Diagnosing a disease is tough, but getting it right is essential. Getting it wrong may mean injury or death.

In order to effectively treat a disease, the doctor has to accurately diagnose it in the first place. If that doesn’t happen the consequences may be disastrous. “Consider the fact that if a disease is not properly diagnosed it would mean a person being sick even longer, perhaps getting worse and developing unnecessary complications. In the worst case scenario, the person may die. For instance if cancer is misdiagnosed,” observed Christopher Mellino, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Yes, being a doctor is a difficult job and diagnosing a disease means being able to accurately note the symptoms, having accurate and effective lab tests, and two other vitally important things: how much the doctor knows about the condition and how well the patient communicates. “As you may well appreciate, it is quite possible to have a break down at any one of those points in the diagnostic process,” Mellino explained.

How common is misdiagnosis? It happens quite frequently and may take several forms that range from only delivering a partial diagnosis to missing an illness entirely. In the case of a partial diagnosis, the doctor would likely nail down the subtype of a disease, but miss the mark on related conditions or complications that may arise with the disease. On the other hand, if the physician entirely missed the boat in identifying the disease, that is a failure on their part; or a misidentification.

In the final analysis, some diseases are far more difficult to diagnose than others, some symptoms are almost too vague to be helpful, and some medical settings actually lead to misdiagnosis. “For example, working with infants is challenging because they don’t communicate well. Behavioral problems, mental and emotional disorders are complex and seem to morph from one thing to another, and digestive diseases are always a challenge to assess accurately,” remarked Mellino.

“Interestingly, the one environment where the highest rate of misdiagnosis exists is the ER. This makes sense if you stop to think about it due to the high volume of patients and the pressure to move them in and out quickly,” Mellino pointed out.

The bottom line is that a great number of med mal cases happen because the doctor failed to diagnose the patient properly. Most often doctors misdiagnose lung cancer, colon cancer, myocardial infarction and breast cancer. Once this has happened, the whole medical scenario rapidly goes from bad to worse as the proper treatment is delayed. “Patients might want to consider getting more than one opinion if they are ill. This is often a good way to get a decent assessment of a tricky condition,” Mellino said.

To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.

The birth of a baby is exciting. If something happens to that child during birth, it may be devastating.

One of the most important events in many people’s lives is the birth of a child. If the child sustains injuries at birth because of negligence on the part of the doctors, this may cause severe harm to the child or the child may die. “Neither of these outcomes is acceptable. However, things happen. If they have happened to you, now is the time to speak to a medical malpractice lawyer,” remarked Christopher Mellino, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Unfortunately, birth injuries are far more common than we would like to think. They are usually caused due to a variety of things such as difficult labor, or problems with the birth itself, baby’s height or weight putting them at a higher risk for injuries, a small pelvic arch, and how the baby is positioned. For example, if the baby is not head down in the birth canal, this is called a breech birth.

“Given the number of things that can go wrong during a birth, one of the most important things the doctor needs to take into consideration is when and how to perform the delivery,” noted Mellino. “For instance, if the doctor tries a vaginal delivery for a breech baby, there is likely going to be problems,” he added. Usually if the baby is breech, this is when a C-section is needed – and fast. If the baby suffers harm because of a mismanaged delivery, the mother may be entitled to compensation.

Other injuries that may happen during birth may include broken bones, cephalohematoma, subconjunctival hemorrhage, skull fractures, lacerations and brain injuries. The skull fracture usually results from a forceps extraction that didn’t go as planned. “There are many things that may go wrong during birth and if something does, the parents are in total anguish. They honestly need to talk to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to find out what they can do,” Mellino pointed out.

Many of the injuries that happen at childbirth may not only affect the child and their family at birth, but for the rest of their lives. “If your child has been severely injured and those injuries will affect them for the rest of their lives, give me a call,” suggested Mellino.

To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.

We’d like to think medical errors are on the decline. Sadly, they are not.

Someone had the bright idea in the 70s to do a study on medical malpractice insurance. The results left many with their mouths hanging open in sheer surprise; one out of every 20 patients were medical malpractice victims and one out of every ten died.
A similar study took place in the 80s, but this one focused on hospital records for 50 institutions in New York. In the 31,000 files reviewed, close to 8,000 people had possibly suffered from medical negligence. If you do the math on those figures, it will tell you that one patient in four had a problem. In ten years the ratio dropped from one in twenty to one in four. Now, the stats show that over 100,000 people die every year from med mal errors. When will it stop?

