Modern medicine has made giving birth much safer for mothers and their children than it has been in decades past. Nonetheless, birth injuries and fatalities do still happen. It can be impossible to predict some birth injuries, but at the same time, many are preventable. What steps can hospitals take to try and reduce the likelihood of birth injuries occurring? Providing proper prenatal care Pregnancy can result in numerous physical changes for a mother, even in the early stages of a pregnancy. That’s why prenatal care is so important. Doctors should not just assume that a mother is fit and hea ..read more

Most pregnant women think they will be able to go through labor and delivery without any serious complications. While that’s what usually happens, there are times when life-threatening issues occur. One potentially fatal problem that can occur when a woman is pregnant is a uterine rupture. This is often associated with a previous C-section delivery, but it’s also possible for other reasons. What happens in a uterine rupture? A uterine rupture happens when the uterus tears open. The uterus is a large muscle that has three layers. If the tear goes through all three layers, it’s a complete uterin ..read more

It’s very clear that a misdiagnosis is a serious medical error that could even have fatal results. For instance, maybe the doctor misread certain charts or scans and told you that your results were fine when they actually indicated that you have an aggressive type of cancer, like mesothelioma. You need immediate treatment, but the misdiagnosis means that you won’t get it. That doesn’t mean that the doctor is never going to make the correct diagnosis, however. In some cases, the actual issue will become clear in the future, so it is a delayed diagnosis. The doctor eventually gets it right. Howe ..read more

Most Oregon parents eagerly await the birth of their child with hopeful feelings toward the future. While childbirth can be unpredictable, most babies are born without serious issues. But when a birth goes wrong and the baby or mother has an injury, the entire family can face life-changing circumstances. If you’ve suffered from a birth-related injury, or your baby received an injury during or after birth, you may worry about how this will affect your child’s future. Financial concerns, lifelong health issues and the impact on your family’s quality of life are all realistic and legitimate conce ..read more

The last thing any patient wants to see is poor hygiene in a hospital. Many patients are very ill and vulnerable and poor hygiene in the hospital is likely to make their condition worse. Hospitals must have regular cleaning protocols in place as well as devices such as hand wash and sanitizer stations. What are the potential consequences of poor hygiene in hospitals? The spread of disease and infections Some patients may have conditions that are contagious. Thus, they need to be kept separate from other patients. This involves more than simply keeping them in a separate hospital bed. Steps mus ..read more

Technically, a doctor could misdiagnose any condition. Yet they get some wrong much more often. Even though statistics on the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions have been available for years, doctors and hospitals should know to take extra care around certain ones. Here are the most frequently misdiagnosed conditions according to a 2022 survey: Colorectal cancer 38% Lung cancer 36% Breast cancer 20% Myocardial infarction (heart attacks) 20% Prostate cancer 18% Stroke 15% Sepsis 13% Bladder cancer 10% Pulmonary embolism 9% Brain hemorrhage 8% As you can see, this is a serious set of conditio ..read more

Placental abruption is a severe condition that occurs after 20 weeks gestation. The baby and mother are both in danger when this happens because the placenta separates from the uterus before birth. The separation can be partial or complete. Certain factors have been identified as potential risks of this condition. These include prior instances of the condition, abdominal trauma, substance misuse, high blood pressure and rapid loss of amniotic fluid. Signs and symptoms Individuals experiencing placental abruption may notice a range of symptoms, the most common being vaginal bleeding. Other symp ..read more

When you go to the doctor, you do so with the expectation that you will have a positive experience with the medical professionals you encounter. You have the right to expect that they will treat you with respect and dignity, and that the care you will receive meets a certain standard. It can be devastating and confusing to receive treatment that is subpar or that actually leads to a worsening of your medical condition and the pain you are experiencing. If the care you received from your Oregon doctor, surgeon, nurse or other type of care provider resulted in your pain and suffering, you could ..read more

The risk that someone will experience a medical error increases with age – but why? Broadly speaking, geriatric care is usually characterized by the presence of multiple chronic conditions, a complex interplay of various medications and the physiological changes associated with aging. These elements collectively contribute to the heightened vulnerability of older patients to medical errors. A combination of factors causes the trend First, the presence of many chronic conditions in most older adults significantly complicates medical management. Each condition may require its own treatment plan ..read more

In a medical malpractice case, a patient is accusing a medical professional of acting negligently or recklessly and causing harm. An example of this could be a doctor who makes a misdiagnosis or a nurse who gives a patient the wrong medication. When things like this happen, there are four general areas that have to be addressed. These show how financial compensation should be sorted out. Here are the four areas that will apply to most cases. The duty of care First off, a duty of care has to be established. The medical professional was supposed to take care of the patient and had an obligation ..read more