medical malpractice

Risks of Malpractice in the Use of Telehealth Services

Published on: March 28, 2024 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Telemedicine, or telehealth, is becoming more and more common in our current medical climate, including here in Florida. An online visit is often easier to arrange than an in-person visit and is certainly extremely easy to attend since you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home. Usually, telemedicine works very well and patients receive excellent care. Unfortunately, as with in-person health care, sometimes things can go wrong. Most of these mistakes are similar to in-person malpractice, but some are unique to virtual healthcare services.

Common types of malpractice or negligence

While the law recognizes that medical providers are human and can make mistakes, the level of precaution and care that is taken can determine whether that mistake rises to the level of negligence or malpractice.

Navigating the Complexities of Medical Malpractice

Published on: December 13, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Medical malpractice cases are among the most complicated personal injury cases for a number of reasons. Most people recognize the importance of engaging a lawyer to help with this type of personal injury lawsuit, but it’s just as important to choose an attorney with extensive experience in medical malpractice and a track record of winning significant compensation awards and settlements. As a Florida medical malpractice attorney, I have won significant compensation for my clients’ injuries caused by medical negligence.

Types of medical malpractice

One of the reasons why medical malpractice is so complicated is because there are many different forms of malpractice, and sometimes more than one takes place in the same event. The most common causes of malpractice include:

When Doctors Don’t Listen: Medical Gaslighting

Published on: August 15, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Medical gaslighting can be the cause of medical malpractice when it causes harm to a patient. The term “gaslight” is based on the 1944 film noir of the same name. In Gaslight, a husband with sights on his wife’s fortune began to convince her that she was going crazy by turning down the gaslight (among other things) and denying it had happened. “Gaslighting” came to refer to the deliberate attempt to influence another’s perception of reality, deny the person’s experiences, and convince the victim that everything is the victim’s own fault or all in his or her head.

The use of the term has since broadened to refer to unintentional, dismissive, or arrogant behavior that has the same effect, leaving the victim confused, distressed, and filled with self-doubt. In the case of medical gaslighting, it can also leave the victim with a serious medical condition that worsens because of being dismissed by a medical professional.

Most of us defer to the perceived superior knowledge of a healthcare professional and can easily be convinced that what we feel is normal, or that we are exaggerating our symptoms. The doctor doesn’t necessarily have to say this; a careless attitude when the patient explains his symptoms can cause the patient to think it’s not really a big deal, even though it really feels like a big deal to the patient.

AI in Medical Decisions – Is It All Safe?

Published on: July 9, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used in more and more applications, including medicine. Hospitals around the country, including in Florida, are using AI in many diagnostic tools. But while the expectation is that AI can speed up diagnosis and delivery of care, a number of studies have recently demonstrated that AI can in fact worsen bias, miss serious illness, and deny care to those in need. If your doctor or medical system used AI to make diagnosis decisions and you were hurt, do you have a medical malpractice case? We can help determine your options.

What we call AI is really a complex mathematical instruction called an algorithm that tells the computer what to do. This allows for high-speed automation of actions that would take a human much longer to complete. AI is said to “learn” by being fed a great deal of data from which it recognizes patterns for completing its task. In the case of medical diagnostic tools, AI is fed massive amounts of data and draws conclusions from that.

However, as the old saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” If the AI is fed poor data, it will draw poor conclusions. If the algorithm itself is faulty, it will draw incorrect conclusions.

Do Doctors Make Money Off Improper Treatment?

Published on: June 22, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

If you have been injured by a doctor or the care you have received doesn’t feel appropriate, your medical team may have made a mistake. There is no doubt that the vast majority of doctors have the best interests of their patients at the forefront of their minds. That said, there are many people decrying the current condition of our American medical system and medical financial incentives because Americans spend more money on healthcare than the residents of any other country and yet we have worsening health.

Americans are estimated to spend over $200 billion on unnecessary medications, medical tests, therapies, and medical procedures. Much of this medical waste is due to over-prescribing pharmaceuticals or not choosing the least expensive, least invasive treatment option. Other medical waste is due to improper treatment, mistakes, or even flat-out fraud. Regardless of the reason, many of these events could be considered medical malpractice.

Improper treatment: medical mistakes and excessive medical care

Cosmetic Surgery and Medical Malpractice in Florida

Published on: March 12, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Cosmetic surgery is elective surgery, generally for the purpose of changing a person’s looks. Surgery to remove significant scarring or to repair a deviated septum would not generally be considered cosmetic surgery, as they are repairing some part of the body that is damaged or not working properly.

Examples of cosmetic surgery include:

face lift, neck lift

How to Know if Medical Intervention Is Safe

Published on: March 6, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Not all medical care is necessary, adequate, and safe. In fact, medical intervention can cause harm resulting in substantial and lifelong injury. Medical intervention can come in the form of medication, surgery, medical devices, and therapies. Whenever you are given a medical recommendation by a doctor or other medical specialist, always do your research to make sure it’s safe. After all, you’re the one who will have to bear the consequences if the doctor is wrong. As a Florida personal injury lawyer, I’ve seen many people permanently harmed by medical malpractice; please follow these steps to avoid being hurt.

Inform your medical team

Make sure your entire medical team is aware of your medical history, including:

Telehealth and Medical Malpractice

Published on: December 22, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Telehealth, also called telemedicine, is a rapidly-growing healthcare option in Florida and throughout the country. During the pandemic lockdowns, when it was difficult to see a doctor, telehealth seemed like an ideal answer to patients’ needs to receive medical attention. Indeed, for many people, it was very helpful; but for some, telehealth did not resolve their problems and led to a delay in appropriate treatment.

While telehealth may seem easy and convenient, many things can go wrong. Accurate diagnosis can be a challenge when the doctor and patient are in the same room, but it becomes significantly more difficult when the doctor is not able to examine the patient.

What can go wrong

Malpractice in App-Based Mental Health Therapy

Published on: December 2, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Technology is expanding into more and more aspects of healthcare, including mental health. A variety of websites and apps have become available that provide mental health therapy through phone, video chat, or text. While these new advances may make mental health services available to more people, there are some dangers that could lead to legal issues or malpractice.

Advantages of online therapy

The biggest advantage of online or app-based therapy is its easy availability. With in-person therapy, a person has to find a therapist, make an appointment, remember it when the day comes, and then get there. This can be challenging for people suffering from mental health issues.

Wrong-Site Surgery in Florida: When Doctors Operate on the Wrong Body Part

Published on: August 22, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

It sounds shocking, but sometimes doctors operate on the wrong body part or on the wrong side of the body. This is known as “wrong-site surgery” (WSS).

According to a study by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, there are 1,300 to 2,700 wrong-site procedures performed in the United States every year. But these numbers may be just a fraction of the actual numbers since healthcare organizations are not actually required to report such mistakes to the Commission. Some estimate surgeons operate on the wrong part of the body as often as 40 times a week. Sometimes they even operate on the wrong person.

Wrong-site surgery victims