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Overcrowded hospital emergency rooms have become an enormous problem, forcing patients who are in need of medical attention to wait long amounts of time for the medical help they desperately require.  Patients may be kept waiting for hours, while their medical problems condition to get worse. 

Overcrowded emergency rooms can lead to medical negligence, especially if patients who require immediate medical care are not taken care of, or if the overcrowding forces medical staff to rush patients through the process, therefore misdiagnosing the patients or failing to diagnose serious medical problems.  If this misdiagnosis causes a patient's condition to go from serious to severe, or the patient dies, the hospital or medical staff may be liable for medical negligence.

Patients in overcrowded emergency rooms may first be kept waiting for a long period of time, and then when they are finally admitted to the hospital, must still wait a long period of time for a bed to be made available.  The patient may be sent back to the hallway while the medical staff rushes from patient to patient. Finally, when the patient gets a bed, they must wait for a nurse to arrive, then a doctor.  Meanwhile the patient's condition continues to deteriorate.  We see a lot more problems these days and cases of medical negligence due to the overcrowding of emergency rooms.  This also creates a strain on the medical staff as the hospital personnel may be overworked and tired.  If there is a shortage of medical staff, the situation becomes even worse and the likelihood of medical negligence increases.

Examples of hospital negligence or hospital malpractice related to overcrowded emergency rooms:

• Patients who are left waiting too long while their medical conditions worsen
• Nursing or doctor medical errors
• Failure of the medical staff to diagnose the medical condition of the patient
• Misdiagnosis of the medical condition
• Medication errors
• Surgical errors

Dr. Bruce G. Fagel has won or settled many medical negligence claims against doctors, nurses, and hospitals from emergency room negligence.  Dr. Fagel is not only a leading medical malpractice attorney, but a licensed medical doctor as well, including over 10 years experience as an emergency room physician.  So Dr. Fagel knows exactly how an emergency room should operate and where medical negligence or medical malpractice has occurred. 

It is important to understand that proving a doctor, nurse, or hospital was negligent in a medical malpractice case can be very complicated, especially for an inexperienced attorney who does not understand medical malpractice cases or how an emergency room functions.  In order to win the case or obtain the highest settlement, the attorney must be able to prove the connection between the negligent care and the injury or death to the patient.  This is where having the legal and medical expertise of an attorney and physician such as Dr. Bruce Fagel is critical to winning the case or obtaining the maximum settlement.

Many serious injuries and deaths occur in hospitals because of medical negligence and medical malpractice.  In fact, the National Institute of Health places the number of deaths by medical malpractice each year around 225,000, placing it as the third leading cause of death in the United States, just after heart attacks and cancer.  This alarming number doesn't even take into account how many people are seriously injured each year because of medical negligence.   

Many factors are responsible for hospital negligence, including surgery mistakes, anesthesia mistakes, miscommunication between doctors and nurses, failure to diagnose a problem, misdiagnosis of a problem, or failure to provide timely medical care to a patient desperately in need of medical help.  Sometimes patients in the emergency rooms are kept waiting so long that a serious medical problem turns into a severe medical emergency. Situations like this can lead to hospital negligence where the services of a hospital negligence lawyer may be required.

Hospital negligence is also the result of medical staff who may be sleep deprived, overworked, or not properly trained to handle various medical problems, or medical emergencies.  If a hospital is understaffed, the risk for hospital negligence increases.  For example, in September 2012, a cancer patient died from medical negligence in the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland due to an improperly trained replacement nurse accidentally administering a nutritional supplement into the patient's catheter, which was set up for delivering medicine into the blood stream instead.

Negligence in hospitals may even go unnoticed as a patient enters the hospital with a particular problem, but the doctor's negligence ends up causing an entirely new problem.  The doctor may simply place the blame on the new problem with the original problem, saying the original problem escalated into the new problem; therefore avoiding the responsibility for causing the negligent act.  In this type of situation, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer, especially one who is also a licensed physician such as Dr. Bruce Fagel, will be able to examine the medical records and prove the doctor's negligence was in fact the cause of the severe medical condition.

An additional complication involving hospital negligence and doctor negligence is doctors are usually not employees of the hospital, but instead, independent contractors.  This creates an additional veil of protection for the hospitals from medical malpractice lawsuits.  Therefore in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the victim of medical negligence must name the doctors involved with the negligence as well as the hospital.

