Boston medical malpractice lawyer

July 24, 2023

Harvard Medical School Controversy: Misused Cadavers and the Legal Fallout

As a firm that has stood at the forefront of personal injury and medical malpractice litigation for years, we at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers understand the importance of trust, particularly when it pertains to the healthcare sector and medical institutions. It is with a sense of concern and disappointment that we bring to your attention a disturbing development from one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world, Harvard Medical School.

In an unsettling revelation, a lawsuit has been filed against Harvard Medical School involving a disturbing case of desecration and mismanagement of bodies donated for scientific research. The lawsuit, a class action, was initiated by John Bozek, whose mother’s body was donated to the institution for research purposes. Bozek’s action represents not just his personal grievance but also the concerns of all families who believe their loved one’s body parts were mishandled by the school’s former morgue manager.

A Perversion of Trust

March 4, 2017

Infant Brain Injury Studied by Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Gaining a better understanding of pre-term infant brain injury can help reduce future incidents and improve outcomes for preemies. That’s why researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and NFANT Labs (an Atlanta-based company) are teaming up. The trio announced they would be collaborating to delve into the question of how neonatal sucking patterns could be an indication of brain development. If abnormal feeding patterns are proven to be an early indicator of an underlying brain injury, then doctors, nurses and other caregivers could take note – and quicker action to address it, ultimately improving outcomes.

Detecting a newborn brain injury early on is difficult. The current brain injury technology we have developed isn’t sensitive enough to pick up potential issues for babies that young. Even equipment that could work tends to be far too expensive for practical use on a regular basis. Prior research has established some type of connection between the way a baby sucks early on and later neurodevelopmental outcomes. A better understanding of this could help doctors detect brain abnormalities faster, which can mean initiating a number of early interventions.

Every year, some 500,000 infants in the U.S. are born premature. Of those, 60,000 babies are born weighing less than 3.3 pounds. Unlike in decades past, most of these babies will survive. However, preventing brain damage in these infants is often a challenge. So while these children are living, the rates of developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy stemming from brain injury are on the rise. Continue reading

July 14, 2016

$53M Verdict to Birth Injury Victim, Mother, for Medical Malpractice

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When a soon-to-be mother went to the hospital at 2 a.m., her pregnancy full-term, she knew something wasn’t right. Her baby boy wasn’t moving as he had in the days and hours before. But when she got there, student resident doctors at The University of Chicago Medical Center didn’t take immediate action, even when a fetal heart monitor immediately showed distress. For 12 hours, no action was taken. For 12 hours, that child was slowly suffocating.

When doctors finally did initiate an emergency Cesarean section, the baby boy wasn’t breathing. He was revived and then rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit and placed on life support. There, he stayed for weeks. But the damage to his brain over the course of those hours was irreversible. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He can’t walk. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He requires around-the-clock care, provided almost exclusively by his single mother.

Now, a jury in Cook County, Ill. has awarded $53 million to him and his mother, which will not only ensure his health care is covered for the next 65 years of his life, but will help to compensate the family for the pain and suffering they have endured and will endure for the rest of their lives. Some will look at a damage award of this size and characterize it as excessive. But one must consider that not only will his future medical bills top $30 million over the course of his life, but mother and son will never have a normal relationship. This boy will never have a normal life of his own. Continue reading

June 30, 2016

Report: 1 in 5 Hospitals Falls Short on “Never Events”

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Boston medical malpractice cases, sometimes the term “never events” gets thrown around. It’s a reference to the types of medical errors that health professionals agree should never happen. And yet, they do. Some examples:

Retained surgical instruments (surgical tools, sponges, etc. being left inside a patient after a procedure);
Wrong surgery site (a surgeon performs surgery on the wrong limb, body part, person, etc.);
Urinary tract infection from a catheter;
Pressure ulcers (Stage III and IV);
Falls and trauma;
Surgical site infections;
Medication error fatalities;
Administration of incompatible blood;
Air embolisms.

Now, a recent study by Castlight-Leapfrog reveals not only are these events occurring, they are happening with alarming frequency. Although there is always some risk a patient incurs with every type of medical treatment. And just because someone suffers a poor health outcome doesn’t necessarily mean medical malpractice is to blame. However, these “never events” are so egregious for the fact that they are deemed entirely preventable. We know what causes them. We know how to stop them. And hospitals should have procedures and policies in place that are strictly followed by staffers to ensure these kinds of things never happen. Continue reading