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There's nothing like the nervous excitement and anticipation that comes with the birth of a child. You hope and pray that everything goes smoothly with the delivery; but sometimes, the birth of a child doesn’t go as planed and the results can be devastating. The Sweeney Law Firm is committed to standing up for the rights of patients. If you have questions about whether you have a legal claim, call the Sweeney Law Firm now. We offer free consultation and we will never charge a fee unless we make a recovery for you. 1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 1-260-420-3137 (Local) 1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

Preventable medical errors pose a real risk and are responsible for billions in unnecessary health care costs. The good news is that some major hospitals are taking important steps to determine how  errors happen and how they can be prevented. When medical errors happen it's important to do a thorough investigation so it doesn't happen again to other patients.  If you or a loved one were the victim of a medical mistake or have questions about what happened when you received medical care, call the Sweeney law firm now. 1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 1-260-420-3137 (Local) 1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

Helping victims of Medication Errors in Indiana. Medical Providers are obligated to provide the correct medication with the correct dose and the right patient. Unfortunately these kind of medication errors are happening with an alarming frequency. Medication errors harm an estimated 1.5 million people in the United States every year.   Medication errors can cause bad consequences, if you have been a victim, contact the Indiana Medical Error Lawyers today.

Indiana Medical Malpractice lawyer David Farnauch of the Sweeney law firm discusses Indiana medical malpractice law. A recent study has shown that 100,000 people have lost their lives every year because of preventable medical errors. This video discusses laws that apply to medical malpractice cases in Indiana. The majority of medical malpractice claims in Indiana are governed by the medical malpractice act. The Indiana medical malpractice laws are complex and you need an experienced malpractice attorney to assist you with your case.  Strict time limits apply to medical malpractice cases and you must act fast to make sure your case is not barred because of the statute of limitations. The Sweeney law firm handles a wide variety of medical malpractice cases including birth injury cases, cases involving a doctor who fails to make the right diagnosis and cases where there are surgical or medication errors. If you have been a victim of Indiana medical malpractice, you do have legal rights. We will consult with board certified physicians and review the merits of your medical malpractice claim for free. The Sweeney law firm NEVER charges you anything unless we make a recovery for you. Call us now for a free Consultation. 1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 1-260-420-3137 (Local) 1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

When we need to use the health care system, we do our best to choose the right doctor and trust that we will receive the highest quality of care. Unfortunately, for too many patients are injured every year when medical providers don't fallow patient's safety rules and makes medical mistakes. Medical errors can result in a life time of harm and can cause disastrous consequences to families. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a medical error, call the Sweeney Law Firm now at 1-866-793-6339. Preventable medical errors pose a real risk and are responsible for billions in unnecessary health care costs.  The good news is that some major hospitals are taking important steps to determine how  errors happen and how they can be prevented. When Indiana medical errors happen it's important to do a thorough investigation so it doesn't happen again to other patients.  If you or a loved one were the victim of a medical mistake or have questions about what happened when you received medical care, call the Sweeney law firm now. 1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 1-260-420-3137 (Local) 1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

