Snyder & Wenner

Arizona’s Premier
Medical Malpractice Law Firm

Patient Safety

St. Joseph’s Medical Center Fined by DHHS

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This month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (St. Joe’s) has agreed to pay a $160,000 fine and 2 years of monitoring for failing to provide a patient with his entire medical record for nearly 2 years.  The OCR determined that St. Joe’s committed a possible violation of HIPAA by failing to provide the entire medical record to the patient.  In addition to the fine, St. Joe’s provided the OCR with a 2-year corrective action plan to ensure proper compliance with HIPAA and grants 2 years of federal government monitoring over St. Joe’s to ensure compliance with the plan. OCR Director Roger Severino was quoted saying, “It shouldn’t take a federal investigation to secure access to patient medical records, but too often that’s what it takes when healthcare providers don’t take their HIPAA obligations seriously.”

A recent JAMA medical journal article found that many healthcare providers, not just St. Joe’s, are failing to follow the HIPAA requirements to provide the patient’s entire medical record. This is a disturbing trend that hopefully will soon be reversed.

How Do I Research My Doctor’s Background?

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Our clients often ask us if they did something wrong by not doing more research on their doctor before a surgery that led to medical malpractice. This question is difficult to answer, though, because doctors and hospitals do their best to mislead patients into thinking that they are the best of the best. No matter how much research you do, you are bound to only find self-congratulatory posts and videos. Doctors claim (without supporting documents) that they are the “top surgeon” in Phoenix or that they are “the most respected physician” in their specialty. All of this is fluff to convince patients to use the doctor.

If you would like to do research, a good place to start is www.azmd.gov. You can look-up your doctor to see if he or she has been sanctioned by the Arizona Board of Medical Examiners. This,  however, will not show everything. You can also check the website for the Maricopa County Superior Court to see if your doctor has been sued. After that, a simple google search of the doctor will show how other patients rate him or her on websites like Healthgrades, Sharecare, and Doximity. If you are looking for a specific type of specialist, you can go to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) website certificationmatters.org to see if the doctor you are considering has the appropriate board certification(s) required to treat your illness or condition. If the doctor practices at a hospital or a group, you can go to your state’s department of health services and research the facility or group on their website where you can find information about complaints against them.

Before making your final decision, you can always set an appointment with the doctor and ask them questions specific to medical conditions you have and/or medications you take to see if they are the best fit for you. Do not let the doctor give you answers that do not make sense. If he/she tells you he/she has performed this surgery in the past, ask how many times. Ask if there were any unexpected outcomes. The doctor may not tell you the truth, but hopefully you will get an honest answer.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice due to the negligence of a doctor of hospital, contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Snyder & Wenner, P.C.

Medical Malpractice – What Is “The Standard Of Care”?

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What is the standard of care?

In a medical malpractice case, the standard of care is what a reasonable, prudent health care provider does under the same or similar circumstances in Arizona. To win a medical malpractice case, we must prove that the doctor fell below the standard of care. This means he acted negligently. The standard of care is a national standard, not a local standard. It does not change whether you are getting medical care and treatment in Phoenix, Chicago, or New York. It also does not require that the doctor intentionally hurt you or your family member.

How does it apply to my case?

When you sue a doctor for medical negligence, you are the plaintiff. In Arizona, the plaintiff’s lawyer is required to hire a medical doctor to serve as an expert witness to give opinions on what the standard of care required of the doctor. The expert reviews the records and testifies how the doctor violated the standard of care. Expert testimony is also required to show how the negligence caused your injuries and what damages resulted from those injuries. Without this expert testimony, you will not have a viable case. In our cases, we find the best experts from around the country to testify. We do this because the defense attorneys routinely hire experts who will say anything for a dollar, and in doing so, they raise many issues that are completely irrelevant to the actual case. To combat this ridiculous strategy, we find the best possible expert and have him or her review the records.

