New Jersey residents probably don't need to be told that things can go wrong during surgery. What they may not know is just how frequently surgical errors lead to malpractice claims and for what reasons. The medical liability insurer Coverys analyzed all of its...
Surgical Errors
You could be awake during surgery
For most types of major surgery, you're supposed to be unconscious, so you feel nothing. However, the Mayo Clinic says that about one out of every 500 people to have surgery done may wake up during it.Often, this doesn't mean the person is fully awake. He or she may...
The pros and cons of undergoing surgery at a teaching hospital
When going in for surgery, one of the options you may have is to go to a teaching hospital. This is just what is sounds like: A hospital that has an agreement or connection with a nearby university, so students who are working to become professionals can get hands-on...
What should you look for when choosing a plastic surgeon?
We've all seen photos of cosmetic plastic surgery gone horribly wrong. There's even an entire television show on the E! network devoted to botched plastic surgery. However, there are worse things that can happen than having your breasts come out uneven (traumatic as...
New Jersey Supreme Court rules on medical malpractice case
In a 5 to 2 ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court determined that an underwriter doesn't have to pay out on a malpractice insurance policy that was cancelled because the physician who was insured lied on his application. The decision has provoked controversy over what...
Medical malpractice and never events
If you have never heard the term "never events" you are not alone. However, if you believe you have suffered from a surgical error, this is a term with which you should become familiar.Never events are clearly wrong and often shocking surgical errors that should never...
Taking action when surgical errors occur
Undergoing any kind of surgical procedure can be frightening, especially when you consider how many surgical errors occur in New Jersey and the rest of the nation. Sadly, many people become victims of surgical errors in the United States each year, often caused by...
Plaintiffs win medical malpractice suit alleging retained object
It is one of life's ironies that the simplest and most preventable mistakes are sometimes the most devastating. In medicine, for instance, the most skilled surgeon can cause serious harm to a patient by being careless about collecting tools at the end of a...
Ambulatory surgery: the risks of post-procedure infections
Medical malpractice acts and omissions cover a broad gamut of possibilities in New Jersey hospitals and other medical facilities across the country.The usual list of suspects centrally includes things like misdiagnosis (failure to properly or timely diagnose),...
Robot-assisted surgery: on the rise, but with questions attached
The use of high-tech medical devices in surgeries performed in New Jersey hospitals and other medical facilities nationally "is exploding," notes a recent media article that is most specifically centered on robot-assisted surgery.The medical device maker Intuitive...