Category: Medical Malpractice

Sep 17, 2013 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

The first case in a series of multidistrict transvaginal mesh lawsuits against the manufacturer C.R. Bard did not go as the company had hoped. As a result, the health care products manufacturer intends to appeal, knowing full well that such a judgment sets the tone for the flood of future cases that are waiting in the pipeline. However, a federal judge has denied a motion from the defendant Bard to stay or hold the other pending cases while this one works its way through the appellate process. In the case of Cisson v. C.R. Bard, the jury sided with the plaintiff, awarding her $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages.

Apr 17, 2013 - Medical Malpractice by Cross & Smith

Our Birmingham medical malpractice lawyers have learned that a widow was recently awarded $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Birmingham Surgical, P.C. and a doctor employed therein. It took the jury roughly an hour to reach their verdict, following a 17-day trial. The cause of his death was negligent delay of gallbladder surgery. Gallbladder surgery is supposed to be a fairly routine procedure, called a cholecystectomy. Some 500,000 people undergo the surgery each year.

Jan 30, 2013 - Medical Malpractice by Cross & Smith

A mid-sized hospital in Athens is boasting of its low rate of hospital-acquired infection among hospitals that utilize infection-tracking software called MedMined, which is based in Birmingham, Alabama.  Our Birmingham medical malpractice lawyers understand the product was first released in 2000, and a pilot study of six health care providers from 2002 to 2004 revealed hospitals were able to reduce infection rates by nearly 20 percent over that time. Still, this software is only utilized in 350 hospitals across the country. That’s a fraction of a percent. Preventable hospital-acquired infections are the most common medical malpractice claim. In fact, hospital-acquired infections are estimated to account for some $30 billion in direct medical costs each year.

Nov 15, 2012 - Medical Malpractice by Cross & Smith

Contaminated steroid injections blamed for at least 32 deaths in 19 states have led federal investigators to sterility problems at a second New England drugmaking facility. Ameridose is one of the leading suppliers of pre-filled syringes and is now under fire in a widening probe into dangerous drugs that have put thousands of patients at risk. Alabama pharmaceutical attorneys understand the widening probe into activities at Ameridose means the risks may be far from over. Ameridose agreed to shut down for inspection in October after its sister company, the New England Compounding Center, was blamed for distributing steroid injections containing fungal meningitis to health clinics nationwide.  USA Today reported this week that the head of the Food and Drug Administration will ask lawmakers to grant the agency more authority to oversee such compounding facilities. Congress is racing through hearings and calling for legislation so there is now little doubt reforms will be enacted. However, as Reuter News reports, Congress has known about the risks posed to consumers by such facilities for a number of years. In 2007, it killed the Safe Drug Compounding Act sponsored by the late Senator Ted Kennedy amid heavy lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry.

Oct 20, 2012 - Medical Malpractice by Cross & Smith

In a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision, Boudreaux v. Pettaway, the state’s high court upheld a $ 4 million medical malpractice/wrongful death claim. In 2006, a 32-year-old mother, who had previously undergone gastric bypass surgery, arrived at Springhill Memorial Hospital in Mobile complaining of vomiting and abdominal pain. She died during an exploratory laporotomy.  The estate of Paulett Pettaway Hall sued Dr. Randall Boudreaux and other defendants, including Coastal Anesthesia for wrongful death and medical malpractice.