Host 1: Welcome back to InSight, we are joined now by Dave Farnbaugh from the Sweeney Law Firm. So Dave, there are some medical malpractice laws that are unique to Indiana and there have been a number of news stories lately regarding medical errors and medical malpractice. Tell us about those. Dave: Well, we've seen a lot of news stories lately that medical malpractice was at the forefront. There was a big news story a few weeks back about a local pain physician who the attorney general is pursuing and there's been the epidemic in Massachusetts with the fungal meningitis. So there has been a lot of news on the topic of medical malpractice and what I thought we'd do today is spend a little bit of time explaining to people maybe some of the laws that govern medical malpractice here in the state of Indiana that are surprising when they talk to people that are unique to Indiana. Most people don't realize that in the state of Indiana we have a cap on medical malpractice damages. Host 2: So you can only sue for so much. Dave: Right, it's $1,250,000 and that's shocking when I tell a lot of people, since we handle birth injury cases where a little baby during the delivery can be harmed and require a lifetime of medical treatment. That could realistically cost tens of millions of dollars. In Indiana we have a hard cap of $1,250,000 so it doesn't matter how much harm is cause, you're capped out at a $1,250,000. When I tell people that they're completely shocked. How could that be that there could be this ceiling on the amount of damages in respective to the amount of harm? Host 2: Is there anything that somebody could do about that if they are in that sort of situation? Dave: No, in fact there was a recent case where attorneys tried to challenge the cap and the Indiana Supreme Court, this was primarily on procedural grounds, just ruled that the cap is gonna stay in place. So its been a law since 1976 we've had a cap on damages. We've adjusted it for different time frames, but the current cap is $1,250,000 which with today's medical cost is woefully inadequate. The other interesting thing that's unique about Indiana Medical Malpractice Law is the notion that we have a medical review panel that decides on the merits of cases before you can file a lawsuit. It's the only area of law that I'm aware of in Indiana where you're sort of judged by your peers. When you file a medical malpractice lawsuit in the state of Indiana, if you sue physicians, a panel of three physicians is convened to decide whether the case has merits. That's unique. If you sue a lawyer, there's not a panel of three lawyers or an architect. But if you sue a physician in the state of Indiana there's a medical review panel that's formed to decide the merits of your case. Host 2: One, I would think, just in theory that that's a little harder to get past because their obviously cognisant of the fact that these are their peers in their industry. So I would think that it’s almost like you gotta go two steps and that first step I would think is challenging. Dave: Well it is challenging because it’s a situation where a lot of times physicians know one another and they attend the same seminars and what not. So it is difficult. I think cases that tend to fall in the grey area of medical malpractice, I think a lot of times physicians do get the benefit of the doubt with their peers on the medical review panel. Which makes it a lot more challenging for patients and consumers to try to get justice if there’s a medical malpractice case. So we have some very unique and challenging laws that present some hurdles to patients when they are the victims of medical malpractice in the state of Indiana. Host 2: Well obviously you’re the expert on that and it is very hard to digest all of the rules and what you need to do so if somebody thinks they have a medical malpractice suit the best thing to do is contact you guys. Because you guys definitely tell them whether or not they should proceed. Dave: Ya, oftentimes we get a lot of calls and we explain to people, “Look, we’re sorry for what happened to you but it appears there’s no malpractice. Occasionally we do get calls where the cases are meritorious. So the only way you’re ever going to find out if you have a meritorious medical malpractice is to call an attorney who specializes in that area. Host 2: Well if you have a question about medical malpractice, give the guys at Sweeney Law Firm a call - they can help you out today.

