Just when you thought the health care system couldn’t get any worse, Italy reminds us and the rest of the world that it is. Italian police arrested 70 nurses and hospital attendants who were working in hospitals with fake medical diplomas.

Apparently an organized crime group was providing the fake diplomas to nurses at a price of $19,000. Basic skills such as taking the patients blood pressure and giving injections were provided by the crime organization before their fake diplomas were issued.  Now, they won’t be able to get payday loans for lawyers.

Sneaky, Sneaky, Sneaky!

Naughty Nurses buy their way into their profession.

Some of the suspects arrested had been practicing over thirty three years or since 1975.  Suspicions arose when a doctor raised concerns over the incompetence of the nurses. It remains to be seen just how much malpractice or wrongful diagnosis could have been given during this time. Many patients were surely mislead in proper care , recovery and the administration of medications.

Some Shocking Statistics

The United States has also struggled with its share of incompetence in medical facilities around the nation. Hospital safety incidents are said to have caused the deaths of 270,491 Medicare patients during the years between 2004 through 2006 and it is estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals annually each year due to preventable medical errors.

Questionable Causes

Some of the errors are believed to be caused by the sleep deprivation of new resident doctors. The first year of most new residencies are spent in sleep deprivation according to a poll that said the following

“Taking an average of the longest shifts performed during residencies without sleep was 37.6 hours”

“25% reported working over 80 hours a week”

Lack of sleep interferes with memory, motor functions, and the ability to think through tasks carefully and effectively.

Malpractice is alive and well in America. As with any profession, mistakes will be made.

The Scary Top 10 Malpractices

Here are a few example of malpractice suits in the united states, these were pulled from a list compiled by askmen.com and will make you shutter the next time you go to the hospital for a medical procedure or emergency.

The Wrong Woman Is Having My Baby!

After spending thousands of dollars to artificially inseminate his fiancee, Matthew Hayes’s sperm was used to inseminate the wrong woman. Ironically, this woman had requested an anonymous donor which by law prevents Matthew hays from seeing the child that is, but at the same time, isn’t his. Matthew currently has two lawsuits in motion.

A Dose Of Deaf

A Dallas woman by the name of Sue Gonzales had the nerves cells in her ears permanently damaged when an the IV that was left in her arm to long. She was receiving antibiotic therapy for another condition when doctors simply failed to monitor the time of her treatment. Sue, cannot sue for damages accordingly to Texas law and she can no longer hear, either.

Oops! Sorry About Your Lung

Laurence Ball had his lung removed for what the doctors diagnosed as lung cancer after he had complained of chest pains. After the removal of the lung the medical doctors realized they had made a wrong diagnosis leaving Mr. Ball breathless for the rest of his life. Laurence is hoping to settle this outside the courtroom. How do you put a price on that?

Liposuction Makes Surgeons Sleepy

Michael Hicks when in for what was supposed to be a ninety minute second round of liposuction. That is if Dr. Loren Borud, the Boston surgeon on the job had got better sleep the night before. He apparently fell asleep on the job, finishing six hours later. Needless to say, Mr. Borud is now unemployed and further litigation is taking place by Mr. Hicks.

Burned Out On Hospital Visits?

While undergoing liver transplant surgery, Robbin Reeves awoke to find serious burns on his body that weren’t there before hand. I guess his heart had failed him during the procedure and in the rush to the emergency surgery some disinfectant alcohol on his neck and shoulder caught fire. Unfortunately for Mr. Reeves his transplant failed as well. At least he will be able to afford a shot at another one, as his settlement will much larger than the largest of payday loans.

Careful Consideration For The Future

There are plenty of horror stories like these to pass around and although these my be severe cases of malpractice, the point is, it happens on a regular basis.

One would be wise to always seek out a second opinion before committing to medical procedures that will alter your well being or change your physical state. Unfortunately no matter what precautions are made there will still be mistakes made. After all, we are human. At least you don’t live in Italy, and you can still get payday loans if you need them.