The Injury Lawyer Blog

A Maryland doctor has been sued for surgical complications resulting in a severe rectal blockage. Ronald Watkins, a 64-year-old from West Virginia, has claimed that as a result of his doctor's botched surgery, he now suffers from permanent bowel issues.

Watkins insists that his doctor stapled his buttocks shut during a surgical procedure. The doctor's attorney has argued that Watkins' buttocks weren't actually stapled shut. He claims that in reality, Watkins' bowels became extremely swollen after the surgery, causing them to, in effect, shut tight. He has also argued that Watkins' heavy smoking habit, generally upwards of two packs a day, severely contributed to this bowel issue.

As a result of the incident, Watkins is plagued by a regular "rectal discharge," forcing him to wipe approximately 12 to 15 times daily. Watkins has undergone four subsequent surgeries to correct the issue, each of which his attorney argues was completely unnecessary.

The jury has yet to decide this case, so at the moment, it is still uncertain whether or not the doctor did in fact staple Watkins' buttocks shut. Furthermore, it is unclear why the doctor would do such a thing in the first place. However, the one certainty in this case is that Watkins was unable to pass a bowel movement for 17 days at one point.

If you have a medical malpractice claim and live near West Palm Beach, Florida, please contact the law offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. today for an initial consultation.

In Kentucky, a man has sued his doctor for malpractice due to a botched circumcision. The 61 year old man went in for a routine circumcision to treat an inflammation in his penis. When he awoke from the anesthesia, he found that the doctor had amputated his penis.

The man and his wife are suing the doctor for "loss of service, love, and affection." They are also seeking punitive damages from the doctor and his practice. The anesthesiologist has been sued as well, on the grounds that he administered a general anesthesia despite the man's request to the contrary.

The doctor's post-surgical notes indicated that he detected cancer in the man's penis and therefore decided to amputate. The man's attorney confirmed that tests did in fact discover cancer in the man's penis, but insisted that it wasn't an emergency situation. It was unnecessary for the doctor to amputate the man's penis without consulting him first.

This law suit is reminiscent of a 1997 case in Indianapolis, where a man received $2.3 million in damages after a doctor removed his penis and left testicle without consent. Based on this precedent, it is likely that the Kentucky man may be awarded a generous settlement for his loss and distress.

If you have a medical malpractice case and live in the Phoenix, Arizona area, contact the law offices of Snyder & Wenner, P.C. today for an initial consultation.

Dog bites happen all the time. They can be very serious injuries, causing major infections, psychological trauma, and scarring that can leave you disfigured. Any dog can bite any person at any time. Even dogs with the friendliest dispositions have the potential to bite or attack a human if they feel threatened.

It is important to take some common sense precautions when around a dog to prevent a needless attack. It is smart to exercise caution around dogs you know as well as unfamiliar dogs.

Always ask the owner's permission before trying to pet a dog. Never get in a dog's face or approach it in a threatening manner. Before petting the dog, offer it your hand to sniff so it knows that you are not a threat. Make sure you show the dog the back of your hand so that if it does attack, your fingers are protected.

Don't ever try to pet a dog that is eating or sleeping. Dogs generally don't want to be bothered in these situations. Exercise extra care when you are in the presence of a mother dog and her puppies. Mothers tend to be very protective of their pups, and might feel more inclined to bite if they think their puppies are threatened in some way.

When you are around strange dogs, it is even more important to exercise these precautions. If you get the feeling that a dog might be vicious, be extra careful. Always make certain that the dog is in fact friendly before you approach it. Never stare a strange dog in the eyes, and don't back away from it.

If your children are in the presence of strange dogs, make sure you are there to supervise the interaction and advise your child as to the proper way to interact with a strange dog.

If you are attacked by a dog, you have rights. While the laws regarding dog bites vary from state to state, most states recognize the owner's liability in the cases of a bite. This is especially true if the owner knows that his dog has a history of attacking people.

Generally, even if the dog has never bitten a person before, the owner will be found liable. It is the owner's responsibility to monitor his dog to ensure that it doesn't harm another person.

It is possible to be injured by a dog in other ways than bites. Some dogs will attack with their claws or knock people over as well. In these situations, you frequently can collect damages from the owner.

If you or your child is bitten by a dog, you should take the following actions. Make sure you identify the dog and the dog's owner. Find out whether the dog has rabies. If it does, you will need to receive medical attention and shots immediately.

