Medical mistakes happen for a host of different reasons. Medical care providers are human, so they get distracted and they may harbor potentially harmful subconscious biases. Institutional policies, poorly-run facilities, and even assumptions can lead to consequential patient safety scenarios. For example, in one recent post, we discussed the ways in which an atypical presentation of symptoms related to five potentially-deadly conditions accounts for 40 percent of cases in which emergency room patients suffer permanent or fatal harm as a result of misdiagnosis.

When patient safety risks are not adequately addressed, rates of medication errors, emergency room errors, diagnostic errors, and a variety of other consequential harm tend to risk, spike, or even skyrocket. One recent survey seems to illustrate what has long been suspected: Inadequate staffing impacts patient safety in both perceivable and measurable ways.

HR and CNO Professionals Are Confirming This Nexus

A respected advisory firm recently surveyed human resources (HR) professionals and chief nursing officers (CNOs) across the country about the most pressing issues impacting their organizations. When the responses were analyzed, it was revealed that 84 percent of respondents believe that patient safety and quality care is the single most critical issue impacting their organizations. An additional 77 percent cited significant concerns with strengthening employee engagement and retention.

It is not a secret that medical errors are now considered to be the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. Both fatal and non-fatal medical errors that occur due to substandard professional approaches are usually classified as medical malpractice incidents. Although not all medical errors are legally actionable, a patent who has suffered harm as a result of healthcare approaches that do not meet professional standards likely has grounds upon which to hold an offending healthcare provider or facility liable for malpractice.

Every patient’s story is unique and every patient who has suffered malpractice-related harm deserves justice. Yet, it is especially important to hold negligent providers accountable when someone’s harm is truly life-altering or life-ending.

When a patient has suffered non-fatal harm but their situation is serious enough that they will be struggling as a result of their circumstances for the rest of their life, the testimony of a life care planner may make a significant difference when it comes to convincing a jury of a patient’s need for significant financial restitution.

The kinds of risks that patients face ebb and flow as the healthcare industry evolves. While some forms of injurious harm – for example, patient falls – remain relatively constant, others shift as the medical profession and medical facilities adapt their practices to the times. It was not so long ago, for example, that more patient harm was caused by providers’ illegible handwriting than was caused by issues with error-ridden electronic medical records maintained by hospitals.

Understanding the kinds of risks that patients face most frequently at any time is valuable for two primary reasons. First, this knowledge can empower patients to self-advocate if they are on the lookout for certain kinds of risks and errors. Second, this knowledge can be beneficial in the aftermath of sustaining injuries or illnesses due to a provider’s negligence. By understanding that a certain complication may be a sign of a common type of mistake, patients will be more likely to seek legal guidance and explore their legal options accordingly.

The Patient Risks that Are Most Concerning Right Now 

Every year, ECRI releases a “top 10 patient safety” concerns list that the healthcare industry – and patients alike – should be paying particular attention to. Of note on the independent organization’s list for 2023 are the following causes of patient harm:

Unfortunately, although egregious medical errors and other forms of medical negligence occur every day, relatively few victims of this form of professional negligence take advantage of their rights under the law. The fact that it is not always clear when medical malpractice has occurred is one of the primary reasons driving this reality.

For most people, “medical malpractice” is a vague legal term that is not easily applied to individual circumstances. This is understandable. This area of the law is both complex and highly contextual. As a result, unless a healthcare provider admits to making a mistake or it is clear that a preventable situation has gone terribly wrong, it is rarely easy to identify and respond to incidents of medical malpractice.

When Does Medical Malpractice Occur?

Medical malpractice occurs when a patient suffers harm while under the care of a healthcare professional, subject to specific legal and professional criteria. Generally speaking, if a healthcare provider – either by action or omission – causes a patient harm due to engaging in a professionally substandard level of care, medical malpractice has likely occurred.

