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Discharged From A Hospital Too Soon? It Could Be Medical Malpractice
From the moment a patient is diagnosed with a health condition at a hospital, the attending physician and team generally start planning the patient's discharge. They make their best predictions for discharging a patient once they know the patient's course of treatment. In most cases, their predictions are correct as they balance a patient's medical condition with an average recovery time based on the patient's age and health. However, sometimes a patient may take longer to recover than a physician estimated. Unfortunately, some patients are discharged from the hospital too soon and suffer as a result.
Medical professionals should know when it is safe to discharge a patient. If a doctor's timeframe for discharging a patient ends up being too early, a patient can be put at risk for suffering serious health issues that could have been avoided altogether or appropriately managed at the hospital. When this occurs and a doctor releases a patient too early, it is known as premature discharge from a hospital.
What You Need To Know About Catastrophic Burns In Virginia
Approximately 500,000 people are seriously injured from burns every year, according to the American Burn Association. Of that half million, 40,000 will have an extended hospital stay, and 4,000 will die. While it can occur at any age, the groups most likely to sustain catastrophic personal injuries from a burn were children under the age of five and adults over 65.
The most common causes of burn injuries in Virginia include:
- Building and household fires
- Defective products
- Chemical burns
- Car/Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Defective vehicle accidents
- Industrial accidents
- Radiation burns
- Water heater fires
Burns may begin with the skin, but can quickly advance to the sweat glands and internal organs, requiring long-term medical care. Within moments of a severe burn, a victim's heart is affected and the heat from the burn amplifies pain receptors in the body.
Recovery for burn victims can include, but is not limited to:
Insomnia: A Side Effect Of Brain Injury
When surgery goes wrong, an overdose of medication takes place, or any trauma to the brain occurs that causes it to swell and bleed, a traumatic brain injury may be the result. When a brain injury occurs, there are many adverse symptoms that survivors may experience, such as headaches, confusion, tiredness, and more. For the purpose of this article, we will be discussing insomnia, a sleep disorder that can occur after a brain injury.
Many survivors have problems with sleep following a brain injury. Researchers say that even a mild head injury can increase one's risk of developing a sleep disorder, according to a study published in Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Although some people with brain injuries have an overwhelming feeling of tiredness and want to sleep all of the time, there are others who are affected in a different way, such as insomnia. And some brain injury survivors have both problems.
When Medical Negligence Causes Speech And Communication Difficulties
Communication is a fundamental skill required in almost every aspect of one's life, from carrying on a conversation to understanding and grasping what others are saying. A person's ability to communicate is vital to one's personal and professional lives. Unfortunately, people who suffer brain trauma as a result of medical malpractice often suffer problems with speech, language, processing and understanding information, and overall communication skills.
Some of the ways brain injury survivors are affected with their speech and communication skills include:
- Language impairment. Those who have sustained a brain injury may find it difficult to start a conversation, follow a conversation, and understand what others have said. It may seem to some that they are trying to understand a foreign language. Additionally, people with brain injuries will frequently ramble off the topic, talk in circles, and have trouble forming complete sentences. Also, brain injury survivors usually have difficulty with more complex language.
Could Your Loved One Have Suffered A Traumatic Brain Injury After A Virginia Accident?
In the immediate aftermath of a serious accident, your loved one has visible wounds. From the serious skin lacerations to the significant bruising, you might think that identifying where your loved one got hurt is easy to see.
Some injuries remain hidden. They are masked by the adrenaline your loved one feels at the time of the accident, and the symptoms stay dormant for weeks or months after the incident. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of those types of injuries.
Signs of Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injuries
It is unlikely that your loved one will be diagnosed right away with TBI. Instead, this potentially catastrophic injury could appear over time. It is important to watch closely for any of the symptoms so that you can get your loved on help.
The following are some of the most common signs and symptoms:
- Frequent headaches
- Dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Trouble sleeping
- Sensitivity to light
- Difficulty with coordination or stability
When Is Vision Loss Due To Malpractice?
We use our eyes every waking minute. Thy make us aware of our surroundings and giving us the information we need to stay safe. That is why our vision is one of the most important things we value in our everyday lives. Without proper vision, we cannot fully connect to the world around us, work, or even enjoy life to the fullest.
The loss of vision can be devastating and life-changing, to say the least.
While some forms of vision loss occur as a result of traumatic accidents or unavoidable illness, other instances of vision impairment and blindness stem from medical malpractice. Although ophthalmologists are doctors who specialize in treating eye problems, they sometimes make mistakes when providing vision care-and those mistakes can put their patients' eyes at risk. Sadly, the very doctors whom patients trust with their eye health can also cause them harm.