Host 1: Welcome back to INSight, we are joined now by attorney Dave Farnbaugh and attorney and doctor Greg Kauffman. They are from the Sweeney Law Firm and we are talking about medical malpractice and medical errors and they’re causing a lot of issues. Not just issues, they’re causing a lot of deaths in the United States, probably more than people realize. Yes? Dave: Yes. Charity, there are some pretty alarming statistics out there about what’s a health problem in the United States. Statistically there are a numbers of people in the United States each year that are injured as a result of medical errors or medical malpractice. They say anywhere from 40,000 to 98,000 people a year are killed as a result of medical malpractice. There was a recent study that was done that showed only 1 in 4 patients were told of an abnormal test result by their doctor. There are a lot of medical errors that cause harm and there’s a lot of things that can be done by patients to protect themselves from being a victim of medical malpractice. Host 1: Do you think that people are not doing anything when they are a victim of medical malpractice because they don’t realize they were a victim of medical malpractice or because they think that it’s too expensive to proceed with a medical malpractice case? Greg: Well I think that both factors are operative. I think a lot of times, individuals and families don’t know what’s happened. I’ve seen many many cases in my career where people for example have a child whose brain damaged. Sometimes these people are told for years by doctors who see the child that there was some kind of problem with an infection during the pregnancy or maybe it’s an inherited disorder or something like that. There really is great reluctance on the part of doctors to inform families about mistakes, so a lot of times they just don’t know and a lot of times people don’t know what can really be done about it. They’re concerned about the cost of taking action so it’s a multi-factorial kind of problem. Host 2: Now if someone has been or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, obviously the last step would be to come to an attorney and handle that. But what are some steps that you can take to be proactive so that perhaps this doesn’t happen in the first place? Dave: Well there are a number of things I think that can be done. In fact, there is a wonderful book if you come to our website that was written by an attorney in Washington D.C. that lays out nine steps that people can take on their own to prevent one from being a victim of medical malpractice. One of the most important things that you can do is a very simple thing is to get a copy of your own medical records and read them. A lot of times you are going to learn things that are in your medical records. A lot of people are under the misconception that only doctors can understand medical records. It’s really not that way. There are probably some things that are in your medical records that would surprise you. One of the things you can learn by getting your own medical records is how good of a listener your doctor is. One of the key things is to find a physician whose a good listener and is willing to communicate with other physicians that they refer your care to. Because that’s one of the major causes of medical malpractice events is when health care providers don’t talk to other health care providers. The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing so test results are put into your chart but the doctor never looks at it or a referral is not made with regard to an abnormal test finding and then later on it’s discovered but it’s too late to do anything about it. So the most important thing that you can do is be proactive, get a copy of your medical records, read them, get a second opinion, not just with the regard on the decision to have surgery, a lot of people will only get a second opinion if a surgery is recommended. At every major cross road where you face an important medical decision, you should get a second opinion, or a third opinion. Doctors will frequently disagree about what the diagnosis is and what the proper course of action is. Greg: Another thing that I think people can do to help protect themselves in the medical system is to be their own advocates. Make sure that your doctor is listening; make sure the doctor understands the problems that you’re having. I think it’s very helpful if a family member, or if no family member is available a friend who would go with the patient to the doctor or spend time with the patient in the hospital and take note of what’s going on and sort of ask questions on behalf of the patient I think that’s very important. Dave: I think once again to throw another statistic at viewers, which I think is very interesting, they’ve done studies on how many people actually do something when they are a victim of medical malpractice and the statistics show that only 1 in 8 people that are the victim of medical malpractice ever even assert a legal claim. The reason for that I think, after having done these cases for a long time Greg and I, a lot of people are concerned that taking action to pursue a medical malpractice case is something that can be very costly on their part and it doesn’t cost anything. Lawyers who handle these types of cases generally take these cases on a percentage fee basis which means we only charge a fee if we make a recoveries. Most offices that do these kinds of cases finance the litigation. We pay for the expert witnesses, we pay to get the medical records, so there’s really no out of pocket cost on the clients behalf. What you really need to do to get the ball rolling is simply pick up the phone and call an attorney who specializes in these types of cases and then we get the records and hire doctors to review the records and give us analysis and opinions about whether there is a meritorious legal case. Then we have a meeting with the client, we say this is what we recommend. Either you don’t have a case that is worth pursuing or you do. Then we run with it. One of the most valuable services that we could provide, even in cases that we ultimately recommend to the client that we don’t pursue a case, is we can give them some answers about what happened and that’s one of the most valuable functions. Often times these families will have a ton of questions when there’s an adverse medical event about what happened in the whole scenario, why there’s a bad outcome or an injury to a loved one or a child and Greg and I can provide them with answers about what happened. Greg: The fact that I am a physician enables me in the vast majority of cases to be able to simply talk with family members and just from the information that I gained, just from that interchange, I can almost always tell if it is something that can be pursued or something that really shouldn’t be pursued. Host 1: All right, well if you have some questions give the Sweeney Law Firm a call today and they can provide you with answers that you need.

