Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorneys
At Otway Russo, we prosecute medical negligence claims in all state and federal courts, as well as claims for military medical malpractice. We identify and use leading medical experts in the field in support of our cases. Please call if we can assist your family.
The attorneys at Otway Russo, LLP handle claims which relate to injuries caused by medical errors. Some examples of some of the types of cases we handle are:
- brain injury
- birth injury (for example, cerebral palsy)
- surgical mistakes (for example, puncturing a nearby organ or tissue)
- medication errors (for example, administering the wrong medicine or dosage)
- hospital negligence
- nursing home medical errors, neglect and abuse
- nurse malpractice
- sedation and anesthesia errors
- failure to order necessary medical tests
- failure to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly
- failure to refer a case to a medical specialist
- failure to timely diagnose cancer
- incorrect diagnosis that results in a failure to treat a medical condition
- radiology failing to diagnose a tumor while reading an x-ray
- failure to note patient allergies to medications or products used
- birth injuries
- emergency room negligence ( for example, premature discharge from the ER)
- chiropractic negligence
- serious dental malpractice
- psychiatric malpractice
- military medical malpractice (civilian)
- wrongful death
Medical Malpractice:
Medical malpractice is the failure of a hospital physician, surgeon, chiropractor, nurse, dentist or other health care professional to follow the accepted standards of practice of his or her profession. If a physician was careless, lacked proper skills, or disregarded protocols of standards, resulting in injury to a patient, a jury may find the health care provider liable for negligence. Hospitals can also be held liable for the negligence of their employees, including staff nurses and technicians.
Surgical Errors:
Surgical errors that cause injury may give rise to medical malpractice claims. Surgical errors can result in permanent disfigurement and complications due to post surgical infections. The following are some examples or surgical errors:
- Wrong-site surgery - operating in or on the wrong area of the body.
- Surgical instrument left in the body - retractors, sponges and surgical towels all have been left in patients' bodies following surgery.
- Misdiagnosis issues, such as surgery unrelated to the patient's correct diagnosis.
- Wrong patient surgery.
Misdiagnosis:
We rely on medical professionals to provide knowledgeable information and competent diagnoses. Sometimes medical professionals misdiagnose a patient. Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment of a medical condition can have debilitating effects on a patient and in some cases can be fatal. For instance, the medical provider might treat a patient for flu when he or she is suffering from a life-threatening gastrointestinal problem.
Failure to Diagnose:
The failure of a medical provider to timely detect a condition can have serious or fatal consequences. In many instances, particularly those involving cancer, early detection is a key element to successful treatment. A missed diagnosis can make treating a disease much more difficult, and in some cases, render successful treatment impossible.
When the failure to diagnose is negligent on the part of the medical provider, if the provider using a reasonable standard of care should have detected the problem sooner, a medical malpractice claim might be appropriate.
These cases are generally traumatic for all involved, the patient as well as the family members who have to try to deal with a future that might have been quite different if only a cancer or another medical condition were diagnosed in time.
Wrong Treatment or Failure to Treat:
The failure of a medical professional to give the proper medical treatment is medical malpractice. The doctor may prescribe the wrong medication for the patient or the incorrect dosage and complications can arise. There are many cases where the patient had to suffer because of wrong diagnosis and treatment - things such as a left leg being amputated instead of right leg, or removal or the wrong, non-diseased kidney. In addition, sometimes the medical provider fails to recognize the condition requiring treatment.
Defective Drugs or Products:
The sad truth is that some giant pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers have put the public at risk by bringing dangerous or defective products to market. A medical product may be considered defective because of a manufacturing or design defect. In addition to design and manufacturing defects, insufficient warning of consumers as to possible side effects can also serve as the basis of litigation for both medical products and drugs.