If you or a family member suffered serious injuries as a result of doctor negligence, hospital negligence, or the negligence of any medical professional, you may have a case for medical malpractice.  Contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates right away for a free consultation.

Most medical negligence and medical malpractice claims in the U.S. are initiated against doctors and hospitals.  In order for a medical malpractice claim to be successful, the plaintiff initiating the claim must prove four elements:

• A duty of care was owed by the physician
• The physician violated the standard of care
• The patient suffered a compensable injury
• The injury was caused in fact and proximately by the conduct

Doctors, nurses, medical personnel, and hospitals owe a duty of care to the patients that seek treatment.  When medical professionals deviate from the accepted medical standard of care, then medical negligence may occur.

Although on the surface it appears simple enough, if a doctor, nurse, or medical facility causes serious harm to a patient, the patient or their family, simply initiates a lawsuit and the medical personnel or facility responsible pays the damages and the case is settled.  However, medical malpractice cases are far more complicated than this.  For example, medical malpractice cases require medical experts which are necessary to prove liability and damages.  The costs for obtaining these medical experts can cost over $200,000 before the trial even begins.  The defense will obviously be investing a great deal of money into obtaining their own medical experts to challenge the experts the victim's lawyer produces.

Another complication with medical malpractice cases involves causation.  Even though the victim suffered serious injuries through the medical negligence of a doctor, the doctor may blame the injury on another factor unrelated to the doctor's negligence.  The doctor may blame the age, physical condition, or another medical problem on the patient, rather than the doctor's own negligence.  This requires the victim's attorney to not only find the evidence of the doctor's negligence, but to prove it to a jury as well. If the case does not go to trial, then the victim's attorney must convince the defense attorney that the evidence and the case are sufficient to convince a jury of the negligence.

If medical malpractice cases weren't complicated enough, regarding medical negligence in a hospital setting, it is important to know that most doctors are not employees of the hospital but rather independent contractors.  This creates an additional shield of protection for the hospitals against lawsuits.  Naming the doctors or nurses in a medical negligence lawsuit in addition to the hospital may be necessary to ensure everyone responsible for the medical malpractice is part of the lawsuit.

Due to the enormous resources necessary to take a medical malpractice case forward, and the complexity of a medical malpractice case, it is critical a victim of medical malpractice retains a highly qualified medical malpractice lawyer.  It is also important that a victim of medical malpractice researches this medical malpractice attorney to make sure he or she has a strong track record winning cases in the type of area the victim is involved with.  For example, if the victim of medical malpractice is a child suffering a severe birth injury, then the medical malpractice attorney retained must have a strong track record of winning cases and settlements involving birth injuries. 

In order to demonstrate medical malpractice has occurred, it is important to show the connection between the negligent care and the patient's injury or death.  This is where obtaining the services of a leading medical malpractice attorney who understands medicine and how hospitals work, is critical to winning a case or obtaining a settlement favorable to the victim. 

In addition to being one of the best medical malpractice lawyers in the country, Dr. Bruce Fagel is also a licensed medical doctor, with over 10 years experience working in emergency medicine in hospital settings.  This powerful combination has given Dr. Fagel the ability to detect where medical negligence or medical malpractice has occurred, even being able to personally decipher complex medical records to see if medical malpractice occurred.  In fact, sometimes doctors avoid putting necessary information in medical records to help protect themselves from lawsuits.  This is where a strong background in medicine helps give Dr. Fagel an edge in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

After heart attacks and cancer, death from medical malpractice has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to the National Institute of Health.  In fact nearly 225,000 people die each year from medical malpractice and many people are seriously injured as well.  If you or someone you care about has been the victim of medical malpractice, you probably have many questions, including what should you look for when researching a medical malpractice attorney.

Experience - many lawyers handle a variety of cases, medical malpractice merely being one of the categories.  Medical malpractice cases are the most complex type of cases, requiring extensive expertise and experience.  

Dr. Bruce Fagel handles only medical malpractice cases and has tried and settled more medical malpractice cases on behalf of injured victims than any other attorney in California.

Track Record - obtaining the largest settlement possible in a medical malpractice case requires that the defendant's doctor or hospital insurance carrier respects and fears your attorney.  This respect and fear comes from the experience and ability of the attorney in taking medical malpractice cases to trial and winning these cases.

Dr. Bruce Fagel has successfully tried cases in more than 25 different counties in California and is well known and respected by the attorneys who represent doctors and hospitals.  He is even asked to speak at meetings of defense attorneys, hospitals, and insurance companies.

