MedMal Insider

After an employee alleges age discrimination, conversations with their supervisor could be perceived as retaliation. An attorney at CRICO describes the pitfalls in these discrimination and retaliation cases and how to avoid some of them.

A patient died following a medication mixup in an understaffed medical ICU. A large settlement was reached on behalf of the RN who administered the wrong dose of the wrong medicine.

A cholecystectomy patient alleged that mishandling of her post-operative calls to the surgical practice and lack of follow-up caused her post-operative complications. Like many cases, how the surgical practice communicated with the patient after a complication occurred was a key aspect.

Parents alleged that a delayed diagnosis of a foreign body in their child’s nose caused preventable nosebleeds, nasal infection, nasal septal perforation, and the need for surgery. The malpractice claim named the pediatric group, two pediatricians, and a pediatric nurse practitioner, and was settled in the low range.

A 30-year-old woman experiencing her first pregnancy, presented to the Labor and Delivery unit. She was given the wrong drug and required an emergent C-section. The "five rights" of medication administration focuses on individual factors and not necessarily on system flaws. Many organizations are also promoting just culture, which encourages reporting near-misses and patient safety events, and focuses on psychological safety and promoting a non-punitive reporting culture.

Clear liability case from a reversed X-ray was resolved efficiently with insurer/institution cooperation.