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Pritzker Olsen Attorneys Medical Malpractice Blog

Pritzker Olsen attorneys have appeared on CBS News, Fox news, and numerous local television stations throughout the country. They have recovered millions for medical malpractice victims and their families. To contact our law firm, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.

Methodist Hospital Removes Wrong Kidney

Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, reported that it removed a healthy kidney from a patient instead of the patient’s cancerous kidney.

The hospital did not notice that the mistake until a day after the surgery when a pathologist noticed the kidney taken from the patient was healthy.

Minnesota law requires hospitals to report adverse health events, including “wrong-site” surgeries (Minn. Stat. Section 144.7065, Subdivision 2 (1)). Last year, 24 wrong-site surgeries were reported to the Minnesota Department of Health in accordance with this law.
In the four-and-a-half years that state as been assembling data, "I don't know if we've ever had a wrong organ removal," said Diane Rydrych, assistant director of the state's division of health policy.

Ryrdrych says most hospitals have safety measures in place to prevent wrong-site surgery, including marking body parts to be operated on in advance of surgery and requiring a "time out" in the operating room to give surgical staff a chance to double check documentation and voice any concerns.

"I would say that these events are always preventable or almost always preventable" said Rydrych. (KARE 11 interview)
Certainly, this tragic loss of a healthy kidney could have been prevented. To contact a surgery malpractice lawyer at our law firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, email Fred Pritzker, or submit the firm’s free case consultation form.

Posted March 2008.

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Methadone Overdose - Medical Malpractice

Methadone is a strong opioid-based pain medication. According to Pain Treatment Topics (www.pain-topics.org), methadone overdoses and deaths have increased. Some of these incidences are associated with medical malpractice. Possible problems may be:
  • Prescribing the wrong dosage of methadone
  • Prescribing methadone without taking into consideration other medications the patient is taking and how those medication will interact with the methadone
  • Methadone overdose due to nurse error or the error of another medical professional
Death or serious injury due to methadone overdose should be discussed with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

Posted March 2008.

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Pritzker Olsen attorneys have appeared on national television and have been quoted by national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Lawyers USA. Attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman have been named "Super Lawyers" by Law and Politics magazine (2008 and previous years). Attorney Fred Pritzker is also listed in the current edition (2008) of The Best Lawyers in America. To contact Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit the firm's free consultation form.

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