Don't argue with the dog's owner. Even if the owner seems shocked that his dog would attack another person, arguing with him over the fact won't resolve anything. Do not sign any written statements about the incident without a lawyer being present. Frequently, the dog owner or his insurance company will try to get you to make a written statement about the incident. Such a statement can potentially reduce the owner's liability and prevent you from collecting the damages you are rightfully owed.

Find a police officer and have him fill out a police report. This will help to provide documentation of the incident in case you need to sue the owner. Go to a doctor immediately to treat your wounds. If you wait to see a doctor, you run the risk of a serious infection or more permanent scarring.

Consult a personal injury lawyer. He can advise you on the proper course of action so that you recover damages you are rightfully owed. Also, a lawyer will help protect your interests and make sure that an insurance company doesn't offer you an unfairly low settlement. Hiring a lawyer will help ensure that you receive the best possible settlement for your injuries.

If you or your child has been the victim of a dog bite in the Chicago, Illinois area, please contact the law offices of Harvey L. Walner & Associates, Ltd. today for an initial consultation.

A 13 year old girl died Tuesday when a tractor-trailer crashed into her school bus. Frances M. Schee, was an 8^th grader at North Marion Middle School in Florida. There were 21 students on the bus. Eight others were injured in the crash.

The tractor-trailer rear-ended the bus while it was dropping students off on its after school route. The crash caused the tractor-trailer to catch on flames, and the fire eventually spread to the school bus. While the buses are considered to be very safe vehicles, the truck's impact was too much for it to withstand.

The truck driver, Reinaldo Gonzalez, had been talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash. He also has been convicted of 15 moving violations in the past three years.

Four people who witnessed the crash helped pull students out of the burning bus. Their efforts prevented other needless deaths in this horrific accident.

If you have been injured as a result of a truck accident in the Orlando, Florida area, please contact the law offices of Best & Anderson, P.A. today for an initial consultation.

Heparin, a blood thinner produced by Baxter Healthcare and others, has been the subject of a number of high-profile drug recalls. First, questions were raised about the labeling of the drug after the high-profile medical error in which Dennis Quaid's twelve-day-old twins were administered a dose from an adult strength vial. The labeling of the two vials were nearly identical, distinguished by a shade of color difference which had encouraged many similar medical mistakes in the past. This year, seventeen babies were all given an overdose of heparin due to a mixing error at the hospital's pharmacy, leading to the death of two children.

Then later in 2007 and in 2008 heparin vials were recalled because they were contaminated with a dangerous bacteria or other impurities.

Now, regulators say that mistakes with heparin and similar blood thinners may have been made nearly 60,000 times in the last five years and led to at least 28 deaths in the last decade. The regulatory group, The Joint Commission, a non-profit organization devoted to maintaining the highest possible standards of health care in the United States, also said that about 1700 of the errors led to patient harm and it knew there were many more deaths about which it had not been informed, and that the uncounted deaths were part of the reason for the alert.

The group said it plans to conduct surprise visits to make sure that hospitals are adopting strict new guidelines to prevent the kinds of errors that have led to serious injuries and wrongful deaths in recent years.

If you have suffered as a result of the lax manner in which your doctor or hospital handled this dangerous class of drugs, contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois today for a free initial consultation.

Last week, the driver of a Metrolink train was texting and distracted and allowed the train he was driving to collide with a freight train in the San Fernando Valley. The accident killed 25 people and injured over 130, making it the worst railroad accident in 15 years. This morning, a light rail train collided with a bus during rush hour, injuring 13 more people, most with very minor injuries.

However, the timing of the two incidents so close together does raise questions about driver training and supervision in the Metro transit organization. Overall, the transit authority has a relatively good record of accidents, with very few bus accident or train accident fatalities, and it's possible that the proximity between these two accidents is just coincidence.

If you have been injured as a result of a train accident in the Chicago area, contact a Chicago train accident lawyer at The Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. for a free consultation.

A recent study of nursing homes revealed that levels of nursing home neglect and abuse did not increase when the nursing home was purchased by private equity groups. In a study published in the September/October issue of the journal Health Affairs, researchers from Harvard University looked at the quality of care both before and after the nursing homes were purchased by private investors, and found that the level of care did not significantly suffer.

The researchers' findings fly in the face of a number of concerns that were voiced about the quality of care at private investment-owned homes last year. The concerns were voiced after residents at some of the chains suffered from inadequate care while the investors raked in record profits. In one home purchased by an investment firm, 15 residents at a 150-bed facility died of negligent care in three years. Regulators inspecting the home found that staff levels were below minimums required by law, equipment was broken, and conditions were unhygienic.

