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Although the majority of people who visit a hospital, doctor's office, or medical facility for treatment never believe they will be a victim of a medical error, the odds are quite high that it will happen.  In fact, nearly every patient who enters a hospital suffers from some form of medical error at least once during their hospitalization.  Although most of these medical errors result in very minor or no noticeable injuries, sometimes the medical mistakes result in permanent and catastrophic injuries, even the death of the patient.

Medical mistakes happen not only during surgery, but even after surgery on the surgical floor or in the post anesthesia care unit, after the patient has recovered from the anesthesia.  If a medical error caused you or someone you care about to be seriously injured or die, you should consult a medical malpractice lawyer immediately.  

It is vital that a victim of medical malpractice consults with a medical malpractice attorney who has a strong medical background.  Doctors and nurses understand how to cover up mistakes or place the blame for the medical errors on a patient's underlying medical condition.  They also know how to use complicated medical terminology during a lawsuit to confuse the victim's attorney. This is where a medical malpractice lawyer who has a strong medical background can analyze the medical records, trace where the medical mistake occurred, and counter the doctor's medical jargon that is used to try to avoid responsibility for the negligence.        

Dr. Bruce Fagel is a both a top medical malpractice lawyer and a licensed medical doctor.  Dr. Fagel even practiced emergency medicine for over 10 years before becoming a medical malpractice attorney.  This powerful combination of the medical and legal background, Dr. Fagel's strong track record winning over a billion dollars in verdicts and settlements, and the fact that Dr. Fagel's law firm only handles medical malpractice cases enables Dr. Fagel's clients to obtain the maximum judgment possible for medical malpractice cases.  

If you or a family member has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates right away for a free consultation.  There is never a fee unless we win your case.

Every year thousands of Americans are seriously injured or killed from surgical errors and surgery malpractice.  Any surgical operation can be complex and involves risks to the patient.  Surgery mistakes can lead to serious and permanent injuries to the patient, and sometimes even death.  There is also a misconception that only serious surgical operations, including emergency room surgery leads to death.  Most people do not realize that even common elective surgeries such as plastic surgery carry risks as well.  Areas of elective surgery include cosmetic surgery and bariatric surgery.

Since all forms of surgery carry risks, even cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery can result in catastrophic injuries or death for the patient.  Examples of cosmetic surgery include facelifts, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a nose job (rhinoplasty).  Examples of bariatric surgery include lap band, stomach stapling, and gastric bypass surgery.

Another misconception by the general public is that only inexperienced surgeons or surgeons new to the field make surgical errors.  In fact, even the most respected and skillful surgeons make mistakes that lead to serious injuries or death to their patients.  Just a few examples of surgeon malpractice include removing the wrong body part or operating on the wrong side of a patient, puncturing an organ close to the area of operation, which can result in a severe infection or allow dangerous fluids to enter the organ that was cut, also using unsanitary medical equipment.

Medical malpractice, including surgical errors happen frequently in hospitals.  Medical malpractice occurs in hospitals for many reasons, including a shortage of medical staff, an overworked staff, tired staff, and medical staff that are not properly trained.  Sometimes a shortage of surgeons will cause a serious injury to a patient who is in critical need of an operation, but is kept waiting while the surgeon is busy working on another operation.  Surgeon's even make mistakes that may not be noticed until a future date, causing the problem to spiral into a far worse medical condition for the patient.

While hospitals carry risks for surgical errors and surgeon malpractice, there is an even larger risk when dealing with medical clinics or doctor's offices.  Even for common elective plastic surgery procedures, there is an additional risk in a medical center or doctor's office compared with a hospital.  The reasons for this are because medical centers do not have a full staff of trained medical experts prepared to handle a variety of unexpected medical emergencies.  While a hospital has board certified anesthesiologists, critical care nurses, or specialized surgeons on staff, medical centers and doctors offices usually do not.  If a serious emergency arises, these types of medical facilities are usually not properly equipped with the equipment, resources, or highly trained staff to handle the emergency.  During a catastrophic medical emergency, the patient will be deteriorating quickly, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive to transport the patient to the hospital.  

If you or a family member has been injured from medical malpractice, including suffering injuries from a surgical mistake, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates for a free legal consultation.

Every year thousands of Americans are seriously injured or killed from surgical errors and surgery malpractice.  Any surgical operation can be complex and involves risks to the patient.  Surgery mistakes can lead to serious and permanent injuries to the patient, and sometimes even death.  There is also a misconception that only serious surgical operations, including emergency room surgery leads to death.  Most people do not realize that even common elective surgeries such as plastic surgery carry risks as well.  Areas of elective surgery include cosmetic surgery and bariatric surgery.