There are a host of reasons why millions of Americans log on to social media platforms each and every day. From seeking support to connecting with others who share the same passions, getting the word out about important causes to catching up with loved ones, social media allows people to express themselves openly and instantly in the Digital Age’s version of a town square. Yet, not all activity on social media yields positive results. For example, injury victims need to take great care when engaging on social media platforms due to the unique risks that such activity poses while an injury-related legal case remains unresolved.

“Anything You Say Can and Will…”

Anyone who has ever watched a full season of a legal drama can probably recite the Miranda warnings by heart. The phrase “anything you say can and will be used against you” is the opening line of the Miranda warnings read to criminal defendants as they are being arrested. In a strange way, it can be very helpful for injury victims to keep this phrase in mind as they are engaging on social media while their personal injury lawsuit, insurance claim, and/or workers’ compensation benefits application remains pending.

It is true that the Internet is not always an injury victim’s enemy. For example, notable cases involving victims calling out insurance companies for bad-faith practices and receiving justice in high-profile fashion serve as victorious examples of speaking truth to power. However, social media platforms trip injury victims up far more often than they lend them aid.

In 2016, researchers from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine revealed that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Since that time, there has been considerable pressure on the medical profession to identify why so many errors are occurring and what can be done to mitigate this devastating trend.

Research and practical trials designed to answer these questions are ongoing. Additionally, many medical facilities are starting to implement new technologies to minimize the likelihood that errors will occur and to reduce the harm associated with any that do occur. Among the most promising innovations being widely embraced across the country in recent years involves the mining of electronic medical records.

What Mining Aims to Achieve

All too often, failures in communication, multitasking, and attempts to account for a wealth of information in the blink of an eye lead to errors. By mining a patient’s electronic medical records in specific ways, potential errors can be caught before they are fully realized.

It is not difficult to imagine why a missed diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis could cost a patient dearly. When injuries are acute and illnesses are aggressive, a diagnostic error can cost a patient valuable time. Under the most extreme circumstances, an error made in an operating room, at the scene of an accident, or in an emergency department could cost a patient their life.

One of the primary reasons that diagnostic errors occur is that not every condition presents in the exact same way in every patient. For example, it has only been over the last 20 years or so that the medical community and the wider public have come to understand that heart attack symptoms tend to manifest very differently in women than they do in men.

Dismissing someone’s atypical manifestations of a serious condition can result in catastrophic consequences. Recently, it was revealed just how often misinterpretation of atypical symptoms in E.R. patients causes irreversible harm.

One of the first questions doctors, nurses, dentists, and other healthcare practitioners usually ask a new patient is whether the patient has any known drug allergies. If the patient knows about a drug allergy, he or she discloses it to the healthcare worker, who notes it in the patient’s charts so that future exposure to the drug can be avoided. Unfortunately, healthcare workers are often busy and stressed, and details about allergies can be difficult to pay attention to. Nevertheless, this is not an excuse for accidentally giving a patient a dangerous drug and triggering an allergic reaction. If you or a loved one suffered a serious allergic reaction due to negligent medical care, you may be able to bring a case for medical malpractice. 

What Happens if Someone Takes a Drug They Are Allergic To? 

Allergic reactions vary depending on the person and the severity of the allergy. Some symptoms are not very serious, while others can quickly become life-threatening. The most common symptoms of an allergic reaction to a drug include, but are not limited to: 

• Hives

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Most people feel as though their dog is a part of the family and provide their furry four-legged friend with close supervision and careful training. But even the best pet dogs can hurt young children, who are often not much bigger than the dogs, and when a dog becomes frightened, threatened, or aggressive, it can unexpectedly attack. 

Over four and a half million people are bitten by dogs every year, and about 20 percent of those bitten need to see a doctor to get medical attention for their injuries. Children in particular are often severely injured and, in tragic cases, even killed in dog attacks. If you or your child have suffered an injury from a neighbor, friend, or family member’s dog, you may be facing a long and expensive recovery. Speak with an Illinois personal injury attorney who can help you determine whether a lawsuit could help you obtain compensation to help you pay for the costs of treatment and any other losses due to the attack. 

