Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services is investigating whether Washington DC paramedic errors occurred during the handling of a 911 call about a 2-year-old girl. The toddler was having breathing problems early on the morning of February 10 when paramedics arrived to examine her.

The girl was not taken to the hospital and the paramedics left. About nine hours later, another 911 call was made about the same 2-year-old. This time, she was transported to Children’s National Medical Center. The girl died the next day.

Now, questions have surfaced as to why paramedics didn’t take her to the hospital sooner. A number of emergency workers who responded to the 911 call have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation takes place.

Washington DC Paramedic Malpractice
EMT’s and paramedics are often the first line of defense when it comes to saving the life of a person who is having a medical emergency. People don’t usually contact 911 for a minor medical symptom. Usually, there is a life or death situation occurring and someone needs medical help immediately.

Failure to provide that immediate medical care and evaluation can prove fatal—especially when a paramedic arrives at the scene and wrongly diagnoses a situation so that the patient doesn’t get the proper medical care that could save his/her life.

This is not the first time DC paramedics have come under scrutiny for their handling of emergency situations. In 2008, 38-year-old Edward L. Givens was examined by paramedics at his Northeast Washington residence. The paramedics left 12 minutes after arriving. He died from a heart attack hours later.

In 2006, paramedics failed to rush New York Times Reporter David E. Rosenbaum to the hospital after he was beaten and mugged. The medical workers thought that he was drunk. He died from his injuries. Rosenbaum’s family has settled their Washington DC wrongful death lawsuit with the District.

D.C. EMS faces review in death of girl, 2, The Washington Post, March 4, 2010

DC Medic Did Not Fill Out Paper Work In Child Death Case, 9 News Now, March 4, 2010

Continue reading "Washington DC Paramedics Under Investigation in Death of 2-Year-Old Girl" »

The family of Edward Givens is suing the District and Fire and Emergency Medical Services medical director Dr. James Augustine for Washington DC wrongful death. Givens, 39, died of a heart attack in December 2008 just hours after a DC paramedic informed him he was suffering from acid reflux.

The wrongful death complaint holds the defendants responsible for Givens’ death because the paramedic allegedly committed paramedic malpractice. Mishandling documents, incorrectly interpreting medical information, and telling Givens to take Pepto Bismol are some of the actions cited in the Washington DC civil lawsuit.

Six hours after the paramedic’s wrong diagnosis, Givens was dead. The wrongful death complaint says that tests previously taken by the paramedic who treated Givens indicate that the medical worker did not display knowledge meeting the US standard of care for how a paramedic should deal with cardiac conditions and complaints. Givens’ family claims Augustine should have known that the paramedic's skills were not up to par.

Just this April, the Washington Times published an article reporting that dozens of DC paramedics failed to meet the minimum national standard during written and videotaped tests about medical knowledge and basic lifesaving procedures.

Paramedic Malpractice
Paramedics are often the first medical workers to treat patients in the event of an emergency situation. It is important that they are properly trained and can provide patients with the medical care that they need. Proper emergency medical care can save an injured, sick, or dying person’s life.

Paramedic malpractice is a form of Washington DC medical malpractice. Examples of paramedic malpractice include:

• Delayed diagnosis
• Wrong diagnosis
• Delayed ambulance arrival
• Unjustified delays when transporting the patient to the hospital
• Medication mistakes
• Not following proper paramedic treatment procedures

DC sued over heart attack response, Fire Rescue 1, December 9, 2009

Some D.C. paramedics to be retrained, The Washington Times, June 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI)

Last week, families from outside Washington DC traveled to the US to ask Congress to preserve medical malpractice victims' legal rights. Their visit comes as the White House and Congress work on a final health care reform bill that has some lawmakers pushing to limit the legal rights of patients who were injured because of medical negligence.

According to USAction executive director Jeff Blum, about 98,000 Americans die every year because of medical mistakes. Public Citizen's Congress Watch division director David Arkush notes that even many medical errors are preventable, the number of people affected by medical mistakes has reached epidemic heights. He says that Congress should cure the epidemic, not limit victims’ rights.

Washington DC Medical Malpractice
Doctors, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists, plastic surgeons, optometrists, dermatologists, gynecologists, obstetricians, and other medical professionals must provide patients with a certain level of care. When failure to provide that care results in a medical mistake that causes injury or death, the medical provider can be held liable for medical malpractice.

Grounds for filing a Washington DC Medical Malpractice Claim:
• Failure to obtain informed consent
• Surgical errors
• Wrong diagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Birthing errors
• Negligence, carelessness, or recklessness
• Medication mistakes
• Wrong site surgery
• Leaving surgical tools in patients
• Operating on the wrong body part or organ
• Removing the wrong body part or organ
• Anesthesia errors
• Performing the wrong procedure on the patient

Medical mistakes can be extremely painful and costly for the patient. A medical malpractice victim may even have to undergo more procedures and suffer from medical complications because of a medical error. Medical malpractice can even lead to Washington DC wrongful death.

Injured Medical Malpractice Survivors Travel to Washington, D.C., to Protect Patients' Rights, Common Dreams, October 21, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice, Nolo

Health Care Reform, The White House

Medical Practice, Public Citizen

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Survivors and Families Travel to Washington DC to Stand for Personal Injury Victims' Rights" »

In Washington DC, a 39-year-old man died at his home on Wednesday, just hours after paramedics told him that he was suffering from acid reflux and didn’t need to go to the hospital. Now, authorities are trying to determine whether Emergency Service workers misdiagnosed Edward Givens's condition and if this contributed to his death.

