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Brain Surgeon Operates on Wrong Side of the Brain - Again!
Posted by: Neil Hillyard
August 24, 2007
Topic: Medical Malpractice Today

"Patient dies after Operation On the Wrong Side of Head".  That was the headline on a news account on the website of tv station WCVB in Boston today.  The account reveals that a neurosurgeon in Providence, R.I. did brain surgery on the wrong side of a patient's brain.  The patient died.  While this would seem to be unbelievable, what is even more astounding is the fact that this was the second time this neurosurgeon has done this!  The hospital he did it in was Rhode Island Hospital.  This was the third wrong-side surgery error in that hospital's neurosurgery unit in six years!  See the website www.thebostonchannel.com.

How can that happen you say.  It could never happen in Denver, Colorado you say.  Wrong!  It has happened in this area.  My partner just settled a medical malpractice case involving the wrong side of a young man's head being operated on.  This doesn't come from a lack of medical training or experience.  This comes from a cavalier attitude which, from my experience as a medical malpractice attorney, leads to most medical malpractice and injury or death to patients.  Examples of medical malpractice handled by our office reflecting this attitude can be seen at our website at www.hwkslaw.com.  

All to often the physician plays the odds and the patient loses.  In the case mentioned above, the neurosureon relied upon his memory as to which side of the brain to operate on rather than checking the proper documentation.  Many times a physician is confronted with a clinical situation that could indicate a serious life threatening problem if it is one possible diagnosis or it could be something relatively benign if it another possible diagnosis.  Rather than assume the worst case scenario until the physician can rule it out, the physician assumes it is the less serious diagnosis because "most of the time" that is what this clinical picture turns out to be.  Unfortunately, the numbers game catches up to the surgeon, or more accurately the patient, and the diagnosis is the life threatening problem and is missed and the patient suffers.  It is simply a result of a cavalier attitude by the physician in making the accurate diagnosis.  In order to rule out the life threatening diagnosis the physician often needs to run a test.  Rather than run the test, the physician assumes the test would support his or her diagnosis of a less serious problem.  When physicians are confronted with this, often their response is that running these tests constitute "defensive medicine" and cause the cost of medical care to rise.

"Defensive Medicine" is exactly the kind of medicine I want practiced on me and my family!  We have the most advanced sophisticated medical facilities and techniques available in the world.  Use them!  Why should medical patients in the United States have to be subjected to medical decisions based upon the claim that a test would be "defensive medicine" rather than being based upon the goal of utilizing every available means of accurately diagnosing a medical problem?  The argument of "defensive medicine" is nothing more than a shield for trying to justify medical malpractice today.

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Riding the Alps
Posted by: Neil Hillyard
July 06, 2007
Topic: Motorcycle Trips

On Monday, July 9, my wife and I are embarking upon an adventure.  We are headed to Europe to ride two up on a BMW 1200 RT through the Alps of Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Germany.  We have made this trip before and, each year, I can't wait to come back and do it again.  (I can't say my wife has the same enthusiasm)  As a Colorado personal injury lawyer, and more particularly, as a Colorado motorcycle accident lawyer, I am very sensitive to safety on a trip such as this.  From past experience I know the sportbike riders in Europe are wild and crazy and only know how to ride as fast as they can.  That's ok, I want to be able to come back and do it again!

We pick up our bike in Aarau near Zurich, Switzerland at the largest BMW dealership in Switzerland, Moto-Mader AG.  Their website is www.moto-mader.ch.  Peter Volgger is the manager and is always a great help.  We then ride to Andermatt, Switzerland, a great motorcycle town in the Swiss Alps.  Then its eastward across switzerland to northern Italy and the famous Stelvio pass.  For some great webcam scenes, do a google search for Stelvio Pass webcam.  We then travel to Bolzano, Italy to one of our favorite hotels, Hotel Eberle.  It is located on a hillside in the middle of a vinyard.  Wonderful family owned hotel and great wine. (Only at night!)  Then north to the Innsbruck area of Austria.

The Alps are a wonderful place to ride!  However, we see at least one motorcycle accident a day when we travel there.  The Germans in particular ride very fast and there are many blind curves.  I plan on updating this blog when I return with pictures from our trip. 