Often, when a person is injured as a result of medical treatment, the first assumption often is that the physician or other health care provider made a mistake. In many cases, however, it is learned that the doctor did nothing wrong and the injury was caused by a defective or dangerous medication or medical device. In such a case, the claim for injuries should actually be brought against the manufacturer of the drug or device.
Medication Errors:
Another area of medical malpractice involves the medication and prescription errors doctors, nurses and pharmacists can make. Unfortunately, patients are sometimes given the wrong prescription or dosage, with very serious, often deadly, results.
Medication errors can happen for several reasons, such as the doctor's illegible handwriting or dictation of the wrong drug, a mistranscription by the hospital transcriptionist, or the pharmacist's drug dispensing error. In other cases, the nurse gives the wrong medication or amount, or the doctor not asking all of the pertinent questions while examining the patient. In some cases, the medications have potential side effects which should be monitored but are not. Most commonly, the type of medication error involves incorrect dosages. If the dose is too little, the medication is ineffective. If the does is too much, the medication may have side effects and other consequences, including death.
Also, if a patient is taking more than one medication, it is the healthcare provider's responsibility to monitor drug intake. A mix of the wrong medications can be fatal in some cases.
Anesthetic Errors:
When you go in to surgery, the last face you usually see is that of the anesthesiologist, who will regulate your consciousness during the operation. The anesthesiologist is responsible for maintaining throughout the length of the procedure. Too little anesthesia and you will awake to great pain and panic; too much anesthesia and you will never wake up. When anesthesiologists make errors in administering anesthesia, the results are usually catastrophic, including coma and death.
Adverse Drug Reactions:
Adverse drug reaction is defined as a medical event caused by a prescription drug which results in a patient's death, hospitalization or disability, or has caused a congenital abnormality, a life-threatening event, or a required intervention to prevent permanent damage. Up to 200,000 patients die every year from adverse drug reactions, according to reports from the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Institute of Medicine. Adverse drug reactions are considered to be the 4th leading cause of death in America, killing more people than pulmonary disease, diabetes, AIDS, pneumonia and automobile deaths.
Medication Allergies:
If a doctor or nurse is careless, they won't test for or ask about allergies, or will fail to note the patient's allergies when treating the patient. For example, some patients are allergic to medications, the metals used for implants or the latex commonly found in the hospital setting. In some cases, patients whose medication and other allergies have been disregarded, serious injury and death have resulted.
Birth Injuries:
One major cause of birth injuries is oxygen deprivation, which commonly occurs when the umbilical cord is compressed and/or twisted in the birth process. The other main cause is mechanical trauma which may occur when the baby assumes an unusual position at the time of birth. Complications in the process of pregnancy, labor and delivery can result in a wide variety of complications for a newborn baby. Birth injuries vary greatly - from very minor to being so severe as to cause the death of the infant.
Some common types of birth injuries include skin irritations; temporary paralysis; fractured collar bone; fractured arm; Cerebral Palsy; brain damage; Erb's Palsy and Brachial Plexus Palsy. The most serious birth injuries involve damage to the infant's brain, causing brain damage, traumatic brain injury, seizures and mental retardation. These brain injuries are caused by oxygen deprivation or bleeding inside the brain from trauma during pregnancy, labor or delivery.
Lung Cancer:
The key to successful treatment of lung cancer is early diagnosis and many medical mistakes can lead to a delay in diagnosis which may deprive patients of the chance for a cure. Failure to diagnose lung cancer or significant delay in diagnosing the disease can result in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Delays in diagnosis may cause a worsening of the illness and are often a result of:
- Failure to order chest x-ray, CT scan and MRI procedures
- Failure to adequately evaluate the results of the above
- Failure to recognize the symptoms that characterize lung cancer and diagnose it in time.
Breast Cancer:
Patients may complain of a lump, mass or cyst in one of their breasts during a doctor's visit, or the physician may notice a lump during an examination. When permitted to grow unimpeded, the cancer spreads to other areas of the body (metastasis) and can completely devastate a person's life. Sometimes physicians fail to take such patient complaints seriously or to properly follow up with additional diagnostic tests, including mammograms, sonograms and biopsies.
