RSSMedical Malpractice | Orlando Accident & Injury Blog - Part 3
Florida Man Files Medical Malpractice Suit After Surgical Fire
A Florida man recently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against NCH Downtown Naples Hospital after he was seriously injured by a surgical fire while undergoing pacemaker surgery. The man had his pacemaker surgically implanted on March 19, 2008. When he woke up after the surgery, he discovered second-degree burns all over his chest, neck and one shoulder. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), around 650 people are injured each year in surgical fires, a relatively unknown but potentially deadly and disfiguring risk in the surgical wards of hospitals.
Parents File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Florida Hospital
The parents of a young Florida girl who died after undergoing a routine tonsillectomy have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital where the surgery was performed. The parents filed a complaint against Mease Countryside Hospital and the doctors who treated their daughter. They claim that a potent mixture of drugs and medical negligence caused her death. A few minutes after the girl went into surgery on August 13, 2010, she developed pulmonary edema, which caused a buildup of excess fluid in her lungs. The fluid accumulated so much that the girl went into cardiac arrest, and, despite doctors’ efforts to resuscitate her, she died two days after the surgery.
Florida Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Medical Malpractice Cap
A 2003 law that dismayed Orlando personal injury lawyer James O. Cunningham and other attorneys throughout Florida may be headed for review before the state Supreme Court. That year, lawmakers passed legislation effectively capping the amount of pain-and-suffering damages that could be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits at $1 million. Professional organizations such as the American Bar Association, the AARP and the Florida Justice Association have filed briefs recently supporting the challenge to the controversial $1 million pain-and-suffering cap and question the constitutionality of the law.
Florida Called “Epicenter” of Prescription Drug Abuse
A new study has found that overdoses of prescription painkillers now kill more people in the U.S. each year than auto accidents do, and they have become the leader in preventable deaths in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fatal overdoses from prescription medication more than tripled to 13,800 from 1999 to 2006 in the U.S. Recent data suggest that overdoses have nearly tripled again since 2006, with at least 37,485 people killed in 2009 from taking powerful painkillers such as OxyContin, Xanax, Vicodin and others. James O. Cunningham and other Orlando personal injury attorneys are especially concerned that our state is now being called the “epicenter” of this abuse. Recently, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has indicted dozens of physicians and operators of clinics for unnecessarily prescribing these potentially lethal drugs.
New Florida Law to Reduce Our State’s Reputation as Pill Mill
In a move that Orlando personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham fully supports, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a law recently that will make it more difficult for doctors to write prescriptions for painkillers. For years, Florida has been known as a “pill mill,” a place where it has been easy for people to get prescription painkillers such as Oxycontin, Oxycodone and other pharmaceuticals that often lead to drug abuse. The ease with which people could obtain these drugs in our state caused people from nearby states with more restrictive access to these drugs to come here for prescriptions.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Florida Cap on Medical Malpractice Damages
In a move that disappointed many Orlando personal injury lawyers, a federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld the constitutionality of a Florida law that caps damages that victims can receive in medical malpractice cases. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals made their ruling recently and issued a statement that the Florida law “passes muster” of the U.S. Constitution and Florida Constitution. Their ruling came after the family of a Florida woman named Michelle McCall claimed medical malpractice was responsible for her death after childbirth in 2006. They filed a lawsuit against a doctor they claimed was negligent.
Florida Doesn’t Conduct Background Checks on Some Healthcare Professionals
A dentist has opened a new practice in Polk City despite his recent release after serving three years in a federal penitentiary for tax fraud. An investigation by Health News Florida found that the man has a valid Florida dental license after failing to pay more than two million dollars in tax fraud penalties. Orlando personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham warns Floridians that our state still does not provide adequate protection against unethical healthcare providers who move to Florida to continue practicing medicine. Even though the dentist in question was convicted for tax fraud, not dental malpractice, it is indicative of the lax background checks state agencies conduct before granting licenses.
Prescription Drug Deaths Continue to Rise
Millions of Floridians take prescription medication to reduce the effects of countless medical conditions. Pharmaceutical companies spend billions in marketing this or that drug in magazines, television, billboards and other outlets telling consumers how effective the drug is at alleviating a wide range of symptoms. But a glance at the front page of any newspaper will tell you that these prescriptions are not always safe. This Orlando Sentinel article sheds light on how dangerous some of these drugs can be.
Mr. Cunningham is an excellent and knowledgeable attorney.