. However, the majority of [exams] are non-urgent exams. In that context, reports for breast imaging need a longer turnaround time to be proofread and edited.”

Source: Information Week

The personal injury attorneys of Hyatt & Weber, P.A. understand the potentially devastating impact of a medical mistake. If you or someone you love has been injured due to someone else’s negligence, we are here to help. Our Maryland personal injury attorneys are experienced and dedicated to pursuing the compensation you deserve.

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FDA Calling for More Studies of Vaginal Mesh Safety

Posted on October 20, 2011 by HWAdmin

Last month, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel called for more clinical studies and stricter regulation of certain surgical mesh products used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, an often painful condition that affects thousands of women. As Maryland malpractice attorneys, we are pleased that the FDA is taking a closer look at these potentially dangerous medical devices.

The most recent FDA recommendation follows an agency report that concluded that vaginal implantation of surgical mesh exposes patients to a number of serious risks, as confirmed by 1,503 adverse-event reports between 2005 and 2007.

Specifically, the review found that erosion of mesh through the vagina is the most common and consistently reported mesh-related complication from transvaginal pelvic organ prolapse surgeries using mesh. Mesh erosion can require multiple surgeries to repair and can be debilitating for some women. In some cases, even multiple surgeries will not resolve the complication.

To further protect patients, the FDA is proposing that mesh products that are inserted through the vagina be moved to the highest-risk, Class III FDA category of medical devices. This requires companies to conduct clinical trials in people and then submit an application seeking FDA approval, similar to the procedure required for drugs.

The mesh products, which are made by several companies including C.R. Bard Inc., Boston Scientific Corp. and Johnson & Johnson, are currently reviewed under the so-called 510(k) process which allows companies to obtain FDA clearance for devices without conducting clinical trials if they can show a product is “substantially equivalent” to a medical device already in use. The system is designed to allow companies to keep updating existing devices without going through a lengthy review process with each change.

While the advisory panel didn’t take a formal vote on whether to reclassify the devices, a majority of the panel of non-FDA medical experts said they supported the agency’s proposal. The FDA isn’t required to follow its panel’s advice but does so in most cases.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The personal injury attorneys of Hyatt & Weber, P.A. understand the potentially devastating impact of a medical mistake. If you or someone you love has been injured due to someone else’s negligence, we are here to help. Our Maryland personal injury attorneys are experienced and dedicated to pursuing the compensation you deserve.

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