According to the Harvard University article, although investor-owned homes suffered in some categories, like the number of residents per registered nurse, other factors, such as pressure ulcers and UTIs improved. One of the researchers says, "After taking facility and market trends into account, we did not find a substantial drop in the quality of care delivered in these nursing homes overall."

One thing that has changed is the level of recourse patients and their families have if they do suffer inadequate care at a privately-owned nursing home. As a result of corporate restructuring, one of the first acts undertaken by a new facility owner, sometimes a family who loses a loved one as a result of negligent care faces five levels of front companies that protect the investors from lawsuits. This allows those taking the profit from negligent care to avoid paying the price for its consequences.

If you have lost a loved one as a result of nursing home abuse or negligence in Phoenix, Arizona, contact the experienced nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Snyder & Wenner, P.C. today for a free initial consultation and case evaluation.

Although insurers generally rig the game so they make a profit no matter what the outcome, they have learned that preventing undesirable outcomes gives them a much more predictable return. This is part of the reason why they're moving more toward increasing preventive care (often slandered with the name "defensive medicine," although the two are very distinctly different paradigms). And it is part of the reason why one insurer is urging doctors and patients to rethink optional caesarean sections.

It's another "told you so" moment, because the reason why the insurer is making this request of doctors is that babies who are born via c-sections before 39 weeks of gestation are twice as likely to require neonatal intensive care as babies delivered vaginally. The insurer has been looking over its claims from over 670,000 members in Colorado, and it found that an optional c-section was expensive for it and for patients. It does not currently plan to change re-imbursement structures for doctors who perform c-sections or ask patients to pay more out-of-pocket for them, but that may be on the horizon.

Doctors who believe that c-sections are the way to prevent medical malpractice lawsuits should take notice. C-sections are NOT safer than vaginal birth, and their high incidence may be the cause of increased medical malpractice insurance rates, not the result.

If you or a loved one have had a child who suffered a birth injury as a result of interventionist doctor's practices during labor and delivery, contact the experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Harvey L. Walner & Associates, LTD today for a free initial consultation and case evaluation.

The FDA announced today that four drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses will now have stronger black box warnings due to the increased risk of fatal fungal infections. A black box warning is the strongest warning the FDA gives before pulling the product from commercial use.

The four drugs – Cimzia, Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade – suppress the immune system to keep it from attacking the body. This allows relief from swollen and painful joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but also lowers the body's defenses against other infections.

The FDA became concerned when they discovered that doctors were overlooking histoplasmosis, a kind of fungal infection. Of the 240 cases reported to the FDA, 45 patients died, a rate of nearly 20 percent. Histoplasmosis is more common in the middle of the U.S. and mimics the flu. If it is not caught early on and spreads from the respiratory system to other organs, it becomes deadly. Another concern of the FDAs is that doctors may not recognize histoplasmosis when their patients show symptoms. When looking at their database, FDA officials found that of the 240 patients who had been taking the medications and developed the infection, 21 received a late diagnosis. Twelve of those 21 later died.

While the four medications already have a black box warning about the risk of infections, the language varies on each drug. Patients will now be told to alert their doctors if they develop a cough, persistent fever, fatigue or shortness of breath since these are all symptoms of a fungal infection. The FDA also has begun urging doctors to "consider" the use of antifungal drugs in patients who develop symptoms of histoplasmosis. Because these antifungal drugs also have serious side-effects, the FDA says the decision should not be made lightly – which shows the seriousness of histoplasmosis.

Known as TNF-alpha blockers, the drugs are also used to treat Crohn's disease, juvenile arthritis, some kinds of psoriasis, and more. They are all delivered by injection and, with the exception of the newest and less widely used Cimzia, have brought in sales of over one billion dollars annually.

All across the country, government officials, especially elected officials and those who hope soon to be elected, are trying to curry favor with the public by calling our attention to the thousands of Americans who were killed seven years ago today. It's very convenient to trot out the honored dead every once in a while to stir up positive sentiment for you by showing how much you really care. You can say anything you want, and they never protest. Placing a wreath in Arlington (with the assistance of a Marine guard) is a lot more reliable than visiting a Vietnam vet living under the bridge, or even going to the local VFW to talk. And, unfortunately, even as elected officials are invoking the dead, there are survivors of 9/11 who have been treated in a very shameful manner.

Last year, we wrote in this blog about the troubles of first responders who were suffering as a result of inhaling toxic contaminants on 9/11 and following days. Today, I want to write about a 9/11 survivor who faced the most outrageous example of bad faith insurance surrounding his claim of injury on 9/11.

