A medical malpractice lawsuit involving birth injuries has led to a $78.5 million verdict for the plaintiff.

The plaintiff, a 34-year-old mother of a boy with cerebral palsy, sued the hospital in which her son was delivered, claiming that the staff acted negligently in the delivery process. When she was originally admitted to the hospital, she was complaining of several problems with her pregnancy.

Two separate ultrasounds were performed approximately 81 minutes apart. A hospital physician claimed that the first scan showed the absence of a fetal heartbeat, so the baby was declared dead. The second scan showed a slight heartbeat, and the woman underwent a cesarean section to have her son removed from her womb.

The woman’s son was born with cerebral palsy. He will need constant care and attention for the rest of his life. The jury determined that the slow response time by the hospital and the poor equipment that the hospital used were direct contributors to the young boy’s severe birth injuries.

In a recent study, 2,000 physicians were able to answer questions regarding honesty in their workplace, and their answers were surprising.

The results of the study emphasized that doctors lie to their patients, some about large medical errors that were made. With regards to medical mistakes, 34 percent of the surveyed physicians felt that they did not have to inform their patients of mistakes they may have made, regardless of the severity.

Patients are often handed a devastating prognosis in a brighter light than they were expecting. This positive spin on a bad diagnosis has been used by 55 percent of the doctors that participated in the study. Patients need to be cautious of this information the next time they enter their doctor’s office.

Please contact the New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. by calling 800-346-5529 if you or someone you know has questions regarding medical malpractice lawsuits.

In 2006, a California woman went into a Palo Alto medical clinic in order to undergo what she thought was non-invasive migraine treatment. The doctors did not tell the 43-year-old that the procedure they were going to perform would be invasive at the time, and also carry several risks.

A cerebral angiogram was done on the woman in order to determine if a specific vein was the cause of her chronic migraines. The woman ended up having a stroke due to the procedure, and fell into a coma for six weeks. When she awoke from the coma, she was unable to utilize the right side of her body at all, and her left side had minimum functionality.

She now requires constant care and attention, and has since sued the medical clinic responsible for her injuries. She won her medical malpractice lawsuit, and was awarded $22 million. The jury determined that the medical clinic did not inform the woman of the possible risks, and there was no consent of the invasive surgery before it was conducted.

Please contact the New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. by calling 800-346-5529 if you or someone you know has been negatively affected by medical malpractice.

A recent study by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services reveals that only 14 percent of medical errors are reported.

Another study from 2004 showed that nearly 200,000 people die a year from these mistakes; that number does not account for medical mistakes that caused permanent or temporary injuries. It is estimated that nearly 9 million Americans a year become victims of errors, errors that are usually not reported.

One way to avoid becoming an innocent victim is to research the hospitals in your area. Going to a five-star hospital could lower your chance of experiencing in-hospital complications by 63 percent.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a medical mistake, contact the New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. today at 800-346-5529 to get the support you need.

Ramsey, New Jersey’s Don Bosco Preparatory High School welcomed its third consecutive undefeated football season this year and stayed in the number one national spot all season.

This year marked the school’s record sixth consecutive NJSIAA Non-Public A title as well as its record sixth straight Star-Ledger Top 20 Trophy. It goes without saying that Don Bosco Prep is the number one school in the state. The school has won a total of eight Star-Ledger Top 20 Trophies.

Senior defensive end, Darius Hamilton, is ranked number two in the nation and had more than twenty-five scholarship offers before the 2011 season even started.

The New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Levison Axelrod want to congratulate the Don Bosco Preparatory High School football team for an outstanding season.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama said that he would not be opposed to the Republican-backed “medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.”

Republicans want a federal limit on the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. Currently med mal laws are in control of individual states, who decide limits. Supporters of this type of tort reform claim that medical providers order more tests and procedures for their patients, therefore increasing the cost of health care, in order to keep themselves from facing lawsuits. However, many attorneys claim that medical malpractice is better left in the hands of the states, and that judges, who can toss out any case they feel is frivolous, are already an adequate deterrent to unnecessary lawsuits.

At Levinson & Axelrod, we are committed to the rights of patients who have been harmed due to the severe negligence of a health care provider. If you or a loved one has been injured and needs help fighting back, contact our New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyers by calling 800-346-5529.

A California doctor faces two criminal convictions of felony insurance fraud and of filing a false police report, a misdemeanor, after forging precriptions to obtain painkillers.

The doctor was charged with 276 counts of allegedly stealing the identities of 15 patients and of 5 other doctors to obtain drugs while she was employed at a medical office in Palm Springs. She then used those identities to buy prescription painkillers, including Vicodin and promethazine.

She was convicted of the crimes on Tuesday and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of medical malpractice, the New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys at Levinson & Axelrod can help. Contact our offices today by calling 800-346-5529.

Recently, drug manufacturer Bayer has been the subject of several lawsuits for side effects related to their birth control pill, Yasmin or Yaz.  The lawsuits claim that the birth control pill has several dangerous side effects and seems to offer no advantages to other birth control pills that are considered to be less dangerous.

The most common side effects associated with the birth control pill include pulmonary embolism, heart attack, gall bladder disease, stroke and deep vein thrombosis.  Some of the nearly 4,000 lawsuits currently filed against Bayer include women who have had to have their gall bladder removed after taking the pill.

Contact the New Jersey drug side effect lawyers of Levison Axelrod P.A. at 800-346-5529 today if you feel you are suffering from side effects related to a prescription drug.

According to a new study, patients who trust that their doctor would tell them about a medical error are much more forgiving than those who doubt their physician would own up to the mistake.
However, being more forgiving does not equate to being less likely to sue.

Researchers polled Illinois residents in the study, finding that 40 percent had personal experience with medical errors.

Only 10 percent of those believed that their doctor would tell them if a medical error were to occur. 25 percent said they would file a medical malpractice suit if they were informed of an error. According to the study, those who trusted their doctors were neither more nor less likely to sue.

The study is published in the November issue of the journal Medical Care.

“It appears that patients’ responses to actual medical error disclosure vary by their perception of the providers’ likelihood to disclose medical errors in principle, rather than the level of information revealed,” Lorens A. Helmchen, of the University of Illinois, Chicago, and co-authors said in a news release from the journal publisher.

If you or someone you love has been affected by poor medical treatment or negligent care, contact the New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys of Levinson and Axlerod by calling 800-346-5529 today.

A 45-year old man who underwent surgery at a hospital in Navarro in 2008 was this week awarded $4 million in damages as a result of his lawsuit against the hospital for negligence.

The man alleged that a surgical sponge had been left inside him during a gallbladder surgery in 2008. In March 2009 he was rushed to the emergency room with severe pain and fever. A CT scan performed there brought to light the fact that there was a sponge inside his body. Additionally, his gallbladder had not been removed.

The hospital and the surgeon who performed the surgery were both named as defendants in the suit. The surgeon was cleared of negligence, as nurses are responsible for counting and enumerating the sponges and other medical tools following a surgery.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact the New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Levinson and Axlerod by calling 800-346-5529 today.