Knowledge - all medical malpractice cases require evidence from medical experts to prove negligence and causation.  Often medical malpractice cases are lost at trial because defense attorneys are able to use their medical experts to confuse a jury or the plaintiff attorney is not able to explain a case to a jury.

Dr. Bruce Fagel is a licensed medical doctor who practiced emergency room medicine for 10 years before becoming a leading medical malpractice attorney.  He has spent the last 30 years pursuing complex medical malpractice cases for injured victims and their families.  As a physician, he understands the complexities of a medical malpractice case and is able to prevent doctors and medical experts from trying to use complicated medical terminology to confuse a jury.  He knows how to cross examine the defense experts because he understands the medical language.

Ability to fund the case - medical malpractice cases are among the most expensive types of personal injury cases, mainly because of the cost of medical experts that are necessary for proving liability and damages.  The cost of obtaining experts for medical malpractice cases can easily exceed $200,000 or more before trial.  Many attorneys are unable to advance such a large sum of money and some even ask the clients to pay the costs as the case progresses.

Dr. Bruce Fagel advances all the costs for the cases he handles.  There is no out of pocket cost to the client.

What do past clients think about the attorney - one of the best measures of success for any attorney is the opinions of prior satisfied clients who have had medical malpractice cases similar to yours.  Ask any attorney you meet with to provide you a list of prior clients.  If the attorney is unable to provide you with the list, he or she probably does not have the level of experience or the proven track record of success that you need for your case.

If you believe you or a family member was the victim of medical negligence, you may have a case for medical malpractice.  Contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates at 1-800-541-9376 today for a free consultation.  

End of life care or turning off life support for a loved one is a subject nobody wants to face.  This is probably one of the most difficult and heart-breaking decisions that millions of people have to confront when a loved one is critically injured and not responding to medical treatment.  Unfortunately life is filled with risks and a variety of situations can cause a loved one to be placed on life support, including complications resulting from surgery, anesthesia problems during or after surgery, a dangerous accident, or a child born with birth injuries resulting in severe brain damage.

A loved one placed on life support who is not responding to medical treatment places the family members in a very heart-wrenching and uncomfortable position, deciding if and when to turn off life support or end life care.  Another complication may arise if the doctor or medical staff advises the family that they should remove the family member from life support.  In a situation like this, people would rarely ever question the doctor's motives and simply be thinking the doctor believes there is nothing that can be done to save the patient or continue life support much longer. In fact, they may think the doctor is purely thinking of ending the suffering the patient may be going through.

However, there may be more to a doctor's recommendation than merely thinking of the patient or family's best interests.  For example, in California, the law places a maximum cap on how much a family can collect for wrongful death from medical negligence for non-economic damages at $250,000.  Therefore if a doctor or medical professional negligently caused a patient to fall into a coma, with no immediate recovery foreseen, or a very costly recovery foreseen, it could cost the hospital or medical facility millions of dollars to keep the patient alive and provide medical care.  However, if the patient died, it would only cost the medical facility $250,000.  This is information every family needs to be made aware of when deciding what is truly in the best interest of their loved one and everyone involved.  Before rushing to a decision, consider doing your research, seeking a second opinion, even seeking legal consultation from a medical malpractice attorney who is also a licensed medical doctor, such as Dr. Bruce G. Fagel.  Dr. Fagel will provide you with an independent opinion that will shed truth on the matter and allow you to make up your own mind without the influence of someone who may be biased or not serving your best interests.

Our law firm has handled many medical malpractice cases involving situations like this, and with a background as a licensed medical doctor, including practicing emergency room medicine for over 10 years, I have experience in evaluating situations like this and helping clients determine if medical negligence was the cause of the injury.  If you believe a family member was critically injured by medical negligence, call us for a free consultation to find out about your legal rights, including your right to be compensated for medical care for your loved one for as long as they need medical help.     

The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act or MICRA was enacted in 1975 by pressure from doctors in California wanting to limit the amount of damages victims of medical malpractice could obtain from lawsuits.  This limits the amount of money a victim of medical malpractice in California can obtain for non-economic damages, including emotional distress and pain and suffering to $250,000.  Since its introduction, tens of thousands of patients injured by preventable medical errors have been denied just compensation for their injuries.  

