Fayetteville, NC Personal Injury Law Blog

Medical malpractice might not be as uncommon as one might think it is in Fayetteville. Mistakes can easily be made when doctors and nurses are negligent, or when hospitals fail to implement procedures to properly address emergency medical situations.

Sadly, these medical errors can result in serious or fatal injuries. And sometimes, patients are not even informed about a complication that occurred during surgery because a nurse or doctor had made a medical mistake. Medical professionals might attempt to hide these errors for fear of being sued if they are honest with patients.

To increase patient safety and to focus on the importance of being open and honest with patients, seven hospitals in Massachusetts are testing a pilot project that some believe could cut down on the costs of medical malpractice lawsuits for medical professionals while also making sure that victims receive fair settlements for their injuries as well as an apology.

Losing a loved one is certainly a painful and devastating experience for any Fayetteville family. But what if you found out that the death of your loved one could have been prevented? How would you feel waking up each morning knowing that your son, daughter, wife, husband, mother, father or sibling would still be alive had someone else made appropriate choices that would have prevented your loved one from sustaining fatal injuries after an accident, a medical mistake or an assault on one's property?

After her son's wrongful death in April 2011, one mother finally received some justice earlier this month. According to reports, the Fayetteville hospital where her son died agreed to settle the woman's wrongful death lawsuit. Although the settlement, which remains confidential, is certainly a victory for the woman, she is still hoping that criminal charges will be filed against the individuals she believes were partly responsible for killing her son.

Earlier this year on our Fayetteville, North Carolina, personal injury law blog, we discussed one woman's fight to raise awareness of the need for stricter state and federal laws governing the trucking industry.

In particular, the woman and other safety advocates called for laws that would help to reduce the number of truck drivers who hit the roads while drowsy. The North Carolina woman experienced the consequences of driver fatigue first-hand. Her husband was killed in a truck accident last year after a truck driver fell asleep while on the road and crashed into the car the woman's husband was driving.

Last month, it appeared that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was close to proposing new laws that would have required overweight truck drivers in the U.S. to be tested for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is likely to lead to chronic fatigue because people with the condition do not rest well. That lack of energy could lead to performance and safety problems on the road. However, the FMCSA later reported that it has not yet made any decisions to enforce the proposed guidelines.

When Fayetteville residents experience abnormal symptoms that could indicate that there is something seriously wrong with their health, they turn to their physicians and other medical experts for help. After all, it is the duty of doctors to carefully analyze each patient's unusual symptoms and to perform any necessary tests in order to rule out a serious disorder or to make a proper diagnosis.

A misdiagnosis could prevent a patient from being able to take advantage of medical treatment in order to stop one's illness or disease from causing further health problems. That is what happened to one North Carolina woman who is now dying from breast cancer. Her advice to other patients: Understand that medical professionals do make mistakes, especially when doctors fail to communicate effectively with each other. This lack of communication between specialists and physicians can result in a failure to diagnose cancer.