Cerebral palsy, often caused by medical malpractice at birth, affects the brain and the nervous system of newborns. The condition lasts a lifetime. It often requires extensive physical and emotional therapy. Cerebral palsy is not considered a degenerative disease—meaning that the condition itself generally does not worsen with aging. Having said that, though, as many […]
Cataracts are cloudiness in eye lenses that cause vision loss over time. The exact cause of cataracts is not known but they are very common for people over 65 years of age. In cataract surgery, an ophthalmologist removes the defective lens and replaces it with an artificial lens. The two types of cataract surgeries are […]
While not even doctors can be infallible, we still look to them to always have the right answers and to provide the perfect cure when we are sick. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, doctors make mistakes in diagnosing a disease or ailment, and sometimes those mistakes are honest ones and other times they are a […]
Stem cells hold abundant promise that one day, they will be able to repair and regenerate tissue and create seemingly miraculous therapies customized for an individual. The problem is that stem cell therapy is still in its infancy; unless a patient is undergoing hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation, his or her treatment is an experimental […]
Howard University Hospital (HUH) has suffered a steady decline from its glory days as a grand hospital for the middle-class black patients of the city, to an institution that is leaking respected physicians, accreditation for five of its training programs, administrators and money. The Washington Post published an extensive expose revealing that the hospital has […]
Approximately 3 million Americans undergo surgery each year in the United States with some of those procedures being elective and others are emergencies. All surgeries carry varying degrees of risk, and every time a patient goes under the knife they open themselves up to the opportunity for a medical mistake. The Washington Post reported on […]
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 to treat cancer breakthrough pain, but with additional safety measures. The dangerous drug was prescribed and dispensed in the form of transdermal patches and lozenges. Today, however, many of the cases of fentanyl-related injuries may be attributed to counterfeit fentanyl, which is sold on the black market […]
When you think of medical malpractice, what comes to mind might include a doctor making an honest mistake, a miscalculation, or some confusion in communication among the medical team ended in an error that harmed a patient. But would you think that a doctor, who was in the process of delivering a baby who was […]
Most people associate medical malpractice with errors made by medical physicians in the care of their patients. However, just like medical doctors, psychiatrists have a duty to perform their professional duties with a reasonable standard of care. The personal nature of psychiatric treatment creates an extremely delicate relationship that can easily become inappropriate if the […]
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that prescription drug abuse is a larger problem than ever before, with the rate of opioid pain medication overdose deaths tripling between 1990 and 2010. Opioids are the most addictive types of pain medications, affecting the brain in a manner similar to heroin or cocaine. Pain medication addiction […]
