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.

Woman receives $3.5 million settlement after a substandard plastic surgery operation.

The woman went in for a procedure to lift and enhance her breasts but ended up with what is known as a “double bubble deformity.” The woman’s lawyer claimed that this procedure not only caused the woman pain and suffering but also put her marriage at stake and caused her to lose her self esteem. The woman claimed that her self esteem was so injured because of the surgery, that she pushed her husband to a divorce.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical negligence, contact the New Jersey surgical errors lawyers of Levinson and Axelrod by calling 800-346-5529.

An Albany hospital and two doctors will pay a total of $5.2 million to a woman’s family who died after internal injuries were suffered after a Cesaraean section.

The lawsuit claimed that one of the doctors and his assisting resident either cut or tore the woman’s uterine arteries during the C-section delivery of the woman’s second child. This caused the woman to lose 60 percent of her blood while in the operating room. The doctor refused to heed calls to the attending doctor on duty that the woman was bleeding internally and needed surgery.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact the New Jersey surgical errors lawyers of Levinson and Axelrod by calling 800-346-5529.

The case of six women who have been hospitalized after a butt enhancement surgery is underway. They developed infections and other complications after receiving fake butt enhancement injections.

The women were given hardware-grade caulk as their injections, the same caulk that is used to fix your bathtub. Officials believe that unlicensed medical providers administered the bogus injections. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services along with the State Board of Medical Examiners are investigating the incident and have sent  a warning around to physicians and hospitals in the area so that the are looking out for woman with the same infection. The are still trying to find the person or persons responsible.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of medical negligence and have been seriously injured, contact the New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Levinson and Axelrod by calling 800-346-5529.

A New Jersey doctor operated on the wrong lung of a patient when removing a tumor.

The surgery was to remove a cancerous tumor out of a man’s right lung. The problem was the tumor was in the left lung. Instead of correcting his error, the doctor decided to cover up it. He told the patient that he had a life-threatening tumor in his right lung (the healthy one), and removed a portion of this lung. By removing such a large portion of the healthy lung, it made it impossible to remove the tumor from the other lung because no more of either lung could safely be removed. The man then lived the rest of his life with an oxygen tank until he passed away.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of negligent medical care, you may be able to receive compensation for your suffering. Contact the New Jersey surgical errors lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A. by calling 800-346-5529.