When Do Most Dog Bites Happen? 

Kids often miss cues coming from a dog’s body language and can fail to see a threat. Other times, dogs can behave unpredictably, attacking when a provocation is not clear.  Children may stick their hands through a neighbor’s fence on the way home from school, accidentally pull a dog’s tail in a family member’s backyard, or rush up to pet an unknown dog walking down the street with its owner. However the attack happens, Illinois’ strict liability dog bite laws mean that a dog owner is responsible for any injuries caused by their dog if it attacks someone who is allowed to be on the premises where the attack occurs and is not provoking the dog or its owner.

Despite years of efforts to identify and recall vehicles with dangerously malfunctioning airbags, another series of recalls and ‘do not drive’ advisories have recently been issued. As with many previous recalls for airbag safety concerns, current recalls are for cars equipped with Takata brand airbags. These airbags fail up to 50 percent of the time, potentially ejecting metal fragments towards drivers that can kill or maim them forever. If you or a family member were injured by a defective airbag, an Illinois personal injury attorney may be able to help you recover compensation for your suffering. 

Which Vehicles Are Being Recalled? 

The recent recall focuses on older Acura and Honda models. Until the airbags have been fixed, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is warning people not to drive the cars at all. Airbag recall repairs are free for owners, but, due to the older models of these cars and the likelihood that they have been sold to multiple owners, it may be difficult to find and warn the current drivers of the roughly 8,000 Honda and Acura vehicles under recall, including: 

• 2001-2002 Civic

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Fires may seem like one of those disasters which is unlikely to ever happen to you, but the sad truth is that nearly 4,000 people die in house fires every year and several thousand more are severely injured. Fires in homes, restaurants, stores, apartments, and other buildings can start quietly, spread quickly, and rapidly engulf an entire structure before occupants have time to get out. Young and old people are at the greatest likelihood of being injured or killed in a fire, but fires claim the lives of people of all ages, as well as the brave men and women who try to put them out. 

If you recently lost a loved one or were seriously injured in a fire, you may be wondering what caused the blaze and, if it was another person or company, whether you can take legal action against them to seek compensation for your losses. If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a fire this winter, speak to an Illinois personal injury lawyer. We may be able to help. 

What Causes Fires? 

The most important part of a personal injury lawsuit is establishing that, through their negligent actions, someone who owed you a standard of care caused your injury or loss. In the case of a fire, this can require careful outside investigation to determine who is responsible and to what extent their actions caused your injuries. For example, if you fell asleep smoking a cigarette that caught your sofa on fire, you would likely be responsible for your own injuries; but if it was your downstairs neighbor, they or their insurance policy may be liable. If you live in an apartment complex, your landlord may be responsible for any losses. 

Crossing the street and getting hit by a car - it is a situation nobody expects themselves to be in, yet one that kills and seriously injures people in the U.S. every day. If pedestrians involved in vehicle accidents survive, they often face an expensive healing process and, in some cases, have serious injuries that prevent them from going back to work and living life as they did before. 

When accidents like this happen, a personal injury lawsuit cannot undo the accident. But it may provide the injured or deceased party with a way to get the funds they need to recover and continue functioning as normally as possible in the future. However, there are strict time limits on how much time a pedestrian or their family has to take legal action, and the longer a victim waits, the more difficult it becomes to gather evidence and make a strong case. 

What is the Statute of Limitations on Pedestrian Auto Accidents? 

Illinois has a statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits that generally lasts no longer than two years from the date of the accident. However, there are some exceptions to this; for example, if someone is in a coma or is under age 18, they may be able to extend the statute of limitations so that they can take action when they are recovered or have reached adulthood. 

