Most residents of South Carolina have probably seen a medical professional at some point in their lives, and every one of those people knows that when receiving medical care, there is a certain amount of trust that has to be placed in the judgment or decisions of a...
Doctor Errors
Surgeon pleads guilty to defrauding government in insurance case
South Carolina residents concerned about medical malpractice may have heard of the recent sentencing of a New York surgeon who admitted to performing thousands of surgeries improperly from 2007 to 2011 and defrauding the federal government. The surgeon pled guilty to...
Doctor sued for medical malpractice during surgery
South Carolina patients may have heard that a surgeon is being sued for allegedly leaving surgery to attend a luncheon meeting. The surgery that left a 72-year-old man in a vegetative state may have involved negligence, according to the lawsuit. According to an...
Even routine surgeries can carry risks, potential for error
Surgeries in South Carolina, while remaining safe in many cases, carry a significant risk, even for procedures that are commonplace. A patient might have a problem with the anesthesia, or a tiny nick from the surgeon's scalpel could endanger the patient's life. Every...
Why doctors don’t disclose others’ medical mistakes
South Carolina patients will be interested to know that a recent report revealed that many medical errors have gone unreported by doctors who are aware of another doctor's medical malpractice. Despite the code of ethics that mandates medical error disclosure, many...
“July effect” may exist for high-risk patients, study says
A new study of patients at risk for heart attacks shows that the so-called "July effect," once thought to be nothing more than urban legend, may actually exist in hospitals in South Carolina and nationwide. The phenomenon dictates that the month of July, typically the...
Physicians in South Carolina urged to report mistakes
It is estimated that more than 440,000 people die each year in hospitals as a result of preventable errors on the part of doctors and hospital staff. Whether this is due to medical malpractice or negligence, avoidable mistakes are the third leading cause of death in...
Shouldn’t doctors be drug tested?
Readers in South Carolina may be interested in some research that shows substance abuse among doctors is 18 percent higher than it is in the general population. Yet, unlike other professions, such as teachers, athletes and even bus drivers, doctors aren't required to...
South Carolina whistleblower loses medical malpractice case
A South Carolina orthopedic surgeon, whose whistle-blowing led to a federal lawsuit against a healthcare provider, was himself censured by a jury recently. The doctor was found liable in a medical malpractice case arising from a 2010 operation he performed on a...
Heart disease deaths decline, but improvement is needed
South Carolina residents may be happy to hear that preventable deaths due to cardiovascular disease are declining, but the CDC still believes that there is a lot of room for improvement. Not every one of these deaths was related to medical malpractice, but there is...
