The landmark case involved a pregnant woman who went to her doctor for a pelvic ultrasound. The doctor told the mother that her unborn baby was normal and healthy. But the doctor wrong, and his failure to warn the mother about her baby's deformities created enormous emotional pain for her.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that it is a doctor's job to give accurate information, and failing to do so is a breach of the physician's duties. In this case, that breach of duty caused unusual and extreme emotional distress.

This case indicates that doctors are responsible not only for providing a standard of care that prevents needless physical injury to patients, but that prevents needless emotional trauma as well. The reality is that, in this case, had the mother been properly informed, she would likely have had time to process the very complex emotions associated with having a child with severe disabilities. Instead, she unnecessarily experienced extreme shock at an already very stressful and vulnerable time.

Source: Medical Daily, "Doctors Can Be Sued for Emotional Distress Even Without Physical Negligence," Christine Hsu, Jan. 31, 2012

Because the brain is a complex and vulnerable organ that can be damaged in many ways, brain injuries can impact anyone at any age. That being said, it is particularly tragic when a young person sustains a brain injury. An entire life full of promise can be altered in a moment.

Although a brain injury may be life-altering, studies suggest that children who suffer traumatic brain injuries may recover more fully than adults who suffer TBI.

After his accident, Sam spent days in a coma and was in critical care for nearly a month. He was then sent to a rehabilitation facility where he spent the better part of two years relearning how to talk and walk.

Three years have now passed since Sam's accident, and he is almost back to where he was before. He still has trouble with his short-term memory, and he struggles if he receives too much information at once, but the story of his recovery is inspiring, nonetheless.

Research has indicated that children have a greater ability to recover from severe brain injuries than adults because their brains are still developing. However, a new study shows that children who suffer from brain injuries may still end up with lasting deficits.

Many children who suffer mild TBI recover completely, but the prognosis is not as good for children who suffer more severe injuries. Although children may recover and improve over a period of years, most eventually reach a point where their progress stabilizes.

Read more in our next post to learn more about treating children who suffer from traumatic brain injuries.

Source: Vitals on msnbc.com, "Kids' brain injuries can cause lingering problems for years, study finds," Linda Carroll, Jan. 23, 2012

However, when the doctor re-examined Michelle the next morning, he decided to cancel the surgery. He said that based on new information, surgery was no longer necessary. The surgeon already had out-of-town plans for the weekend, so he left and did not procure any surgical coverage.

Unfortunately, the surgeon was wrong. Michelle needed surgery, and because of the surgeon's failure to diagnose the problem, she needed to have most of her small intestine removed.

Michelle's medical malpractice attorneys argued that "the standard of care in the medical community says you either need to operate in a timely fashion, of if you don't believe operating is the best option at a particular time, you need to continue to follow that patient. It's not enough to just say no operation."

When Michelle filed a lawsuit, an independent group of three doctors reviewed the case and allowed it to move forward, saying the facts were in her favor. At the conclusion of the trial, Michelle was awarded more than the $1.4 million she requested. However, because there was a state law limiting the damage in medical malpractice cases, she will receive $1.25 million.

Although the compensation can help with her medical bills and ongoing treatment, it cannot return the quality of life to which Michelle was accustomed. Most people have about 22 feet of small intestine, but because of the surgeon's error, Michelle has just a few feet. As a result, her body digests food too quickly, and she is unable to get the nutrients she needs when she eats. The lack of nutrients makes her weak and constantly bloated. Her belly is so bloated that her young daughter often asks if she is pregnant.

Given the surgeon's error, many people have said Michelle was lucky to survive. However, if the surgeon had performed his job with diligence, Michelle would likely not need to live her life with compromises and ongoing medical problems.

Source: News and Tribune, "Jury awards $1.5 million in medical malpractice suit," Matt Thacker, Jan. 20, 2012

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain. If it is not treated promptly, it can cause severe disabilities because of the swelling and hemorrhaging of the brain and spinal cord tissue. Sadly, numerous people throughout Pennsylvania suffer because doctors fail to promptly diagnose the disease.

During the next few days, Adam's condition worsened, and his parents called the doctor to schedule another appointment. However, the receptionist told them there was nothing the doctor could do, since Adam had been there just a few days earlier.

Another doctor reported that, "The standard of care requires that a nurse or physician assess the status of the patient, not the receptionist, and make a determination if and when re-evaluation is necessary." He also noted that Adam was in so much pain from his headache that it limited the first doctor's ability to perform a neurological exam. Even so, the doctor did little to treat his headache.

A few days later, Adam was rushed to the general hospital and airlifted to a children's medical center. There, the doctors diagnosed him with bacterial meningitis. Adam spent several weeks in a coma, and when he finally woke up, he was blind. According to the family's lawsuit, Adam also suffered systemic bacterial infection, fever, respiratory failure, impaired speech, impaired hearing, seizures and brain damage.