Despite the fact that our elderly family members and loved ones are often vulnerable and need help with even the most basic tasks, they are also often at risk of terrible abuse and neglect at the hands of those we trust to take care of them. Illinois law guarantees nursing home residents a standard of care that is intended to protect them from abuse or neglect, but employees and managers at nursing homes and other residential care centers do not always respect or follow the law. 

Because elderly people can have a hard time communicating clearly or remembering what happened, it can be difficult to identify potential signs of abuse or neglect and distinguish them from other behaviors that are typical to this age group, such as injuries caused by tripping and falling. However, there are warning signs that could indicate your loved one is in need of urgent assistance. Responding to these warning signs and taking action against the person or organization responsible could save a life. 

Warning Signs of Abuse and Neglect in Illinois Nursing Homes

The most important thing to be aware of is that you know your loved one best. If you notice any substantial changes in their behavior that seem suspicious or unexplained, it is important to follow up on those behaviors to determine their cause. Other warning signs of neglect or abuse include, but are not limited to: 

As safety measures improve and worker safety awareness continues to increase, workplace injuries are on the decline across the nation. However, people are still commonly injured and even killed while on the job, making it difficult or impossible to work and depriving families of their loved ones and a desperately needed income. 

When someone is injured on the job in Illinois, they are usually covered by workers’ compensation insurance. Employers are required to have this essential coverage in Illinois and it can be a lifeline for those who need it. Sometimes, however, more action is warranted - and this is especially true in injury cases that are caused by defective equipment manufactured or managed by a third party. If you were injured at work, make sure you speak with an Illinois personal injury attorney who can help you recover any damages to which you are entitled. 

Faulty Equipment in the Workplace

It would be impossible to list the unlimited number of products that can potentially cause workers injury; nevertheless, there are a few common sources of injuries that appear time and again as the most serious offenders. These include, but are not limited to: 

Construction work is absolutely essential for making our lives as comfortable and convenient as they are, but it is dangerous work and construction workers frequently face serious and even fatal hazards. While many of the injuries and fatalities that occur on construction sites in Illinois are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, others are caused by third-party negligence that leaves construction workers options for recovering compensation for the damages they have suffered. 

If you are a construction worker who has been injured, or if you are the loved one of a construction worker who was killed on site, you deserve to know your options. Learn about the most common construction site accidents in this blog and then contact an Illinois personal injury with specific knowledge and experience in construction site injuries to see whether taking further action is right for you. 

The Fatal Four

Construction sites are busy, complex locations with virtually limitless opportunities for injuries to occur. Even with advances in technology, safety equipment, and best practices, workers are still at risk. However, the CDC, which collects information about annual construction site accidents, notes that four accidents in particular are most likely to cause injury or death. In fact, these four types of accidents have been dubbed “The Fatal Four” precisely because of how dangerous they are. They are: 

The last ten years brought an explosion in online commerce, with companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Apple shipping hundreds of millions of dollars of goods around the country every year. With the increase in deliveries has come an increase in delivery trucks and big rigs on the road, and, unfortunately, an increase in serious and fatal trucking accidents. Every year, nearly 5,000 people die in large truck accidents, and well over 100,000 people are injured. 

While accidents are not entirely preventable, many accidents could be prevented with simple adherence to regulations and guidelines. One of the most common causes of trucking accidents in Illinois is improperly loaded cargo; when the contents of a truck are not correctly secured or distributed, they can shift during sharp turns and high speeds, leading to jackknifing, rollovers, inability to stop or slow down, and other serious accidents. If you were injured in a truck accident caused by shifting cargo, you are already well aware of the dangers of these accidents, but you may not realize that you may be able to take legal action against the people or companies responsible for your injuries. 

Who is Responsible for Shifting Truck Cargo? 