Since all forms of surgery carry risks, even cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery can result in catastrophic injuries or death for the patient.  Examples of cosmetic surgery include facelifts, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a nose job (rhinoplasty).  Examples of bariatric surgery include lap band, stomach stapling, and gastric bypass surgery.

Another misconception by the general public is that only inexperienced surgeons or surgeons new to the field make surgical errors.  In fact, even the most respected and skillful surgeons make mistakes that lead to serious injuries or death to their patients.  Just a few examples of surgeon malpractice include removing the wrong body part or operating on the wrong side of a patient, puncturing an organ close to the area of operation, which can result in a severe infection or allow dangerous fluids to enter the organ that was cut, also using unsanitary medical equipment.

Medical malpractice, including surgical errors happen frequently in hospitals.  Medical malpractice occurs in hospitals for many reasons, including a shortage of medical staff, an overworked staff, tired staff, and medical staff that are not properly trained.  Sometimes a shortage of surgeons will cause a serious injury to a patient who is in critical need of an operation, but is kept waiting while the surgeon is busy working on another operation.  Surgeon's even make mistakes that may not be noticed until a future date, causing the problem to spiral into a far worse medical condition for the patient.

While hospitals carry risks for surgical errors and surgeon malpractice, there is an even larger risk when dealing with medical clinics or doctor's offices.  Even for common elective plastic surgery procedures, there is an additional risk in a medical center or doctor's office compared with a hospital.  The reasons for this are because medical centers do not have a full staff of trained medical experts prepared to handle a variety of unexpected medical emergencies.  While a hospital has board certified anesthesiologists, critical care nurses, or specialized surgeons on staff, medical centers and doctors offices usually do not.  If a serious emergency arises, these types of medical facilities are usually not properly equipped with the equipment, resources, or highly trained staff to handle the emergency.  During a catastrophic medical emergency, the patient will be deteriorating quickly, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive to transport the patient to the hospital.  

If you or a family member has been injured from medical malpractice, including suffering injuries from a surgical mistake, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates for a free legal consultation.

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.  

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.  

Gastric bypass surgery modifies the patient's digestive system to help them lose weight by limiting how much the patient can eat or reducing the absorption of nutrients.  Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach smaller and allows the food to bypass part of the small intestine.  The surgery takes a loop of bowel and bypasses the major portion of the stomach, creating a small pouch instead that makes the patient eating feel full with a much smaller portion of food.  Since part of the intestine is bypassed when the food is consumed, the patient is also absorbing fewer calories. 

Since gastric bypass surgery has become one of the most common elective surgical procedures, people tend to think there aren't any dangers involved.  However, gastric bypass surgery is still a major abdominal surgery, and therefore thought must be put into the risks of this procedure before moving forward.  For example, risks include an infection occurring in the area where the incision is made, leakage from the stomach into the abdominal cavity, anesthesia complications, which can lead to brain damage and death.

Gastric bypass surgery negligence can occur from anesthesia complications.  Anesthesia errors or anesthesia mistakes can happen if the medical staff fails to properly communicate with each other, doesn't understand the medical condition of the patient, or the anesthetist is not properly trained.  Also, many gastric bypass surgeries, as well as other elective plastic surgeries are performed in non-hospital medical clinics or doctor's offices.  Since these elective surgeries are performed outside of hospitals, these facilities often do not have properly trained medical staff with the necessary resources prepared to handle emergencies.  Even in hospitals, sometimes the medical staff make serious errors during elective surgeries that lead to injuries to the patient, including brain damage or death.

If you or someone you love was a victim of gastric bypass surgery negligence or other plastic surgery negligence and suffered serious injuries, you may have a case for medical negligence or medical malpractice.  Dr. Bruce G. Fagel is a leading medical malpractice attorney specializing in surgical negligence.  In fact, Dr. Fagel is not only a top medical malpractice lawyer, he is also a licensed medical doctor and practiced emergency room medicine for over 10 years.  This strong medical background and legal experience gives Dr. Fagel and his clients the edge when dealing with negligent doctors or medical staff.  If you would like more information, including a free consultation, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates today. There is also an informative video about gastric bypass surgery problems.

