Review by Spencer Vereen

     In May of 2016, the British Journal of Medicine listed medical error as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. According to the Guardian, medical error accounts for nearly 250,000 deaths every year. These numbers are not readily available because of a lack of overall tracking in the U.S. Still, Martin Makary and Michael Daniel, researchers at John Hopkins University, concluded that more than 9.5% of all deaths in the U.S. can be attributed to medical error.

     The chart below highlights the large gap between other leading causes of death and deaths directly attributed to medical error. As you can see, medical error is ahead of many other leading causes of death. One thing that must be considered when looking at this chart is the fact that, while certain activities increase the chance that one could acquire a disease that leads to death (such as smoking leading to lung cancer), medical error is something that is completely avoidable. It is exclusively the result of a medical provider being entrusted with the care of a patient and that provider acting carelessly or negligently during the course of treatment. In the legal realm, this is referred to as “violating the standard of care.” This “standard of care” is not how the average person may define “standard”, but rather how the medical industry defines it. 

     The fact that medical error is the third leading cause of death should be of significant concern for every citizen. At the end of the day, you are more likely to die as a result of medical error than you are from stroke, diabetes, or even an accident. 

     One key aspect that is not quantified in the study is the number of individuals who suffered from a medical error but did not die as a result of it. This number likely far surpasses the number of deaths attributable to medical error. The Washington Post quoted one doctor as saying, “Some estimates would put this number at 40 times the death rate.”  These errors may forever alter the life of the patient. The overall lack of data in this area is symbolic of how taboo it is to speak of medical errors. In order to break the taboo, researchers have called for better tracking and to reframe the issue as a matter of public health.

     Makary, specifically, has called for the CDC to begin tracking the deaths and require physicians to report if the error led to a preventable death. These suggestions, although ambitious, would shed light on the underlying problems that allow medical error to occur at such a high rate. Furthermore, they would allow governmental institutions to work with healthcare institutions on standardizing the way in which doctors practice medicine. Currently, standardization in the medical industry is nearly non-existent. While general guidelines are used in a patient’s care, they are merely guidelines and are not necessarily followed to the letter. As more information comes to light on this subject, one can expect to see a drastic rise in the number of individuals coming forward who have been the victim of a medical error.

     While statistics may be skewed in one direction or the other, we know that medical errors happen more often than they should. With recent studies highlighting these trends, the situation may be more serious than what we initially realized.

     At Marc Stewart Law, PLLC, we receive hundreds of inquiries each month about incidents of potential medical malpractice. These most recent statistics shine light on the latest research--and its irony.  Pursuing a medical malpractice claim is extremely difficult. The plaintiff maintains the burden of proof at all times. This means that a plaintiff must prove each of the following points:

1. )   a medical error was committed (also called a “deviation from the minimum standard of reasonable medical care”) as defined by the medical industry;
2. )   serious injury or death occurred (damages); and,
3. )   a direct cause-and-effect link between the medical error and the injury can be established with scientific/medical evidence.

     Additionally, a medical expert or experts must be obtained who support and are willing to testify to each of these elements. Requiring a medical expert or experts to testify to these points is not only daunting but extremely costly. Having someone on your side that is well versed in medicine and how it intersects with law is absolutely crucial to have the best chance at a successful outcome.

     For the past 17 years, Marc Stewart has actively taken care of patients who were unnecessarily harmed due to the actions of medical providers who deviated from the accepted medical “standard of care.” For 17 years, he also has worked to hold medical providers accountable, which often results in better practices and safer medical services delivered at medical facilities and the communities in which they operate. Should you believe that you or a loved one has suffered severe damages from a medical error, contact our office at 877-650-6080 toll-free. 

     You may also reach us via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..            

Infusion of fluids and medication through an IV is very common. The idea is that a catheter tip is inserted into a vein; a solution is then transfused through the catheter directly into the blood stream as it flows back towards the heart. A nurse is usually the provider that places the IV into the patient. The insertion site can be the hand, the arm, the leg, the neck, and even the foot in some circumstances.

Injuries can happen when the IV catheter tip finds itself outside of the patient’s vein. The cause may be due to poor placement of catheter. Many times the catheter tip wears through the vein over time. Other causes include the high pressure of the infusion or the caustic nature of the infused solution itself.

Once the infused solution gets out of the vein and into the surrounding tissue, an injury occurs. This is called an IV infiltration. The damage done depends on the type of medication being administered. Some medications are more “acid-like” and can burn the tissue badly. Known as a vesicant, these medications are usually involved in the worst IV infiltration injuries. Examples of vesicant medications include:

• Potassium Chloride
• Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)
• Phenergan
• Nitroglycerine
• Digoxin
• Morphine
• Calcium Chloride or Calcium Gluconate
• Many chemotherapy drugs
• Many antibiotics

Legal claims involving IV infiltration injuries usually involve the failure of nursing staff to properly manage and monitor the infusion. Oftentimes, the patient’s serious complaints of pain are discounted as the usual discomfort of IV therapy. Sometimes the negligent medical provider selected an unsafe site for the IV.

Pediatric IV management requires even closer attention by the nursing staff, especially when a known vesicant medication is being administered. 

If you believe you may have suffered an injury due to negligent IV infiltration, please contact our office or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. medical malpractice attorney This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. right away.

