Medical Malpractice

Birth Injury Lawyers in Detroit, Michigan

Traumatic birth injuries can be a result of medical malpractice. The birth of a child is one of the miraculous wonders many have the privilege to witness in their lifetimes. When a mother or child suffers an injury during birth, families are often left bewildered, wondering how and why such a tragedy occurred. Many birth injuries involve unforeseeable complications that must be treated as best as possible when they occur. In other cases, a birth injury is preventable and may be the result of medical error, negligence or malpractice.
 
If you or a loved one has suffered the effects of a birth injury, please contact us to speak with a qualified and experienced birth injury attorney who can evaluate your case to determine your legal rights and options.

Common Causes of Birth Injuries

  • Complications during pregnancy
  • Improper dating
  • Complications during childbirth
  • Obstetrician or gynecologist errors
  • Obstetrical mistakes

    Complications During Pregnancy

Birth injury may be the result of a complication that developed during pregnancy. Many of these risks can be identified during a woman’s pregnancy and treated to decrease or prevent a subsequent birth injury. Prenatal complications greatly increase the risk that a child or mother will suffer a birth injury.

  • Maternal or fetal infections and health conditions
  • Rh incompatibility between the mother and child
  • Maternal drug, tobacco or alcohol use

    Improper Dating

Improper dating of a pregnancy is also a risk factor to birth injury. The large gestational size of a baby’s body or head in a post-mature delivery can increase the risk that a child will suffer a birth injury. When a child is born prematurely, they are also at risk for birth injury complications. In some cases, medical professionals cannot intercede to prevent pre- and post-mature deliveries. These birth injury complications may also be the result of a medical mistake or negligence.

Complications During Childbirth

Complications during childbirth can also result in a birth injury. Physicians who employ medical birthing techniques, such as forceps or vacuum delivery, with unnecessary force run the risk of causing a birth injury as a result of their malpractice.

Common Conditions Due to Birth Injuries

  • Brachial plexus palsy
  • Erb’s palsy
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Shoulder dystocia
  • Birth trauma

 
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with one of these or any other birth-related injury, please contact us to speak with a qualified and experienced birth injury attorney who can evaluate your case to determine your legal rights and options.

Medical Treatment

Many types of birth injuries are mild and heal without medical intervention. In other cases, birth injuries result in severe and permanent injury, or even death. Extensive medical treatment may be required to correct a birth injury. Erb’s palsy is one example of a common birth injury that may resolve spontaneously or may require significant medical intervention. On the other hand, cerebral palsy is a serious and permanent birth injury that cannot be resolved through medical attention but can benefit from a comprehensive treatment program to manage symptoms.

Medical treatment for birth injuries is often a lifelong procedure that can be emotionally and financially devastating to the victim and their loved ones. If you believe you are entitled to a settlement or recompense for a birth injury, please come talk to our malpractice lawyers.

The occurrence of surgical injury in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years, according to a report issued by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). In fact, the JCAHO stated that the number of surgical injury cases has increased 10 times since 1998.

The majority of documented surgical injury cases involve wrong-site surgeries or those performed on the wrong limb, organ or other area of the body. However, 13 percent of surgical injuries involve wrong-patient surgeries and 11 percent involve the wrong medical procedure.

Surgical Injury: What You Can Do?

Individuals who have suffered a surgical injury may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity and pain suffering. However, because a statute of limitations restricts the time an individual has to file a claim, it is important to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.

Come to the Law Offices of Blum & Associates to speak to one of our surgical injury attorneys.

Surgical Injury Lawyers in Southfield, Michigan

A surgical injury refers to the harm done to a patient as the result of any mistake made during an invasive procedure, particularly where a doctor, anesthetist, nurse or other medical professional fails to perform their duties correctly, regardless of intent.
 
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a surgical injury, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses and suffering. Please contact us today to speak with a qualified attorney who can help you understand your legal rights and options.

