Sepsis: Know the Signs and Symptoms

Sepsis Awareness Month Aims To Raise Understanding of this Leading Cause of Death in U.S. Hospitals. 

What Is Sepsis?

Sepsis is the body's overwhelming reaction to an infection (sometimes also called blood poisoning). If not treated quickly it can lead to organ and tissue damage and death.

September is Sepsis Awareness month and the CDC has educational materials describing Sepsis.

Most importantly, know the symptoms.

And if you suspect sepsis, tell your doctor and health care providers, "Could this be sepsis?"

What Are the Symptoms of Sepsis?

There is no single symptom of sepsis. It can present in any combination of the following:

• Confusion or dissorientation
• Fever, or shivering, feeling very cold
• Shortness of breath
• Extreme pain or discomfort
• High heart rate
• Clammy or sweaty skin.

Sepsis is a medical emergency. If you suspect sepsis, get to an emergency room immediately and tell them you suspect SEPSIS.

For more information, please see our Sepsis post on our Patient Safety Blog, as well as more information at:
https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Questions about an injury or death due to Sepsis? Contact our medical malpractice lawyers for a free case review in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island.

Top Patient Safety Topics in 2017

Lubin & Meyer maintains The Patient Safety Blog as a place to raise awareness of patient safety issues, including local and national research studies and sharing of patient safety initiatives that show promise for improving healthcare quality for all. Below we share some of the most popular posts from our blog in 2017.

1. Medical Errors Experienced by 41% of Americans
New Survey Reveals Patient Attitudes on Patient Safety

According to the national survey, Americans’ Experiences with Medical Errors and Views on Patient Safety, by the IHI/NPSF Lucian Leape Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago:

• 10% reported personally experiencing a medical error
• 20% know someone whose care they were involved with experienced a medical error
• 11% reported having experienced an error both personally and involved in someone else’s care.

Read full blog post here: Medical errors in U.S.

2. Women Dying in Childbirth in U.S. — A Preventable Tragedy
Lubin & Meyer Maternal Death Case Prompts State Probe at MetroWest Medical Center

The Boston Globe's Liz Kowalczyk exposes a worrisome trend — an increase in the maternal mortality rate July 30 article in response to the deaths of two expectant women in labor and delivery at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Read full blog post here: Maternal deaths

3. How Safe Is Your Hospital?
Check Your Hospital's Latest Safety Report Card

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was launched in 2012 to help increase awareness of hospital errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Since 2012, the Leapfrog Group has been assigning A, B, C, D and F letter grades to more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals nationwide, twice a year. To search the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade database by hospital name, city or state, go to: http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/

Read full blog post here: Hospital Safety Grades

4. When Gallbladder Surgery Goes Wrong
Less Invasive Laparoscopic Gallbladder Surgery Has Record of Serious Medical Mistakes

While the risks are low, it is extremely important that a surgeon properly identifies the gallbladder and closely situated anatomy such as bile duct and blood vessels to avoid the possibility of cutting, perforating or nicking any other areas with the surgical tools while removing the gallbladder.

Click to read more about possible errors during gallbladder surgery


Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Questions about a possible medical malpractice case. Please do not hesitate to contact our medical legal team for a free case review in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island.

Drew Meyer, The "Go To Guy" for Injured Patients

Attorney Andrew Meyer Profiled in Huffington Post

In a profile published in The Huffington Post, Andrew C. Meyer Jr. is described as "the go to guy for families in MA, NH, and RI, who are dealing with the devastating consequences of medical malpractice." The article includes highlights of Meyer's long career representing victims of medical mistakes and unique experience working with the complicated emotions that result when a patient has been harmed by a trusted doctor or institution.

Medical Malpractice Attorney - Andrew C. Meyer Jr.

In the article Meyer talks about trust as a common issue among those who have been injured.

"He says that the reason they come through his doors at Lubin & Meyer PC is because they put their trust in the hands of a highly qualified professional; their doctor, nurse, midwife, physician’s assistant, psychiatrist, dentist, or other medical professional, and they were ultimately harmed by that person. He says that his first order of business is sitting with a client to listen intently in order to fully understand their plight and his second order of business is to answer the question that every client is thinking, but usually unwilling to express, 'Why should I trust you?'"

According to Meyer, clients can feel "angry, embarrassed, and guilty for what happened, often blaming themselves for not having known the possible outcome of a particular medical procedure."

Meyer works to help the injured begin to understand they are not the only family that has suffered horrible losses, and that "they are not at fault for the tragedy which has brought them all together." By pursing the long affair of a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured and their families become "warriors and whistle blowers who are willing to step forward to share their story" to affect change in the system.

"Very rarely are his clients embarking upon the very long road to justice for the money. He says that sometimes the money is absolutely necessary to provide care for someone who will need lifetime assistance due to malpractice, such as the $30 million settlement for a child who was born with major birth defects due to the egregious negligence of an entire medical team. But more often than not, the monetary award is necessary to force change within the medical community."