Typically, the most common med mal errors are birth injuries, surgical injuries, bleeding, septicemia, infections, misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and medication mistakes. In the case of birth injuries, if the doctor doesn’t provide adequate care to the mother at any time during her pregnancy, complications may happen during birth. If you have had this experience, you need to discuss your situation with a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

Some examples would be not performing the proper blood tests to check for abnormalities, not recognizing respiratory distress, improper prenatal care or failure to provide it, not doing a C-section when necessary, and not taking proper care of a premature baby.
If any of the above does happen, the baby may be born with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, facial paralysis or sustain a clavicle fracture. All of these accidents can be avoided with proper and attentive medical care.

Numerous med mal injuries take place in the OR, largely due to poor pre-op planning and care. Unfortunately, this may lead to severe and irreparable harm or death. Surgical injuries may involve leaving foreign objects in the patient, performing surgery on the wrong body part or patient, cutting or puncturing internal organs, improper administration of anesthesia, and poor surgical technique.
If any of those incidents happen, it may cause suffocation, paralysis, spinal cord injuries, amputation, coma, cardio problems and brain injuries. These injuries may also be avoided by taking precise care and double checking every step of the surgery.

When it comes to surgery, it’s vitally important that the surgical site be kept sterile. This goes without saying for the OR as well. If the site and/or rooms are not sterile, there is a high risk of infections or bleeding. By law, hospitals are required to have an infection protocol. Sadly, not all of them follow it to the exact letter of the law.

If you think you have been the victim of med mal, speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to find out if you have a case and what your rights are under the law.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.

Traumatic brain injury is a concern in the elderly. Falls happen more frequently as one ages.

More and more seniors want to maintain their independence. It’s a good goal and keeps them healthy and in good spirits with a positive outlook on running their own lives. Along with this independence though comes a few risks that need to be taken into consideration; the risk of falls or other seemingly small accidents that may mean an end to living independently. One of the first things seniors need to do is protect themselves from traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Statistically speaking, falls are one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injury and in people over the age of 75 years old, the chances of sustaining a fall while at home are quite high. In fact, if you are over 75 you have the greatest probability of being hospitalized after a fall; a fall that may result in death or traumatic brain injury. Prevention for falls can’t be stressed enough when it comes to the elderly living alone; that and fast access to help and prompt care.

Not all falls result in severe brain injury, but may manifest themselves as mild TBI (also referred to on occasion as a concussion). If your loved one has fallen, be on the lookout for some of these symptoms: blurred vision; a lingering headache that isn’t a bad one, but annoying; dizziness; sensitivity to light or sound; constant ringing in the ears; memory problems; difficulties concentrating; and changes in sleeping patterns.

Moderate TBI has similar symptoms, but may also have slurred speech; seizures; pupil dilation in one or both eyes; nausea; a bad headache that won’t quit; numbness in arms or legs; and loss of coordination. If you see any of these signposts of TBI, don’t wait; get the person to a doctor right away for treatment. If the older person is on warfarin, it is paramount you seek medical attention fast, whether the person is experiencing the above symptoms or not. Warfarin is nothing to fool around with.
While it’s nice that seniors want to live on their own, they really need help when it comes to medical problems that may arise if they fall. Time is critical. Being isolated and alone means those who have fallen often aren’t discovered until it’s too late. These observations are also applicable if you have a much loved senior in a nursing home and they take a fall that no one responds to appropriately. Medic alert systems may save the day in situations like this.

Know the signs and symptoms of TBI. Know your senior’s habits and how they normally react to things. If something changes, take them to a doctor. If your senior has fallen in a nursing home as result of negligent care, speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.

Not all medical malpractice suits are created equal, especially when the doctor vanishes.

This is a rather unusual case that we heard about; an instance where the doctor being sued for medical malpractice took off for parts unknown, which meant he could not be served within the 120 day period required by the law.

The story behind this odd case is that the obstetrician was a confirmed drug addict, just about to admit himself to a drug treatment facility, when he delivered a baby. The mother, Dawn Storer (names have been changed to protect the identity of the family) sued the doctor for severe nerve damage to her son’s left arm; a result of the baby’s shoulder being jammed under the mother’s pubic bone while being delivered.

Unfortunately, the results of the baby’s arm being caught during his birth left him with a weak, atrophied appendage, with a limited range of motion. The lawsuit stated the doctor was addicted to hydrocodone and Valium. When the suit was filed, the Storers had 120 days to serve the doctor with the findings of their medical expert. Despite numerous attempts to find him, he had seemingly vanished into thin air.

