Missouri Injury Lawyers Blog

In the last ten to fifteen years, manufacturers of medical devices known as "pain pumps" have been frequently used after orthopedic surgery, most commonly during shoulder operations. The pumps are installed using a catheter and then left in place for two to three days for postoperative pain control.

The problem started when doctors began placing pain pump directly into the joint space, at the encouragement of the device manufacturers. A handful of orthopedic surgeons began noticing a sharp increase in the occurrence of what used to be a very rare condition known as post-arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL). PAGCL is the degeneration of cartilage in joint space that follows a progression from inflammation and pain to degeneration of the surface bone, and in some cases, the eventual need for total joint replacement. Patients experience joint stiffness, weakness, pain, clicking, popping, grinding and decreased range of motion. There is almost nothing you can do to relieve the pain of PAGCL, short of total joint replacement. Now there is an alarming increase in the number of cases, particularly in very young, active adults such as athletes.

The Food & Drug Administration has approved the use of pain pumps, but only when injections occur in the soft tissue surrounding joints. The manufacturers of pain pumps have applied multiple times to the FDA, attempting to gain approval for use of pain pumps directly into the joint space. Each time the FDA has denied those requests, with a specific direction that they should not be used directly in the joints themselves.

In 2005, the orthopedic surgeons who'd discovered the link between pain pumps and the destruction of cartilage sent the information to all pain pump manufacturers. Some of that research indicated that 60% of people who had pain pumps placed in the joint space developed PAGCL. Even with these alarming statistics, no products warnings were implemented by the manufacturers at that point. Two years later, the studies that were sent to the manufacturers in 2005 were published in orthopedic medicine journals. The manufacturers still continued encouraging doctors to use pain pumps in the joint space when they should've been warning them of the dangers instead.

In 2008, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons issued a statement alerting
surgeons of the serious risks associated with pain pump devices used in the joint space. Not long after those warnings were issued, the first of many pain pump lawsuits were filed against the manufacturers for fraud, breach of warranty, products liability, failure to warn and marketing the pain pumps for a use specifically denied approval by the FDA. Trials in pain pump lawsuits have won multi-million dollar verdicts in Ohio and Oregon. There are now over 150 suits on file in 20 different states.

If you or someone you know has experienced the destructive effects of a pain pump, consult an attorney with the knowledge and experience to help you with your claim against the manufacturers. The attorneys at Tatlow, Gump, Faiella & Wheelan, LLC offer free consultations. Contact us at 800-264-3455 or visit our website for more information.

If you were driving drunk down the road and caused a serious car accident you would expect to be held accountable for the injuries that you caused. Yet many in our society don't want medical professionals to be held responsible for injuries they cause. Unfortunately, the talk of medical malpractice caps has no connection to the wrong doing of the physician.

Government studies have shown that more than 90,000 people die a year due to medical errors. The theory behind caps is that costs will be regulated by making sure that the people that are injured by these errors won't bring lawsuits. Unfortunately this thinking is all wrong. Why is it wrong? It is wrong because our system is based upon the idea that those people that are successful in the marketplace and get good results are rewarded and those who are not as successful in the marketplace get penalized. This is capitalism plain and simple. Yet some people don't like capitalism. Maybe they don't like democracy. Juries are the same people that vote in our elections, US Citizens. Why is it that some politicians and powerful interests believe that you can't trust the American people.

Instead they want to give immunity across the board regardless of what the doctor has done. These means that doctors who come to the ER intoxicated or on drugs and kill someone, will be entitled to these legal protections.

I suppose it would be nice for physicians to not be held accountable or responsible for their wrong doing. It will make doctors and hospitals far more profitable, but it will certainly lower the standards and result in patients being less safe. If you don't think doctors who have done really bad things should receive specialty protections, make sure to tell your elected officials. Otherwise, sometime in the near future when you have been wronged by a doctor or a hospital, you won't have any rights at all.

At least two Missouri Supreme Court Justices think so. In an opinion issued March 23, 2010, the state's highest court held that the damage cap on non-economic damages which went into effect in 2005 may not be applied to a case that accrued before the cap became law because to do so would violate the constitutional prohibition against retrospective laws. The case is Klotz v. St. Anthony's Medical Center, Michael Shapiro, M.D., and Metro Heart Goup, LLC.

In a concurring opinion, Judge Michael A. Wolff opines that the cap on non-economic damages violates the constitutional right to a trial by jury which can only be changed by a vote of the people. Judge Richard B. Teitelman also wrote an opinion concurring in result, stating that the cap on non-economic damages also violates the state constitutional's guarantee of equal protection under the laws.

The case stemmed from an incident iin March 2004 when Mr. Klotz's implanted pacemaker became infected, causing him to suffer sepsis, amputation and organ failure. A jury found the three defendants negligent and awarded nearly $2.1 million in damages, including $760,000 in non-economic damages. Because of the caps that went into effect in 2005, Mr. Klotz's non-economic damage award was substantially reduced. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment and sent the case back to the trial court to enter judgment in accordance with the jury's verdict.

The New York Times reported on a recent report filed by CoxHealth medical facility in Springfield, Missouri where they admitted to over-radiating 76 cancer patients during treatment. The majority of the patients were being treated for brain cancer, and received about a 50% overdose of radiation therapy. A hospital employee improperly calibrated the machine used to administer the radiation.

A major study of the Malpractice Insurance Industry finds that there is no basis to further limit liability of unsafe health care providers. The study undertaken by Americans for Insurance Reform find's that premiums and claims against doctors have dropped significantly in recent years, while the malpractice insurance industry enjoys extremely high profits.

Unfortunately, Missouri has already under gone brutal cuts in the rights of its citizens to hold unsafe health care providers responsible for their acts. The study found that states, like Missouri that had severe restrictions on malpractice claims have the similar medical error rate as states who have not adopted the harsh practices. The study further found that on an inflation adjusted basis malpractice insurance premiums are the lowest they have been in thirty years. The full study, True Risk: Medical Liability, Malpractice Insurance and Health Care can be read here.