It is the responsibility of treating physician and technicians to provide adequate medical care for their patients, including correctly interpreting symptoms, ordering follow-up tests in a timely manner and correctly reading test results. The failure to take the proper precautions, and to perform each of the procedures correctly, as other medical personnel would have done, is medical malpractice.
Cerebral Palsy:
Cerebral palsy results from permanent brain injuries that affect an infant in the womb, during birth or in the months following birth and is one of the most common birth injuries in the United States. Cerebral palsy patients are subject to limited motor skills, speech difficulties and learning disabilities. When cerebral palsy occurs as the result of medical malpractice, the responsible party inflicting said injuries can be held legally responsible.
Nursing Home Neglect:
Nursing home neglect includes medical malpractice and careless treatment leading to broken bones, malnutrition, dehydration, serious bedsores, bruises and poor hygiene. It can also include the failure to supervise staff and physical or sexual assaults by other residents or staff.
Wrongful Death:
A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another individual, company or organization. A legal action for wrongful death belongs to the decedent's immediate family members, usually a surviving spouse and children, and sometimes parents.
The general rule in wrongful death cases is that one is entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages which are suffered as a result of the loss of a loved one. Economic damages in a wrongful death case include an award for the financial contributions which the decedent would have made to his or her spouse, children and/or parents had he or she survived. It also includes the recovery for funeral service expenses in memory of the decedent and for burial cost. Non-economic damages include loss of love, society, companionship, comfort, affection, solace or moral support.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is negligence committed by a professional health care provider - a doctor, nurse, hospital, or hospital worker, dentist, technician, pharmacist, chiropractor- whose performance of duties deviates from a standard of practice of those with similar training and experience, resulting in harm to a patient or patients. Most medical malpractice cases are based on the concept of negligence, that is, that the patient was harmed because the health care provider failed to meet the required standards of skill and care, in accordance with generally accepted standards. Instances of malpractice might include cutting off the oxygen supply during surgery, misdiagnosing an injury because routine tests and procedures were not followed, or prescribing an illegal drug or one not approved for the patient's condition.
Does someone who is simply not satisfied with the results of surgery have a malpractice case?
No. In general, there are no guarantees of medical results, and unexpected or unsuccessful results do not necessarily mean that negligence occurred. To succeed in a medical malpractice case, a plaintiff has to prove that a medical injury or related damages resulted from: (1) the doctor's deviation from the standard of care pertaining to the procedure; (2) which was the cause of the specific injury suffered. The mere occurrence of a bad result is not malpractice.
How do I begin a medical malpractice lawsuit?
If you think that you have a valid medical malpractice lawsuit, it is wise to seek out an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice. Medical malpractice is an extremely complicated are of law that raises many complex and intellectually difficult legal and medical issues. Because there are strict time limitations for filing such claims, and because of the length of time it may take to obtain the quality and number of experts needed, you are encouraged to contact an attorney for a free evaluation at your earliest opportunity. Otway Russo, LLP prides itself on doing a timely and thorough investigation, in consultation with leading experts, to determine whether you have a case and, if so, the best strategy to obtain a successful legal outcome for clients and their families who have suffered a serious medical outcome or fatality.
What does statute of limitations mean?
The legislature of each state has determined and placed into the state's laws the maximum time after the commission of a civil wrong that a lawsuit may be brought. In Maryland, the claim must be filed in the appropriate forum, along with supporting expert reports, within the EARLIER of five years from the date of the malpractice or three years from the date the victim knew or should have known of the malpractice. Other limitations may apply for injuries to minors. When the statute of limitations runs in a given case can often be determined only after consultation with the client and review of the pertinent medical records. Regardless of how strong the malpractice claim may be, if the suit is not initiated with the statute, then the suit cannot be brought.
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