Practice Areas
- Personal Injury and Automobile Accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- DUI, Traffic and Criminal Law Defense
- Business Litigation
- Divorce
Blog 
- July 4, 2008
- DUI Cases
- Looking out for your teen driver
- The FDA Can’t Win
- Dog Bites
- Gas Prices IV
- Gas Prices III
- Hosting a Graduation Party in Virginia? Read This First!
- 1807 Norfolk, Virginia
- Gas Prices II
Firm News
W&L professor formally sues Virginia Lottery
Salmonella can ride water into tomatoes
Cold Medication Use In Young Children Can Lead To Adverse Effects, Even Death
Man in critical condition after being hit by car in Norfolk
Deaths linked to heparin use rise to 149
Two Naval Men Injured in Va. Beach Wreck
Ford Recalling 655,000 Trucks With Braking Problems
Study: Active Women at Reduced Risk for Breast Cancer
Beta Blockers Increasing Stroke Risk
Driver gets 60 days for hitting, dragging two children
Firm Library
Personal Injury and Automobile Accidents
- One in Three Va. Drivers Texting
- No Civil Liability for Hosts or Bars in Virginia
- Is Your Car Spying On You?
- What can be done about teen car deaths?
- Virginia's Seat Belt Laws
Medical Malpractice
- New Technology may Reduce Physician Mistakes
- Shortage of On-Call Specialists at Hospitals is Costing Patients
- Switching to Electronic Health Records has Great Benefits, But Poses Liability for Hospitals
- Website Allows Consumers to Compare Hospitals
- Medical Interns and Sleep Deprivation
DUI, Traffic and Criminal Law Defense
- Requesting a Restricted License in Virginia
- Ignition Interlock Devices & DUI Law
- How Virginia's Driver Demerit Point System Works
- Three Driving Demerit Point Offenses
- Four Driving Demerit Point Offenses
Divorce
General
New Technology may Reduce Physician Mistakes
Each year, about 1,500 surgical patients have an object accidentally left inside them after the surgery. This equates to approximately 1 in every 10,000 operations involving an open body cavity.
About two-thirds of the time, the item left behind was a surgical sponge. Surgical sponges can be especially problematic for surgeons, because during surgery they can become indistinguishable from the surrounding tissue, says Dr. Steven DeJong of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. When left in a patient, the sponge can cause significant pain, infection, problems in healing, and longer hospital stays.
Until now, the procedure for tracking sponges involved a baseline count when the surgery begins, a second count before the surgeon begins to close the incision, a third when the wound is closed, and a final count before closing the skin. X-rays are also required at most hospitals before the patient leaves the operating room.
Patients are especially susceptible to having a sponge or another surgical item left inside them during emergency surgeries, transplants, or any surgery lasting longer than five hours.
But a new technology is being utilized at Loyola to help its surgical teams keep track of all the sponges used during the procedure. Loyola has developed a bar code scanning device to help count the sponges both before the surgical procedure begins and after it is completed to ensure that no sponges are left in the patient.
Another technology, being developed by doctors at Stanford University, involves a radio-frequency identification devices (RFID) tagged surgical sponge that allows doctors to wave a wand over the patient following a surgery that will detect any sponges left inside. RFID technology is the same technology that has been used for tagging pets and wild animals.
The first study using this technology found it to be effective 100% of the time. The surgeons were able to detect all sponges within about three seconds, without a single false-positive or false-negative results. The RFID technology has received FDA clearance.
Ask an Attorney
Free Consultation
Weisberg & Zaleski, P.C.
112 College Place
Norfolk, VA 23510
Toll Free: (800) 690-0235
Phone: (757) 622-7740
Fax: (757) 533-9223
FAQs
Personal Injury and Automobile Accidents
- Do I need a specialty lawyer for my personal injury case?
- When do I have a personal injury claim?
- Will a traffic court's determination of guilt or innocence affect the outcome of my civil suit for personal injury?
- Should I leave my vehicle unmoved at an accident scene until the police arrive?
- Should I call an Attorney before seeking medical attention?
Medical Malpractice
- What will the attorneys fees cost?
- What should I do if I feel that I, or someone close to me, have been a victim of medical malpractice?
- How is medical malpractice defined?
- The result of the medical care was bad and I believe that my doctor made a mistake. Will I win my case?
- Do doctors have a duty to tell the patients of every possible risk associated with a medical procedure?
DUI, Traffic and Criminal Law Defense
- Will a traffic court's determination of guilt or innocence affect the outcome of my civil suit for personal injury?
- Does the failure of the police to give the Miranda warnings prior to arrest operate to make your arrest unlawful?
- I have failed my breathalyzer test. What good can an attorney do in such a case?
- When should an attorney be present with me?
- I have been asked to sign some forms by the police officers. What should I do?
Business Litigation
- What is involved in litigating a business matter?
- What are the alternatives to litigation?
- How does mediation differ from arbitration?
- What effort will you put in to my case?
- What fee schedule is employed for a class action?
Divorce
- If your spouse is in the military and you have been married less than ten years, do you have any rights to the military pension?
- Do you have to have the agreement of your spouse to get divorced?
- How is it possible to agree on a divorce with the best possible outcome for both parties?
- Can I and my spouse use the same attorney for our divorce for the purpose of saving money?
- How likely is it for a father to retain custody of the children?