Medical devices to help patients deal with incontinence have changed the lives of many for the better. At this level of surgery, however, complications can occur, and urethral sling surgeries for women often have severe side effects.

Bladder slings, or transvaginal mesh implants, are used to treat stress urinary incontinence in primarily post-menopausal women. According to WebMD.com, the implant of these slings requires deep incisions, meaning that it is an inpatient procedure. Usually patients are able to return home two to three days after the procedure, though the recovery period is usually two to four weeks after that. WebMD notes that while complications are common, the implementation of a bladder sling usually cures stress urinary incontinence in eight out of 10 women.

DrugWatch.com reports that there are commonly used types of bladder slings. The first is called a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) sling, in which the patient’s tissue is used to hold the sling in place instead of stitches. The second is a transobturator tape sling (TOW or TVT-O), which is a tension-free surgery that “has less risk of bladder and bowel injury in comparison with the TVT sling.” The third is a mini-sling, which has the least risk of complications after surgery. This is also the newest form of bladder sling, having debuted in 2006.

When bladder slings first hit the medical market, the side effects were not as well known or publicized as they are today. MD-Health.com advises that side effects can include difficulty urinating, internal bleeding, and severe pain. Inflammation of the organs around the bladder is common, making sex difficult. Faulty mesh implants can result in the obstruction of the urethra, damage to the bowels, and injury to surrounding blood vessels and nerves. In September of 2013, according to Bloomberg News, the first wave of lawsuits against five makers of vaginal mesh implants went to court. “The total number of suits could swell to more than 50,000 as more claimants seek to join the potential settlement,” reported Bloomberg News.

If you or someone you know has suffered severe side effects because of a bladder sling operation in Connecticut, the most important step is to speak to an attorney. Contact Richard H. Raphael, Attorney at Law, for a free initial consultation today.

Connecticut law requires that all licensed insurance companies report any medical professional liability claims or lawsuits to the state, as an effort to keep track of where medical malpractice occurs, the rates of medical malpractice, and to determine if they are disproportionately reported in one hospital or treatment center.

There are three possible payouts in a medical malpractice case:

1. Indemnity – the amount of settlement dollars paid by the insurance company;
2. Defense counsel payments; and
3. Adjusting and other expenses – commonly the amount incurred by the actual insurance company to settle the claim.

Data collected by the State of Connecticut Insurance Department shows that the frequency of medical malpractice claims has decreased, even as the value of indemnity either awarded or settled has increased. As a whole, the Department reports that “claim values have increased at an average rate of approximately seven percent per year since 1992.”  The Department predicts that the number of cases will continue to increase as the state and the nation continues to recover from the 2008 economic downturn.

This has not led to a great change in the cost of medical malpractice insurance for licensed physicians in Connecticut in any significant way, though Connecticut’s average cost per claim is, according to the state’s Insurance Department, still among the highest in the nation.

There are three different types of insurance underwriters that may insure a medical professional: commercial insurers, excess and surplus lines insurers, ad captives, risk attention groups, and self-insured hospital. The latter accounts for 53 percent of the medical insurance market. No matter what type of insurance your physician or hospital carries, you are eligible for the same rights when it comes to a medical malpractice claim.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of medical malpractice, the most important step is to seek the counsel of a medical malpractice attorney. Contact Richard H. Raphael, Attorney at Law today for a free initial consultation.

A new study by Columbia University School of Nursing about hospital infection prevention policies has revealed some disturbing results – most hospitals fail to follow their own policies. The price of these infections is high, costing $33 billion annually for excess medical care and killing 100,000 people in this country every year.

Researchers studied the prevention policies of over 1600 intensive care units (ICU) at almost 1,000 hospitals located across the U.S. The team was especially interested in what kind of checklists were in place to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Of all the ICUs studied, one in 10 still did not have any kind of checklist in place to help deter bloodstream infections. The study also found that one in four ICUs had no checklists to help prevent patients developing pneumonia while on a ventilator.

For those units that did have checklists in place, these safeguards were only followed half the time.

Past research has shown that the use of electronic monitoring systems and staff that are trained and have infection control certification can significantly reduce the occurrence of these infections. But only one-third of the hospitals actually had some type of electronic monitoring system in place. And more than one-third of the hospitals studied had no staff trained in infection control.

The research was led by Dr. Patricia Stone, who has been involved in considerable research about hospital and health-care infections. In a statement, Dr. Stone said, “Hospitals aren’t following the rules they put in place themselves to keep patients safe. Rules don’t keep patients from dying unless they’re enforced.”

Dr. Stone also added, “Every hospital should see this research as a call to action – it’s just unconscionable that we’re not doing every single thing we can, every day, for every patient, to avoid preventable infections.”

If you have suffered from complications caused by negligent medical care, contact a Westport medical malpractice attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.