Anesthetists and anesthesiologists are responsible for administering anesthesia to the patients and for the safety of the patients before, during, and after surgical procedures.  An anesthetist is a nurse who is board certified in anesthesia and may work under the supervision of a physician, whereas an anesthesiologist is a physician who completes an accredited residency program in anesthesiology.

Anesthesiologists are one of the most important medical professionals involved with a surgical operation.  Not only do they provide pain relief for a patient during surgery, they also monitor the patient to make sure they wake up properly after the surgery. Anesthesiologists have control over the patient's critical life functions during surgery, including the patient's breathing and heart rate.  Therefore, a patient under anesthesia is vulnerable to severe injuries or even death if medical negligence occurs.  This requires very careful monitoring by the anesthetist or anesthesiologist before, during, and after the surgery to make sure the patient doesn't have a dangerous reaction to the drug or the surgery.  Because of the dangers of administering anesthesia, anesthetists and anesthesiologists receive extensive medical training in their field.

Often, anesthesia errors can be quickly corrected during a surgery; however, sometimes the errors may result in severe and permanent brain injuries, a coma, even death.  Patients considering surgery often meet with their doctors and surgeons to discuss the surgery and any complications; however, they rarely ever meet with their anesthetists.   Most people think anesthesia is used in hospitals for major surgeries, but they often forget that anesthesia is also used for elective surgeries in medical clinics, cosmetic clinics, and the dentist office.  Someone electing for a simple plastic surgery operation, is vulnerable to an anesthesia error, just like the patient going in for a major surgery.  In fact medical clinics, cosmetic clinics, and dentist offices are often more dangerous than hospitals because if a patient runs into a serious emergency in one of these facilities, the medical facilities likely do not have quick access to a specialized nursing staff or doctors to handle the emergency.  While the medical facility scrambles to contact professional help, such as calling an ambulance, the patient will be losing precious minutes that may result in a critical brain injury or death.

Most people think once an operation is completed and the operation was successful, the danger is over.  This is an incorrect assumption.  Many patients have been critically injured post-surgery, after a successful operation, due to anesthesia negligence. 

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury from an anesthesia error, you may have a case for medical negligence or medical malpractice.  Contact Dr. Bruce Fagel for a free consultation.  Dr. Fagel is a leading medical malpractice attorney and a licensed physician.  In addition to 30 years practicing law, Dr. Fagel worked for over 10 years as an emergency room physician, so he understands medical negligence, including anesthesia errors.

The most common medical mistake leading to medical negligence in hospitals is medication errors.  Over 1.5 million cases of medication errors are reported each year in the United States.  Take into consideration that these are just the cases that were actually detected and documented (the total number of medication errors are likely far higher.)  The problem is so large, that on average, every person who is hospitalized in the U.S. receives at least one medication error every day.  Although the majority of the time medication errors do not cause any significant or even noticeable harm to the patient, sometimes the injuries they cause are enormous and permanent.  In fact, occasionally, medical errors even lead to the death of the patient.

The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates has extensive experience dealing with cases involving medication errors.  For example, we have had cases where patients incorrectly were administered Heparin, a blood thinner, which can cause serious injuries to the brain if the patients can't tolerate the medication in their condition. We had cases where patients were incorrectly administered lethal doses of Demerol due to a simple miscommunication of the doctors, causing the death of the patients.

Did my doctor give me the wrong medication or an overdose of medicine?

If a doctor prescribed the wrong medication or an overdose of the correct medication, evidence of this error can usually be detected by the administration of a corrective medication.  For example, if a doctor or nurse, administered an overdose of narcotic pain medications, which could likely happen if a doctor or nurse exiting one shift failed to notify the new shift doctor or nurse that they had already given a dose of the medication, then the new shift doctor may administer Narcan to counter the effects.  Another example could be a doctor or nurse administering an overdose of Heparin.  After realizing the mistake, they may then administer Protamine to reverse the effects.

This is why retaining the services of an experienced medical malpractice attorney is critical to the success or failure of a medical negligence or medical malpractice case. Dr. Bruce Fagel is both a licensed medical doctor and a leading medical malpractice attorney.  This unique background of being both a medical malpractice lawyer and a licensed physician enables Dr. Fagel to thoroughly investigate the medical records and determine if a medical error was responsible for the serious injuries or even death to the patient.  Being a medical doctor also helps Dr. Fagel in the deposition and court room when questioning doctors, nurses, and medical staff.  Medical professionals often use complicated medical jargon to confuse attorneys; however, this does not work with an experienced medical malpractice attorney who is also a licensed medical doctor.