Medical Malpractice Blog Page 2 of 3

Potentially Deadly Infections Linked to Surgical Device

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 11, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

Three patients who underwent open-heart surgery at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA, have contracted a potentially deadly infection as a result of contaminated surgical devices. At this time, the hospital staff denies any medical malpractice occurred, and they insist the deaths of two of the three patients were not due […]

New Study Reveals Drug-Related Mistakes Occur in Half of All Surgeries

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 05, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

A study published last month in Anesthesiology medical journal revealed an alarming amount of medication errors occur quite frequently in hospital operating rooms across the nation, making drug-related mistakes a leading contributor to America’s rising medical malpractice lawsuits. According to the study, medication errors occur in almost 50 percent of all surgeries performed. Previous studies […]

Meet Pennsylvania’s Next Secretary of Health – Dr. Karen Murphy

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on February 25, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

Dr. Karen Murphy – acting secretary, Department of Health Karen Murphy is the Acting Secretary of Health in Pennsylvania. Dr. Murphy has extensive knowledge of the health care industry and is a proven executive who has demonstrated her ability to lead complex organizations and initiatives in both the public and private sectors. Prior to […]

Did Substandard Medical Care Cause The Death Of Joan Rivers?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on September 11, 2014 in Medical Malpractice

Joan Rivers reportedly died after an “unplanned biopsy” was done during a routine throat procedure. Many newspapers are now reporting her family is planning a $100 million lawsuit over her death. Rivers died last Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, days after she stopped breathing during a throat procedure and was placed in […]

Luzerne County Hospital Loses Million Dollar Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 21, 2014 in Medical Malpractice

Posted on Aug 21, 2014 A jury recently found Wilkes-Barre General Hospital owed a man’s family over a million dollars because of the failures at the hospital. It appears from a news article in the TimesLeader that after Mr. Struzzzeri came out of surgery on his heart, his blood pressure began dropping, the drop was […]

Will Apologies From Doctors Transform Pennsylvania Medical Lawsuits?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 02, 2013 in Medical Malpractice

Related Links: “New England Journal of Medicine” Says Malpractice Caps Do Not Work The Power of the Words, “I’m Sorry” As we’ve noted before, occasionally a doctor’s, surgeon’s, or hospital’s mistake means that a patient’s condition worsens rather than improves. Sometimes the mistake is so destructive that the patient must deal with lifelong complications. Sometimes […]

Should Pennsylvania Mandate Nurse-Patient Ratios To Increase Patient Safety?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on March 08, 2013 in Medical Malpractice

A pair of Democratic state legislators said today they introduced bills to create government mandated nurse-patient ratios at Pennsylvania hospitals. “Studies show that patients in hospitals with higher registered nurse staffing levels are less likely to get an infection during their care, and as a result, health care costs can be reduced by as much […]

new trial awarded to plaintiff for juror misconduct

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 11, 2013 in Medical Malpractice

In Bruckshaw Admr v The Frankfort Hospital, the Pa Supreme Ct granted a new trial where the 12th juror was replaced by an alternate without the knowledge of the court or the attorneys. Court found prejudice to the plaintiff as a matter of law. Schmidt Kramer injury lawyers stay on top of recent developments in […]

Pa. Superior Court Finds Wrongful Birth Law Violates Pa. Constitution

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 15, 2012 in Medical Malpractice

On November 14, 2012, three judges of the Superior Court issued an opinion in Sernovitz v. Dershaw, which explained that the manner in which the law banning wrongful birth and wrongful death actions were created was unconstitutional. First, before anyone begins to worry that the flood gates of litigation are going to open up allowing […]

Watch For 60 Minutes Report On Central PA Hospital

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 24, 2012 in Medical Malpractice

Will Carlisle Regional Medical Center be the focus of a major television piece on fraud? What are your opinions of the Medical Center? Reports from various sources are that CBS does indeed have its eye on Carlisle Regional Medical Center. The network’s popular long-running news magazine show, “60 Minutes,” will spotlight the hospital in an upcoming […]

