Medical Errors

If more focus went to preventing medical errors, health care costs would be lower and the health of patients would be more protected.

However, approximately 98,000 Americans die every year from these errors, according to the Institute of Medicine. And if these preventable errors were included as a category with the Centers for Disease Control, it would be listed as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

Every year, patients are suffering from wrong site surgery, having medical tools left inside their body, wrong patient surgery, being wrongfully diagnosed and receiving treatment they don’t even need.

If you or someone you know has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us. At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error.  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com

Expensive Medical Errors

According to research published in Health Affairs, medical mistakes have cost more than 250,000 individuals their lives and have cost the country more than $17 billion annually. The most common errors are drug mistakes and pressure ulcers followed by post-operative infections and the presence of persistent back pain after surgery.

Medication mistakes affect more than 1.5 million people annually and fixing the drug-related injuries costs the country approximately $3.5 billion a year.

Experts say that better communication among medical providers is one of the first steps towards reducing the number of prescription-related errors. To help reduce other errors, proper identification of patients is the most important, followed by double checking to see that the patient is being cared for the way they are supposed to be.

Remember to stay informed on procedures and don’t hesitate to ask any questions or report on anything you have doubts on while being treated.

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At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us.
  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com

Reminder Rosie

Life Assistant Technologies (LAT) has just launched a new product called Reminder Rosie, a personalized health improvement assistant that is a simple, hands free clock with voice activated commands.

These alarm clocks can record a caregivers’ voice in any language for any important reminder such as, “Dad, take your blue pill after breakfast.”

Reminder Rosie’s loud alarm can be heard from more than 100 feet away and can respond to questions and commands such as “What are today’s reminders?” or “Reminder off.”

For more information on the alarm clock, visit www.reminder-rosie.com.

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At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us.
  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com

Bugaboo Baby Strollers

Bugaboo International is recalling both their Cameleon and Donkey strollers, because of risks of choking and injury. In the United States, 46,300 strollers are being recalled.

A button on the stroller’s seat carry handle can become disengaged and cause the handle to detach. Children are put at risk of falling and injuring themselves or choking.

Serial numbers are printed on the stroller's chassis, located under the carrycot/seat.

The Cameleon strollers were sold between Sept. 2009 and June of 2012 and include the following serial numbers: 04011090900001 to 04031101009999, 08011090900001 to 08021100800386, and 140100093600531 to 140103123350418.

The Donkey models were sold between Jan. 2011 and Dec. 2012 and include serial numbers 170101105300001 to 170104130900500.

Consumers can contact Bugaboo at 800-460-2922 for a free replacement handle.

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At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us.
  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com

Overworked Doctors

According to an article published on Yahoo, some doctors are saying that they care for more hospitalized patients than they can safely handle.

A new study that surveyed about 500 physicians found that 40 percent said that at least once a month, they took on more patients than they could handle.

Because of their heavy workload, about a quarter of doctors say that they aren’t fully able to discuss treatment options with patients and some even ordered unnecessary tests because they didn’t have enough time to examine the patients’ case.

The findings suggest that hospitals need to create standards for safety and evaluate doctors’ workloads. There are limits on how many hours residents and doctors-in-training can work, but there are no such guidelines for higher-level doctors.

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At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us.
  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com

Fisher-Price Recall

Due to risk of exposure to mold, Fisher-Price is recalling their Newborn Rock ‘n Sleeper. Consumers should immediately inspect the product and stop using it if mold is found.

If the sleeper remains moist or is infrequently cleaned, mold can develop between the removable seat cushion and the hard plastic frame. The mold has been associated with respiratory illness and other infections.

So far, there have been 600 reports on the product and 16 consumers have reported that their infants have been treated for respiratory issues, hives and coughs after sleeping in the product.

Approximately 800,000 sleepers have been recalled, and they were sold in stores nationwide and online since September 2009.

Consumers should immediately check for mold under the removable seat cushion. If mold is found, the product should not be used. Cleaning and care instructions can be found at www.service.mattel.com or by contacting Fisher-Price at (800) 432-5437.

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At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us.
  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com

Johns Hopkins

According to a report made by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, surgical “never events” are happening at least 4,000 times a year.

Researchers are estimating that a surgeon in the United States is leaving a foreign object, such as a sponge, inside the patient’s body after an operation 39 times a week, operates on the wrong side of the body 20 times a week and performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week.

The study estimates that 80,000 of these “never events,” which are occurrences that should never happen during surgery, took place in American hospitals during 1990-2010, and these estimates are thought to be on the low side.

The findings of the report come from claims made by past patients through the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which houses medical malpractice claims. Retained foreign-body, wrong procedure, wrong site and wrong patient surgeries were looked at, which equaled out to 59 percent of temporary injury, 32 percent permanent injury and 6 percent death caused by never events.

Estimates relating to foreign objects being left behind in a patient’s body are considered to be low, because not all items left behind are discovered until a patient begins experiencing complications.

Better systems need to be developed to ensure that these surgical errors cease, as well as better reporting systems to speed up safety efforts.

Many hospitals have taken better precautions, however. Some healthcare workers are using surgical checklists, while others are beginning to use bar codes on instruments and materials to enable precise counts and prevent human error.

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At Snyder & Wenner, we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously injured from a hospital error, please contact us.
  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

2200 E. Camelback Road

Suite 213

Phoenix, AZ 85016

602-224-0005

www.azmedicalmalpracticelaw.com