New Jersey Personal Injury Blog
N.J. Board Penalizes 3 Orthopedic Surgeons for Not Disclosing Financial Interest in Medical Device
Three orthopedic surgeons have been penalized by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners for failing to reveal their financial interest in a medical device. According to an NJ.com article, the penalized surgeons apparently did not disclose to their research institutions that they held financial interests in a ProDisc spinal disc device created to replace spinal fusion surgery.
As stated in the article, it is required that all doctors, when renewing their licenses, reveal any financial payments over $10,000 that they are given by medical device manufacturers.
Two of the surgeons have been fined and all three are required to complete an ethics course.
At the heart of this penalization is the issue of public trust. Doctors who put their financial interests before the patient’s care compromise their credibility and could create potentially harmful consequences for patients. A doctor who makes a treatment recommendation or diagnosis based on personal financial benefits rather than what is best for the patient’s health and recovery could face serious consequences.
As this story demonstrates, license renewal forms for doctors cover detailed and important information that affects how they practice medicine and care for the public.
At Blume Goldfaden, our New Jersey medical negligence attorneys have handled a wide range of medical malpractice cases, including those that relate to surgical error. For decades, our firm has obtained substantial recoveries for clients’ meritorious medical malpractice and hospital negligence cases. To learn more about your possible legal rights and options, call us at 973-635-5400 for a no-cost consultation.
Failure to Diagnose Insect Sting Allergy at ER Leads to Wrongful Death
BG Attorney, Dennis Donnelly was recently on trial in Morris county, NJ in a case involving wrongful death from medical malpractice- specifically the suit alleged that there was failure to diagnose an insect sting allergy by an ER doctor and the admitting internist, which led to the death of a 40 year old father of 4 1 month later, when he was stung again. Verdict returned in the amount of 1.66 million in June 2010.
Catastrophic Radiation Overdoses Caused by Medical Negligence
Radiation technology is used to facilitate cancer treatment for patients. However, there has been a recent increase in errors made during radiation treatment, causing devastating consequences. Radiation overdose was the subject of an in-depth investigation recently conducted by the New York Times.
A New York Times article cites numerous instances of patient death, not due to their cancer, but because of radiation overdose. One man, undergoing radiation treatment for tongue cancer, sustained a radiation overdose at a New York hospital when, due to an undetected computer error, his brain stem and neck were exposed to errant beams of radiation – for three consecutive days. This negligent treatment and the resulting overexposure to radiation left the man deaf, nearly blind, and unable to swallow or breathe.
In a different, but, similar incident, a breast cancer patient underwent 27 days of radiation overdoses. A linear accelerator machine used in her treatment was missing a filter, and, the radiation burned a hole in her chest. She suffered a wound that caused her excruciating pain so unbearable that she even contemplated suicide.
What is especially unnerving is that these incidents of radiation overdose are not isolated events. Last year alone, the largest wound care company in the country treated 3,000 radiation injuries. Most of these injuries were serious enough to require treatment in pressurized oxygen chambers that promote healing of radiation wounds.
The side effects of radiation therapy are well known and have been considered acceptable in light of the efficacy of the treatment. However, it is unacceptable to suffer from a radiation overdose because of the negligence of a professional, or, because of defective radiotherapy equipment.
If you have suffered radiation injuries because of hospital, outpatient clinic or doctor error, or, because of faulty equipment, you may have meritorious grounds to pursue a claim. Contact the experienced New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys at Blume Goldfaden at 973-635-5400 to schedule a no-cost consultation regarding your possible case. We will evaluate whether there was any negligence involved in your medical care and treatment.
Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/health/24radiation.html