Although this creates a challenge for victims of medical malpractice, there are still additional resources available.  And while MICRA creates a difficult challenge for victims of medical malpractice in California, there are other states that are far more excessive with their limitations on damages.  For example, Virginia limits the total amount a victim of medical malpractice can recover for economic, non-economic, and punitive damages to $2 million.  Indiana limits the total amount for economic and non-economic damages to $1.25 million.  If a birth injury victim in California was awarded $7 million for economic damages, that same victim in Indiana would only receive $1.25 million to cover the same damages.   

Although non-economic damages in California are limited to $250,000 for medical malpractice victims, there is no cap on economic damages.  Economic damages include a lifetime calculation of lost wages and medical care for the victim of medical malpractice.  If a child suffers a severe and permanent birth injury such as cerebral palsy, although MICRA limits his or her non-economic damages to $250,000, there are still economic damages that must be calculated.  How much does it take to provide medical care for this individual for the rest of his or her life? Does this victim require a full time care giver?  How much lost wages would this victim be expected to lose for a lifetime of being out of work?

The cost of living has gone up dramatically since 1975 and while the $250,000 for non-economic damages has substantially decreased in value when factoring in the cost of living, the cost of medical care has increased dramatically, so the economic damages produce sizable damages for victims of medical malpractice.  

Taking the cerebral palsy birth injury example from above, this victim will likely need full time medical care and resources for the rest of his or her lifetime.  Full time medical care may require a full time care giver to handle daily routines including getting dressed, bathing, and feeding.  Also, medication, therapy, and doctor visits will likely be required.  The amount of medical care and resources necessary to take care of a severe cerebral palsy birth injury victim may cost millions of dollars over the victim's lifetime.  There is also the amount of lost wages the victim will lose over a lifetime and this must be factored into the economic damages as well.  Economic damages are the reasons why a medical malpractice victim may recover damages into the millions when MICRA places non-economic damages at a maximum of $250,000.   

If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice, you should immediately consult with a medical malpractice lawyer who is also a licensed physician, such as Dr. Bruce G. Fagel.  The consultation is free and if we take on your case, there is no fee unless we win your case.  

Each year cancer diagnosis delays or cancer misdiagnosis, leads to enormous suffering and wrongful deaths for thousands of Americans and their families. Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells and can occur anywhere in the body.  These cells can either be cured or they will lead to the eventual death of the patient.  While normal cells multiply when the body has a need for them and then die when the body no longer has a need for them, cancer happens when the growth of cells in the body is uncontrollable and the cells begin to divide too quickly.  Cancer cells also do not die when the body requires them to die.

Early detection for many forms of cancer is critical to improving a patient's survival rate.  With the improvements in cancer treatment over the past couple decades, those with certain types of cancers have a dramatically improved chance of recovery if the cancers are detected and treated early.  The types of cancers that have a good chance of being treated, if treated early in the stages, include colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and non-small cell cancers.  However, some cancers have a poor chance of recovery no matter what stage the cancer is detected.  These types of cancers include small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Proper cancer diagnosis and early detection are critical to helping the patient live a longer and healthier life.  If a doctor fails to diagnose cancer in its early stages, confuses the cancer for another medical condition, or even fails to diagnose the cancer at all, can lead to the spreading of the cancer to other parts of the body and the eventual death of the patient.   

If a cancer misdiagnosis by a doctor for a treatable cancer leads to serious injuries to the patient or death, a medical negligence or medical malpractice lawsuit may be initiated. One critical element in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving cancer is proving that the doctor should have diagnosed the cancer at the early stage and provided proper treatment, preventing the cancer from causing severe damage to the patient.  If the cancer was a type where early treatment would not have made a significant difference, then a medical negligence or medical malpractice lawsuit would likely not be feasible.

Dr. Bruce Fagel has extensive experience dealing with cancer misdiagnosis and delay in diagnosis cases.  In addition to being a top medical malpractice lawyer, Dr. Fagel is also a licensed physician, and has over 10 years emergency room experience.  This extensive combination of experience allows Dr. Fagel to probe medical records and understand if there is a case for medical malpractice.  

If a victim of medical malpractice died from the negligence of a doctor, nurse, hospital, or medical center, then a wrongful death claim may be filed.  Wrongful death cases address damages the victim can recover differently than other medical malpractice claims.

Determining how much money the victim's family in a wrongful death case will receive can be very complicated.  Add to that, some states restrict how much money victim's families may recover.  California is one such state restricting the amount of non-economic damages for the plaintiff to $250,000.  However, it is important to note that the $250,000 limit is for non-economic damages; regarding economic damages, there is no set limit.  The income and age of the wrongful death victim play a large part in how much economic damages may be awarded in a wrongful death case.  California even recognizes economic value for non-monetary services a wrongful death victim may have provided to his or her family, such as child care.

