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Experts warn: Patient passports need review by risk management department

Patient passports are gaining in popularity, but risk managers should consider legal and documentation issues. The patient passport is a document that covers basic patient data. A key question is whether the passport becomes part of the medical record.

Nurse: Hospital lied, tricked her for PR benefit

One of the more shocking allegations in the lawsuit nurse Nina Pham filed recently against Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas involves what she says was a deceitful attempt to help bolster the hospital’s public image during a frenzy of media coverage about Ebola.

Ebola lawsuit claims nurse was thrust into danger without proper training

The Kafkaesque story told in the lawsuit filed by nurse Nina Pham features a woman who innocently shows up for work one day and finds herself trapped in a nightmare, betrayed by those she trusted to protect her.

Harsh claims as nurse sues hospital where she contracted Ebola

A nurse who contracted Ebola after treating a patient with the disease is suing her hospital. She claims the hospital failed to provide adequate training and protective gear, among several other charges. The nurse says she still suffers physically and mentally from the experience. She alleges that the hospital used her for public relations efforts against her will.

$21.9 M award in elective steroid injection procedure

A 54-year-old woman suffered from chronic and severe back pain, and she underwent an elective epidural steroid injection. While sedated, the patient’s airway became blocked, which resulted in oxygen deprivation for as long as 10 minutes. Multiple electronic monitors indicated that the patient was not breathing properly, but the physician continued the procedure. Emergency assistance was not called for more than an hour, and the physician failed to report to a subsequent treating hospital that the patient was deprived of oxygen for several minutes. The patient suffered severe brain damage, and she died six years after the procedure from complications related to the brain injury. The jury awarded the widower and estate $21.9 million in damages.

Failure to diagnose infection causes toddler death and yields verdict of $1.72 million

Plaintiffs’ 3-month-old daughter was taken to the hospital with a high fever and elevated pulse rate. The ED physician diagnosed an ear infection and discharged the infant with a prescription for antibiotics. Days later she was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis, hypoxic brain injury, and hydrocephalus. She lived for 20 more months. Plaintiffs sued the hospital and the ED physician, and they won a verdict of joint and several liability for $1.7 million.

Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in the emergency department. In fact, UTIs were the most common bacterial infection encountered in ambulatory settings in 2007 and the most common primary diagnosis for women visiting the emergency department.

State Medical Board Complaint Can Fuel ED Med/Mal Suit, and Vice Versa: Don’t “Go It Alone”

It’s difficult to imagine most emergency physicians (EPs) choosing to defend themselves in a malpractice lawsuit. However, many respond to state medical board investigations without legal representation. “Many medical board complaints end up being more serious than medical malpractice lawsuits,” says Ellen M. Voss, JD, a medical malpractice defense attorney at Williams Kastner in Portland, OR.

EPs Seeing Many More Incidental Findings: Take Steps to Reduce Liability

Failure to notify patients and their primary care providers of incidental radiology findings “definitely poses significant medicolegal liability for the emergency physician (EP),” according to Sayon Dutta, MD, an attending physician in the emergency department (ED) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Will EPs Be Dismissed — or Get ‘Stuck’ in the Claim? These Are Determining Factors

Understandably, emergency physicians (EPs) who believe that allegations of malpractice are unfounded don’t want to suffer through litigation one minute longer than necessary. However, getting “out” of a claim, regardless of the merits of the case against the EP, is often no easy task.