When the decision is made to move an older person to a long-term care facility such as a nursing home, a retirement home or a convalescent center, the expectation is that the needs of a vulnerable family member will be met by a competent, caring and attentive staff. But sometimes elder care facilities don’t [...]
Despite the reassurances a patient may hear when agreeing to undergo a medical surgical procedure, it’s difficult to not be concerned about the margin for error. Part of the considerations for any surgery is the risk that procedure carries with it and some of those risks are unavoidable. Clearly most surgeons do take their [...]
Death is a natural part of life, it’s something we all experience sooner or later. The pain of such a loss can be overwhelming. Even when the death of a loved one is expected due to illness or aging it is still a challenge to get through. But when it happens unexpectedly and as [...]
Spinal cord injuries are one of the most catastrophic injuries that a person can endure. Each year nearly 18,000 new spinal cord injury (SCI) cases are reported in the United States, the majority affecting men. These injuries can vary in severity, but many tend to cause an immediate change in the lives of the [...]
When a pedestrian involved accident occurs the burden of injury suffered on the individual and the families can be overwhelming. The driver of the car is usually considered to be at fault, even if the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk. Careless or negligent drivers are the primary cause of pedestrian injuries for a [...]
Thankfully it doesn’t happen often, but sometimes doctors do make mistakes and occasionally they make a wrong diagnosis. Various research studies reveal that an estimated 12 million Americans are affected each year by diagnostic errors, with one in three errors leading to serious patient injuries, including disability or death. Statistics show that up to [...]
A medical error is a preventable adverse effect of medical care, whether it is evident or harmful to the patient. When a healthcare provider acts, or fails to act, it is called malpractice or medical negligence - if that treatment falls below the accepted standard of care for the community. All too often this [...]
Medical errors are estimated to cause 251,000 deaths per year in the US with less than 10 percent of errors ever being reported. Preventable emergency room mistakes occur frequently, and can lead to patient harm and even death. Research on admitted patients has suggested that errors are due to the way doctors process the [...]
There are over 2.5 million reported cases of concussion every year in the U.S. While most head injuries are mild and people recover fully, not all cases are the same. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen very suddenly due to a fall or accident, and can be devastating for the victim and the family. [...]
There are few things more tragic than when parents have gone through the birthing process with high expectations of a healthy child, only to discover that complications of birth have altered the life of the child and the family forever. Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) is one such condition that can result in severe damage to [...]
