A study conducted by the Ariadne Labs and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that more money is made by American hospitals if a surgery goes wrong. As shared on the Harvard School of Public Health’s website, lead study author and Chief Medical Officer of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary stated how their finding of  “clear evidence that reducing harm and improving quality is perversely penalized in our current health care system.” Hence, if a patient goes in for surgery, he or she may experience worse complications afterwards than those experienced leading up to the surgery.

The report also noted that patients in the U.S. spend an estimated $400 billion on surgery every year. Those with private insurance, who had experienced complications after surgery, amounted for a 330 percent profit margin increase than those whose surgeries were successful. Therefore, this staggering number suggests that hospitals and private doctors are rewarded for incompetence rather than successful medicine.

Patients with government-subsidized insurance (Medicaid) who experienced complications during surgery also amounted for a higher profit margin for hospitals and doctors, but to a much lesser extent. For those privately insured, the report notes a $39,017 higher profit margin per patient in regards to associated complications. The profit margin was higher by less than $1,800 for Medicare patients.

According to WebMD, pain is the most common surgical complication. The degree of pain complication depends on the degree of invasiveness of the surgery. Other common side effects of surgery can include simple but extreme fatigue, or potentially fatal effects like severe blood clots.

If you or someone you know has experienced complications post-surgery and believe the hospital or surgeon to be at fault, please contact an compassionate Westport medical malpractice lawyer for a free initial consultation. Richard H. Raphael, Attorney at Law, represents clients in Westport, Weston, Darien, Norwalk, Stamford, Wilton, Greenwich, New Canaan, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Wilton, Ridgefield, Danbury and Trumbull as well as Fairfield County and New Haven County in Connecticut. Call 203-226-6168 today to discuss your case.  

A measure on the ballot in California this November may have the support of medical malpractice attorneys, but it has doctors scared. The measure, Proposition 46, would increase the state’s limits on what can be paid in pain and suffering awards in lawsuits and require that all physicians be drug tested. According to a recent news article, however, only 61 percent of voters say that they support the measure. Pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice suits in California have been capped at $250,000 since 1975. Proposition 46 would allow for pain and suffering awards to increase to $1.1 million.

Most states do have damage award limits such as the one California is proposing to increase. In fact, Connecticut and Minnesota, reports the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), are the only two states that do not specify a specific limit or cap on medical malpractice payouts, though both states “allow for a court to review the damage awarded.” Twenty-six states allow for joint liability for medical malpractice, and Connecticut is among them. Joint defendants are considered liable proportionate to the percentage of fault for damages awarded.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported by Forbes, medical malpractice is a leading cause of death in the United States, third only to heart disease and cancer. In 2012, more than $3 billion was awarded in medical malpractice suits. That is an average of one approved claim every 43 minutes.

Despite not having caps on medical malpractice payout claims for Connecticut patients, the state does have a rule that establishes a limit or sliding scale on fees attorneys may charge for handling a medical malpractice claim, according to a publication of the Connecticut State Legislature.

While medical malpractice is not the fault of the patient, there are several things you can do to help avoid the probability of experiencing it. According to Forbes, being proactive about your healthcare by asking questions and demanding “full and complete answers” is the simplest thing you can do.

If you feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice or negligence, you may be eligible for compensation. The most important first step is to seek the counsel of a legal professional. Contact a Westport medical malpractice attorney today.

Knee replacements have long been one of the most common surgical implants. They are also one of the most common procedures in which patients experience subsequent problems because the device used was defective or not up to safety standards (though approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)).

According to a consumer report from SafePatientProject.org, 4.4 million Americans have knee implants, the vast majority of which were prescribed for osteoarthritis of the knee. Regardless of how many such procedures are undergone every year in the U.S., replacement surgeries continue to be a serious factor in the medical industry. Reported by the SafePatientProject, “an estimated 536,000 adults currently living with knee implants have undergone revision procedures to replace their implants.”

It is not as if the implants that needed to be replaced were manufactured by smaller or lesser-known companies. Biomet, DePuy, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, Wright, and Zimmer have all recalled knee implants that were used in patient surgery and that had previously been approved by the FDA. As of September 2103, DePuy had the most recalls, and Zimmer was a close second.

This July, however, Zimmer manufacturing “initiated another sweeping recall on one of its artificial knee implants,” according to DrugWatch.com. Noted by DrugWatch, the NexGen MIS Tibial Component is being recalled because of the tendency of the pieces to loosen or fail. There is no other explanation being offered other than shoddy manufacturing.

No matter the reason, more than 40,000 of these devices have been recalled, affecting thousands of patients nationwide. If a patient does not have the device removed, he or she may face side effects that include (but are not limited to):

• Bone loss;
• Early revision surgery;
• Infection; and
• Dislocation.

In the event of bone loss, infection, or dislocation, some patients could actually end up worse off than they were before the initial implant surgery.

If you or someone you know has had a Zimmer knee implant surgery performed in Connecticut, do not go through it alone. Contact Richard H. Raphael, Attorney at Law, an experienced Connecticut medical malpractice attorney, for a free initial consultation today.