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Kaiser Medicine: What's Wrong With It?
Posted by: Neil Hillyard
June 29, 2007
Topic: Kaiser

The Kaiser system is based upon a business model which maximizes profit for Kaiser and often leads to poor quality medical care for patients.  The over utilization of non physician personnel to care for patients and the financial motivation to minimize care rejects the philosophy that the patient's well-being should be the number one priority in providing healthcare.

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Auto accidents and insurance for injuries
Posted by: Neil Hillyard
June 25, 2007
Topic: auto accidents and insurance

Colorado law requires each and every driver having a car registered in Colorado to have a minimum of $25,000 in liability insurance coverage for injuries caused to another person by the registered owner of the vehicle or someone using the vehicle with permission.  $25,000 doesn't go to far today when it comes to medical bills.  To the extent the claim of the injured person against the driver is greater than the liability coverage purchased, the driver is personally liable for any excess.  Most people purchase liability coverage in a greater amount.  A common package is liability insurance of $100,000/$300,000.  This means there is $100,000 of insurance available for injury to one person and a total of $300,000 for all injuries to all people injured.  A practice which is becoming more common is the purchase of umbrella insurance over and above the automobile liability coverage described above.  You can get umbrella coverage  in the millions for a relatively low premium and it not only protects you in auto accidents but it protects you for injuries on your property or injuries you or a member of your family may cause another in a non-auto accident situation.

If the insurance of the other driver is inadequate to fully compensate you for your injuries from the car accident, if you have purchased uninsured/underinsured coverage yourself, this may be available to you in addition to what you receive from the other driver's insurance company.  In this situation, your own insurance company "steps into the shoes" of the insurance company for the other driver.  Example:  You are in a car accident and you suffer injuries.  The other driver only has minimum liability insurance of $25,000.  Your injuries are bad and this money does not adequately compensate you.  You can turn to your own insurance company under your underinsured motorist coverage for additional compensation.  Recent legislation has liberalized the benefits available to you under this type of coverage.

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Birth Injury-Cerebral Palsy
Posted by: Neil Hillyard
June 20, 2007
Topic: Birth Injury-Cerebral Palsy

     The medical literature indicates that more than 90% of infants with cerebral palsy hypoxic ischemic brain damage, and without major congenital defects, had evidence that they suffered the problem as a result of insult to the brain surrounding the birth process.  Every parent who has a child who suffers from cerebral palsy or seizures is justified in investigating whether or not their child's problem could have been prevented.  The cost associated with caring for and raising a child with cerebral palsy is usually very high.  If the child's injury is the result of medical malpractice at or around the time of birth, financial assistance should be forthcoming from the doctor's, hospital's, or midwife's insurance company.

     It is often difficult to determine if there was malpractice by a physician, nurse, or nurse midwife surrounding the birth based just upon the medical record.  The doctor, nurse, or midwife does not put incriminating information in the record.  Additionally, when a child is born with hypoxic ischemic cerebral palsy brain injury there is usually a concerted effort among the nurses and doctors to immediately "get their story straight" to assert a defense to any claim later.

     There are sources available which are independent from the portion of the medical record prepared by the nurses and doctors which can provide important information regarding whether or not the brain injury was birth related.  These include the fetal heart monitor strips, the blood laboratory results, and radiological studies of the baby's brain.  These sources cannot be altered and are reliable.

     The fetal heart monitor strips can provide information regarding whether or not the baby, while in the mother, suffered asphyxia.  These strips can show patterns characteristic of certain events taking place involving the baby in utero.  The strips can give an indication of what caused the cerebral palsy hypoxic ischemic brain injury and can also provide evidence of negligence or malpractice by the doctor, nurse, or midwife. 

     The results of the blood laboratory tests taken after birth also provide information regarding the degree and length of time asphyxia was present.  The standard defense by doctors, nurses, or midwives to a claim of medical malpractice causing birth injury is that the injury occurred for some other reason long before the birth during the pregnancy.  Often these blood gas results can provide important information regarding this.

     An MRI radiological study of the brain of the baby shortly after birth may provide information regarding the cause of the brain injury.  Sometimes it is fairly obvious that a traumatic insult to the brain occurred at or near the birth and sometimes it is not clear.  It is a piece of information which requires investigation.

     See the section in www.hwkslaw.com for more information regarding cerebral palsy hypoxic ischemic brain injury resulting from birth.

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