Bossier City Louisiana Legal Blog

You expect your drugs to solve your illnesses, or at least have the potential to do so. However, defective prescription medication is worse than ineffective: it does not have the ability in the first place to give you a chance at a healthier life. However, determining whether a drug might be defective by the definition of the Louisiana courts is not always as simple as you might expect.

While the effects of a defective medicine may initially seem to be your doctor's fault, or perhaps your pharmacist's, doctors often prescribe your treatments with trust in the manufacturer's diligence. In fact, there is usually an involved discovery process before the possibility of bad medicine becomes apparent.

Louisiana medical providers — and the businesses they work for — wield significant power in their communities. They are often wealthy, respected people and businesses. Furthermore, medical procedures typically have an element of risk. Sometimes this risk is of grievous harm to the patient. All of these factors combined make the pursuit of medical malpractice claims a delicate process.

Luckily, there are some checks on the power and supposed credibility held by hospitals, doctors and nurses. The first line of defense against incompetent medical practice is comprised of the rigorous background checks and reviews many healthcare providers must pass in order to legally administer treatment in the state. There are also some government organizations that help investigate malpractice claims.

At Jacqueline A. Scott & Associates in Louisiana, we know that a malfunctioning medical device can wreak havoc in your life. While transvaginal mesh is not a medical device per se, it, too, can “malfunction” and cause you a good deal of pain, suffering and injury.

As explained by Women’s Health, transvaginal mesh is a strong, webbed material that surgeons first began implanting into women’s bodies back in the 1990s to correct their pelvic prolapses. If you underwent a pelvic prolapse operation in the past 25 years, in all likelihood your surgeon implanted transvaginal mesh.

When you visit your Louisiana doctor, you likely want to feel confident that he or she will be able to assess your symptoms accurately and render a precise diagnosis about your condition. Regrettably, however, even physicians are not immune to error, and when doctors make certain mistakes, the repercussions can prove catastrophic. At Jacqueline A. Scott & Associates, we recognize just how devastating it can be when a doctor incorrectly diagnoses your condition, and we have helped many clients who were victims of such circumstances pursue appropriate recourse.

Per Fox News, medical diagnostic errors now account for about 10 percent of all American patient deaths, with about one out of every five adult Americans who seek treatment for symptoms receiving a diagnosis that is too late, missed or inaccurate. Because misdiagnoses can lead to unnecessary treatments and delays in critical treatments, it is important for anyone who believes they received an incorrect medical diagnosis to seek a second opinion.