A Boston-based study has found that surgical residents who do not get enough sleep are at risk of making surgical errors more often than those who get plenty of rest.

Researchers followed orthopedic residents at two separate hospitals in Boston and discovered that they averaged five and a half hours of sleep per night. This lack of rest combined with tiredness during the day caused these residents to be impaired for 25% of their workdays. This impairment was considered to be the same thing as being legally drunk.

The results from the study showed that the residents who participated were only using 70% of their mental capacity. This problem could account for more surgical errors and subsequently more potential medical malpractice lawsuits.

If you have been injured due to a surgical error, please contact the surgical error lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A., by calling 800-346-5529 today.

Bobby Jenks, relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, recently detailed his medical nightmare that caused a potentially fatal infection in his spine.

Last December, Jenks had surgery on his spine to remove two of four bone spurs. During surgery, the doctors started on the third one but never finished. When he returned home, Jenks experienced severe pain and noticed a fluid leaking from the incision.

More than two weeks after the initial surgery, he was rushed in for an emergency operation to fix the previous surgeon’s mistake. The third bone spur was serrated, leaving tiny holes that allowed spinal fluid to escape. This caused an infection in his spine that, if it had spread into the spinal fluid, could have had fatal consequences.

If you or someone you love has been harmed by a surgical mistake, contact the surgical error lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. today at 800-346-5529.

A patient who had a sponge left inside of her after she underwent a gastric banding procedure has received a settlement from both the surgeon and hospital where the operation was performed.

The surgeon argued that he was less to blame for the surgical error because it is the operation room staff’s job to count the sponges after surgery. A judge, however, found the hospital and the surgeon were both to blame for the mistake. The defendants were forced to pay $25,000 each in damages, but the exact settlement amount was not released.

The patient noticed something was abnormal after her surgery when there was unexpected discharge. A scan revealed the sponge and it was removed, leaving a large scar.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a surgical error, contact the New Jersey surgical error lawyers Levinson Axelrod, P.A. at 800-346-5529 today.

According to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, medical malpractice and physician error are almost equally as likely to occur in a doctor’s office as in a hospital.

In order to reach their conclusions, researchers in the study analyzed medical malpractice payments made by doctors from 2005 to 2009.  The claims revealed that over the four-year period, medical malpractice payments from doctors working in doctors’ offices increased from 41.7 percent to 43.1 percent.

In the same time period, medical malpractice payments from doctors working in hospitals decreased from 49.3 percent to 47.6 percent.  10 percent of the medical malpractice payments were for claims involving both doctors’ offices and hospitals.

The most common type of medical malpractice committed in doctors’ offices was wrong diagnosis and the most common type committed in hospitals was surgical error.

To discuss filing a medical malpractice claim against a doctor or hospital, contact the New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. by calling 800-346-5529 today.

A Florida jury recently awarded Lanette Gervato $23 million in her lawsuit against the University of Florida’s Shands Teaching Hospital for committing a surgical error and a delayed diagnosis resulting in partial paralysis and other medical complications.

Lanette Gervato went to the hosptial in 2006 for surgery on a non-bleeding aneurysm at the age of 35.  During the surgical procedure, a surgeon perforated an artery in her brain.  Also, after the operation, Gervato exhibited signs of post-surgical stroke, however doctors failed to notice in a timely manner.  As a result of the delayed diagnosis, Gervato’s brain filled with blood and developed permanent injuries.

Injuries at a small New Hampshire hospital have caused officials to investigate the use of a surgical robot; there are some concerns that this device lead to the injuries.

The robot, which is named after Leonardo Da Vinci, has been linked to surgeries where patients have been hurt. Two of the injuries were lacerated bladders and one patient needed  further surgeries after the errors made from the machine.

The machine uses four remote-controlled arms and is aimed to make the surgery less invasive. The cost of the machine is between $1 million and $2.25 million and hospitals must pay about $140,000 a year for the robot’s maintenance. The machine is used in 853 hospitals around the nation. Surgeons who use the machine say that it is technically sound and is a very helpful asset in a well-trained doctor’s hands.

If you or a loved one has been injured while in surgery, contact the New Jersey surgical error lawyers of Levinson and Axelrod by calling 800-346-5529.