A single pharmacy fills thousands of prescriptions each week. When strict safeguards are not followed, errors can happen. Most people would be shocked at the number of calls my law firm receives about mistakes involving mis-filled pill bottles or mistakes in dosage instructions. For example, a common error concerns a pill bottle filled with a completely different drug than the one prescribed by the physician. The patient unknowingly consumes the medication and, depending on what it is, can be badly harmed.

Sometimes a pharmacy technician types the dosage instructions incorrectly. Rather than “take one per day,” maybe the pill bottle instructs to “take 3 each day at meals.” Such a mistake can dangerously triple the daily dosage of an otherwise therapeutic medication.

If you feel that a pharmacy failed to properly fill your prescription, give us a call or email attorney This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Valsartan Linked to Cancer -- Learn More Here

Pradaxa Drugs Linked to Stroke, Heart Attack, Bleeding Events, and Even Death

Have you or a loved one been taking Pradaxa?

Have you or a loved one experienced stroke, hemorrhaging, ulcers, or any other type of bleeding event after taking Pradaxa? 

Pradaxa is a "direct thrombin inhibitor" manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and is prescribed to patients who suffer from a heart rhythm problem called atrial fibrillation. These patients are at an increased risk of having a stroke and so are, therefore, prescribed a blood thinner. It has been marketed and used as a substitute for the popular medication Coumadin because it does not require the regular treatment and monitoring that Coumadin requires, thereby making it a much more convenient option. Unlike Coumadin, however, Pradaxa cannot reverse its effects and can make the patient's blood too thin, causing hemorrhaging, stroke, or even death. 

If a patient taking Coumadin has a bleeding event, the effects of the blood-thinner can be reversed by administering doses of Vitamin K. If someone is taking Pradaxa, however, there is no way to reverse its effects and patients are at risk of bleeding complications and fatalities. Oddly enough, Pradaxa has been found to cause the very thing that it is prescribed to prevent.

CBS News Reports That Pradaxa Patients Have 33% Higher Risk of Heart Attack

A January 2012 report on CBS News online stated: "Patients taking the new anti-clotting drug Pradaxa have a 33% higher risk of heart attack or severe symptoms of heart disease than do patients taking warfarin. The finding, from Cleveland Clinic researchers Ken Uchino, MD, and Adrian V. Hernandez, MD, PhD, is based on data from seven clinical trials that enrolled 30,514 patients.

...In an editorial accompanying the study in the Jan. 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, journal editor Rita Redberg, MD, notes that this isn't the first safety warning issued for Pradaxa.

...The FDA is investigating an unusually large number of reports of serious bleeding linked to the drug. Japan and Australia already have issued a safety warning. The European Medicines Agency advises doctors to check patients' kidney function before prescribing Pradaxa. And last year the FDA warned patients that the drug breaks down quickly when removed from its original container."

Read the entire article here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500368_162-57356568/study-higher-heart-attack-risk-from-pradaxa/

FiercePharma Reports: "Pradaxa Leads FDA MedWatch List of Fatalities"

In a June 6, 2012 article, FiercePharma notes that "Pradaxa resulted in more reports to the FDA of fatalities than any other drug last year. In fact, Pradaxa lead all other monitored drugs in several categories, including overall number of reports (3,781), deaths (542), hemorrhage (2,367), acute renal failure (291) and stroke (644), according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's health blog. The Inquirer cites a report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices' QuarterWatch program, which gets its data from the FDA MedWatch reporting system."

Read the entire article here: http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/pradaxa-leads-fda-medwatch-list-fatalities/2012-06-06 

Attorney Marc Stewart's Family Experience with Coumadin:

My own mother, Mary Ann Stewart, had undergone a heart valve replacement in 1994. Afterwards, her doctors placed her on Coumadin. The idea was to thin the blood so that it did not form clots around the artificial heart valve. My mother hated Couamdin because she was always freezing and she was required to alter her diet.  Also, she had to go to her family practitioner once a week for blood tests to assess her PT and INR.  The Coumadin dosage always had to be adjusted weekly so that it did not thin-out her blood to a dangerous level. 

Many Coumadin patients today have the same complaints that my own mother had. Coumadin is a very inconvenient and uncomfortable medication. This is precisely why Pradaxa has so much appeal for patients...and the manufacturer's marketing department. With Pradaxa, the patient is not required to have weekly finger sticks to check levels and adjust dosage. You just take the medication and the work is done. The problem is that despite this alleged convenience, a patient's blood can still become overly-thinned to a dangerous level. Pradaxa patients have been seen often in emergency rooms with hemorrhagic strokes in their brain and other bleeding complications.

 If you or someone you love or know has had complications such as stroke or hemorrhage after taking the drug Pradaxa, we should talk right away.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., PLLC today.

Please note: Marc Stewart Law, PLLC does not intend in any way, by this website or otherwise, to dissuade anyone from taking medication that has been prescribed by his/her doctor. Please contact your doctor immediately regarding questions and issues relating to your health. As everyone's case is unique and different, it could be dangerous to discontinue medications, especially in an abrupt fashion. Patients taking Pradaxa should visit with their physician to determine whether Pradaxa is right for them and their specific situation.