/_media/adv/web/images/2013/20130601_Healthmark_LB-154x100.jpg /_media/adv/web/images/2013/20130201_Propper_LB-154x100.gif /_media/adv/web/images/2013/20130201_ASCpro_LB-154x100.gif
Digital Issues

Vol. IX, No. 10Archive > October, 2008

Medical Malpractice

Pointing Fingers Sinks Everyone's Ship

Tyler Smith, JD

When physicians or nurses in a medical malpractice case blame others for their troubles, juries often believe mistakes were made and that at least one of the defendants should pay the plaintiff. Often all the defendants end up paying. That's what happened after a general surgeon performed a left colon resection to treat diverticulitis in a 47-year-old man who died weeks later from sepsis caused by peritonitis (see "A Chronology: From Colon Resection to Sepsis and Death"). The anesthesiologist and the surgeon contributed equally to the $750,000 settlement.

 
Have an account? Please sign in:
Email Address:
Password:
Categories:
Keywords:
Anesthesiologist thrown under the bus; Anesthesiologist's position; Surgeon's position; Everyone loses; Write it down; Anesthesiologist; CT; Chronology: Colon Resection; Colon Resection; Death Six; ICU; J. Smith, JD; JD; NG; OR. The; OSM A Chronology: Colon Resection; PACU; Resection; Sepsis; Smith, JD; Staff; Tyler J. Smith, JD; X-ray; abdomen; abdominal; ability; acute; air; alert; amber; amount; anesthesiologist; apparent; appropriately; argued; arrived; aspirated; aspiration; attempts; autopsy; begins; believed; bilateral; bile; bile-like; blame; blood; bout; breached; breathing; care; cas... show all keywords
Anesthesiologist thrown under the bus; Anesthesiologist's position; Surgeon's position; Everyone loses; Write it down; Anesthesiologist; CT; Chronology: Colon Resection; Colon Resection; Death Six; ICU; J. Smith, JD; JD; NG; OR. The; OSM A Chronology: Colon Resection; PACU; Resection; Sepsis; Smith, JD; Staff; Tyler J. Smith, JD; X-ray; abdomen; abdominal; ability; acute; air; alert; amber; amount; anesthesiologist; apparent; appropriately; argued; arrived; aspirated; aspiration; attempts; autopsy; begins; believed; bilateral; bile; bile-like; blame; blood; bout; breached; breathing; care; case; caused; ceased; center; chair; chance; charge; chart; charted; chest; chronic; claim; close; closure; colon; comfortably; communicate; communicating; compensate; complained; conceded; concluded; condition; congestion; conscious; consciousness; contributed; credibility; days; defendant; dehisced; dehiscence; delay; demise; denied; dependent; deposits; determination; determined; developed; developing; devolves; diagnoses; diagnosis; diametrically; died; difficult; distress; diverticulitis; doctors; documentation; documented; drainage; earning; elevated; emesis; encountered; end; endotracheal; ensure; equally; escape; estate; evidence; exonerate; expert; exploratory; explore; exposure; extubated; extubation; failure; felt; fever; fibrous; finding; fingers; floor; fluid; found; free; general; generalized; greater; green; happened; he'd; head; hemorrhagic; history; hospital; hour; identify; identity; implementing; important; incision; infarcts; infection; injury; insert; intubate; involves; juries; jury; lab; lack; laparotomy; larynx; left; level; liability; light; listed; longer; lungs; made; make; malpractice; man; managed; mask; measures; medical; medicine; mentioning; met; millions; mistakes; mitigate; moderate; move; nasogastric; nausea; note; noted; notes; nurses; occurred; oozed; operating; opposed; order; ordered; oriented; oximetry; paged; pain; par; partial; pass; passive; pathological; pathology; patient; pay; perform; performed; peritonitis; personnel; physicians; place; placement; plaintiff; point; pointed; points; post-op; post-operative; potential; pre-operative; problem; procedures; progress; proper; prove; proving; provisional; pulmonary; pulse; quickly; record; reduce; referred; reintubated; remains; repeatedly; reported; resection; respiratory; responsible; resting; retching; risk; sanguineous; saturation; scan; scheduled; secretion; sepsis; septic; shared; she'd; short; shortness; show; showed; sick; sign; significant; site; small; source; stable; staff; standard; status; steps; stood; studies; suctioned; sudden; sued; suggest; supported; surgeon; surgery; suspected; syndrome; testified; thrown; time; timing; told; transfer; transferred; treat; treated; trial; tube; typically; unable; understand; untimed; urinate; vehemently; versus; vomit; vomited; vomitus; walk; weaken; weeks; white; wrote
DID YOU SEE THIS?
Ophthalmology

Make Your Eye Surgeons and Financial Team Happy

http://view.atdmt.com/BBP/view/446595201/direct/01/

Other Articles That May Interest You

"Never Events" Happen Every Day in U.S. Operating Rooms

Review of malpractice claims finds retained objects, wrong-site surgery happen 4,000 times a year.

Inside $4.7M Fatal Latex Allergy Case

Nurses found negligent for failing to follow hospital's latex-allergy protocol.

$5.9M Verdict for Fatal Bowel Perforation

Short-staffed hospital faulted for missed diagnosis.