Skilled nursing facilities are characterized by high levels of error and resulting patient harm, according to a recently published study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The study revealed that one out of three patients in skilled nursing facilities experienced an... Read More

An Illinois woman has filed a wrongful birth lawsuit against her doctor, charging that a bungled sterilization procedure led her to give birth to a child with sickle cell disease.  The woman and her husband are seeking compensation for the “extraordinary expenses” they expect to... Read More

840,000 residents have signed on to support a ballot initiative to increase the California medical malpractice award caps. Under state law, 505,000 signatures are required. Current caps for malpractice awards are $250,000. The initiative, which will be put on the November ballot, will increase the... Read More

New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that checklists fail to reduce the number of surgical errors in hospital operating rooms. These surgical checklists are often relied upon as a means to diminish the possibility of so-called “never” events – mistakes... Read More

A new study has found that women are more likely than men to be given a heart attack misdiagnosis, as their symptoms are often downplayed as anxiety. Researcher’s at McGill University in Montreal surveyed 1,123 patients aged 18 to 55, after admittance to one of... Read More

Antibiotics are often the go-to remedy parents seek and doctors prescribe when children fall ill. However, an increase in antibiotic infections has raised concern that these drugs are being over-prescribed at alarmingly high rates. Now, researchers have tied antibiotic use to a dangerous and sometimes... Read More

A mother from Illinois has filed a birth injury lawsuit against a doctor and hospital, alleging that their negligence resulted in her child’s brachial plexus injury. The complaint was filed on February 21, 2014 in the Circuit Court for Cook County, Illinois. At the heart... Read More

Emerging research published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that despite brain scan risks, neuroimaging is overused as a diagnostic tool for patients who suffer from headaches.  In fact, the study reports that more than $1 billion is spent annually on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or... Read More