When Eye Care Goes Wrong
Here are just a few of the common ways ophthalmology malpractice occurs:
- Delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, or failure to diagnose. Sometimes ophthalmologists will jump to a diagnosis without performing the necessary tests. They may conduct an imaging test such as an optical coherence tomography (OCT) examination and diagnose a patient with an incorrect eye issue when they should have ordered more specialized tests that would provide an accurate diagnosis. If an ophthalmologist causes partial or total vision loss as a result of failing to diagnose an eye condition properly, malpractice may be to blame.
Choosing The Best Birthing Hospital For Your At-Risk Delivery
There are several hospitals in the Fairfax and Northern Virginia areas, such as the Inova Women's Hospital and the Carilion Clinic, that have special programs that specialize in high-risk births and fetal care. The trick is finding the right one that will suit your needs.
Care Qualities Essential for At-Risk Deliveries
Some hospitals have more experienced in delivering at-risk babies than others, and choosing the right one may make a big difference in your delivery. When searching for the best hospital for your delivery, make sure you research the birthing center beforehand, to make sure it satisfies all of the requirements for a safe at-risk delivery. When researching hospitals, try to make sure the doctors and staff have adequate knowledge can reasonably answer the following questions.
- What is their birth rate (how many babies are delivered each year in their center or by your specific doctor)?
- How many at-risk pregnancies the facility or the doctor cared for?
Four Factors Leading To Auto Accidents Caused By Elderly Drivers
Did you know that there are more drivers over the age of 70 on the roads today than ever before? In 2014, there were approximately 24.4 million licensed drivers over the age of 69, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). While elderly drivers often drive fewer miles than other age groups, IIHS reports that older drivers are now driving more than in the past and are keeping their licenses longer. These factors are concerning because there is a potential that older drivers are more likely to be involved in serious crashes than younger drivers.
Reasons Elderly Are More Prone To Accidents
One of the reasons elderly drivers are a concern on the roads is that with age, one's driving capability is often affected. Here are some age-related changes that affect an elderly driver's ability to drive safely:
- Failing vision. When people age, vision is often negatively impacted due to glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and other health factors. As a result, many elderly drivers aren't able to see as clearly as they used to. In fact, many senior drivers fail to see small motorcycles, can't determine how fast another vehicle is traveling, and can't judge the distance between their car and another vehicle. The truth of the matter is that many seniors with failing vision contribute to their fair share of collisions. Seniors should get their eyes checked regularly and wear glasses or contacts with up-to-date prescriptions.
Hospital Medication Errors Can Result In Brain Damage
Medications are used to treat many types of injuries and ailments. And although medication ends up helping most people, some people are harmed by medications due to negligence on the part of a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or anesthesiologist. Sadly, when medicine mishaps occur, an innocent victim can suffer the adverse health effects. In some cases, a medication error can even result in permanent brain damage.
Although rare, brain damage is a serious outcome that some patients suffer during their stay in the hospital. Brain damage is usually permanent and causes lifelong challenges for the victim. Some of the ways in which medication errors can lead to brain damage include:
- Anesthesia errors. During surgery, anesthesiologists may give the wrong type of anesthesia or too much anesthesia and overmedicate patients, causing a patient's heart to stop and the brain to experience a lack of oxygen. The result can be irreversible brain damage.
- Wrong dosage. Doctors who aren't thinking clearly or nurses who are overworked and tired may give a patient the wrong dose of a powerful drug. In some cases when too much medication is given, a person can suffer brain damage.
Coordination And Balance Issues: Negative Effects Of Brain Injuries
When someone sustains a brain injury as a result of medical malpractice, it is quite common for that person to experience memory loss, confusion, and other cognitive problems. While adverse cognitive effects such as these are quite common following a brain injury, so are physical effects such as coordination and balance problems.
Balance Issues Following a Brain Injury
Brain trauma can cause inner ear problems that can cause vertigo (the sensation of spinning) and disequilibrium (the feeling of being unsteady on one's feet). Consequently, one's balance is adversely affected. Additionally, trauma to the brain can cause problems with eyesight, which can also cause balance issues. Another way balance issues occur following a brain injury is when nerves are damaged. When the brain cannot receive the message due to nerve damage, a person may not be able to keep his or her balance.
Coordination Problems After a Brain Injury
Just how bad one's coordination is depends on the seriousness of the injury and the part of the brain injured. However, most people with traumatic brain injuries do experience problems with their coordination. This is because any damage to the brain can affect someone's physical strength, thoughts, and senses-all things needed to maintain coordination.
703-591-0067
10513 Judicial Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22030
703-591-0067
From our office in Fairfax, Shevlin Smith, P.C. serves clients throughout Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., including Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Ashburn, Burke, Centreville, Dale City, Fair Oaks, Leesburg, Manassas, McLean, Oakton, Reston, Springfield, and Woodbridge, as well as Fairfax County, Arlington County, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County.
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