Preventable Hospital Infection Deaths Abound Study Reports

Preventable Hospital Deaths

Maryland Medical Malpractice Settlement Appeal Goes Badly For Doctor

Maryland's intermediate appellate court rendered a decision in the case of Hashimi v. Bennett which served to clarify both the outcome of judgement and the application of the Uniform Contribution Among Joint-Tortfeasors Act (UCATA).

The underlying case, involved the tragic death of Adrian Bennett in 2003 as a result of sepsis. Prior to trial, Good Samaritan Hospital and Doctor Roman Kostrubiak settled with the family of the decedent, executing a joint-tortfeasors agreement.

Thereafter, the case went to trial against Doctor Hashimi and a verdict in the amount of $2,295,000.00 was returned.
Under application of prevailing Maryland law, the trial judge reduced the verdict to about $1,800,000.00 and determined that Dr. Hashimi was responsible for one third.

The doctor's lawyers argued that he should only be responsible for one fifth of the final judgement, as three different Good Samaritan employees has originally been sued. This position struck both the trial and appellate courts as illogical as the pre-trial settlement agreement mentioned only the hospital and Dr. Kostrubiak as settling defendants.

Perhaps, this matter will wend its way to the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Preventable Deaths and American Health Care

When we at Clark and Steinhorn file a wrongful death medical malpractice claim in Prince Georges County, Maryland what we really are filing is a "preventable death" claim. In essence, we assert that a patient did not have to die if they had been treated within the standard of care applicable to the particular defendants.

The Washington Post today reports on an amazing and disturbing fact of the modern American medical system, we spend more per person on health care than any nation in the world but lose more people to preventable illnesses than all but four of the nineteen "industrialized countries."

We don't merely spend more for less, on average we spend almost two and a half times as much as the other eighteen countries for vastly less. How can this be?

Much of this stems from the fact that those who are adequately insured get the benefit of the latest technologies and medicines. There also is the fact that physicians are paid more here, health insurance companies take a larger cut and that treatment often involves more use of prescriptions and surgical procedures.

The problem is that tens of millions of Americans have no insurance and do not get routine care. Diabetes is controllable but not if you don't have access to any care. The uninsured often can't afford prescriptions, dentistry, screening for chronic diseases  and routine care.

Consequently, any care they receive is at an acute stage in their disease process, when curing is far more difficult and expensive leading to "preventable death."

The bottom-line the richest nation in the world could provide routine health care for everyone, decrease "preventable deaths" and save money.

Prince Georges County Medical Malpractice Verdict For Ill-Treated Infection

A Prince Georges County jury returned a $1.3 million dollar verdict for medical malpractice associated with treatment of a gun shot wound. The jury verdict returned on Sept. 17, 2009 will be reduced by the trial judge to bring it in conformance with Maryland law.

The verdict reduction is the result of onerous laws passed during one of Maryland's past fictional "malpractice crises."
http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-medical-malpractice-attorney.cfm

The actual verdict total of $1,344,455.44 will be reduced to something in the neighborhood of $1,156,995.44.

This wrongful death and survival medical malpractice verdict was unique in that the jury deliberated for less than an hour. The plaintiffs , the Estate of John William Lucas and his surviving wife and sons, appear to have been ably represented in this case and have our condolences.