Did you know that in 2008 about 6% of Maryland Hospital Patients developed a preventable complication during a hospital stay? These preventable complications CAUSED BY the HOSPITAL RESULTED IN ABOUT $500 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO the HOSPITAL (many of these payments were probably made from Medicare or State Funded Medicaid). What this means is that Maryland hospitals are profiting from their own medical negligence.

According to the Washington Post, the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission issued a report indicating that 9 Maryland hospitals have a higher complication rate than average and that they were penalized $2.1 million dollars. The types of complications (PPC/Potentially Preventable Complications) include hospital acquitted infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, septicemia (blood infection), collapsed lung (aka iatrogenic Pneumothrax), bed sores, decubitus ulcers, and infections caused by catheters.

According to the Washington Post Article some of the hospitals with higher rates of complications are:

  • Prince George’s Hospital Center
  • Shady Grove Adventist Hospital
  • Montgomery General Hospital
  • Doctors Community Hospital
  • Washington Adventist Hospital
  • University of Maryland Medical Center
  • UM Charles Regional Medical Center (Formerly Civista) (La Plata MD)
  • Memorial Hospital in Cumberland (now part of Maryland Health System)

MORE IMPORTANTLY, THOUGH, SOME OF the MARYLAND HOSPITALS WITH LOWER THAN AVERAGE RATES OF PROBLEMS ARE:

  • Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD
  • Howard County General Hospital
  • Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
  • Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore MD

I’ll tell you what does not sit right with me. The preventable complications allowed these hospitals to collect fees for services rendered to the patients that they injured. How is that fair? That is like if you go to a car dealer and they purposely mess up your motor so that you will have to bring your car back for more service.

If you are injured due to medical negligence caused by a hospital or doctor in the State of Maryland, call a Silver Spring personal injury attorney at Goldberg Finnegan  for a free phone consultation with a Registered Nurse who is also an attorney. If our medical malpractice lawyers we take your case, there are no fees or costs unless there is a recovery.