New Jersey Injury Attorney Blog

Every year in New Jersey, thousands of patients fall victim to complications from surgical procedures. There is no question that a surgery you undergo could have a lifelong impact on your health. In some cases, it could affect your ability to carry on with your daily activities, perform duties at your workplace or earn a livelihood. If your surgery complications were the result of medical negligence and if you are contemplating filing a medical malpractice claim, then it is important to understand the aspect of "informed consent" and how it can affect your case.

What is informed consent? Before commencing any type of medical treatment or procedure, the law requires that the patient be informed about their condition, potential treatment options, and, any potential complications of undergoing that treatment. It is incumbent upon the healthcare provider to discuss in detail the risks, consequences, and, potential dangers of any proposed treatment. Also, the healthcare provider must discuss any available acceptable alternatives to the proposed treatment and communicate the pros and cons of those alternatives to the patient.

This is information that a patient needs to make an informed decision about his or her potential treatment. Providing complete, and, accurate information to a patient is a requirement in the medical community. Failure to do so may constitute actionable medical negligence, especially if it causes injury or harm to the patient.

The New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys of Lependorf & Silverstein are well-qualified to determine if your right to proper, and, adequate informed consent has been violated. We can also help determine if a legal action seeking damages for the personal injuries caused would be appropriate in your potential medical malpractice case. Call us at (609) 240-0040 to discuss your case in a free consultation.

Considering that emergency rooms throughout New Jersey calculated 3.3 million patient visits in 2008, it is understandable that hospitals are making efforts to lower waiting periods. In doing so, it is our hope that incidents of medical malpractice decrease as well. As long as medical professionals exercise a high standard of care, it shouldn’t be a problem for emergency rooms to utilize a rapid evaluation unit so that main emergency departments can care for the most severe patients. According to a northjersey.com article, one of the main advancements is the use of an electronic bed-tracking system that helps keep medical staff informed as to when beds become available.

According to the report, an analysis of 1,725 emergency rooms showed that wait times average 37 minutes nationally for a medical professional to check a person’s vitals and inquire as to what the problem is. This timeframe is more than twice the suggested period for patients in the most critical of conditions. In regards to receiving treatment and being discharged, the national average is 4 hours and 3 minutes, with New Jersey ranking 29th in the study with 4 hours and 12 minutes. Based on the report, the President of the American College of Emergency Physicians stated that extensive waits for receiving medical care are “very troubling and dangerous.”

In discussing emergency wait timeframes and bed congestion, the director of pediatric emergency medicine at Morristown Memorial Hospital said in the article that the change required to reorganize an emergency room for rapid patient evaluation is something that some physicians and nurses may resist. Due to being extremely busy and having developed a system that they feel already works in an organized way, these medical professionals will have to be open to change in order for the rapid patient evaluation system to work properly.

Continue reading "New Jersey Emergency Room Wait Expected to Decrease" »

A dentist and oral surgeon is facing a medical malpractice lawsuit in New Jersey from the family of a 21-year-old Hopelawn man who died in August 2005 hours after having surgery to remove his wisdom teeth. According to this news report, the lawsuit alleges that dentist John Madaras did not get medical clearance to work on Francis Keller in spite of the fact that Keller had an immune system deficiency that would have made the dental procedure lethal.

According to court papers, Keller told a dental hygienist for Madaras that he had a genetic disorder that made his throat, face and hands swell. The hygienist then called Keller's internist, who told her specifically that the teeth extraction should not be done. At the heart of the case is whether Madaras knew about Keller’s condition and conveyed that to an oral surgeon who performed the procedure. Keller died the morning after the surgery as his airway slowly closed.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries, complications or death as a result of a medical treatment or surgical procedure, you have been a victim of medical malpractice. Errors occur in hospitals and dentists' offices more often that we would like to believe, due to either the lack of communication, carelessness, and/or negligence. Some mistakes are irreparable as in this case where the victim died a wrongful death. But in many cases where patients experience severe complications because of medical negligence, the medical costs to fix the problem are significant. If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice in New Jersey, please call the top New Jersey medical negligence attorneys at Lependorf & Silverstein for a free consultation.