The article states that Meyer is known for negotiating settlements that call for more than just money. "In most cases, they negotiate for major changes in systems and procedures at hospitals and medical practices. He says that there are countless system defects within the industry and, in most instances, the patients at these medical facilities have no idea."

You can read the full article on The Huffington Post at this link: Drew Meyer profile.

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Report on Medical Errors at NH Hospitals

A series of articles on the reporting of adverse events — serious medical errors also known as "never events" — by NH hospitals is available at: InDepthNH.org. There are 29 types of errors — all considered to be avoidable mistakes — that hospitals must report to the Department of Health and Human Services. (See the full list below.)

The most recent data from 2014, shows 73 never events were reported. These include 25 patient falls and 22 pressure ulcers, as well as 14 surgery-related errors at NH hospitals including Catholic Medical Center, Concord Hospital, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, and Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

How did your hospital do? See the full public document listing the type of adverse events reported by each NH hospital at this NHDHHS web page.

Serious Medical Errors Plague Hospitals in NH https://t.co/wmklmgtJQo via @nancywestnews

— Lubin & Meyer PC (@LubinandMeyer) March 10, 2016

What Are Never Events?

Here is the list of 29 adverse events that hospitals in NH must report in an effort to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety, as reported by Nancy West at InDepthNH.org

Surgical or invasive procedure events

• Surgery or other invasive procedure performed on the wrong site
• Surgery or other invasive procedure performed on the wrong patient
• Wrong surgical or other invasive procedure performed on a patient
• Unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or other invasive procedure
• Intraoperative or immediately postoperative/post procedure death in an ASA Class 1 patient

Product or device events

• Patient death or serious injury associated with the use of contaminated drugs, devices, or biologics provided by the healthcare setting
• Patient death or serious injury associated with the use or function of a device in patient care, in which the device is used or functions other than as intended
• Patient death or serious injury associated with intravascular air embolism that occurs while being cared for in a healthcare setting

Patient protection events

• Discharge or release of a patient/resident of any age, who is unable to make decisions, to other than an authorized person
• Patient death or serious injury associated with patient elopement (disappearance)
• Patient suicide, attempted suicide, or self-harm that results in serious injury, while being cared for in a healthcare setting

Care management events

• Patient death or serious injury associated with a medication error (e.g., errors involving the wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong time, wrong rate, wrong preparation, or wrong route of administration)
• Patient death or serious injury associated with unsafe administration of blood products
• Maternal death or serious injury associated with labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy while being cared for in a healthcare setting
• Death or serious injury of a neonate associated with labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy
• Patient death or serious injury associated with a fall while being cared for in a healthcare setting
• Any Stage 3, Stage 4, and unstageable pressure ulcers acquired after admission/presentation to a healthcare setting
• Artificial insemination with the wrong donor sperm or wrong egg (updated)
• Patient death or serious injury resulting from the irretrievable loss of an irreplaceable biological specimen
• Patient death or serious injury resulting from failure to follow up or communicate laboratory, pathology, or radiology test results

Environmental events

• Patient or staff death or serious injury associated with an electric shock in the course of a patient care process in a healthcare setting
• Any incident in which systems designated for oxygen or other gas to be delivered to a patient contain no gas, the wrong gas, or are contaminated by toxic substances
• Patient or staff death or serious injury associated with a burn incurred from any source in the course of a patient care process in a healthcare setting
• Patient death or serious injury associated with the use of physical restraints or bedrails while being cared for in a healthcare setting

Radiologic events

• Death or serious injury of a patient or staff associated with the introduction of a metallic object into the M RI area

Potential criminal events

• Any instance of care ordered by or provided by someone impersonating a physician, nurse, pharmacist, or other licensed healthcare provider
• Abduction of a patient/resident of any age
• Sexual abuse/assault on a patient or staff member within or on the grounds of a healthcare setting
• Death or serious injury of a patient or staff member resulting from a physical assault (i.e., battery) that occurs within or on the grounds of a healthcare setting

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Medical Errors in Hospitals: Third Leading Cause of Death in America

New Hampshire Pubic Radio reports on the recent U.S. Senate subcommittee panel on preventable medical errors, where health safety experts testified on the high rate of medical errors in hospitals leading to death. The hearing was titled "More Than 1,000 Preventable Deaths a Day Is Too Many: The Need to Improve Patient Safety."

Those numbers are according to a study published in the Journal of Patient Safety that reveals medical mistakes in hospitals account for up to 440,000 patient death each year — which makes medical errors the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease and cancer. 

The NHPR article states,

"The health care community is not doing enough to track and prevent widespread harm to patients, and preventable deaths and injuries in hospitals and other settings will continue unless Congress takes action, medical experts said Thursday [July 17] on Capitol Hill."

Experts agreed that better measurement and reporting of patient harms is needed. Some called for a National Patient Safety Board to investigate patient harms.

For more information on the hearing, please see the full article on nhpr.com:
Health Safety Experts Call For Public Reporting Of Medical Harms

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law