LEE KELSO: The field of medical malpractice is one of the most specialized areas in all of law. Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex and difficult cases and there are not many lawyers who can handle these cases on a regular basis. With us today is a medical malpractice lawyer David Farnbauch. David, glad you could be with us today to talk about medical malpractice. DAVID FARNBAUCH: Its great to be here today. LEE KELSO: David let's start with some of the basics. Can you explain by what is meant by the term medical malpractice? Well the term medical malpractice really means that a doctor or a hospital or some healthcare provider, provided care that was below what is known as the standard of care is the level of care or expertise expected to be provided by the typical medical provider in that field. LEE KELSO: David what are some of the more common types of medical malpractice handled by you over the years. DAVID FARNBAUCH: I think some of the most common types of medical malpractice that we see in our office are cases that involve the failure to diagnose a particular condition. Sometimes there are problems revealed in tests, x-rays that are taken, studies that are done that reveal that is a tumor or problem and that report is given to a doctor and the doctor never relays that information to the patient, so there is nothing to follow up on the treatment after that condition has been discovered. Then, later on a person develops cancer or another serious condition that could have been treated earlier. Thus there is a claim brought against the doctor or medical provider for failing to diagnose the problem earlier. Another type of a medical malpractice case would be a case where surgery was performed and the surgery was not performed according to the standard of care and an injury results. LEE KELSO: If one of our viewers believes that they have been harmed as a result of medical malpractice what's the first step? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well I think the first step is to contact a lawyer or a law firm that specializes in medical malpractice cases. What is usually involved in a medical malpractice case is we collect all of the medical documents that surround a precedure or medical care and treatment that was rendered to the patient. We provide those records to another doctor or a specialist in that field of medicine to analyze whether there has been medical malpractice involved in the care. LEE KELSO: David if someone believes that they have been the victim of medical malpractice does it cost them anything to have your law firm investigate the case and decide whether the case is worth being pursued. DAVID FARNBAUCH: No it does not cost anything. We handle medical malpractice cases on a contingent fee basis. We never charge a fee unless there is a recovery, settlement, or verdict in the case. it will not cost the client anything to have us investigate the case. If there are expenses involved in hiring witnesses to analyze the medical records and determine whether there has been a  breach of the standard of care then our office advances those expenses on behalf of the client. LEE KELSO: If it is proven that a doctor or a hospital committed medical malpractice causing injury or harm to a patient what kinds of damages could be recovered in lawsuit. DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well in a medical malpractice case it is much like a personal injury case where danages can be recovered for the injuries themselves for physical pain and mental suffering caused by those injuries. If there is medical expenses to treat the medical malpractice that is recoverable. Damages can be recovered from missing work. If the ability to pursue a career was damaged or impaired we can recover damages for lost future earnings. if there is a death as a result of a medical malpractice. Also if there is a loss of love and companionship for the loved ones of the injured. LEE KELSO: David is there a statute of limitations on filing a medical malpractice case? DAVID FARNBAUCH: There are time limits for filing a medical malpractice case in Indiana. Your case has to be filed within two years of the occurence of the negligent act or malpractice. Thus, it is important for people if they believe that they or a family member was the victim of medical malpractive should contact an attorney as soon as the alledged negligent act occured, so an investigation can be conducted before the statute of limitations expires. LEE KELSO: David you have given us very good information about medical malpractice. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. It was a pleasure spending time with you today.

“I’ve heard in Indiana unlike some other states that someone who is injured or involved with medical malpractice say in a hospital or nursing home can’t file a lawsuit in court but instead have to file that case before a panel of doctors. Can you explain the reason for that?” “Indiana has sort of a unique set of laws that govern medical malpractice. Most states if you have a medical malpractice case you can file that case directly in court and begin the process with the court system. In Indiana, most medical providers are what we call qualified providers and their entitled the protections of the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act and what that means from a practical standpoint is the case has be filed with a medical review panel which consist of three medical providers who vote on the merits of that case before you can file your case in court. It has been in effect since 1975.It is unique to Indiana. We also have some interesting laws that govern medical malpractice such as caps on damages. Most people do not know that in the state of Indiana, there is a medical malpractice cap of 1.25 million dollars regardless the amount of harm that has been cause by the doctor or hospital. The most that you can recover in a medical malpractice case in the state of Indiana is 1.25 million dollars which is in some cases where you have catastrophic injuries and damages; it presents a very unique hardship to the victim of medical negligence because they are capped out on their recovery. We have some laws in Indiana that make it very adventitious to practice medicine from a legal liability standpoint in this state.”

“We were just talking during the break, this is pretty timely, with the house passing health care legislation last night, and you said there were some things from a legal perspective that don’t add up.” “I think what I wanted to share with our viewers about the vote that just came down about the health care plan is as our viewers may or may not know. There was no significant tort inform measures that were included in the health care package that was just filed. That was one of the things that I think was subject to debate, weather the was gonna be some tort reform like capping damages for medical malpractice suits.” “And tort reform me revising the law?” “Mostly what it means in the context of health care is capping damages on medical malpractice suits. One of the theories with trying to reduce health care cost was that if you put caps on medical malpractice suits, that it would result in lowering of health care cost that the doctors practice too much defensive medicine, they order unnecessary test because they are afraid of being sued. There are runaway jury verdicts with medical malpractice suits so that if you cap damages you’ll bring down the cost. One of the things I think our viewers ought to know in this debate are some of the facts regarding what cost are associated with the medical malpractice system that might contribute to the health care system. One of the things I think our viewers ought to know is that if you completely eliminated all medical malpractice lawsuits all together, if there were no malpractice awards, if doctors weren’t charged premiums for medical malpractice – the total cost of the health care system would be less than 1% of the total health care cost.” “So it doesn’t have that much of an impact.” “Right, like I said, if you completely eliminated medical malpractice from our health care system. It would only eliminate less than 1% of the total cost. About 1 in every $6 dollars in our economy right now is spent on health care. So the congressional budget office said that if you put a cap on damages, you could reduce health care cost by about $11 billion a year, but people have to have that perspective that $11 billion a year would be less than 1% of the total cost of health care.” “Wow, so perhaps something that the congressional leaders didn’t take into account, or didn’t think through perhaps?” “Well, they may have taken it into consideration, but my point is, that if you just eliminated that whole system all together, you’re really not going to eliminate health care cost or reduce them considerably.”

