A non-profit organization known as the Leapfrog Group just released the results from its national safety-ranking program for hospitals.

Each hospital was given a letter grade correlating to the level of patient safety that was determined for that location. The grades were based off of 26 patient safety factors that a panel of judges combined in order to calculate each facility’s score.

Out of the 2,652 hospitals that were graded, 73 are located in the state of New Jersey. These New Jersey hospitals ranked 12th in the nation overall for their ability to protect patient safety. Of the 73 New Jersey hospitals, 23 earned an A, 33 earned a B, and the rest were given a C. These lowest-ranking hospitals have already started to make improvements to their safety features in order to move up on the rating system.

Hospital safety is imperative in order to avoid unnecessary injuries and complications. If you have been injured due to hospital negligence, please contact the hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A., by calling 800-346-5529 today.

An 81-year-old New Jersey grandmother has been unsuccessful at obtaining a credit card due to a hospital error that was made regarding her files.

In 2004, the woman underwent heart surgery at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. She entered a rehabilitation facility after being cleared by her doctors, but her paperwork was improperly updated. Instead of her official documents stating that she was “discharged” to the facility, they claimed that she was “deceased.”

This mistake has caused the woman to be denied credit on several different occasions, with one incident occurring this year. She has tried to take the necessary steps to undo this error, but the process has taken years.

Hospital errors can have grave consequences on a person’s future. If you have been negatively affected by a hospital error, please contact the New Jersey hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A., by calling 800-346-5529 today.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the occurrence of hospital errors in the United States. Some of these recent studies indicate that hospital errors commonly go unreported by hospital staff, and a large percentage of these errors are preventable.

The studies found that 86 percent of patient injuries at hospitals are not reported by hospital staff. These injuries go unnoticed, thus making it difficult for the patients to receive the proper care they are entitled to.

Medicare patients were also studied in relation to hospital error, and the results were startling. One out of every seven patients passed away or sustained a life-threatening injury due to poor hospital care. In 44 percent of these cases, the injuries were completely preventable.

Hospital negligence and errors can ruin a person’s life. If you have suffered due to a hospital error, please contact the New Jersey hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. by calling 800-346-5529 today.

A former Jacksonville, Florida deputy was awarded $177 million by a Duval County jury this week after he suffered permanent injuries following his gastric bypass surgery in 2007.

The man underwent the weight loss operation but suffered major complications, ranging from bed sores to brain damage, while in the hospital’s care. The former deputy is unable to walk, speak clearly, clean, feed, and bathe himself due to the injuries he suffered.

The doctor was found to be at fault and the hospital has been charged with fraud for telling the patient that the doctor was certified by a certain medical organization when he was not.

If you have suffered injury or illness as the result of hospital negligence, contact the New Jersey hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. today at 800-346-5529 to learn more about your options.

The wife of a deceased middle school teacher has filed a lawsuit against her husband’s physician, claiming that he failed to properly treat her late husband for hypertension.

Her husband, 50, died last January of cardiac arrest during a school ski trip. After his death, an analysis of his heart revealed that there was 95 percent blockage in one of his major arteries. According to the lawsuit, the prosecution accuses the man’s physician and the health clinic of failing to properly evaluate the man.

The suit states that the doctor’s negligence was a major factor in the man’s death and affected his chances of survival following a heart attack.

A New Mexico couple are suing a Santa Fe hospital after the wife almost died after given the painkiller Dilaudid.

The woman was taken to the emergency room after suffering from severe abdominal pain in May 2010. While there, nurses gave her Dilaudid. Despite her worsening pain and sickness, hospital staff continued to administer the pain medication to her.

According to the lawsuit, her husband and daughter came to visit her after lunch and found her arms twitching, her face purple, her mouth foaming, and her eyes rolled back. The couple argues that the hospital staff should have been properly trained or should have known the morbidly obese are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea that can be aggravated by narcotic analgesic medication like Dilaudid.

The woman says she suffers from severe emotional distress following her near death experience and has been unable to return to work.

If you have suffered injury or illness as the result of hospital negligence, contact the New Jersey hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. today at 800-346-5529 to learn more about your options.

A 47 year-old veteran from Ohio has received a $275,000 settlement in his medical malpractice lawsuit against the Cleveland VA Medical Center.

In 2008, the man had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. During the operation, two large surgical towels were left inside his body. For two months, the error went unnoticed by medical staff while the man became very sick and began to develop an abscess. A scan later showed the large pads inside his abdomen.

Later that year he had the towels removed, but the extra surgery caused an incisional hernia which lead to a third surgery. He was unable to work for nearly a year.

If you have suffered injury or illness as the result of hospital negligence, contact the New Jersey hospital negligence attorneys of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. today at 800-346-5529 to learn more about your options.

An anesthesiologist from New York has been blamed for the death of a 70 year-old patient after he did not inform the surgeon that the woman had dangerously low blood pressure before her operation.

The elderly woman was scheduled to have her gall bladder removed and, despite her low blood pressure, the anesthesiologist approved her for surgery. The surgeon says that the operation was performed without complications, but in recovery the patient’s blood pressure started to drop severely. A local jury found that the hospital staff delayed treatment of medication that would have increased her blood pressure.

The family was awarded $280,000 for pain and suffering as well as economic losses for their medical malpractice case against the anesthesiologist.

If you or someone you love has been injured or worse due to hospital negligence, contact the New Jersey hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. at 800-346-5529.

An eleven year-old boy from Scotland has filed a lawsuit against a hospital, claiming its negligence led to the death of his mother and unborn sister. The boy and his father are seeking more than £220,000- or $346,566- in damages.

His 39 year-old mother was admitted to the hospital believing she had a urinary tract infection. However, physicians discovered she had acute pancreatitis and her child had died of asphyxiation. The woman died the next day. Now her family claims that the hospital staff failed to research her medical history, which put her at a high risk of developing pancreatitis while pregnant.

They claim if the hospital had warned her about her diet and gave her appropriate medication, her death and the child’s death could have been prevented.

A fourth nurse from a New York hospital have plead guilty to patient neglect and falsifying patient records for cover up. The 44 year-old woman says she purposefully did not provide proper care for a 53 year-old incapacitated patient for six weeks in Spring of 2009.

She has been sentenced to three years probation, had her nursing license suspended, and must testify in court if it goes to trial. The woman is only one of nine nurses listed in the indictment. Investigators discovered the lack of care and falsified records after setting up a hidden camera in the patient’s room.

If you have suffered injury or illness as the result of hospital negligence, contact the New Jersey hospital negligence lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. at 800-346-5529 today.