Patient Suffers 2nd Degree Burns Due to Never Event and Medical Negligence
A Never Event is something bad that happens to a person in a hospital that never should have happened. Things like operating on the wrong patient or operating on the wrong site of the right patient, or even burning a patient are all examples of never events.
Never events are almost always the result of medical negligence. A list of these shocking never events is kept by The National Quality Forum and updated periodically. Most insurance companies will not pay the medical provider for services when a never event occurs, reinforcing just how bad they are.
Yet, never events persist. Lori Ellers can attest to that. She can show you her scars from the 2nd degree burns she received at the hospital, courtesy of a never event.
Floor nurses applied a homemade heating pad, which led to burns. The burns were so painful that by the next morning, Ms. Ellers was screaming and yelling. She could not move without excruciating pain.
Ms. Ellers was in so much pain that she literally begged for pain relief and asked a nurse to “hold her” like child.
All told, Ms. Ellers suffered four significant burns, two on her left side, two on her right side. Three of the four were second degree, full-thickness burns. Ms. Ellers had to endure a bedside debridement of the various wounds, plus multiple, painful dressing changes while in the hospital.
Unfortunately, the pain did not end when Ms. Ellers was discharged from the hospital. When she returned to her home outside of the Cleveland area, she sought help for ongoing pain at the largest adult burn clinic in her major metropolitan area.
At a burn clinic office visit, Ms. Ellers reported continued pain from the burns, which she described as an 8 out of 10. She was advised the pain was likely related to the growing, immature skin, and that her burns could take a year to fully heal.
She went to the burn clinic a couple months later. She described the pain as 7 out of 10, and she described paresthesia at the site of the burns. She was again advised that it could take a year for the burns to fully heal.
The year is almost up, and the pain continues. The physical pain is manageable with medications most of the time. There are, however, residual neurologic parasthesias. And then, there are those awful, humiliating scars.
Ohio Medical Malpractice: Never Event Case Settlement
Ms. Ellers did not turn straight to The Eisen Law Firm. First, she hired an attorney who handles all kinds of personal injury claims – car accidents, slip and falls, and medical negligence. That attorney took her case, and after months and months, told Ms. Ellers he couldn’t help her. Then, Ms. Ellers focused her search for a law firm, deciding she wanted a law firm that handles medical negligence cases exclusively, one that would give her direct access to the attorneys who conduct the work, and one that had a proven track record of results. She found all that and more in The Eisen Law Firm.
Brian Eisen, lead attorney on the case, is known for both his knowledge of medicine and his ability to successfully argue legal matters. Mr. Eisen also has developed a good reputation with the defense bar in general and specifically with this particular hospital. He is known to be fair, willing to go to trial, and committed to fighting for his clients.
Mr. Eisen worked up the case quickly and efficiently. When he then suggested a pre-trial settlement for Ms. Ellers due to the horrific nature of her injuries (taking into consideration both the fact they never should have happened and the resulting pain, suffering, and disfigurement from them), both Ms. Ellers and the hospital agreed. A significant settlement was then reached through direct negotiations with the hospital.