As the search for him continued, it came to light that this physician had lost his license to practice in 2000 as a result of drug abuse and had also lost his home and been evicted from two other places he lived. Even the doctor’s lawyers couldn’t locate him. Things were not looking good for the court case to proceed in any manner and a settlement was obviously on thin ice as well, as there was a question about whether he had paid his medical malpractice insurance.

The doctor’s attorneys asked to have the case dismissed since the deadline would not be met. The court denied the request because it was not the Storer’s fault they couldn’t find the doctor. This case went on appeal where the Appellate Court said no time extensions and no exceptions would be made in the matter. The Storer’s are now appealing to the Supreme Court in their home state.

“In most instances, things in a medical malpractice suit won’t get this wild. While they may get complicated and the case is time consuming and involves medical experts, it will still eventually make its way to settlement or a jury verdict. In addition, in most med mal cases, the doctor’s insurance company will be fighting to keep the expenses down, provided the doctor ‘did’ keep his malpractice insurance current,” said Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cases such as this one are thankfully rare, but that doesn’t address how the Storers will obtain justice for the harm done to their son at birth. “There may be other options open for them, but they would need to discuss that with their med mal attorney. For instance, it may be possible to sue the hospital instead if they were not initially named in the lawsuit in the first place,” added Mellino.

When in doubt about what happens when a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, take the time to speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to find out what options there are, what alternative may exist, and what the expected outcome of a medical negligence case may be.

“There is one thing that is important to remember,” stated Mellino, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio, “and that is not every bad outcome to a medical event is considered to be medical malpractice.”

To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.

When something goes wrong during the birth of a child, it could be as the result of medical negligence.

The important thing to remember is that not “all” incidents that happen at birth are the result of medical malpractice. The only way to determine that, if you have concerns about something that may have happened to your child, is to talk to an experienced Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

Many birth injuries impact the whole family, not just the child, and may have lasting complications for the rest of the child’s life. For this reason, if you suspect something went wrong during your labor or while you were being cared for while in hospital, speak to a skilled lawyer who will be able to advise you what types of incidents are normally classified as medical malpractice.

One well-known birth injury result, and also one of the most severe injuries, is cerebral palsy. Other injuries that follow closely behind in terms of severity are Erb’s palsy, petechial hemorrhaging in the eyes, broken bones, facial paralysis, bruising, brain damage, forceps and vacuum injuries, and temporary or permanent paralysis.

Statistics provided by a US National Heath Care Quality report in 2009 indicate that birth injuries have fallen since 2003, but there is still room for improvement. The 2009 report indicated 2 birth injuries take place in every 1,000 births, down from 7 in 2003.
If the injury to the baby was the result of medical negligence, the improper use of a medical device, the failure to make a correct or timely diagnosis relating to fetal distress, or not properly caring for the mother or the baby, the injured parties have the right to compensation for their injuries and the pain and suffering.

If a birth injury or subsequently a wrongful death could have been avoided but for the negligence of a medical professional, this is the time to consult a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. Typically speaking, the general rule of thumb relating to medical malpractice cases is that doctors (and other medical professionals) are duty-bound to provide their patients with an accepted standard of care. If they fail to provide that care, they are in breach of their stated duty and the parents may be able to file a lawsuit.

Compensation that may be sought in a lawsuit of this nature may include funds for a permanent disability, medical expenses, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, special expenses related to caring for the disabled child, and special equipment to assist the child to live a relatively normal life.

Each state has its own rules and regulations when it comes to the amount of compensation that may be awarded in a medical malpractice case. This is also something you really need to talk to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer about, as there is something in place in many states called “capping” that means only a certain amount of money may be awarded in a case like this, despite what the injuries may be.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.

If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you’re not alone.

Generally speaking, the most common type of cerebral palsy, spastic cerebral palsy, affects from 70 to 80 percent of patients diagnosed with it – including babies at birth. Unfortunately, if your baby has a difficult delivery, or something went wrong during the labor, the child’s cerebral cortex may wind up being badly damaged. This means not only that you need to speak to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer immediately, but that you need information on how to cope with your child’s disability.

This kind of a disability may mean around-the-clock care for the rest of your child’s life; something that is a significant financial burden to most families. If negligence played a part in your child being born with spastic cerebral palsy (and not genetics) you may have cause to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. If that is indeed the case, a lawyer will outline the types of damages you may be able to claim in your lawsuit.