Causes of Surgical Injury

Some of the more common causes of surgical injury include:

  • Use of unsanitary surgical instruments
  • Surgical instrument or sponge left in the body
  • Wrong surgical procedure performed
  • Surgical injuries range in severity from minor to severe and even life-threatening.
  • Some of the most devastating surgical injuries include serious infections, perforated or damaged organs, paralysis, permanent disability and more.

Surgical Injury Statistics

The occurrence of surgical injury in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years, according to a report issued by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). In fact, the JCAHO stated that the number of surgical injury cases has increased 10 times since 1998.
The majority of documented surgical injury cases involve wrong-site surgeries or those performed on the wrong limb, organ or other area of the body. However, 13 percent of surgical injuries involve wrong-patient surgeries and 11 percent involve the wrong medical procedure.

Surgical Injury: What You Can Do?

Individuals who have suffered a surgical injury may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity and pain suffering. However, because a statute of limitations restricts the time an individual has to file a claim, it is important to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.

Come to the Law Offices of Blum & Associates to speak to one of our surgical injury attorneys.

Pediatric Malpractice Attorneys in Flint, Michigan

Pediatric medical care is particularly challenging because health care professionals must consider numerous factors when treating children to ensure the highest level of care and safety. Unfortunately, the occurrence of pediatric errors is not uncommon in health care facilities around the country. Every year in the United States, thousands of children are harmed as a result of pediatric errors made by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical practitioners.

If your child suffered serious injury or death as a result of a pediatric error, you may be eligible to seek compensation for your damages, including pain and suffering, medical bills and more. Please contact us today to speak with a qualified and caring medical malpractice lawyer who can evaluate your case free of charge.

Types of Pediatric Errors

Pediatric errors may occur at any point during a child’s development – from birth through late adolescence. The most common types of pediatric errors that occur because of a health care professional’s negligence or wrongdoing include, but are not limited to:

  • Wrong dose of medication
  • Failure to properly administer medication
  • Omission of medication
  • Delayed diagnosis
  • Failure to diagnose a condition
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Birth injuries
  • Surgical errors
  • Prescription error

Sadly, many of these pediatric errors can cause your child to suffer serious injury, illness or even death.

What Are My Legal Rights?

If your child has been severely harmed as a result of a health care professional’s negligence or wrongdoing, you have the legal right to file a medical malpractice claim to recover your damages. Come to Blum & Associates to receive legal counsel in these matters.

Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorneys in Southfield, Michigan

Losing a loved one to any disease, especially cancer, is never easy. The thought that it could possibly have been prevented is excruciating. The technology that can be used to detect most cancers in their early stages is continually improving, thus allowing the physician more opportunity to catch this potentially deadly disease in the early stages. Your chances of survival depend on your physician doing exactly that.

Unfortunately, the occurrence of cancer is on the rise. This means that doctors are seeing more patients and, consequently, have less time to spend with each patient. Now, failing to properly diagnose cancer is becoming more common. Some of the more common types of cancer that often lead to a failure to diagnose lawsuit include:

  • Cervical: Easily detected via smear tests. If caught early, the survival rate is quite high. If the test results are read incorrectly, a failure to diagnose can lead to infertility or death.
  • Prostate: If detected early, the survival rates are quite high. Detection methods are constantly improving.
  • Colon: Rectal bleeding is a common complaint associated to this type of cancer. Failure to diagnose can lead to death. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death in cancer patients.
  • Breast: Can be detected through regular self-breast exams and annual mammograms. Responds well to treatment if diagnosed early.

If you believe you or a loved one have been harmed due to a health care professional’s failure to diagnose cancer, please contact the Law Offices of Blum & Associates, in Southfield, Michigan.

