Continuing Treatment
Continuing treatment is a term that lawyers use to describe the length of time that you have continued to receive treatment from your doctor. In many cases, after a patient receives negligent treatment that causes an injury they continue to see their doctor or be treated in the hospital for the effects of the negligence medical care. Why is this important?
Statute of Limitations
ACOG Issues New Practice Guidelines
In the July 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued practice bulletin No. 106: Intrapartum Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring.
The new bulletin is the most recent statement from the College on interpretation of fetal heart rate tracings and management of labour.
Almost 100,000 Medical Mistakes Each Year in Canada
The Canadian Medical Association has determined that over 87,000 patients in Canada suffer an adverse event (medical error or mistake) each year.
The same study determined that more than 24,000 people die each year due to medical errors.
Why Did You Write The Book?
I get asked that a lot. There’s a ton of work that goes into writing a book about medical malpractice claims. Most books about the topic are written by lawyers, for lawyers, and they are pretty dry reading.
I wanted to write a book that the average person could pick up and read and come away better educated and informed about the medical malpractice claims process and what is involved in filing a medical malpractice claim.
When someone dies unexpectedly, or suffers a serious but unexpected injury, while they are in a hospital or under the care of a doctor, it is human nature to assume that the hospital or doctor must have made a mistake. Many clients come to me and say: “How could this have happened? The doctor must have screwed up!”
We all want to believe that when something really bad happens to good people, someone will be held responsible. But that is not always the case.
Burden of Proof
Most of my medical malpractice clients have suffered catastrophic injuries that prevent them from being able to return to work or, in the case of infants and children, will prevent them from ever being able to work.
Economic Losses from Medical Malpractice
There are 2 ways to calculate economic losses suffered as a result of medical malpractice. The court will have to determine whether you have suffered an actual income loss or whether you have suffered a diminished earning capacity.
The latest edition of my book, The Consumer’s Guide to Medical Malpractice Claims in Canada: Why 98% of Canadian Medical Malpractice Victims Never Get a Penny in Compensation, is now on its way back from the printers.
You can get a copy of the book by contacting me through this blog. However, I am going to be posting excerpts from the book over the next few weeks to give you a taste of the information contained in the book.
Lynn Butler sent me a very kind note after reading a copy of the book. Here is what she had to say:
“I found The Consumer’s Guide to Medical Malpractice Claims most helpful. I would definitely recommend the guide to anyone seeking information: it was very informative, factual and easy to read. I would certainly recommend the guide to anyone wondering if they have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.”
Jeff Baggaley contacted me about a pediatric medical malpractice claim. After reading the book he sent me a note to say:
“I have read your book on pursuing a malpractice claim in Canada. Let me say at the outset that your book is an invaluable and excellently written introduction to essential information which the possible claimant needs to know.
When I am asked to review a possible claim for a client wondering if they have been a victim of medical malpractice, it often takes months of investigation and requires reviewing hundreds of pages of medical records and reports. In many cases I have to get a medical expert to provide a medical-legal opinion on the issue of standard of care or causation.
However, there is a way for you to figure out for yourself if you have medical malpractice claim that is worth talking to a lawyer about to see if you may have a claim.
Two Simple Questions:
Can you believe this?!
There are doctors who are forcing patients to sign a contract promising not to criticize the doctor, “his expertise and/or treatment.”
No signature-No medical care
The New England Journal of Medicine has published a study showing that using a simple checklist helped decrease the number of surgery related deaths by more than 40%. The research showed that major complications after surgery fell by almost 1/3.
Using a Checklist
The checklist required the operating team to review a list of questions which included:
1. Were proper antibiotics given;
2. Was the correct patient on the operating table;
3. Was the correct surgical site identified;
4. Was sufficient anesthesia and blood supply available;
5. Did the patient have any allergies;
6. Counting needles/sponges to make sure nothing was left inside the patient.
Staggering Results
