Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Preventable Medical Error: “Never” Events

At the Aldred Law Firm, we have 45+ years of combined experience in the medical malpractice area in what are called "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER," events. These NEVER events should NEVER happen but they do and cause extremely bad, often permanent, injury or death. These are clear mistakes that are serious and preventable.

For example, your infant should never have been born with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is caused by a hypoxic ischemic event (oxygen / blood deprivation) and is caused by inattentiveness and negligence of the delivery team. Either the doctor or a nurse or both were not paying attention during the birth process.

Another example is administration of Phenergan/promethazine into your arm. The damage to blood vessels and nerves may cause loss of your arm. If you save your arm, you will still have permanent damage. The black box warning has told them since 2009 not to do this but hospitals and emergency rooms still break the rule.

Never events also include improper placement of an oxygen tube, misplacement of the oxygen tube, or improper and early removal of an air tube or tracheotomy tube. This causes brain injury and oxygen deprivation to the brain. A collapsed airway is caused by negligence—usually the negligent removal of a trach tube.

Other never events include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Administration of the wrong medication resulting in permanent injury
• Foreign object left in after surgery, such as a sponge or instrument
• Failure to read or misreading doctors' orders by the nursing staff
• Patient death or serious disability associated with a medication error
• Surgery performed on the wrong body part
• Intravascular air embolism that occurs while being cared for in a health care facility
• Failure to identify and treat hyperbilirubin in a new born
• Failure of a health care provider to order routine tests that could detect or prevent meningitis
• Failure to have at bedside medicine that can immediately reverse sedatives
• Death from septic shock caused by failure to treat sepsis

Medical Malpractice Cases Involving Septic Shock

Septic shock, death from failure to treat sepsis, is mishandled by many emergency rooms and doctors. Sepsis should be triaged as Level 2 by the ER and other medical care providers. This means that only patients who are in the process of dying (Level 1) are treated first. As a level 2 triage, the nurse / doctor does not say “have a seat,” but stays with the patient and begins immediate treatment to stop the sepsis by administration of antibiotics. Failure to do so usually results in a preventable death. Proper treatment of related conditions such meningitis is the same. If a family member or loved one has died / sustained permanent brain or other damage from septic shock or meningitis call us immediately. We have settled cases where the emergency room broke their own protocols and the guidelines of the Emergency Severity Index (ESI). This should never happen.

Medical Malpractice Cases Involving Strokes

Ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes can occur because of malpractice. An ischemic stroke happens when there is an obstruction in a vital vessel that supplies blood to the brain. This happens in about 87% of all strokes. A hemorrhagic stroke, on the other hand, occurs when weakened vessels rupture and spill blood into the brain. This is most commonly due to uncontrolled high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Treatment for strokes differs based on what type of stroke the patient experienced.

Immediate treatment with tPA is the "Gold Standard” for ischemic strokes. It is a tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, also called IV tPA because it is given intravenously. tPA dissolves clots and improves blood flow to the brain. tPA can improve the chances of recovery if given to the patient within three hours. Sadly many stroke victims do not get to a hospital in time for tPA treatment to be administered. This is why it is vital that strokes are identified immediately. As a lawyer I help families who got their loved one to the ER in time just to see the ER delay treating the patient until it was too late to administer tPA. Failure to use tPA within hours of a stroke is medical malpractice. This should NEVER happen.

There Are Many Never Events We Can Help You & Your Family Rectify

If a hospital or doctor provided bad care that caused serious damage or death, the patient family is entitled to money damages and benefits. All medical care providers are required to exercise good care. If the hospital or doctor waives their costs and there is a permanent injury, they are trying to distract you until it is too late to recover damages! If you or a loved one or family member has been the victim of a never event that caused permanent injury, paralysis, or death, call our office immediately. Do not wait, the clock is ticking.

Remember the three most important rules:

• Consult an attorney immediately upon suspicion of malpractice.
• The law recently cut very short the time for a minor to file.
• Confide your suspicion only to an attorney and close family.

Don’t wait to get the legal help you need. Contact our Clarksville medical malpractice lawyer quickly.