A Philadelphia jury yesterday awarded a Delaware County couple $20.5 million in damages for the death of their 18-year-old daughter following a liposuction procedure.
The young woman’s family had alleged that Glunk was not permitted to conduct the procedure without supervision, did not fully explain possible complications to his patient, and delayed for hours seeking medical help when complications developed.
Read more from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the Fledderman v. Glunk wrongful death and survival action, the jury awarded $15 million in punitive damages; $3.5 million under the Survival Act; $2 million …

Doctors Say ‘I’m Sorry’ Before ‘See You in Court’
For decades, malpractice lawyers and insurers have counseled doctors and hospitals to “deny and defend.” Many still warn clients that any admission of fault, or even expression of regret, is likely to invite litigation and imperil careers.
But with providers choking on malpractice costs and consumers demanding action against medical errors, a handful of prominent academic medical centers, like Johns Hopkins and Stanford, are trying a disarming approach.
By promptly disclosing medical errors and offering earnest apologies and fair compensation, they hope to restore …

Nurse Cautioned For Taking Inappropriate Photos Of Patient, UK
Sherril Gurley was employed as a Staff Nurse at Basildon University Hospital in 2006 when she used her mobile phone to photograph a female patient as they sat on the toilet and as they left the bathroom.
On a separate occasion Ms Gurley made inappropriate comments to a colleague about the size of a patient’s genitals and showed a photograph of male genitals to the colleague.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106111.php

Retained surgical sponge case? A new study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in affiliation with Harvard Medical School found that bar-coded, computer-assisted surgical sponge counting systems reduce the chance of counting error during surgery by 3 to 1.
An article summarizing the study results entitled “Bar-Coding Surgical Sponges To Improve Safety: A Randomized Controlled Trial” can be found at http://www.annalsofsurgery.com.
Previous studies have shown that counts are falsely reported as correct in the majority of cases of retained sponges and instruments, resulting in the surgical team incorrectly believing that all …