To avoid the pitfalls of litigation, you should not try to represent yourself or hire a lawyer who does not handle medical malpractice cases. If you or a loved one has been injured or died as the result of medical negligence, contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Snyder & Wenner, P.C. today.

Medical Malpractice Alert: Arizona CRNAs No Longer Require Supervision

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Medical malpractice cases are about to be on the rise in Arizona. Governor Doug Ducey inexplicably opted Arizona out of a federal physician supervision requirement for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). This means CRNAs no longer require supervision of a physician when treating patients.

So what does this mean for patients? It means that CRNAs, who are considered mid-level practitioners, can now work independently. It means that patients will be treated by someone who does not have the full training of an anesthesiologist, but who thinks he/she has that full knowledge and skill sit. Most importantly, it means someone with only an extra 2-3 years of school will be monitoring patient’s vital signs during surgery and will be expected to intervene to save the patient’s life, if necessary. In other words, it means that medical malpractice cases are about to be on the rise.

In a recent Op-Ed piece for the Arizona Capitol Times, anesthesiologist Heidi Tavel, MD explains why this decision from Gov. Ducey is so ridiculous and short-sighted. Dr. Tavel notes that the decision was made “without input from the public or the state’s medical community and risks patients’ lives — and for no reason.” Eliminating the requirement for physician supervision will not result in any cost savings; it only “lowers the standard of care for patients.” Anesthesiologists are critical to safeguarding patients’ well-being. They literally monitor every heartbeat while the patient is under anesthesia. If something goes wrong, the anesthesiologist is expected to immediately intervene to save the patient’s life. That need now lies in the hand of a practitioner who has significantly less training and education. What could possibly go wrong?

Aortic Dissection – Medical Malpractice

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What Is An Aortic Dissection?

Did you know the aorta is the largest artery in the body? It connects to the heart and transports blood to the entire body by delivering blood to other vessels. The aorta can tear because of a birth defect or an acquired problem. This is known as an aortic dissection. According to a recent article published by the University of Chicago, aortic dissection is to blame for more than 13,000 deaths every year in the United States.

Aortic dissections can be caused by any of the following:

  • High blood pressure
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Aneurysm
  • Aortic valve defect
  • Certain genetic conditions like Marfan syndrome
  • Birth defects
  • Connective tissue diseases
  • Trauma (such as from a car crash or a fall)
  • Previous heart surgery

What Are The Signs and Symptoms Of An Aortic Dissection?

Symptoms of an aortic dissection can be similar to a heart attack and can include:

  • Sudden severe chest or upper back pain
  • Sudden severe abdominal pain
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sudden difficulty speaking, loss of vision, weakness or paralysis of one side of your body
  • Weak pulse in one arm
  • Leg pain
  • Difficulty walking
  • Leg paralysis

Aortic dissections can be diagnosed through several different diagnostic tests like an X-ray, CT Scan, Transesophageal Echocardiogram, MRI Scan, and MRA.

How Does Medical Malpractice Factor In?

Aortic dissections are an emergency condition. Because of that, an emergency room doctor, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, or nurse may fail to recognize the signs and symptoms of an aortic dissection. As a result, they failing to order the tests needed for an accurate diagnosis. Even when the provider does order the appropriate tests, radiologists can fail to timely diagnose the aortic dissections. Failure to do properly and timely diagnose the condition can lead to permanent catastrophic injuries or death. This may be the basis for a medical malpractice case.

If you or a loved one suffered an aortic dissection that was not timely diagnosed and treated and caused catastrophic injury or death, you need to contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Snyder & Wenner, P.C.

 

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Snyder & Wenner, P.C.

8800 N. Gainey Center Drive, Suite 265 Scottsdale, AZ 85258

2200 E Camelback Rd #213
Phoenix, AZ 85016

5151 E. Broadway Blvd, Suite 1600,
Tucson, AZ 85711

3260 N Hayden Rd Suite #210-485, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Call: 602-224-0005
Fax: 602-381-8997

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