Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

I've been litigating malpractice cases for almost 20 years, and I have to say that it doesn't get much worse than this: using a stainless steel paperclip in place of a stainless steel post during a root canal treatment. A dentist who admits that he made such appalling substitutions in the course of dental treatment, is set to be sentenced.

Last week, dentist Michael Clair pleaded guilty to a range of charges. He admits that he used part of a paperclip in place of stainless steel posts to support a root canal on a patient.
Besides dental negligence, Clair faces several other charges. According to investigators, he fraudulently billed Medicaid by performing dental procedures and having other dentists in his practice bill it to Medicaid. In all, he allegedly defrauded Medicaid of approximately $130,000 between August 2003 and June 2005. During this time, he had been prohibited from working on Medicaid patients.

The charges also included drug charges against him. He used to prescribe addictive painkillers like hydrocodone and Perocet to members of the staff. The staff would procure the medications and give some of them to him.

Continue reading " Dentist Who Used Paper Clips in Treatment to be Sentenced " »

For many women, physical exertion, such as coughing, exercise, heavy lifting, or sneezing can cause an accidental leakage of urine. Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), as it is known, is the most common type of urinary incontinence found in women. Stress incontinence may be caused by a weakened pelvic muscles that supports the bladder and urethra or because the urethral sphincter is not working correctly. Weakness may be caused by:

-Childbirth
-Injury to the urethra area
-Some medications
-Surgery in the prostrate or pelvic area

Sometimes, vaginal sling procedures are performed in an effort to control stress incontinence. However, in July of 2011, the FDA advised doctors that most cases of pelvic organ prolapse can be effectively treated without the use of a bladder sling. Unfortunately, many women in the Atlanta metropolitan area who have had vaginal mesh implants have experienced:

-Complications during sex
-Corrosion of the mesh
-Hardening of the mesh
-Infection
-Injury to nearby nerves
-Pelvic Pain
-Urinary problems
-Vaginal pain and discomfort

Urinary incontinence is typically caused by an underlying medical condition that is usually treatable without the need of surgery. Moreover, there is no indication that bladder slings help women when its main use is treating pelvic organ prolapse.

Manufacturers of these devices have failed to warn patients and healthcare practitioners of the possible problems associated with the vaginal mesh. Furthermore, surgery is only recommended after the exact cause of urinary incontinence has been found. Most of the time, healthcare providers will attempt retraining the bladder or Kegel exercises before surgery is even considered.

Continue reading " Vaginal Sling Complications Can Be Severe " »

Being a pro wrestler doesn’t help you deal with the mess that is left behind after a dentist has been negligent. Hulk Hogan found this out the hard way. The pro wrestler last week underwent surgery to remove a metal tack that had been left in his mouth after a dental procedure.

According to Hulk Hogan, in October, he underwent dental surgery to get implants. First, the dentist performed a sinus graft that placed a donor bone in the mouth. The donor bone was meant to support the implant. When the implantation process began, the doctor removed the mold, and in the process also tore out about 50 stitches from the donor bone procedure.

After the implantation procedure, Hogan suffered a number of problems, including severe discomfort and pain. The wound became infected, and even a course of antibiotics did not help.

Continue reading " Hulk Hogan Needs Surgery to Remove Effects of Dental Negligence " »

Each year, a number of people in Atlanta undergo gastric bypass surgery in an effort to lose weight. However, gastric bypass surgery is not a cosmetic surgery. It is a “last resort” procedure for persons suffering from obesity. But unfortunately, 35 to 40% of those who elect to have the procedure suffer harmful complications within the first six months following surgery.

One problem is the number of gastric bypass procedures that a surgeon can safely perform in a day. Since the need for the procedure has increased, it has become common practice for some surgeons to perform as many as five operations per day. If a surgeon performs the procedure too quickly or while he or she is too fatigued, the patient is put in danger. This can lead to medical negligence and serious, long-term injuries.

Another cause for concern is that the surgical stapler and staples used in the procedure are prone to malfunction, thus, causing fluid to leak from the gastrointestinal track into the abdominal cavity. These fluids are highly caustic and can harm other areas of the body. The Food and Drug Administration has documented some 9,000 cases of serious complications and 100 deaths caused by failed surgical staplers and/or staples used in operations.

