Posted on April 22, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

According to recent statistics, the number of medical malpractice claims has significantly dropped, but the case management expenses and payments for the claims have, on average, continued to increase. Between 2007 and 2016, the rate of medical malpractice claims decreased 27% from 5.1 claims per 100 doctors to 3.7 cases. The study analyzed claims that affected 124,000 patients over a 10-year period.

The report stated that although this trend signals a dramatic decrease in a doctor's risk of being named in a medical malpractice claim, there was no single factor that appeared to be the cause of the across-the-board reduction. Experts do believe, however, that improved patient safety, changes in the lawsuit tort environment, and increased financial risk for a plaintiff's attorney are the at least part of the cause.

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 Posted on April 15, 2019 in Nursing Home Negligence

Court documents filed in Orangeburg County show that multiple people have filed claims against Phaire's Care as well as the owner of the elder care facility. One of the lawsuits was filed on behalf of Rena Mae Zinnerman's estate by Darlene Bethea who claims that the owner of the assisted living facility, Carlton Phaire, was transporting Zinnerman along with three other residents when he had an accident. Zinnerman died 10 days after the crash due to her injuries. Bethea is now pursuing a wrongful death claim against Phaire.

A second lawsuit was filed by Jason Broughton on behalf of Judy Broughton's estate claiming medical malpractice. Broughton claims that Judy suffered medical complications and injuries before becoming a resident at the facility, but later that month she was admitted to Trident Medical Center with Stage III and IV wounds. The lawsuit says she was not given proper treatment and care by the staff and consequently died due to her treatment.

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 Posted on April 08, 2019 in Slip and Fall

A student at the University of Washington died due to a blood clot in her lung according to the examination performed by the King County Medical Examiner's Office. Hayley Smith, 19, was a sophomore at the university when the university's police department responded to a slip and fall accident outside the Electrical Engineering building. Smith suffered a severe head injury.

Although it was not confirmed that she fell due to ice on the sidewalk, signs the next day were posted that the sidewalk was closed. The police department for the university found the medical examiner's determination of a death to be consistent with reports from witnesses and their investigation.

Slip and Fall Accidents

When a loved one suffers from a slip and fall accident, especially if it results in death, the family may be shocked when the insurance company claims that a slip and fall accident cannot be serious enough to result in death. They may argue that the person had another condition that was unknown at the time of the accident and that was what caused the person's death rather than the slip and fall accident. Keep in mind that insurance adjusters are not your friends. While they may not believe what they are saying themselves, it is their job to minimize the amount of money that the insurance company pays out for a claim.

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 Posted on March 25, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

Many people dread a trip to the doctor's office, even more so a trip to the hospital. For some, there is something terrifying about yielding control of their bodies over to strangers. Hospitals are buildings that deal with life and death and remind us of our mortality. Are these fears unfounded? Most of the time patients find themselves in capable and caring hands. When they do not, the results can be devastating. One Kevin Baldridge, a 64-year-old patient at St. James Hospital in Northern Chicago, sadly found this out firsthand.

Baldridge visited the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The doctors and technicians at the hospital performed many tests and CT scans, but failed to notice a significant amount of internal bleeding. These professionals included two radiologists and even a vascular surgeon. The poor man's conditioned worsened. An MRI was ordered but never performed. The doctors' failure to notice this bleeding and their general negligence led to Baldridge suffering an aneurysm. This led to his paralysis and the amputation of several of his toes. Sadly the patient now suffers from chronic and debilitating pain. The hospital and the doctors settled his claim of medical malpractice for $20.6 million dollars. One would venture to guess that Baldridge would be willing to give up every penny of that settlement to be able to move freely without hindrance or pain.

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 Posted on March 22, 2019 in Slip and Fall

A man from New Jersey is facing charges of insurance fraud and theft after he faked a slip and fall accident in an effort to collect insurance money. Authorities say that Alexander Goldinsky was caught on video faking his fall at a business in Woodbridge. He worked as an independent contractor and purposely threw ice on the floor, then placed himself on the ground and lay waiting until someone found him.

Goldinsky then filed an insurance claim for treatment that he received at the hospital as well as the ambulance service. He was arrested on January 15 for the fraudulent claims.

The Importance of Honesty

Whether you are the defendant, plaintiff, or witness in a lawsuit, it is important in any legal dispute to be rigorously honest. This is important for three main reasons:

• Very few things stay private: In this day and age in which Facebook, Twitter, and other social media apps are used so frequently, nobody's life is truly private. As a general rule, attorneys are pretty skilled at uncovering things that you may believe are secrets. This skill has only become easier in this wired, quick-to-share era. That means it is more important than ever to rely on facts only. If you only tell the truth, you will have nothing to worry about as there will not be anything for other people to dig up on you. This will make your case much less stressful, too, if you are not having to worry about some secret or lie being uncovered.