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$10,043,952.13 Personal Injury
Schmidt Kramer, P.C.partner Gerard C. Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.
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$4,034,000.00 Personal Injury
Yesterday a Judge in Union County (Lewisburg, PA) awarded a couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting.You might ask yourself, how does a turkey hunting accident end up with that type of verdict? In order to understand the verdict you would have to know our clients. They are good people who had their life wrecked. Plus, you would have to know the defendant, who should not have been hunting with a gun because he was prohibited after a previous criminal conviction.It is a good verdict, because the Judge was able to do two things with his decision. First, he communicated to two very good people that their losses were something that those of us on the outside could appreciate and value. Mike Hobbins (our client) is a 51 year old guy who lost his sight because a convicted felon --who should not have even possessed a gun-- went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger. The Judge accepted the financial loss Mr. Hobbins' suffered, but listened closely to the evidence of less tangible losses. When Mike broke down on the stand, because his daughter would end up walking him down the aisle at her wedding, as opposed to how it was supposed to go, the Judge was listening. When Mike could not keep it together, because of how emasculating it was for him not to be able to provide financially for his family, the Judge was listening. It was facts like these that the Judge cited to support the $2,000,000 award for non-economic damages. Second, the Judge wanted to send a message. Union County is a hunting county. Many of the residents hunt there, and people from outside the area come to Union County to hunt. It was my impression, from the Judge's statements as he rendered his decision, that he wanted to send a message to the people in Union County to protect them in their sport. The rules in place to restrict people convicted of crimes not to have a gun are not to be broken. Hunting is serious and you have to identify your target before you shoot. When you turn your back on the rules that are set to provide safety in a sport, you risk being an example. Here, the $1,000,000 punitive damage award sends that message loud and clear.When it really comes down to brass tacks, the right action was taken against a Defendant who may never truly appreciate what kind of impact his reckless choices caused.At Schmidt Kramer, we are injury lawyers. That means we work with people who were hurt in car accidents, who were hurt by the neglect of nursing homes, or those that were seriously injured because of the reckless, thoughtless acts of others. If you or a loved one have been injured in Pennsylvania, we may be able to help. While the verdict yesterday is not one that is representative of every case we do, it does show that serious and dedicated representation can bring good results.Joe ChapmanJanuary 18, 2013
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$2,200,000.00 Auto Accidents
On Monday, January 6, 2014, Schmidt Kramer accident lawyer Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.Kamilah Claxton won summary judgment in November after the defendants, Sukhwinder Singh and the trucking company for which he worked, failed to file a brief in opposition to Claxton's motion, which was made in September. The verdict in Claxton v. Singh was issued after the court held a non-jury assessment of damages earlier this month."Mr. Sukhchan Singh, the employer, is liable on the basis of respondent superior, but was also grossly negligent in failing to maintain his vehicle in compliance with state and federal law, particularly with regard to having required safety inspections and correcting defects in its braking equipment," said U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his opinion accompanying the verdict."He was also grossly negligent in entrusting his vehicle to Sukhwinder Singh, an inexperienced truck driver who had failed the written test and driving test multiple times before finally earning his commercial driving license," Caldwell said.
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$1,200,000.00 Personal Injury
A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.2012-06-26 10:00:00 AMDate of Verdict: June 19. 2012Court and Case No.: C.P. Dauphin County No. 2009-CV-14003-MMJudge: Scott EvansType of Action: Medical malpracticeInjuries: Anoxic brain injuryPlaintiffs Counsel: Terry S. Hyman, Schmidt Kramer, HarrisburgPlaintiffs Experts: Dr. Anna H. Messner, liability; Lucille Packer, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Palo Alto, Calif.; Terry P. Leslie, vocations and earning capacity, Lancaster; Dr. Hilary B. Berlin, pediatric psychiatry, Great Neck, N.Y.Defense Counsel: Andrew H. Foulkrod, Darlene K. King, Foulkrod Ellis, Camp Hill, PADefense Experts: James C. Reilly, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Wilmington, DEComment: A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.The entire verdict came against Dr. Andrew M. Shapiro, the doctor who plaintiffs Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Metz alleged chose to have the boy monitored at a pediatric ward. The plaintiffs argued Shapiro failed to tell nurses caring for the baby about, and how to care for, the boy's enhanced risk for respiratory failure.The jury came back on June 19 and awarded Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Mets $500,000 in non-economic damages and $686,170 in loss of future earning capacity, according to the plaintiffs counsel.According to the statement, the baby's mother brought him to Shapiro because she was "'afraid that he might stop breathing during his sleep,'" the plaintiffs' pretrial statement said. Shapiro performed a sleep study and observed the baby's Apnea Hypopnea Index to be 43 — four times higher than what's considered severe. A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed.According to the plaintiffs, the baby's sleep study results put him at an increased risk for post-operative respiratory complications. Despite this, they argued in the statement, Shapiro ordered the pediatric nurses at the Harrisburg Hospital general pediatric ward to observe the boy as they would any other patients — about once every four hours.The pretrial statement said that one in four children who have an AHI in the 40s and oxygen desaturation below 80 have some type of respiratory problem. The younger the child, the greater the risk of a respiratory problem, the statement said.According to the statement, Shapiro took off the child's pulse oximeter, the finger-mounted device used to measure blood oxygen, and ordered a heart and respiratory rate monitor. The child was 11 months old at the time.The plaintiffs pled that the baby was last seen at 4 a.m. There was no record of his oxygen saturation for the next hour and 45 minutes. He stopped breathing a 6:40 a.m., and his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause demonstrable injury on an MRI."Immediately prior to his surgery, [the child] was a normal child, who could say mama, eat finger foods, and was just on the verge of walking," the statement said. "After his code, [he] was like a newborn. He could not lift his head or sit up. He could not talk. He could not move."In his pretrial statement, Shapiro argued that he recognized the child's pre-operative sleep study showed he was driven to breath by decreased blood oxygen saturation, which he said was typical in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.He argued the American Academy of Otolaryngology dictates that admission to the intensive care unit is not the standard of care. In the statement, he said nurses did not observe signs of respiratory distress. No alarms sounded until the child arrested, the statement said.He said the baby likely arrested as a result of hypoglycemia and/or an acute aspiration, which he argued would not have been identified by blood oxygen saturation.— Ben Present, of the Law Weekly
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$1,024,040.80 Auto Accidents
Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.
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