Medical Malpractice

• Jacksonville's Dubious Distinction

  Eddie Farah | June 07, 2008 10:12 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  Here's something the city is not going to be adding to its Chamber of Commerce brochures. The city's infant mortality rate continues to be the highest in Florida. The black community of...

• Woman Sues Naval Hospital For Amputation

  Eddie Farah | March 17, 2008 12:01 AM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  June McDowell was supposed to be going in for knee replacement surgery. Instead something went terribly wrong during her 2005 surgery at the Naval Hospital Jacksonville. Now McDowell is suing.McDowell told Channel 4 the last two years have been a nightmare. She is wheelchair bound and cannot be fitted for a prosthetic device."I have a bed that I lay in, you know. I just can't do anything. I...

• Growing Number of Floridians Without Health Insurance

  Eddie Farah | November 02, 2007 12:14 AM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  Here are the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.They tell us that Floridians are increasingly opting to go without health insurance. The latest count -- one in four residents, under age 65, did not have health insurance coverage last year. In terms of numbers, that translates to almost four million Floridians. Back in 2002, one in five Floridians lacked health coverage. Those numbers...

• State Senator's Family Sues Nursing Home

  Eddie Farah | November 01, 2007 8:45 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  These are not stories we report every day, but they are stories that happen every day, unfortunately.In this case the wife of Senator Stephen Wise of Jacksonville, and her sister are suing a nursing home claiming negligence killed their 89-year old father, Glenn Beeman in 2005.The place in question - West Jacksonville Health and Rehabilitation Center.What's fascinating are the comments that...

• UF Shands Admits Guilt in 3-yr-old's Death

  Eddie Farah | October 27, 2007 6:48 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  If an apology would be forthcoming when a hospital does wrong- I'd have less business. And that would be okay because it's the right thing for a hospital to do. When UF Shands gave medication to a 3-year-old that was ten times stronger that what was originally prescribed, the boy died. This happened October 10, 2007.Instead of running for cover, getting their ducks in a row, hiring lawyers and...

• Five More Lawsuits Filed Against Same Georgia Doc

  Eddie Farah | October 11, 2007 3:32 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  They say that it is the same doctors who make the bulk of medical mistakes.This story is about one Waycross, Georgia surgeon who seems to fit that profile. Five more patients of Dr. Najam Azmat have filed lawsuits against him and Satilla Regional Medical Center. They say they were injured by the doctor's incompetence. Among the charges - the doctor allegedly tore one patient's arteries while...

• Infant Son's Death Case Settled With Naval Hospital

  Eddie Farah | July 05, 2007 11:19 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  Thomas and Jessica Hugaboom say they just didn't want to go to trial.Instead, the couple has settled their 7-month old son's death with the Jacksonville Naval Hospital for $900,000.The court records show the Hubagooms visited the hospital's emergency room three times with their infant son, Michael, while Thomas was stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station.While the baby's condition...

• Man Sues Naval Hospital After Wife's Death

  Eddie Farah | June 19, 2007 6:23 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  "My life has changed- my wife is gone."That what Archibal Coaile says about his wife of 30 years, Rosario, who died after doctors at the hospital failed to recognize and treat a brain aneurysm, which he alleges killed her in December, 2005.In announcing a $17 million lawsuit, Coaile said his 58-year old wife should be alive today and would be if emergency room doctors had properly evaluated her....

• Florida Ranks 35th in Discipline of Bad Doctors

  Eddie Farah | June 15, 2007 1:18 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  It's not a very good record by any definition. Florida's Board of Medicine has a poor showing in efforts to crack down on doctors who harm patients.The survey comes from Public Citizen, the watchdog group founded by Ralph Nader and based in Washington, D.C. Florida ranks 35th in serious disciplinary action per 1,000 physicians, as surveyed from 2004 through 2006. That below-average ranking is...

• Stronger Suicide Warnings Urged For Youth on Antidepressants

  Eddie Farah | May 02, 2007 1:58 PM | 0 CommentsJacksonville, FL

  Add a new word to your vocabulary.Suicidality. That is the thought of wanting to commit suicide. And it's not news to hear about young people on antidepressants entertaining the thought of suicide. Some are even successful.Now, for the second time in two years, the FDA is asking manufacturers to toughen up their "black box" warnings on labels, this time to specifically warn about suicidality...