When a patient complains of symptoms, it is the doctor's job to ensure he or she does a thorough examination to determine what is causing the pain. Because this pediatrician failed to do that, he stole a young boy's eyesight and permanently changed the boy's life.

Source: Hartford Courant, "Lawsuit Charges That Tolland Boy Lost His Eyesight After Doctor Failed To Diagnose Meningitis," Denise Buffa, Jan. 17, 2012

With so many professionals hovering, asking questions, verifying and re-verifying information, it may be hard to believe that surgical errors still happen. Not only is surgical malpractice a threat in Pennsylvania, but studies suggest that an average of up to seven wrong-side surgeries -- one of the most obviously egregious surgical errors -- are performed every day throughout the country.

The report also found that even when hospitals report errors, there are rarely changes to policies and practices to prevent repeat errors.

According to the study, the lack of reporting is partly caused by medical professionals not knowing what constitutes an error that should be reported. That accounted for 61 percent of unreported medical mistakes. The report also showed that another 25 percent of the unreported errors are mistakes that were typically reported, but -- for some reason -- were not reported.

The medical director at the Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care at Johns Hopkins University Medical School of Medicine stated that mistakes are inevitable. "We're always going to make mistakes. What we need to do is reduce harm."

The Center for Medicare Services plans to develop and distribute a list of adverse events that should be reported. At this point, such a checklist hasn't been used widely because health care professionals "haven't acknowledged our fallibility." The list should be a good start.

Read our upcoming posts to learn more about more causes of surgical errors, as well as steps you can take to help ensure you're not the victim of a surgical error.

Source: abc NEWS, "Report: Hospital Errors Often Unreported," Lara Salahi, Jan. 6, 2011

The excerpt was adapted from the surgeon's book, "Confessions of a Surgeon." In his piece, the surgeon makes light of the complications associated with risky surgeries, compares surgery patients to poker hands and talks about throwing surgical equipment across the operating room.

In the opening paragraph, the surgeon talks about throwing a defective piece of medical equipment across the operating room. He describes the colon stapling device exploding into pieces when it hits the wall.

There is no doubt that defective equipment would be frustrating, but you can't help but question the shortcomings in a hospital that allows a surgeon to go into two separate operations with the same piece of defective equipment.

The surgeon went on to say that "explosions are a go-to reaction" for surgeons who are confronted with negative memories from previous surgeries that had complications. Again, the frustration is understandable, but any surgeon who is cursing, having tantrums or throwing instruments cannot be in the mindset necessary to operate on a vulnerable patient.

Every professional can empathize with the frustration of not succeeding at every task that is assigned during a career. However, when the assigned "task" is cutting open and operating on an unconscious patient, surgeons need to leave their frustrations outside the operating room and focus on doing everything in their power to achieve the best results they can.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Secrets of the Operating Room," Paul A. Ruggieri, Dec. 31, 2011

BMP-2 did just that, but the feat was accomplished differently than most people expected. Rather than creating a 100 percent success rate in fusing spines without complications, the product was associated with skepticism and scandal. Many professionals questioned whether corporate-funded research that was carried out by financially conflicted doctors could be trusted.

Did health care professionals knowingly introduce defective medical products to the market, or were the doctors involved in the testing too invested to see the potential pitfalls of the promising new product? Either way, their research led surgeons to recommend unnecessary surgery risks.

Even in the past few years, the health care professionals who presented information about new medical products did not discuss how the conclusions about a product's safety or effectiveness were reached.

With BMP-2, a small group of doctors was primarily responsible for writing and presenting information about the back surgery product. However, the doctors failed to link BMP-2 to serious complications, including "cancer, infections, the painful growth of unwanted bone and sterility in men." The same group of doctors writing the papers was also receiving tens of millions of dollars in royalties from Medtronic, the company marketing BMP-2.

Even so, much of the information presented by the doctors did not mention the financial incentives. When it was mentioned, it was disclosed so vaguely and cryptically that it was effectively meaningless. Many professionals were unaware of the doctors' financial conflict of interest, and those professionals made life-impacting decisions based on the information featured in the medical research.

Back surgeons want high fusion rates, and to do that, they must use aggressive techniques and cutting-edge technologies. The chief of spine surgery at one hospital acknowledges that money also factors into the picture. "Big operations make more money for surgeons, companies, and hospitals, and that can be a real motivator."

Back surgery is risky, but many people know a successful surgery could positively change the remainder of their lives. But when patients are persuaded by surgeons who are motivated as much by money as they are by patients' best interests, they may unknowingly agree to dangerous, unnecessary operations.

The BMP-2 saga has been unfortunate. However, if it leads to better transparency in medical reporting -- as medical experts suggest it will -- that would be a good and much-needed change.

Source: Journal Sentinel, "Fallout from back surgery product prompting reforms," John Fauber, Dec. 29, 2011