Other complications may include:

• excessive bleeding
• hemorrhaging
• hernias
• infections
• nutritional deficiencies

Some procedures were performed in facilities that were not properly suited in caring for obese persons. Consequently, such equipment as CAT scanners, operating tables, instruments, and other diagnostic tools were rendered inadequate due to the patient’s size. In other instances, medical practitioners failed to respond in a timely manner to patient complaints or simply failed to educate patients about post surgery recovery.

As I mentioned earlier, gastric bypass surgery is used specifically to treat obesity. Therefore, it is only considered beneficial for patients who are not less than 100 pounds overweight or who have a body mass index of 40 or more. Only under certain circumstances, such extreme cases of diabetes or cardiopulmonary problems, should the procedure be performed on persons with a slightly lower body mass index. Absent these rare extenuating circumstances, performing bypass surgery on someone who is not more than 100 pounds overweight is a form of medical malpractice. Therefore, patients should be wary of surgeons who try to “sell” them the procedure.

For many people suffering from obesity, gastric bypass surgery has enabled them to lose a considerable amount of weight. However, as we have seen, a number of complications can result after the surgery. Some of these complications may even warrant hospitalization of the patient for the entire length of the treatment, and close supervision upon release from the hospital to ensure that the problems have been corrected.

Continue reading " Latest Estimate: 1 in Every 200 Gastric Bypass Surgeries End in Death " »

Numerous Atlanta residents are using or have used Chantix to quit smoking, but recent studies have indicated that patients who do not have cardiovascular problems prior to trying to quit smoking with Chantix, might be putting themselves at risk of developing such problems in the future. Dr. Curt D. Furberg of Wake Forest, the senior author of one such study, has vehemently plead for the removal of Chantix from the U.S. market.

In June of 2011, the Food and Drug Administration issued its first warning that the use of Chantix might be related to an increase of certain cardiovascular problems in patients who have a history of heart disease. As a result, this new information is being added to all Chantix labels.

Furthermore, a medical trial of 700 smokers with cardiovascular disease were treated either with Chantix or a placebo. And according to the FDA, this trial indicated that the patients treated with Chantix experienced more cardiovascular events than those treated with the placebo.

Such cardiovascular events included:

-angina pectoris
-nonfatal myocardial infarction
-need for coronary revascularization
i-n addition to new diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease

Despite the fact that the number of cardiovascular episodes were minor, the FDA has noticed that several episodes have happened more often in patients treated with Chantix. A study that appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has also pointed out the connection between the risk of cardiovascular episodes and the use of Chantix.

This study found a 72 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular episodes with the use of Chantix when compared with those using a placebo. And an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients who don’t have a history of cardiovascular disease. Of the 4,908 patients who took Chantix, 52 patients experienced an acute cardiac episode. Whereas, only 27 of 3,308 patients who took the placebo experienced a cardiac episode.

Continue reading " More Health Risks Associated with Chantix Drug " »

Celebrex is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID. It is used by a number of patients here in Atlanta in the treatment of inflammation or pain caused by such medical conditions as ankylosing spondylitis, arthritis, and menstrual discomfort. Celebrex is also used in the treatment of hereditary polyps in the colon as well as for reasons that are not listed in the medication guide.

At present, Celebrex is the only remaining anti-inflammatory drug available to patients since the discontinuation of Vioxx and Bextra. However, since gaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), Celebrex has been tied to various gastrointestinal problems and numerous deaths. Consequently, legal action has been taken against Pfizer and Searle Pharmaceuticals who jointly manufacture Celebrex.

Use of Celebrex, particularly long term use, can cause life - threatening heart or circulation complications. Celebrex should not be used prior to or following heart bypass surgery. And patients should discontinue its use and seek immediate medical attention if balance and vision problems, chest pain, shortness of breath, or slurred speech are experienced.

Other symptoms include:

abnormal bruising and/or bleeding
bloody, blackish, tar like fecal matter
diarrhea
dizziness
flu - like symptoms
insomnia
lethargy
nausea and psyrosis (heartburn)
skin rashes
swelling of the lips, throat, and tongue
ventral (abdominal) pain
yellowish discoloration of the eyes or skin

Furthermore, patients should not use Celebrex if they are allergic to celecoxib, or have experienced allergic reactions to aspirin, sulfa drugs, or other NSAIDs. Doctors who prescribe Celebrex should be aware of their patients preexisting conditions such as asthma, bleeding or blood clotting disorders, heart disease, high blood pressure, liver or kidney disease, nose polyps, stomach ulcers, or strokes.

Continue reading " Georgia Patients Beware: Celebrex Can Possibly be Life Threatening " »