Back operation goes awry, surgeon settles

Eileen Kelleher had elective back surgery in 2005. But problems arose after the procedure in the intensive care unit, where she suffered intra-abdominal hemorrhaging, abdominal wounds and other severe complications. She charged in a medical malpractice lawsuit that the problems were not adequately diagnosed or treated by the medical staff or the surgeon who performed the operation. The result was

Wrong-site surgeries continue to be a problem

Despite numerous attempts and policies to prevent the problem, wrong-site surgeries continue to be a problem at hospitals across the United States. It happens as much as 40 times each week: A patient awakens from surgery to discover that a surgeon operated on the wrong body part, performed the wrong procedure or even mixed them up with another patient, according to a recent report in The Chicago

Product liability payout in circumcision case

A botched circumcision has resulted in a $4.6 million legal settlement -- but not against the doctor who performed the procedure. The incident occurred more than eight years ago at a Vermont maternity center when a Miltex Mogen clamp used by a doctor removed 85 percent of the top of a week-old boy's penis. The child's family claimed in a lawsuit that the clamp was defective because it afforded no

CA board fails to discipline doctors

Over a 10-year period, 710 California doctors had their privileges restricted by their hospitals or other medical entities but the number of those doctors who were disciplined by the state medical board seems alarming. The number is zero. Not one of the physicians was ever disciplined by the state regulators. Included among those doctors were 102 who were considered an "immediate threat to health