Category Archives: Legal Nurse Consulting

Medical Malpractice and Surgeons’ Sleep Deprivation and Patient Safety

Research shows that a surgeon who has been working for 24 hours is impaired as much as a drunk person in thinking and motor function. So should patients have a right to know if their doctor has been up all … Continue reading

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MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND COMPARTMENT SYNDROME

Compartment syndrome is a medical emergency that develops over hours in which increased pressure within a closed muscle compartment compromises the circulation and function of tissues, muscles, nerves and blood vessels within that space with escalating compression. The most common … Continue reading

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Distracted Doctoring | Electronic Devices Places Patient Safety at Risk

Hoping to decrease the risk of medical error, hospitals and physicians’ offices have invested heavily to place iPads, iPhones and other electronic devices into the hands of medical staff for instant access to patient data, drug information and case studies. … Continue reading

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Defensive Medicine – Patients as ATM Machines

Defensive Medicine refers to the concept that doctors order unnecessary tests and extra medical procedures as a means to avoid medical negligence lawsuits. However, research at Dartmouth Hitchcock College of Medicine and other studies support there is very little evidence … Continue reading

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Lack of Communication – The Number One Cause of Medical Errors

The Joint Commission, which accredits most hospitals in the US and many abroad, consistently identifies communication as the number one cause of medical errors. Healthcare providers are increasingly becoming aware of the opportunities for information to get lost during handoffs … Continue reading

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Preventable Medical Errors – The Third Leading Cause of Death in America

Preventable medical errors kill and seriously injure hundreds of thousands Americans every year. Any discussion of medical negligence that does not involve preventable medical errors ignores this fundamental problem. Reducing medical errors is the best way to address all problems … Continue reading

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Medical Error Apology Program & Medical Negligence

Hospitals nationwide are currently implementing medical error apology programs. Healthcare group advocates are proactively pushing these programs to encourage doctors and their insurers to openly disclose medical negligence errors along with physician apology for personal injury and proactive voluntary offering … Continue reading

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The Top Ten Reasons – Physicians are Sued for Medical Malpractice

While a majority of medical malpractice claims against physicians involve an adverse outcome, or the patient’s perception of one, a small but growing percentage of patient injuries are the result of medical negligence or physician incompetence. Adverse outcomes can occur … Continue reading

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Emergency Room Medical Malpractice

A hospital emergency room is an area where medical errors are common and often overlooked. Because of the increasing patient load and the need to triage patients by order of medical urgency, many things often go clinically wrong in an … Continue reading

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Medical Negligence & The Joint Commission – List of Top 10 Sentinel Events

A Sentinel Event is defined by The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) as an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof. Serious personal injury specifically includes loss of limb or function. … Continue reading

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