Widespread Hospital Infection from Dirty Surgical Tools

Scranton, PA, March 30, 2012 — Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer Marion Munley called attention today to an investigative report indicating that hospital administrators and others in the medical field know that dirty surgical instruments are causing many dangerous infections in hospital patients.

A 4,200-word investigative report by the Centers for Public Integrity says hospital managers, surgical equipment manufacturers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been grappling with growing recognition that reusable medical devices are not being cleaned properly between procedures.

“The Centers for Public Integrity report about contaminated surgical instruments implicates hospitals, device manufacturers and oversight agencies in this alarming scandal,” said Munley of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., a Scranton-based Pennsylvania personal injury firm.

“Not only could hospitals be guilty of negligence in how they clean surgical instruments, […]

FL Nursing Home Hit with $200M Neglect Verdict

According to an article in the Tampa Bay Pines, Trans Health Management has been ordered to pay the largest nursing home neglect verdict in Florida history.  The $200 million verdict was awarded to the family of a 92-year-old woman who was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell at Pinellas Park Care and Rehabilitation Center in Pinellas County, Florida in 2004.

The staff at the Center did not notice the woman was missing for over an hour.  They then found her still strapped in her wheelchair at the bottom of 10 steps at the open emergency exit stairwell. She died shortly before the paramedics arrived.

Trans Health Management Inc., which oversaw the nursing home at the time of the accident, did not present a defense in the case.  During the trial, former employees at the home testified that the door to the stairwell was supposed to be locked, […]

Lawsuit Settled in HS Football Player’s Death

A 2006 lawsuit filed by the parents of a Henderson County, KY high school football player who died during practice has finally been settled.  Although the terms of the settlement are sealed, both parties said they were glad to put the dispute behind them.

The lawsuit claimed negligence against several school personnel and a doctor, but the suit dragged on while the insurance companies continued to argue over which one bore the most responsibility, according to Kentucky.com.

The 16-year-old football player died during practice on a hot, humid day in July.  The defendants claimed the teen died due to an underlying cardiac condition.

The father said his son’s death had played a part in changes to state law and athletic regulations that deal with heat.  While he said the settlement was a “bitter pill to swallow,” he also said that without filing the suit they would not have gotten the details surrounding their son’s death. […]

Ohio Oral Surgeon Faces Second Lawsuit

The Chronicle-Telegram reports a retired Lorain, Ohio oral surgeon is being sued for an undisclosed amount by a patient who claims she “was injured and was caused to suffer seizures, neurological damage and other severe and debilitating injuries, some of which were permanent in nature,” during treatment in Dec. 2010.

According to the article, a motion attached to the lawsuit seeks a 90-day enlargement of time to file an affidavit of merit, stating “there is strong reason to believe a cause of action exists” against the surgeon and unnamed nurses, dental assistants and/or health care professionals that the suit lists as defendants.

The physician had previously been sued when a 13-year-old patient died after receiving sedation prior to oral surgery in December 2010.  The doctor’s insurance company paid $1 million to the family of the deceased girl, and the 81-year-old physician stopped giving intravenous sedation and agreed to retire in September.  […]

PA Jury Awards Over $11 Million to Plane Crash Victims

A Philadelphia, PA jury awarded two victims of a 2009 plane crash, who suffered significant, permanent injuries, over $11 million in damages. The pilot and her passenger both sustained third-degree burns over 35 percent of their bodies.

The lawsuit alleged the Cessna 337 Skymaster twin-engine aircraft in which they were flying crashed shortly after takeoff due to “ineffective inspections and maintenance.”  The plane crashed into a water treatment plant in Georgia after losing power in one of its engines. The second engine could not handle the extra load due to problems to it as well.

The pilot’s injuries have prevented her from returning to work as an airline pilot.  She was awarded $6.458 million, which was reduced by 20 percent because of her attributable negligence, according to the court docket.

The passenger, who was a doctor, has been able to return to his work performing cancer dermatological surgeries.  […]