Spastic cerebral palsy is usually widely recognized and defined by how it affects the muscles in the body. Typically, muscles tend to work in pairs, as a team if you will, and when one group contracts, the other loosens. This lets the person move whichever way they choose. With spastic cerebral palsy, the movements are not normal because the brain can’t send the right signals to the body’s muscles to tell them how to properly coordinate. Since the muscles don’t work the way they are supposed to work, they are constantly tense, otherwise referred to as spastic.

Interestingly enough, despite the fact that the muscles are involved, this condition is a brain disorder and will not change over the course of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the muscle tension does get progressively worse, meaning those with this disorder must have therapy to keep them from becoming more rigid. These are the kinds of facts that you will find out when you are talking to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer; whether or not your child acquired spastic cerebral palsy as a result of a birth injury.

Most children who have been born with spastic cerebral palsy don’t have deformed legs or arms. This does tend to develop over time though because of the muscles contracting. If a person with this type of cerebral palsy gets too anxious or over exerts themselves, their condition gets worse making stress and plenty of rest vital for them; all the more reason to keep their therapy and training sessions short.
While there are treatments out there for children and adults with spastic cerebral palsy, there is no cure for it despite extensive research being done in this area. One other rather controversial option is Botox injections in the spastic muscles, something that apparently lasts up to four months. Unfortunately, it only takes just one misplaced needle loaded with Botox to cause a whole host of other problems, including death.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.

While eating fish is supposed to be good for a person, there are times when it may be deadly.

In this day and age of very unusual incidents involving product liability, we can now seemingly add food to this long list. If it weren’t for product recalls, things would seem rather quiet. Think tainted cat food, dog food, baby’s milk, defective cars, cribs, baby slings, and a whole host of other products we thought were safe and weren’t.

The latest recall deals with elevated histamine levels in Yellowfin tuna. What makes this recall slightly more prominent is that not only is the company issuing a recall for their tuna steaks, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also on the bandwagon. It’s not that often the FDA gets mixed into a food recall or drug recall for that matter.

The frozen tuna steaks in question have higher levels of histamines which would manifest symptoms called scombroid poisoning, anywhere from within a few minutes up to an hour later. The steaks have a ‘best used by’ date of December 5th, 2010, and are sold in “12 ounce bags with Lot Code: 4853309157A with the following UPC code: 0-99482-42078-9 Whole Catch Yellowfin Tuna Steaks (Frozen) 12 oz.”

“This particular allergic reaction may cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, itching skin and hives, a rash, facial swelling, and a tingling or burning sensation in the mouth. This is quite similar to anaphylactic shock and quick medical intervention is crucial. Unfortunately, no two people react the same way to ingesting higher levels of histamines,” indicated Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio.

In this particular case, the company and the FDA took action quickly and there have seemingly only been two reported reactions. Nonetheless, if a person was a victim of ingesting this lot of tuna steak, they would be well advised to speak to an attorney with experience in handling products liability cases.

In Ohio, a product is considered to be defective if it does not offer the level of safety that the public is entitled to expect. This does vary in each case, with the final arbiter being the court. For all intents and purposes, the court considers a variety of things to determine if a product is defective. “They consider how the product is marketed and what its purpose is; how the product is packaged; any trademark considerations; any warnings or instructions related to the product; what may reasonably be expected to be done with the item; and when (the timing) the product was supplied,” Mellino outlined.

Put another way, product liability provisions apply to companies that make a product, import a product or sell their ‘own brand’ items made for them under license. There have even been cases where the store that sold the item (the retailer) was deemed to be the manufacturer of the product, making them liable.

“The bottom line is that if you are not sure if you have a product liability case on your hands, speak to an experienced lawyer who will explain what kinds of loss may be compensated and how to go about filing a personal injury lawsuit,” added Mellino. Knowledge is power and knowing what product liability is goes a long way toward understanding the legal process to obtain justice. “There is one other thing people should know,” he said, “and that is in ‘some’ cases the manufacturer may not be liable for the defective product.”
Those circumstances involve the defect in a product not genuinely being their fault; that the product turned out to be a part of a whole completed product and the defect is only applicable to the design of the completed product (making the company who finished the goods liable); when the defect could not have been known at the time the goods hit the market because there was not enough technical knowledge; or the product maker complying with a mandatory standard that caused the defect.

To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.

It’s fairly well-known that a low birth weight may cause health problems. Not many people realize a larger baby may also cause problems.

