A jury has awarded a Massachusetts couple nearly $2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit they brought against a hospital.

According to court documents, Laura Ginisi claimed that doctors at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, misdiagnosed several strokes her husband Joseph Ginisi suffered in 2004. The lawsuit also contends that a delay in treatment for cancer at the hospital led him to become legally blind and unable to walk.

The jury did not find any doctors or staff members negligent in their verdict, just the hospital. Hospital officials would not comment on the case, but noted Ginisi’s treatment occurred under previous ownership.

Laura Ginisi said she is pleased with the jury’s decision, but added that no amount of money will cure her husband, who is unable to live at home.

If you have been the victim of misdiagnosis, please contact the Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Attorney of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

An appeals court has upheld a $20 million verdict in a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawsuit.

According to Pennsylvania Superior Court documents, 18 year-old Amy Fledderman died as a result of complications from a lipsuction operation in 2001. The Fledderman family filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Richard P. Glunk and a nurse, Edward J. DeStefano. The Superior Court panel of judges upheld the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas $20 million verdict.

The appeals court also affirmed a $2 million emotional distress award for Fledderman’s mother, who was forced to wait for more than two hours while Glunk allegedly refused to send her daughter to the hospital. The judges also rejected the defendants’ argument that the $15 million in punitive damages was excessive.

If you have been the victim of medical malpractice, please contact a Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Attorney of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

A new study indicates that when doctors admit medical mistakes, patients do not file more lawsuits.

According to researchers who examined the University of Michigan Health System, the system’s program of admitting all doctor and hospital mistakes, apologizing, and offering compensation does not lead to an increase in lawsuits. Dr. Allen Kachalia, lead author of the study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said a code requiring doctors to talk with patients when something goes wrong “allows doctors to be more open about their mistakes.” He added, “it can help foster trust in the physician patient relationship.”

In 2001 UMHS started a program of admitting all mistakes, and Kachalia compared the number and cost of claims against the hospital, before and after the new program was put in place. The total number of claims against the hospital decreased by almost 50 percent after full disclosure took effect.

Unfortunately many doctors and hospitals do not practice full disclosure when it comes to medical malpractice. If you or someone you love has been injured due to medical malpractice or hospital negligence, please contact a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511 today.