Defensive medicine is the term used to describe the practice of doctors ordering unnecessary tests and procedures, because they are scared of being sued for malpractice.  To date, the argument supporting defensive medicine hasn’t been too convincing.  However, that doesn’t seem to stop researchers from trying to drum up figures showing it exists.

One of the most recent studies, which was published in Health Affairs, reported that the yearly cost associated with medical liability hovers around $55.6 billion.  According to researchers, a large percentage of this amount ($45.6 billion) is linked to defensive medicine.

Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Melbourne conducted the study.  The Wall Street Journal reported that the study authors admitted, “defensive medicine is the hardest piece of the liability costs puzzle to calculate.”  Michelle Mello, one of the authors, stated that a portion of the analysis was “based on synthesis of the best available previous” research.

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) believes that limiting the rights of injured patients will do little to lower healthcare costs.  The organization feels that the focus should be on decreasing the amount of deaths each year that result from avoidable medical errors.

For more information regarding medical negligence, be sure to order Virginia medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass’s controversial book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime.

The physician has been deposed. His deposition is here. Love to hear what others think.

The following is a list of the top five misdiagnosed illnesses, based on the article:

1.   Cancer: Research has found cancer to be the most commonly misdiagnosed illness. It is believed that the rate of misdiagnosed cancer cases is partially tied with doctors’ failure to stick with cancer screening guidelines.

2.   Infection: A Harvard study found infection to be the second most misdiagnosed condition.

3.    Aortic disease: The symptoms of aortic disease are sometimes not interpreted correctly and are associated with other conditions.  In some cases, this type of disease is misdiagnosed as heartburn.

4.    Hear attack: Despite what Hollywood depicts in movies, sometimes the symptoms of a heart attack are subtle.

5.    Clogged arteries: This condition has some of the same warning signs of less serious illnesses.  Shortness of breath is one of the symptoms, which is frequently attributed to a patient being out of shape.

In some instances, a misdiagnosed illness can be considered medical malpractice. However, these cases are not easy to win.

To find out more about medical malpractice lawsuits, order a copy of Virginia medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass’s book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime.

When cancer is detected during the early stages, it can typically be treated effectively, giving the patient a good prognosis.  That is what makes misdiagnosed cancer cases so devastating.  By the time the cancer is identified, the options are often limited, not to mention painful.

The rate of survival is generally higher when cancer is caught early, as the treatments tend to be more successful.  Once the cancer has progressed, the treatments are harsher and may include such things as radiation and chemotherapy.

You could have a Virginia medical malpractice claim if your cancer was diagnosed late.  A Virginia medical malpractice attorney will determine if you have a strong claim by gathering all of the pertinent medical records regarding your care and by conducting an interview with you.

If it appears that you have a provable case, your medical malpractice lawyer will consult and retain experts in the appropriate specialty.  These medical experts are crucial to your case, as they will testify if they believe that the medical care you received was substandard, which led to your injury.

There are other factors that go into medical malpractice lawsuits. For more information, order a copy of the book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime.

What makes matters even worse in a medical negligence case is that the jurors are often misled by the insurance industry. The insurance industry spends millions funding “research” to suggest that there is a prevalent problem with medical malpractice lawsuits.  This research supposedly shows that excessive verdicts are causing malpractice insurance carriers to increase their premiums, which in turn is pushing doctors out of the medical field.

When jurors hear this type of message from the insurance industry, they often award lower verdicts than they would have ten years ago.  That means that many victims of medical negligence receive less from the jury than what is needed to cover their medical expenses.

You can read more about these lawsuits and why so many malpractice victims don’t recover compensation in Virginia medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass’s book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime.

Malpractice insurance companies have standard defenses they often use, which include the following:

• The injury could not have been prevented, as it was a result of the initial condition.
• The injury was due to the patient not following the doctor’s advice.
• The risk of the particular injury was an accepted one.
• Someone else caused the injury.
• A previous illness or condition led to the injury.

To have a successful claim, you are going to have to prove that there is a clear connection between the defendant’s misconduct and the injury you have sustained.

For more information regarding medical negligence claims, read Virginia medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass’s book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Will Never Recover a Dime.  This book discusses the factors involved in medical malpractice cases and answers many of the commonly asked questions.

If you have been harmed by medical malpractice in Virginia, then you need to familiarize yourself with contributory negligence.  Virginia is one of only a few states in the country that still uses this centuries-old law.  Contributory negligence can be defined as “a doctrine of common law that if a person was injured in part due to his/her own negligence (his/her negligence “contributed” to the accident), the injured party would not be entitled to collect any damages (money) from another party who supposedly caused the accident.”  This definition basically means that if you were careless in any way, which contributed to your injury, you probably won’t be able to recover damages.

Under contributory negligence, your doctor could be 99 percent responsible for your injury and you might only be 1 percent responsible, but you still won’t be able to recover a dime.  This doctrine hardly seems fair, but it is the law.

For more information regarding Virginia medical malpractice lawsuits and why these cases are so difficult to win, order a copy of Ben Glass’s book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime.

In Virginia, the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim is two years.  The question that most people have is “two years from what?”  There is something known as the “continuing treatment rule” that exists in Virginia.  Under this rule, your actual time to file a claim may be longer than two years from the specific date of the negligence.  This issue tends to get complicated, so it is important that you talk with a Virginia medical malpractice lawyer who will be able to tell you when your statute of limitations expires.

If you wait until your statute of limitations is almost up before filing your lawsuit, you are taking a risk.  Attorney Ben Glass has seen this scenario – where a lawyer waits until the last minute to file the lawsuit, only to find out that the wrong defendant was named or someone else was to blame for the malpractice.  He has even seen attorneys wait to file a lawsuit in hope that the insurance company will settle first.  That is also a risky practice.

Order your copy of the book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime, for more information.

One of the most important decisions that you will make when it comes to the outcome of your case has to do with selecting a lawyer.  Fairfax medical malpractice lawyer Ben Glass provides a list of great questions to ask any potential candidate in his book, The Truth About Lawyer Advertising.  These are things that you should find out before hiring someone.

You may be worried that you will offend an attorney with your series of questions, but the truth is that most lawyers will not be insulted.  Instead, they will most likely welcome them, because it shows that you have taken the time to educate yourself.

The list that is included in the book is quite extensive, but here is a brief sample of what you should inquire about when talking with a medical malpractice lawyer:

1.    How many years have you been in practice?

2.    Do you have actual experience handling my type of case?

3.    Where can I read about your other cases?

4.    Are you listed in Best Lawyers in America®?

5.    Are you board certified by any state or nationally recognized organization?

To obtain the full list of questions, order your copy of Ben’s book at http://www.thetruthaboutlawyerads.com/.  The book is free for Virginia residents.

Last September, a woman was killed after she sustained severe burns from a flash fire during surgery.  Although flash fires are a rare occurrence in operating rooms, it does happen.

Sixty-five-year-old Janice McCall died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, six days after she was burned on an operating table at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Illinois.  Her death was the result of complications from thermal burns and was classified as accidental.

Although the hospital wouldn’t say how the fire started, it is known that the accidental flash fire occurred in one of the hospital’s operating rooms, injuring McCall before it was extinguished.

Surgical flash fires have been known to happen and are usually sparked by electric surgical tools when oxygen builds up under surgical drapes.  The rate of occurrence is about 550 to 600 times a year.  It is estimated that about one or two people die each year from these fires.

Most likely there will be a medical malpractice case to follow McCall’s death.  It is safe to assume that “lighting a patient on fire” does not follow the standard of care.