Dislodged tubes occur much more frequently in patients whose tracheostomy was relatively recent. The problem occurs more often with larger or obese patients. Patients with thick necks are more likely to dislodge a tube. Other factors leading to dislodged tracheostomy tubes include:

• Low stoma placement
• High patient movement
• Loose tracheal ties
• Traction on ventilatory tubing
• Use of positive-pressure ventilation on non-compliant lungs

Failure to Timely Recognize Dislodged Tube

When a tube is dislodged, a nurse is generally the first responder. At the first sign of a possible dislodged tube, the nurse (or other caregiver) should send another individual to urgently summon a physician. A dislodged tube also calls for immediate attempts at manual ventilation, and suction with a solution of sodium chloride. This will rule out a mucus plug. Once this is done, to prevent brain damage the nurse should immediately deflate the tracheostomy cuff and take out the tracheostomy tube.

Further attempts at ventilation through the tube should be avoided. If the tube has become dislodged, air can be forced into surrounding soft tissue rather than the lungs, leading to a host of complications from tracheal compression to emphysema.

Moreover, if the tracheostomy is new, only a physician should reinsert the tube, and a nurse should never attempt to reposition the tube. This is because it takes time for the tract to form, and repositioning before the tract has formed can lead to complications as severe as those caused by the failure to act.

Brain Injury Caused by Oxygen Deprivation

If a dislodged tube is not detected in a timely fashion, the patient can suffer an anoxic event – a severe form of oxygen deprivation leading to serious brain injuries.

Therefore, although a dislodged tracheostomy tube is generally not in and of itself a particularly damaging complication, the failure by medical staff to respond promptly to the problem can and does lead to permanent disability and death.

If you have any questions about a possible medical malpractice claim, please give us a call us at 312-527-4500 or email us at info@passenlaw.com for a complimentary consultation. You can also learn more by following us on Twitter, reviewing our LinkedIn or Avvo.com pages, and by reviewing our website.

Intubation is often needed when a patient is placed under anesthesia. But intubation is also often required when a patient is placed on ventilation, or needs assistance breathing. Simply put, intubation is designed to ensure that a patient maintains an adequate oxygen supply, keeping oxygen levels in the bloodstream up and preventing injury and damage to the patient’s brain and other vital organs.

Common Intubation Errors

Many common intubation errors result from the fact that the procedure has become quite commonplace, and thus has come to be viewed by many in the medical profession as routine. But, though common, the procedure is serious, and must be taken seriously if the patient is to avoid brain injury and death.

If medical staff fails to intubate a patient in need, or does so improperly, the patient’s oxygen levels will often become inadequate. The patient then suffers from oxygen deprivation, leading to mild-to-severe brain injuries, permanent disability, and death. Improper intubation can also result in a flow of air to the stomach, rather than the lungs. This error almost always results in the patient’s death.

There are many factors which lead to intubation problems. These include:

• Failure to have proper equipment available
• Failure to have proper staff available
• Unprepared staff
• Failure to act in time
• Failure of medical staff to contact the appropriate physician

Whatever the reasons behind them, intubation errors are always serious. If medical negligence was to blame, taking legal action against those responsible can help patients and their families to recoup some or all of the expenses incurred as a result of the injury.

If you have any questions about a serious injury after intubation, please give us a call us at 312-527-4500 or email us at info@passenlaw.com for a complimentary consultation. You can also learn more by following us on Twitter, reviewing our LinkedIn or Avvo.com pages, and by reviewing our website.

HIE in infants and children is often the result of medical malpractice at birth. Although hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is quite rare, with about three infant out of every 1,000 suffering from the condition. For those infants who do suffer, however, HIE is extremely serious, and can lead to death or severe, permanent brain injury.

Indeed, close to twenty percent of infants who suffer hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy during or shortly before childbirth do not survive past infancy. For the eighty percent who do live, over one-quarter suffer permanent brain injury.  These injuries can include developmental disabilities (including mental retardation), epilepsy, and cerebral palsy.

At times, the cause of HIE in a particular infant is unknown. But a number of factors in childbirth are known causes, including:

• · Umbilical cord problems
• · Uterine rupture
• · Maternal hypotension
• · Placental abruption

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is often tied to a difficult labor, and complications during delivery or childbirth. Whatever the triggering factors, the failure to properly monitor both mother and fetus, and to respond promptly to fetal distress, can lead to HIE.

Diagnosis of HIE in infants is problematic, as symptoms may go unrecognized, or may be generic, mimicking many other conditions. Many birth brain injuries have similar symptoms during infancy, such as seizures. As a result, the diagnosis of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy must often be delayed until the child is slightly older.

Once the diagnosis is made, the child may need extensive treatments and therapies. Although the damage is generally permanent, victims can – depending upon the severity of the damage – learn to manage their condition. To do so, however, will often require special equipment, years to a lifetime of multiple therapies (speech, physical, occupational), expensive medical treatments, paid caregivers, and other expenses.

If medical negligence was to blame for an infant’s hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, however, a legal recovery can help to defer some of these costs. If your child has been diagnoses with HIE, talk to an experienced birth injury attorney as soon as possible. A top attorney can help you to determine the causes of your child’s condition, and to decide whether to take legal action.

If you have any questions about your labor and deliver or brain damage that you believe was  caused by negligence at birth, please give us a call us at 312-527-4500 or email us at info@passenlaw.com for a complimentary consultation. You can also learn more by following us on Twitter, reviewing our LinkedIn or Avvo.com pages, and by reviewing our website.