Our firm is currently litigating a cancer misdiagnosis action against a large Nashville hospital and two surgical pathologists.  Client undergoes two fine needle aspiration biopsies and pathologist renders diagnosis of lung cancer (non small cell carcinoma).  Relying upon this pathological diagnosis, vascular surgeon proceeds with a right upper lobectomy which removes the entire right upper lobe of client's lung.  A post operative review of a lung tissue resection renders a negative report for … [Read more...]

Our firm recently assisted a patient who directly filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Health and Examiners regarding a mal practice action we filed in the trial courts. The doctor clearly admitted by signing a consent decree that he was culpable for negligent supervision of a medical assistant who negligently performed a laser procedure causing third degree burns. This doctor is know as a medical director for four practices with limited attendance and supervision. Our firm advocated … [Read more...]

A recent survey of more than 700 pediatricians and trainees (residents and fellows) found that more than half admitted to mis-diagnosing a child once or more every thirty days.  That included more than 77 % of the pediatric trainees.  The most cited omission was failure to diagnose a bacterial infection or viral illness that may call for antibiotics.  These diagnostic errors have various causes, but the report indicated that the most common include a doctor’s failure to properly gather a … [Read more...]

This interesting protocol in the medical field can literally save one's life.  One day a man visits the ER with symptoms he thought consistent with indigestion, but he proceeds with prudent caution nonetheless.  The ER physician after a brief and superficial evaluation comes to the same conclusion.  "Ah...just spicy food my friend."  The man proceeds to leave the hospital and drops dead due to a myocardial infarction otherwise known as a heart attack.  A reasonable person may say how would the … [Read more...]

We tend to assess the severity of a collision in terms the injuries suffered by the occupants of the vehicles. But the injuries that occur in any particular accident depend on a lot of things including vehicle crashworthiness, restraint usage, occupant characteristics and it is generally thought, vehicle speeds. Vehicle speeds, however, are related to severity in a complicated fashion, consider the following: Recently the space shuttle ran into the Russian space station. Both vehicles were … [Read more...]

I recently took a case involving an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion procedure by a local neurosurgeon who placed the wrong size screws in him.  The screws protrude 3 mm anterior to the C3 vertebrae resulting in bone spurs and likely nerve impingement.  Headaches can present with further soft tissue injury as an ancillary effect.  Using screws and plates to stabilize the vertebrae is sometimes done when a previous method has failed (the bone fusion fails and allowing too much movement of … [Read more...]

When a patient presents to an emergency department with the new onset of headache, lethargy or altered mental status without the development of a "focal" neurological deficit, it is imperative that intracranial hemorrhage be high in the differential diagnosis list. One can suffer a subarachnoid hemorrhage or an intracerebral hemorrhage without focal neurological deficit but with severe headache and altered mental status. What should be done to evaluate such a patient? A CT scan of the head. When … [Read more...]

In my workers compensation practice, I have found many employers play upon the injured worker's ignorance of their rights.  I continually contend with injured clients who provided notification to their immediate supervisor of an injury who failed to provide the First Report of Work Injury on Form C-20 required by the state.  If you find that your employer continues to fail to comply with this requirement then you must hire an attorney immediately. What should you do if injured at work? An … [Read more...]

As a workers compensation attorney who assists injured workers for injuries sustained in course of employment, the utilization review is the most difficult and absurd element of workers compensation law one must contend with. Where in the course of medical treatment and in the universe of healthcare can a registered nurse dictate what is medically necessary and reasonable while and trumping the diagnosis and recommendation of an authorized treating physician or surgeon? In the scope of my … [Read more...]

Poorly staffed nursing homes have put Tennessee among the worst in the nation for quality of long-term care for a second year, a federal report shows. That's because Tennessee has one of the lowest staffing requirements in the country; less than half of what Medicare recommends. But it is unlikely that facilities' staffing will get better anytime soon, in part because state law would have to require higher staffing levels, and funding for nursing homes would have to increase. Advocates say the … [Read more...]