Every case is different and will require a thorough investigation to determine the ultimate source of liability for an accident. However, in most accident cases that occur due to shifting cargo, the driver and the loading company bear final responsibility for the contents of the truck. Both during loading and before transport, the driver is responsible for checking that the load is secure and that it will not shift dangerously during transport. Common causes of shifting loads include: 

Even with all the remarkable advances in maternal healthcare, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery still pose serious risks to pregnant mothers in Illinois. One of the riskiest conditions that a pregnant mother can be diagnosed with is preeclampsia. Maternal healthcare providers should be carefully trained to recognize early symptoms of preeclampsia because this condition can escalate quickly into serious complications and may even be fatal for both mother and child. 

Failure to diagnose preeclampsia is among the most serious and consequential types of medical malpractice, and doctors, nurses, and hospitals who fail to provide pregnant patients with the highest standard of care should be held accountable for their actions. If you or a loved one had preeclampsia and your team of healthcare providers did not diagnose you in a timely fashion, you may want to take legal action to recover compensation for any damages you suffered. 

What is Preeclampsia?

Understanding preeclampsia is essential for understanding why it is so important to catch and treat early. For reasons that are not yet entirely clear, some pregnant women develop certain symptoms that indicate preeclampsia. These include, but are not limited to: 

The constant advances in the medical industry often mislead the average consumer into feeling like products recommended by doctors are always safe. Unfortunately, lack of research, poor design, and greed and corruption on the part of medical device designers and manufacturers can expose patients to dangerous conditions that can pose serious, life-long risks. 

One type of defective medical product that has become notorious in recent years for causing cancer is CPAP and BiPAP machines made by Philips. These machines exposed users to toxic chemicals that caused specific types of cancers and respiratory illnesses, often with fatal consequences. If you used a Philips CPAP machine or any other dangerous or defective medical device, you deserve to know your options. 

Why Were These CPAP Machines Dangerous? 

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted an investigation into Philips to determine whether Philips had an idea that their machines posed risks to users. The investigation showed that Philips knew about the dangers of the CPAP machines, but did not take immediate action to issue a recall. 

People go to bars to drink - that is no secret. But how much can a bartender allow a single person to drink before sharing some responsibility for what that person does when he or she leaves the bar? If a bartender allows or encourages someone to get so drunk he or she cannot drive safely, and the drunk person gets in their car and hurts or kills someone else, can the bartender be held responsible? 

According to Illinois law, it may be possible to hold the bar or bartender responsible if a drunk driver gets in their car after being allowed to become intoxicated on the bar’s premises. An Illinois personal injury attorney can talk to you about your case and determine which parties are responsible for the injuries or losses you have suffered as the result of someone else’s poor decision to drink and drive. 

What Are Dram Shop Laws? 

“Dram shop” is an old-fashioned term that just means “bar.” Under Illinois law, the laws that potentially allow a bar or bartender to be held responsible for overserving an intoxicated customer are called “dram shop laws.” The person who got drunk and acted in a way that harmed someone else cannot sue the bar for allowing them to get so drunk; only the victim of the drunk person’s actions may be able to take action. 

The majority of the United States and all of Illinois is headed into its winter weather season. While Illinois residents are no stranger to snow, sleet, and rain, bad weather can still easily impact road conditions and the ability to drive safely. Unfortunately, even with defensive driving practices, the reckless or careless actions of other drivers on the road can jeopardize your safety during winter weather. If you are involved in a serious car accident this winter, make sure you meet with an Illinois personal injury lawyer. 

Weather Conditions Cause Fatal Accidents

Snow, slush, and ice on roadways cause nearly 25 percent of weather-related vehicle accidents and 15 percent more happen during actively snowy or sleety conditions. Almost 1,500 people are killed and well over 100,000 injured every year in these accidents. Besides precipitation actively falling from the sky and accumulating on the roadway, blowing and drifting snow, avalanches, and freezing rain can cause unexpected dangers in the roadway. Black ice, a form of invisible ice that is usually impossible to see, causes many accidents when unsuspecting drivers fail to reduce their speed. 

In fact, more people die in car accidents during the winter than die in severe weather-related causes, like tornadoes and hurricanes, the entire year. Winter weather car accidents can cause many serious injuries, including, but not limited to: