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Special Edition Legal Case Study
Healthcare Professionals and Medical Malpractice: A Case Study with Risk Management Strategies
Medical malpractice claims can be asserted against any healthcare provider. Although there may be a perception that physicians are held responsible for the majority of lawsuits, the reality is that healthcare professionals, including physical therapists, pharmacists and counselors are more frequently finding themselves defending the care they provide.
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Case Study: Improper Performance Using Therapeutic Exercise The patient (plaintiff) was a nine year old child with cerebral palsy who had undergone extensive surgery for correction of bilateral ankle contractures. He was referred back to physical therapy following removal of the casts from both legs. In addition to his surgery, the patient had a history of balance problems, as well as pain and weakness on his right side. He was well known to the physical therapist (defendant) who had provided his strengthening and balance therapy prior to surgery. Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
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Read Previous Issues of the HPSO Special Edition Legal Case Study: Physical Therapist Edition |
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Case Study: Alleged dispensing of wrong drug resulting in the premature delivery of a 23 week old fetus with subsequent brain damage The patient (plaintiff) was a 23-year old female who was 23weeks pregnant and had been experiencing slight vaginal bleeding with a suspected inadequate cervix. She was admitted to the inpatient obstetrical unit for observation and bed rest. Her physician ordered a progesterone suppository to stop the bleeding. Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
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Read Previous Issues of the HPSO Special Edition Legal Case Study: Pharmacist Edition
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Case Study: Alleged incorrect diagnosis, breach of confidentiality and improper recommendation to the client's wife that she seek family protective services The defendant counselor deemed the husband to be at risk for injuring himself and further believed he was at significant risk for injuring his wife and his children. The defendant counselor recommended that the wife obtain assistance from family protective services and the wife did so. Upon the advice of the family protective services counselor, the wife moved with the children to a location several hundred miles away from the husband and subsequently filed for divorce. Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
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Read Previous Issues of the HPSO Special Edition Legal Case Study: Counselors Edition
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May 2013 Legal Case Study |
| Physical Therapy Session Alleged to Include Excessive Force - Rotator Cuff Tear - Defendant Claims Tear Was Present Before Treatment - Defense Verdict. |
The plaintiff, age forty-one, was undergoing a physical therapy session in April 2011, when he injured his right, dominant shoulder. The plaintiff ultimately underwent surgery in August 2011. The plaintiff alleged negligence by the physical therapist in being over-aggressive in forcing his arm beyond the point of extreme pain, causing a tear of the rotator cuff. The defendant physical therapist claimed that the treatment provided was appropriate and that the plaintiff had a pre-existing injury to his shoulder and that the rotator cuff tear was likely present before the plaintiff presented for the physical therapy session. According to a published account a defense decision was made in arbitration. With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288. |
Search the Archives
Recently Posted Legal Case Studies
| DESCRIPTION | |
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| Physical Therapy Session Alleged to Include Excessive Force - Rotator Cuff Tear - Defendant Claims Tear Was Present Before Treatment - Defense Verdict. | |
| Woman Claims Electrode From Russian Stimulation During Physical Therapy Placed Near Stellate Ganglion, Causing Autonomic Nervous System Injury - Defense Verdict. | |
| Epidural Pump Stolen From Woman's Room by Physician's Assistant While She is in Labor | |
| Failure to Diagnose Vitamin B12 Deficiency Promptly - Blindness and Confusion - Confidential Settlement. | |
| Failure to Diagnose Twisted Bowel - Death - $3.25 Million Settlement. | |
| Woman Claims Blood Draw Caused Artery and Nerve Damage in Arm - Defense Verdict. | |
| Failure to Diagnose Injury to Popliteal Artery Blamed for Need for Amputation After Fall - Defense Verdict. | |
| Claims Made Against Prescribing Physician and Pharmacy Claim Lack of Information Regarding Risk of Suicide With Use of Paxil - Man Commits Suicide Four Days After Starting Paxil - Defense Verdict. | |
| Ambulance EMT's Fail to Raise Rail on One Side of Bed at Transfer From Gurney - Elderly Woman Transported From Nursing Home Falls, Leading to Death - Defense Verdict. | |
| Young Woman Claims Bactrim Was Improperly Prescribed for Acne Treatment - Steven's-Johnson Syndrome | |
| Girl With Fractured Femur and Complicated Medical History Suffers Failure of External and Internal Fixator During Physical Therapy - $157,676 Net Verdict. | |
| Failure to Timely Perform Incision and Drainage for Abscess on Buttock of Fourteen-Month-Old Boy - Sepsis Develops, Necessitating Lengthy Hospital Stay Which Included Twelve Days in Induced Coma - Brain Damage - $233,939 Bench Verdict. |