Another complication with wrongful death cases involves the elderly or patients with complex underlying medical conditions.  In situations like this an autopsy often is not conducted and the cause of death is left to the opinion of the doctor. Even when an autopsy may be provided under these circumstances, it may not provide adequate evidence that negligence caused the death.

Who are the plaintiffs in a wrongful death case?

• The plaintiffs of a wrongful death case are the heirs to the descendant
• If the wrongful death involves a child, the parents are the heirs
• If the wrongful death victim was married, then the heirs are the spouse and any children
• If the patient was not married, then the heirs would be the children. 
• If the victim had no children, then the heirs would be the parents.  If the parents are not alive, then the heirs would be the victim's siblings.

The death of a family member is one of the most terrible experiences a family can go through.  The grieving family has the right to know what caused the death of their loved one and they are entitled to proper compensation for their loss.  This includes both the non-economical and economical losses they incur.  Dr. Fagel is both a leading wrongful death attorney and a licensed medical doctor. Dr. Fagel understands how to interpret the medical records and autopsy report, and how to ask the right questions from the medical staff in order to get the family members the answers they need and the compensation they are depending upon.  Visit wrongful death video for more information.

There are many advantages to retaining the services of an attorney who is also a physician.  One area that is particularly useful is with the deposition. A deposition is basically a formal question and answer process where we ask questions of a doctor or nurse about what happened beyond what is written in the medical records.  The deposition allows us to probe into the thoughts of the medical staff and find out what their reasons were for doing things the way they did. 

As a physician, I know what the answers from doctors, nurses, and medical staff should be, so consequently when doctors go off on a tangent and begin answering questions with a lot of medical jargon, I am able to cut through it. I am able to get to the specifics of what happened and why things occurred that should not have occurred if normal care was utilized and the standard of care was appropriate in a particular case.  This becomes especially important when we get into issues about the medical cause of specific problems; doctors have a tendency to confuse the issues by answering in different ways.  So as a physician I'm able to basically ask them very specific questions and follow their train of thought wherever they are going and get the most information relevant to winning the case.

Another area where clients benefit from having a lawyer who is also a licensed medical doctor is with the medical records.  Before an attorney can take on a case, he or she must determine if the case will likely be successful, whether tried in front of a jury, or settled prior to trial.  Most of the evidence that is crucial to winning the case will be located in the medical records.  It is critical that the attorney who handles your medical malpractice case, be extremely knowledgeable about both medical malpractice law and the medical field.  This is why I maintain my medical license after practicing emergency room medicine for over 10 years. I find that having a strong medical background provides me with a strategic advantage when dealing with doctors and medical staff.  At the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates, medical malpractice is all we do.  We want to make sure we are the most knowledgeable source in one area, and one area only, medical malpractice. 

Diagnostic physicians, who rely on diagnostic tests, need to inform referring clinicians when test results produce urgent or unexpected findings.  Test communication failures for diagnostic testing are placing physicians at an increased risk of medical malpractice claims, as reflected in an article selected as the "CME Activity of the Month" in the most recent edition of Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR).

During the past decade, clinicians have dramatically increased their orders for diagnostic examinations.  During the period between 1996 and 2003, there has been an increase by approximately 40% for malpractice payments related to diagnosis.  This problem was reflected in the article by Brian D. Gale, MD, MBA, assistant professor of radiology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.  

During the period of 1991 to 2009, National Practitioner Data Bank data showed communication failure awards was responsible for an increasing proportion of total United States malpractice awards for providers.  The proportion jumped from .93% in 1991 to 2.31% in 2009.  The total indemnity payout for all medical specialties claims dramatically rose from $21.7 million in 1991 to an alarming $91 million in 2010.  This averages out to a $4.67 million increase annually.  Factors that contributed to the communication failures included long turnaround time, delays in reporting findings, and failure of the patients and physicians to receive the results.

There is hope for improvement however.  Dr. Brian Gale suggests that using semi-automated critical test result management systems may help to improve the patient safety and work flow, improve the notification reliability for everyone in the loop, and provide legal documentation.  Dr. Gale suggests healthcare organizations need to have a clear set of policies in place to address reportable test results, to make sure patients and referring providers are notified and followed up with.