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D.C. Maryland and Virginia medical malpractice, workers compensation and accident information.

Do you have questions about medical malpractice or need information about patient safety or medical mistakes regarding cerebral palsy, pulmonary embolism, cancer misdiagnosis or following up on medical tests?

Or questions about your rights if you are hurt on the job or in a serious accident?

On the page below you can find links to documents, reports, publications and discussions on medical malpractice, workers compensation and accidents provided by Donahoe Kearney, LLP. Be sure to check out our blog posts, videos and frequently asked questions.

Medical Malpractice:

Medical Malpractice Lawyers have a duty to their clients - patients injured by medical mistakes and families who have lost a loved one due to medical malpractice. Some Maryland hospitals now have a list of medical malpractice attorneys they refer patients to.
Hospital and medical malpractice cases in D.C. and Maryland require the best medical malpractice lawyers for patients. Hospitals want you to use their lawyers.
Medical malpractice attorneys answer questions about medical malpractice in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
Get answers to your questions about medical malpractice in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
What are the effects of birth injury or birth trauma on a newborn?
Birth injuries or birth trauma can be caused by medical malpractice.
Emergency room malpractice can be failing to recognize signs and symptoms of pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke, not ordering the proper tests or medication errors. Temporary ER doctors and nurses can increase the risks to patient safety.
Emergency room and hospital malpractice
Cerebral palsy can be caused by injury to the brain or abnormal development of the brain, usually before birth. Many of the signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy can be seen when the child is an infant or preschooler.
A child's cerebral palsy and developmental delays can be caused by an injury at birth. Here are common signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy.
As D.C. medical malpractice lawyers,one of our malpractice verdicts was against a doctor who failed to order a screening test that would have diagnosed cancer when it was early enough to cure. Here are ways to reduce your risk of cancer.
D.C. Medical Malpractice Lawyers trying to reduce risk of cancer.
A medical malpractice case for a child with cerebral palsy, significant injuries or disabilities can change the family's life and protect the child's future.
Medical malpractice cases in D.C., Maryland and Virginia can protect a severely injured child's future.
75% of hospital studies aren't followed up and failing to follow up on test results can have serious consequences for patients, such as missed or delayed diagnosis or death,according to one study. [PDF]
9 Tips When Getting Medical Steps was published by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality can help patients getting medical tests - especially since hospitals, HMOs, healthcare corporations and doctors don't always follow up on the tests they order, although they always should.

This publication indicates that in one study, anywhere from 10% to 30% of Pap smears were read to be "normal" but were not. OK, that's the doctor's responsibility, not the patient's - no amount of helpful tips is going to change that.
5 Steps to Safer Health Care [PDF]
Patient safety and preventing medical, hospital and HMO errors and mistakes should always be the first rule of medicine. Here are 5 steps the Department of Health and Human Services, American Hospital Association and American Medical Association recommend patients take to get safer health care.
Cancer Screening: Prostate Cancer Health Information update [PDF]
Cancer screening should detect cancer at the earliest possible stages so it can be treated. Read these quick prostate cancer screening recommendations from the American Cancer Society.
Medical Ghost Writing - Drug Companies and Medical Device Manufacturers hiring writers to submit articles to medical journals (articles singing the praises of whatever the companies are pushing) [PDF]
Peer reviewed medical literature is routinely used as a basis for healthcare decisions, insurance company decisions to authorize diagnostic tests and treatment and in medical malpractice litigation. But many of the articles are ghost written - by writers hired by a drug company or medical device manufacturer that wants positive treatment for one of its products in the medical literature. Sen. Charles Grassley has issued a report "Ghostwriting in Medical Literature" that shows how widespread the practice is.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot forming in a large vein. It can lead to pulmonary embolism, a potentially fatal complication.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), the formation of a blood clot, is a treatable, preventable disease process that is underdiagnosed. DVT can lead to pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot that breaks off and travels to the lung. Pulmonary embolism can be a fatal complication of DVT.
Radiologist diagnoses life threatening blood clots and calls the referring physician to communicate his diagnosis but hangs up after being put on hold. The patient dies a few days later without ever being treated. [PDF]
A local radiologist diagnosed life threatening blood clots (deep vein thrombosis) in a 50 year old Fairfax, Va single mother. He called her referring physician to communicate the diagnosis. After being put on hold, waiting for the doctor to come to the phone, he hung up.

His patient died a few days later from a fatal pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that broke off and traveled to the lungs. She never knew she had been diagnosed with blood clots.

The treatment for blood clots is anti-coagulation, usually heparin. It is 90% effective. A pulmonologist testified this treatment would have saved the patient's life.

At trial, the radiologist blamed the referring physician, saying his office later faxed the radiology report to the referring doctor's office, where it was filed as routine correspondence.

The referring physician's employer settled with the family shortly before trial.

Following a verdict for the radiologist, the Supreme Court of Virginia reversed, holding the trial judge improperly instructed the jury on the issue of superseding, intervening cause.

Frank R. Kearney and co-counsel Benjamin W. Glass, III represent the patient's estate. Her survivors include a 12 year old son.
Medical information, tests and screening for men
Cancer screening and prevention. Early detection and diagnosis of potentially fatal cancers. Preventing colon cancer, heart attacks and heart disease. These are a few of the topics the AHRQ advises men about their health and health care.
Cancer Awareness Newsletter [PDF]
Cancer Awareness and Prevention is critical to your health. The misdiagnosis or late diagnosis of cancer can be fatal. Early diagnosis and detection of even the most aggressive cancer can improve a patient's outcome.

In D.C., Maryland and Virginia, we represent people and families - patients injured because of preventable medical mistakes, children with cerebral palsy, workers with on the job injuries and people injured in serious car accidents, and families who have lost a loved one due to medical malpractice, work and car accidents.