“Birth injuries are one of the most disturbing areas of law in which to practice. The future of that child has been compromised by carelessness or negligence. Things like that tear a family apart emotionally, mentally and physically; the guilt they feel is tremendous and they want justice for their child,” outlined Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC in Cleveland, Ohio.
Birth injury medical malpractice may happen for a variety of reasons, and one of them relates to the size of the fetus. Premature babies are subject to a number of illnesses because they are not fully developed in order to withstand the rigors of the harsh world in which they find themselves.

Larger babies may possibly have gestational diabetes and their size is an issue when it comes to attempting a normal, vaginal birth. It’s often safer if a large baby is delivered by C-section or induced earlier before they reach full term. “If neither of these two things happen, the results can be painful for the mother and catastrophic for the baby in terms of crush injuries, lack of oxygen during birth and other injuries that may happen due to medical intervention; e.g., shoulder dystocia, or Erb’s palsy,” said Mellino.

Another thing that has the potential to cause birth injuries is cephalopelvic disproportion, meaning the mother’s pelvis (shape and size) is not favorable to having a natural birth. Many women with this condition will ultimately have C-sections. “It is vital this disorder be diagnosed early so when the time comes for giving birth, preparations will be in place for a C-section rather than attempt to deliver naturally,” Mellino added.

Difficult and hard labor may cause birth injuries as well and the baby may begin to lose oxygen. When this happens, the child may suffer brain damage. It’s a touch and go situation for the mother as well, and at this point, if the doctor is not paying careful attention to the fetal monitor, they may miss signs of fetal distress. If prompt action is not taken, the end result may be brain damage for the baby.

The position of the baby prior to its birth needs to be head down in the womb. “If it is in another other position, there are a variety of ways to turn the child or adjust its position, but this has to be done with great care. Extraction methods may also cause a baby severe damage,” explained Mellino.

Most often a birth will go without a hitch and mother and baby will be just fine. However, if someone has had a child and their child was injured during the birth, it would be wise to speak to a birth injury medical malpractice lawyer. Not all birth injuries are the result of negligence. For instance, some brain injuries happened in the womb, as a result of an infection the mother may have had.

“Each case is different and speaking to a med mal lawyer will clarify issues about your case and give you a certain understanding about medical negligence and how a case would be built and proceed to settlement or court,” indicted Christopher Mellino, a medical malpractice lawyer, of the Mellino Law Firm LLC in Cleveland, Ohio.

To learn more, visit http://www.christophermellino.com.

The last thing anyone expects a doctor to do is illegally write prescriptions. When patients OD on the drugs, this is a serious matter.

This is a very bizarre case that came out of Kansas just a while back, involving a doctor and his wife/nurse. Both were indicted for directly contributing to at least 21 deaths and 68 fatal overdoses as a result of writing illegal prescriptions. They evidently also had other illegal methods to generate revenue as well, which included money laundering and defrauding health insurance.

The upshot of this case is that the doctor and his nurse/wife gave patients prescription refills even if they had overdosed on the same medication before. Other questionable acts also included missing and incomplete medical records for patients, allowing inexperienced physician’s assistants who were not properly supervised to dispense medication, leaving signed blank prescription pads lying around and forging the doctor’s name on other prescriptions.

Evidently the doctor’s woes started as far back as 2007 when the doctor and his wife were arrested for illegally prescribing drugs, money laundering and defrauding health insurance programs and patients. Under investigation since that time, the recent indictment is the culmination of three years of hard work by local police. It’s also alleged that from 2002 to 2007 alone, patients of the doctor and his wife who died due to a drug overdose comprised 18% of all overdose deaths in that particular county and surrounding areas.
When things like this happen, it undermines the credibility of doctors as a whole. While they may be human, most doctors uphold a very high ethical standard and practice according to the Hippocratic Oath – “First, do no harm.” Although the actual words are not first, do no harm, but state “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.”
On the surface it does look like the doctor and his wife strayed way over the line of being ethical, responsible and trustworthy. If the facts of the case are as stated, they deliberately set out to harm patients in order to make money. It will be interesting to see how this turns out, as it appears that even though this doctor had a prior record, he wasn’t disciplined.

Based on statistics, it’s fairly reasonable to assume that at least 1% of US doctors deserve some serious discipline yearly. That means that as a conservative estimate, there would be roughly 7,703 doctors on the carpet every year, a number that way outstrips the actual number that do get reprimanded.

If you suspect something isn’t quite right with the doctor you see and you have overdosed on a medication only to get the same one again from the same physician, or you’ve had a procedure go wrong, a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, it’s time to talk to a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. We will discuss your case and if there are the right elements to constitute medical malpractice, we will consider filing a lawsuit.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more, visit Christophermellino.com.