CHARITY FREEMAN: According to the National Institute of Medicine July 2006 report medication errors harm an estimated one and a half million people in the United States each year causing upwards of three billion dollars in extra medical costs. Needless to say these are alarming numbers for  what seems to be a largely preventable problem. Here today to talk about medication errors is and the cases that may arise from them is David Farnbauch from the Sweeney Law Firm in Fort Wayne, Indiana. David thank you for joining us. DAVID FARNBAUCH: Its a pleasure to be here today. CHARITY FREEMAN: Mr. Farnbauch I have to admit that I had no idea that theses numbers were so large, that there were so many people that are harmed each year by either being given the wrong medicine or the wrong dosage of a medicine. Can you give us some examples of the types of cases you see in your office involving medication errors? DAVID FARNBAUCH: I would say that the most common form of medication error that we see in our office is when someone is prescribed an incorrect dosage for a medication. Oftentimes there will be a doctor's order that's written that's misinterpreted by either a pharmacist or somebody that is prescribing the dosage of medication or administering the dosage of medication and someone will receive 10 or twenty times the amount of medication they are supposed to receive. CHARITY FREEMAN: From your perspective what are some of the factors that account for some of the increasing trend in patient suffering injury or even death from medication errors? DAVID FARNBAUCH: I think one of the big things that accounts for the number of medication accidents or errors that we see is simply the amount of medication now administered to patients. It is not uncommon for elderly patients in a nursing home to be on a dozen different medications. When you have that many different medications that are being prescribed it increases the odds that there is going to be some sort of an error as a result of administering that medication. CHARITY FREEMAN: What are some of the things that viewers can do to protect themselves or a loved one, maybe a parent who is receiving medication in a nursing home from being the victim of a medication error? DAVID FARNBAUCH: There think there are two things. The most important thing is to keep a list of what medications the loved one is supposed to be receiving and the dosages and match that up with what is actually being administered by the pharmacy, nursing home, or physician. The other thing is oftentimes we hear from families that there is an onset of some unusual symptoms, but there is a delayed reporting of those symptoms and problems to a doctor or the facility. So if you noticed some unusual symptoms it's important to bring it to the attention of the nursing home or the doctor. CHARITY FREEMAN: If one of our viewers or one of our viewer's loved ones is hospitalized for a medication error what is the first step that they can take in pursuing a legal claim against the doctor, hospital, or nursing home it was involved in the error? DAVID FARNBAUCH: I think one of the most important steps is retaining the evidence if there are medication bottles of the drug that is  involved to retain that evidence. The other thing is if there is any type of a medication error. I think it is important to contact an attorney or law firm that handles these types of cases to give advice before contacting the insurance company or medical provider that is involved. CHARITY FREEMAN: I am sure that some of our viewers will be concerned about the cost of a legal case involving a medication error. Is it expensive to pursue this type of legal case? DAVID FARNBAUCH: I don't think these cases are expensive for the consumer because these cases are handles on what is a contingent fee basis. What that means is that the attorney fee is based on a percentage of the recovery. If there is no recovery by way of a settlement or a jury verdict in the case then the client is not charged any attorney's fees. Most law firms who handle these types of cases will advance the litigation expenses and will only charge expenses if there is a recovery in the case, so it really does not cost anything to pursue these cases. CHARITY FREEMAN: David we appreciate spending time with us today and talking about this topic of medication error that's effecting thousands Hoosiers every year.