Givens's mother, Lolitha, says that on Tuesday night, Edward told family members to contact 911. He was on the floor complaining of pains in his chest. He also said he was having problems breathing. At 11:40pm, an ambulance and fire truck from Engine 30 arrived at the home carrying three firefighters, who had emergency training, and a firefighter-paramedic.

The firefighters reportedly checked Givens’s vitals and conducted an electrocardiogram. Findings were normal. When the EMT’s found out Givens had eaten a burger, they recommended that he take antacid. They left soon after.

Lolitha says the paramedics refused to take her son to the hospital because they didn’t think his symptoms required additional care. Not even six hours later, however, family members contacted 911 again after they saw that Edward had stopped breathing.

Givens’s relatives say that the father of two might still be alive if EMT’s had followed procedures and taken him to the hospital. The DC Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to conduct an autopsy and issue its findings into his cause of death. According to DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services protocol, paramedics are supposed to take any patient who wants to go to the hospital.

Wrong Diagnosis
If a medical professional gave the wrong diagnosis of your loved one’s condition or failed to give him or her the proper care, your loved one may have grounds to file a medical malpractice claim for damages. If your loved one died because of medical negligence, you may have grounds to file a Washington DC wrongful death lawsuit.

Man Dies at Home After Paramedics Diagnose Acid Reflux, Washington Post, December 4, 2008

Misdiagnosis May Have Been Death Sentence for District Man, WJLA, December 3, 2008

Related Web Resources:

DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Rosenbaum Lawsuit Settled, Washington Post, December 21, 2007

Continue reading "Washington DC Man Dies After Paramedics Diagnose Acid Reflux" »

The mother of a teenaged girl is suing a Planned Parenthood in Washington DC for $50 million over a failed abortion. Shantese Butler, was just 13-years-old when her mother Emma Jean Butler took her to Planned Parenthood Metropolitan in September 2005 to have an abortion.

Shantese had gotten pregnant after being raped. The abortion left her with serious physical injuries, including a vaginal injury, abdominal bleeding, a cervical injury, uterine perforation, and a bowel tear. An exam the day after the procedure showed that parts of the fetus had been left inside her. Because of her injuries, Shantese can never have children.

Students for Life of America Director Kristan Hawkins say that Planned Parenthood denies responsibility for Shantese’s infertility and abortion-related injuries. Planned Parenthood says that Emma Jean’s claims are barred by assumption of risk and informed consent doctrines.

If you or someone you love was injured during a medical procedure, you should contact our Washington medical malpractice law firm today. We can determine whether a doctor, surgeon, hospital, nurse, or another medical provider was negligent or careless. You may have grounds to file a medical malpractice claim against all negligent parties.

Just this month, a Nebraska Planned Parenthood settled a personal injury lawsuit filed by a woman who also suffered injuries from a failed abortion. The woman nearly died when she experienced severe blood loss and a perforated uterus from the procedure. She has described the abortion as excruciatingly painful and three Planned Parenthood workers held her down while the Dr. completed the procedure. She had to be rushed to the emergency room after the abortion and a hysterectomy was performed.

Planned Parenthood Sued for $50 Million for Injuring Teen in Failed Abortion, Lifenews.com, May 28, 2008

Planned Parenthood in Nebraska Settles Near-Death Botched Abortion Lawsuit, Lifenews.com, May 27, 2008

BUTLER et al v. PLANNED PARENTHOOD METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON, D.C., INC., Justia.com

Related Web Resources:

Planned Parenthood

Continue reading "Planned Parenthood In Washington DC Sued For $50 Million By Mother Of Teenager That Had Botched Abortion" »

University Legal Services, Inc., an advocacy group for Washington D.C. children that have developmental disabilities, say that children at Riverside Hospital are in danger of “serious and persistent abuse and neglect.” City mental health officials will now begin to visit the hospital on a weekly basis to monitor the conditions there. Riverside Hospital treats youths up to 21 years of age.

The advocacy group’s report recounts incidents of physical violence (punching, slapping, choking, pushing) and verbal abuse by staff members and the use of physical restraints and seclusion to control patients’ behavior. Not enough supervision allegedly allowed teens to hurt themselves, steal bottles of medicine, and attack other patients. Treatment plans were supposedly not followed and living conditions at the facility were allegedly unsanitary and unhealthy.

Last December, one teen resident died at the hospital. The Department of Mental Health says the female teenager became ill last November and was sent to Georgetown University Hospital where she was placed on a ventilator. She was then taken by air to Inova Fairfax Hospital for cardiac surgery. She died the following month.

The department says that the hospital failed to order basic tests, document the teenager’s vital signs, tell a doctor that her condition was getting worse, or note down that she had a family history of heart disease.

Riverside hospital is a private, for-profit hospital.

When a person is seriously injured while staying at a hospital because of negligence on the part of any staff members, he or she may be eligible to file a personal injury claim or a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Doctors, nurses, and medical staff members are required by law to provide proper care to their patients—medically, emotionally and psychologically. If that care is abused or not properly given, the negligent party could be sued for negligence or malpractice—depending on the type of abuse or neglect that occurred.

Some causes for a personal injury lawsuit can include:

• Nursing home abuse
• Negligence
• Physical abuse
• Verbal abuse
• Neglect
• Sexual abuse
• Rape
• Financial abuse
• Wrongful diagnosis
• Failure to diagnose
• Failure to administer proper care
• Physician error
• Surgical error

Youth Hospital Faulted For Abuse, Washington Post, July 26, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Department of Mental Health, Washington D.C.

Riverside Hospital, Washington D.C., Hospital Data

University Legal Services

Continue reading " Children At Psychiatric Hospital in Washington D.C. Might Be In Danger of Injury and Abuse" »