What started as a broken ankle resulted in a series of medical mishaps that eventually cost a New York state man his entire leg. According to news reports, Donald Schultz was initially treated for his ankle in late 2004 at the Knee Center of West New York. The ankle was fixed but he suffered an

Dirk Askew, an Army veteran and long-term federal postal worker was awarded $8.3M in a malpractice law suit against The John Cochran VA Hospital. Askew suffered severe brain damage and had his leg amputated after going to Cochran for a routine stent procedure in February 2009. After the procedure, Askew was discharged from the hospital

Bacterial endocarditis is infection and inflammation of the inner surface of the heart.  It usually affects the heart valves but can also be present on pacemakers or defibrillators. Endocarditis occurs when bacteria enter the bloodstream and attach to an already damaged portion of the heart or valves. Signs and symptoms of bacterial endocarditis can be fever, loss

The list of the Top 10 medical technology safety hazards was published in the November 2013 issue of Health Devices.  Alarm problems and infusion pump medications errors are on the top of the list of hospital problems that need to be addressed.  According to the article, the most prevalent medical technology safety hazards are: Alarm

When you are the patient in a hospital emergency room, or ER, you expect that you will receive appropriate and proper care by nurses and doctors. Unfortunately, emergency room staff negligence or mistakes can cause patients any number of injuries, including brain damage, respiratory failure, organ damage, cardiac arrest or death. ER negligence can be the result of insufficient staffing or inadequately

A homeless woman living in a Los Angeles shelter won a $7.5 M settlement for a hospital’s medical negligence that caused her youngest child to suffer severe brain damage during childbirth. Dyrene Loftis was 39 weeks pregnant and living with her two other children in 2012 at the Union Rescue Mission when she started to