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 Posted on March 20, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

We should all be in awe of the latest advancements in medical technology. Lasers can fix our eyes to where glasses and contacts are no longer needed. These cutting rays of light are used to successfully treat medical ailments from kidney stones, to tumors, to even cosmetic issues like varicose veins. Unfortunately, no treatment is without its risks. One family in Peoria Illinois found this out firsthand.

In the summer of 2012, a patient in her mid-60s was undergoing what should have been a routine operation to remove her pacemaker. A laser was being used to do so. At some point during the operation, there was a mishap and the laser zapped holes in the her heart and blood vessels. Sadly, she died.

How does one put a price tag on a life? What amount of money will compensate a family for the negligent loss of a loved one? Those are the very questions facing juries across the U.S. In this particular instance, the answer that came back was $2.5 million.

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 Posted on March 12, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

A jury in federal court awarded $15 million in damages to a woman who claimed an imaging center failed to identify her tumor for nearly 18 months, leaving her condition undetected and treated and significantly reducing her odds of surviving cancer. The jury made their decision after a four-day trial and found that the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc. was responsible for the failure to identify Courtney Webster's tumor after she underwent a scan in their facility in November 2014.

Webster, along with her husband Brian, sued the Minnesota-based business in 2016 claiming that the company was negligent in diagnosing her. This resulted in severe pain and suffering as well as emotional distress. The company denied responsibility in the case, claiming they were not a medical provider. Their stance on the case ultimately cost them even more. Had the case been recoverable under malpractice guidelines, the cap would have been $1.25 million.

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 Posted on March 10, 2019 in Personal Injury Attorney

There are a few instances that immediately remind the public at large of a pending lawsuit. The principal amongst these seemingly cartoonish situations is the notorious instance of slipping and falling on a wet floor in a store. Those who do truly injure themselves on slick surfaces would argue that there is nothing cartoonish about their injuries. An elderly individual can fall and break a hip, which can lead to many serious health issues, sometimes even death. Even those cases the media labels as "cartoonish" can involve nefariously negligent details and serious injuries.

The infamous case of the woman who was scalded by coffee at McDonald's is an example of this. While folks laughed at the seemingly frivolous lawsuit, the details tell a different story. Her coffee had been heated and stored at boiling point (if spilled this would cause third degree burns in seven seconds) and that McDonald's admitted to doing this and admitted that they knew customers were being burned. The elderly woman in question almost died and required extensive surgeries.

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 Posted on March 09, 2019 in Slip and Fall

Imagine yourself outside shoveling the snow off of your driveway. You go to move something out of your way when you slip on the ice just under the snow's surface. As you fall, your instincts kick in and you reach out with your arms to break your fall. While this may seem like a good idea, you realize while you are sitting in the emergency room that there really is not a good way to break a fall on the ice. You have broken your wrist and now have to follow up with an orthopedist later in the week. You may be facing surgery just by shoveling some snow.

Sadly, this scenario is not uncommon. Chicago area hospitals are reporting that 90% or more of their patients in the emergency room lately have been there due to slip and fall accidents. One doctor reported treating 15 to 20 slip and fall patients in one shift. That figured out to more than two per hour, and more than he has seen in his 34 years of practice.

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 Posted on March 05, 2019 in Slip and Fall

Most of us are not on the lookout for hazards or potential dangers when we go to the gym. We are there to exercise, and we do not consider the many accidents that can occur in an environment like a gym. There is heavy equipment that has the potential to seriously injure folks, showers contributing to slippery locker room floors, and overly hot saunas. The potential for injuries are high.

One gym patron, Mark Watson of Warrenville, Illinois, was injured at Lifetime Fitness when the motion-sensor lights in the locker room failed to turn on. In the darkness he could not see the water on the locker room floor, where he fell and hit his head against the wall. According to Watson's attorneys, he suffered multiple injuries to his back, neck, legs, and feet as well as a concussion.

Because Lifetime Fitness is incorporated in Minnesota, the case had to be moved out of Cook County and into the federal courts. The attorneys for the defendant filed a motion for summary judgement, asking the court to throw the lawsuit out, as they argued that Watson knew, or should have known, that motion-sensor lights turn off after 15 minutes of inactivity. The defense team also pointed out that all gym members are required to sign an assumption of risk and liability waiver. However, the federal courts did not find the defense's arguments convincing, and a hearing was scheduled. The case has yet to be decided, but the decision will most likely revolve around whether or not the motion sensor lights were set to turn off after an unreasonable amount of time.

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