Category: medical malpractice

Many elderly and disabled individuals have difficulty swallowing. They often must be on very restrictive diets in order to prevent choking. However, some nursing homes do not properly supervise or monitor the food intake of their patients. If a nursing home fails to follow diet restrictions or does not watch patients who have difficulties in swallowing, there can be a risk of choking and potentially death.

Unfortunately, swallowing issues are very prevalent among elderly patients. These disorders can be caused by neurological issues, cancer, Alzheimer’s or dementia, or simply aging. Normally, these disorders are determined by a physician, and then the physician makes recommendations on what type of foods the patient can eat. All caregivers should be aware of these issues. If a patient with a swallowing disorder is allowed to have restricted foods, choking can occur.

It is the duty of the nursing home to ensure that patients adhere to medical orders that are outlined by their doctors. Many choking cases at nursing homes could be easily prevented if medical orders were followed for a patient.

If a family member or loved one has choked or asphyxiated while under the care of a Los Angeles nursing home, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

I’m sorry to hear that you may have been harmed by a doctor in Los Angeles. Medical malpractice cases can be complex and they can often take a significant amount of time to complete. However, if you believe that you have been harmed by a medical professional, you should speak with an attorney. The attorney can help advise you on whether the case is worth pursuing.

In California medical malpractice cases, there are a number of elements that must be proven in order for the injured party to be successful. You must prove that: there was a doctor-patient relationship, that the doctor owed the patient a duty of care, that the doctor breached his or her duty of care owed to the patient, that the breach of care was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries, and that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the doctor’s conduct. In most cases, the hardest part to prove is that the medical professional deviated from the standard of care – in other words, that another competent professional working in the same field as the defendant would have handled the situation differently.

There are some common types of medical malpractice claims in California. Studies show that about one-third of all medical malpractice claims relate to diagnosis. Some examples are a failure to perform necessary tests, failing to ask a patient about his or her symptoms or medical history, failing to recognize obvious symptoms, and failing to correctly interpret test results. Some other common types of medical malpractice claims include surgical errors, emergency room errors, anesthesia errors, birth injuries, hospital errors, and more.

If you believe that a medical professional in California breached his or her duty of care to you and that you suffered harm as a result, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

Rh incompatibility between a mother and child is a condition that is not uncommon and which can be easily diagnosed. Therefore, when it occurs and causes harm to a child, it is recommended that the mother speak with an attorney who can advise her of her and her child’s legal rights.

Rh incompatibility occurs when a woman is Rh negative and is pregnant with an Rh positive child. When that occurs, the woman’s body may begin to create antibodies in order to create an autoimmune response to the child. The woman’s body may see the child as a foreign body in the bloodstream. The issue often does not arise until after the first pregnant. Rh incompatibility can occur in a few different situations, including the abortion of an Rh positive child, exposure to Rh positive blood as the result of a blood transfusion, or fetal hemorrhaging during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, a mother should be tested to determine if she is Rh negative. If she is, there must be proper precautions taken. Normally, a medication is prescribed which can help prevent the formation of antibodies. If antibodies have already been produced, normally the child must be monitored closely throughout the pregnancy. When the condition is properly diagnosed and treated, there is normally no cause for concern.

If you believe that your doctor failed to administer the proper tests to diagnose you with Rh incompatibility with your child, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m sorry to hear about the issue with your child. Apgar scores are numbers given to a child at birth. They are used to assess the baby’s health condition, in order to see if any additional medical attention is necessary. If the score is low, the child may have suffered from birth injuries.

Apgar scores range from 0 to 10. They are issued by evaluating the child in five categories: heart rate, skin tone, respiratory function, muscle tone, and reflex irritability. Children with low scores often need to be resuscitated and monitored closely. Typically, the score is reassessed every five minutes until the child’s condition has improved.

In some cases, low Apgar scores are a sign that your child did not receive proper treatment during pregnancy and/or delivery. A low Apgar score could occur through no fault of anyone, or it could be the result of medical malpractice. It’s important that you speak with an attorney who has experience in medical malpractice and birth injuries in order to determine if your child’s low Apgar score was the result of medical malpractice.

If you are in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

The failure to diagnose a heart attack can be incredibly serious. When a heart attack occurs, time is of the essence. A heart attack occurs when there is a blockage in blood flow to the heart. If it can’t receive blood, it cannot function.

Typically, there are warning signs before a heart attack occurs. The individual may have high cholesterol or may be experiencing chest pains. If you were at risk of experiencing a heart attack and your doctor never gave you any warning about your risk, you may be eligible to receive compensation.

Around a million people die from heart issues each year in the U.S. There are warning signs that a person is experiencing a heart attack, including chest pains that spread, generalized pain through the body, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, and blackouts. If a person experiences these symptoms, he or she may be having a heart attack or could be at great risk of developing one in the future.

When a person visits a doctor with complaints of heart attack symptoms, there is a risk that the doctor can misdiagnose the illness as something else. A doctor must do a very thorough exam and consider all the facts of the person’s medical history.

If you believe that your doctor failed to properly diagnose your heart attack, you should speak with an attorney. If you’re in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

I’m sorry to hear about the deep vein thrombosis. Depending on the circumstances of what happened, you may be able to sue for medical malpractice. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can evaluate your case in order to help you learn more about your options.

Deep vein thrombosis, also called DVT, happens when a blood clot forms in the leg and the clot moves up to the brain, heart, or lungs. It is critical that patients who are at high risk of blood clots be monitored and that their doctors take efforts to help prevent blood clots. If a health care provider fails to be proactive, the results can be disastrous.