Medical Misdiagnosis Attorneys in Southfield, Michigan

When you go into the doctor’s office with symptoms of a medical problem, you expect and hope that a medical professional will do everything in their power to discover the cause of your signs and symptoms, make a proper diagnosis, and indicate the best way to treat or manage the medical condition. More often than we wish to believe, doctors fail to address a patient’s signs and symptoms, order appropriate medical tests or otherwise take every step possible to determine a patient’s condition. When a physician makes a misdiagnosis of a patient’s medical condition, the mistake has the potential to cause serious injury and illness.

Types of Misdiagnosis

Medical misdiagnosis is often the result of a medical professional’s failure to meet the standards of care, skill and prudence required in their field. When misdiagnosis does injury to a patient, the victim has a legal right to seek compensation for their losses and suffering. There are different types of misdiagnosis in a medical malpractice case that can result in patient illness or injury.

Wrong Diagnosis

A case of misdiagnosis may involve a completely wrong diagnosis. The patient might not have the diagnosed condition or may not even be suffering a medical condition at all. Misdiagnosis of this kind is most common in cases involving rare asymptomatic conditions, digestive conditions, behavioral and emotional dysfunction and infant maladies.

Injurious Misdiagnosis

An injurious misdiagnosis involves a doctor’s failure to properly identify the subtype of a patient’s condition. With some medical conditions, the proper and prompt identification of the subtype is crucial to ensuring that the patient receives the treatment they need. This type of misdiagnosis can result in serious illness or injury in patients with diabetes, heart conditions and other conditions.

Failure to Identify the Underlying Cause

A physician’s failure to identify the underlying cause or secondary condition that a patient may be suffering is also a type of misdiagnosis. When an underlying condition is overlooked, a patient may suffer if the treatment of the diagnosed condition is inappropriate or inadequate. When patients receive inappropriate medication or those they are allergic to, a misdiagnosis may also prove detrimental to their health.

Heart Attack Misdiagnosis

Every year in the United States, 1.1 million people suffer from heart attacks. Approximately 460,000 of those attacks result in permanent injury or death. While many heart attack patients receive proper treatment and are able to avoid serious heart damage, too many people become victims of heart attack misdiagnosis. Even if an individual survives the heart attack, future treatments may not reverse heart damage or other injuries, such as paralysis or brain damage, that resulted from a misdiagnosis.

Why does Heart Attack Misdiagnosis Occur?

Because the symptoms and warning signs of a heart attack are similar to many other medical problems, they often go unnoticed or misdiagnosed. Some signs and symptoms of a heart attack can be confused with symptoms of other conditions such as:

  • Angina
  • Bronchitis
  • Anxiety attack
  • Heartburn
  • Gallstones
  • Barrett’s esophagus

Consequences of a Heart Attack Misdiagnosis

A heart attack misdiagnosis can result in devastating consequences, including serious life-long injury or even death. These incidents can cause severe physical and emotional pain and suffering as well as financial losses. Those who have suffered at the hands of a medical professional may be entitled to receive monetary compensation for their damages, including medical bills, lost wages, pain, anguish and more. A qualified and caring medical malpractice attorney has a wealth of experience handling similar cases, and can help protect your legal rights and maximize your interests.

Anesthesia Error Lawyers in Detroit, Michigan

Anesthesia errors are one of the most common types of medical malpractice in the United States, primarily because the administration of anesthesia requires extreme precision. Even the slightest error can result in a serious medical tragedy. Unfortunately, anesthesia errors can and do occur, often with devastating results.

If you have suffered serious injury because of an anesthesia error, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your losses. Please contact us today to speak to a qualified medical malpractice attorney who can help you understand your legal rights.

Reasons for Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia errors frequently occur as the result of a medical professional’s carelessness or negligence. Common reasons for anesthesia errors, include:
Giving anesthesia to an allergic patient

  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Irreparable brain damage
  • Birth defects (when administered during labor)
  • Death

Anesthesia Errors, the Law and You

Although the risks of serious complications due to anesthesia errors are low, the fact remains that anesthesia errors still occur and at an alarming rate. Medical malpractice laws protect those who have been injured by the inattention and negligence of their doctors and anesthesiologists.