There are certain groups of individuals who are at high risk of developing blood clots. They include those who have undergone recent surgery, suffered physical trauma, or who had severe burns. These individuals are undergoing the healing process and their blood is clotting. Ideally, the blood should clot at the location of an injury. However, in some cases blood clots form in the bloodstream. Some symptoms of DVT include a warm or hot feeling in the leg, changes in skin tone, swelling, and pain and discomfort in one leg. If a blood clot does occur in the leg, the clot can become dislodged, which can pose the risk of a stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary embolism if the clot does not break apart.

There are steps that can be taken to prevent DVT. Blood thinners are one common way to prevent them. Stockings or pressure socks can also help. Surgery can also be helpful in some cases. If you have suffered from DVT while you were under a doctor’s care, you may wish to speak with an attorney. If you are in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

When a person visits a hospital, doctor’s office, or surgical center for a surgical procedure, there is normally an expectation that the surgery will be performed correctly. If a medical professional or a medical facility is negligent and that causes the death of a patient, surviving family members can take legal actions against the negligent parties.

There are a number of errors that can occur during or after surgery. Organs may have been harmed during the procedure which were not involved in the operation. Anesthesia may not be correctly administered. The patient could develop a serious infection after the surgery. The surgeon may have operated on the wrong body part. In unusual cases, the wrong surgical procedure may have been performed or the wrong patient may have been operated.

Unfortunately, medical malpractice is not unusual. It has been estimated that almost 100,000 deaths are caused by medical malpractice each year. The bad news for survivors is that medical malpractice cases can be complex and difficult to pursue. A medical malpractice wrongful death case must be handled by an experienced attorney. An attorney can build a strong case against the negligent party by gathering evidence, reviewing the appropriate medical standards of care, calculating the value of the case, negotiating a settlement, or taking the case to trial.

If your loved one died during or after surgery, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m very sorry to hear of your child’s medical issues. Pregnant women must be careful with the medications they consume. Medications can be absorbed through the placenta by the fetus. Doctors who are treating pregnant women must be sure that any medications they prescribe will be safe for both the mother and the unborn child.

During pregnancy, the placenta delivers nutrients and minerals that the fetus needs to grow and develop. However, toxins and chemicals can also travel through the placenta. Pregnant women are cautioned not to smoke or drink during pregnancy, as these behaviors can harm the fetus. Also, medications that are prescribed to pregnant women must have scientific evidence proving that they are safe for the unborn child.

If an unborn child is exposed to toxic chemicals or medications that are unsafe, the child could be born with developmental delays, deformities, or medical conditions that could require long-term medical treatment. Doctors and drug companies must take steps to ensure that fetuses are not harmed by dangerous prescription medications.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of prescription medications over the years that have later been shown to be dangerous to fetuses. In many cases, these issues were only discovered after children were born with birth defects, some of which were very serious or fatal.

If you believe that your child was harmed as a result of a prescription drug that you consumed during pregnancy, you should speak with an attorney. You may have legal actions you could take against the drug company or the doctor who prescribed the drugs. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

You may be able to sue for medical malpractice if you were harmed by Pitocin during childbirth. Your legal options will vary based on the facts of your case. You should speak with a Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney to learn more.

Pitocin is a somewhat controversial drug. Many experts believe that it can be dangerous for the mother and child. Pitocin is a synthetic version of oxytocin, which is a hormone released during labor which starts contractions. Pitocin is administered in cases where labor needs to be artificially induced, or if additional contractions are needed. Some believe that Pitocin should only be used in circumstances in which it is absolutely necessary.

If a doctor does decide to use Pitocin, the mother and the child should both be carefully monitored. The mother can suffer hemorrhage, cardiac arrythmia, uterine rupture, or other consequences if the dose is too large or if she is not properly monitored. An unborn baby can suffer medical problems as well – Pitocin can slow a child’s heartbeat, reduce oxygen to the child, cause liver failure, and can result in other problems.

Pitocin is often given when it is not really needed, which can increase the odds that a mother or child will be harmed. If you or your child have suffered injuries as a result of the use of Pitocin, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m sorry to hear about the problem with anesthesia. In the past several decades, modern anesthesia has helped countless numbers of surgeries and other medical procedures be performed safely and effectively. However, anesthesia comes with risks, particularly when the anesthesiologist and other medical staff act negligently. When anesthesia is not correctly used, tragedy can result.

There are several types of anesthesia, including general anesthesia, local, regional, spinal, and others. There are also several types of potential errors that involve anesthesia. The type of injury that a patient has suffered because of anesthesia is not always obvious when examining the patient. Often, experts must examine a patient’s medical records in order to determine what, if any, errors were made during anesthesia.

In some cases, a patient suffers harm during anesthesia due to no fault of the doctor or other medical staff. A patient may have an unanticipated reaction through no fault of anyone. In other cases, the medical staff may be to blame. In many incidents in which a patient is harmed from anesthesia, the medical staff failed to properly monitor the patient before, during, or after the procedure. The patient may suffer from respiratory or cardiac events which could have been prevented. These issues may be caused by an overdose, a reaction to the anesthesia, a failure to properly monitor the patient, or a failure to properly administer the drugs.

If you or a loved one has been harmed because of an issue with anesthesia in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney at 310-385-0567. Call my team today to learn more about your options or to schedule a free consultation.