A Princeton chiropractor was disabled by falling debris on 9/11/2001, so, after paying insurance premiums to AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company for 20 years, he filed a disability claim with Equitable and another insurance company in addition to an SSDI claim. Initially, his claim was granted, and Equitable paid him, for four years, then, suddenly, it reversed its decision. Did the insurance company claim he was not really disabled or that he had recovered and therefore did not merit the payment? No, Equitable charged that the chiropractor had lied on his application. Equitable alleged that he had mistakenly represented himself as a hands-on chiropractor when he was actually an owner/administrator and therefore was not eligible for insurance coverage.

What followed was a life in turmoil for the chiropractor as Equitable subpoenaed over 10,000 pages of documents and had private detectives follow him everywhere in the hopes of catching him in some violation that would allow them to continue the denial or possibly even get back funds already paid. "They really made me feel like a criminal through this whole situation," the chiropractor said. He retained a lawyer to handle his case, then, after having spent $85,000 in counsel fees and costs, he was abruptly informed that the insurance company was going to pay him after all. He says he believes the cessation of payment and the following subpoenas, investigations, and delays were designed to bankrupt him and make him drop his case. He notes that if he had not had other insurance and a wife working as a lawyer, Equitable might have succeeded.

The chiropractor has since filed a bad faith insurance lawsuit against Equitable, saying it had "breached its duty to investigate the claim in god faith." He also says his lawsuit is partly in honor of those he had seen while practicing chiropractics, people with serious, debilitating injuries forced to settle for nickels out of every dollar they deserved, and his lawyer added, "It is time that insurance carriers in this state be called to task when they abuse their insureds and engage in tactics designed to bring their clients to their knees."

If you have been a victim of bad faith insurance practices, contact the Mobile, Alabama bad faith insurance lawyers at Long & Waite, Attorneys at Law, P.C. today for a free initial consultation today.

If you made a claim for a medically necessary procedure which your insurance company denied, there are two things you should not do: take no for an answer and rush out to get a lawyer.

If your insurance carrier is routinely denying a claim that should be covered, you may be able to file a bad faith insurance lawsuit, but if you run right out and get a lawyer, the insurance company may be able to label you as acting in bad faith, hurting your chances of receiving any compensation whatsoever. This is not to discourage you from getting a free consultation with a bad faith insurance lawyer to learn the specifics that may govern any lawsuit, especially statutes of limitations, your first step in pursuing your claim should be to ask the insurance company to reconsider. Depending on your insurance company and your state's laws, you may have to file a formal grievance, but you should be able to get the insurance company to approve your claim.

Then, in most states, you can ask for an independent review of your claim by an external body. Insurance companies are regulated by the states, and most states have a review process in place to make sure that insurance companies are living up to their obligations. This process can take a while, so be sure you have consulted with a bad faith insurance lawyer to make sure you are not limiting your options as far as filing a lawsuit.

Once you have gone through the review process, it is time to file your bad faith insurance lawsuit. If your denial is determined to be egregious, you may be able to get significant punitive damages against the insurance carrier that will hopefully persuade the carrier to be less grudging in granting the claims of others.

If you have been denied a claim by your insurance company, contact an Oklahoma City bad faith insurance lawyer at Carr & Carr, Attorneys at Law today for a free initial consultation.

I don't often get to say "I told you so," but here's a good opportunity. On another blog, I recently wrote about the correlation between rising c-section rates and rising medical malpractice insurance rates. Well, it turns out that a University of Connecticut researcher had been working on the same problem and came up with the same conclusion about the correlation between the two sets of data.

In studying the rates of c-sections and medical malpractice insurance rates, the researcher found that the rates were closely correlated for OB/GYNs practicing in Connecticut. The researcher deferred from claiming that one was the cause or the other, but he speculates that medical malpractice was leading c-section rates. He explained, "Most of the large malpractice cases result from a poor fetal outcome, that is, an expected 'normal' baby is born with health problems or has a bad outcome or whatever. The MDs get sued because they didn't do all that was possible for the baby--meaning perform a cesarean." Because of this, he attributes the rise in c-section rates to "defensive medicine," one of the rallying points for tort reform.

Unfortunately, although the UConn researcher claims that "cesarean deliveries are less risky for the baby," the truth is that doctors who are performing c-sections defensively are making a mistake. According to the definitive study of birth rate complications, the Towner study of nearly 600,000 live born singleton infants to first-time mothers, c-sections actually increase the risk of many different birth complications, including cerebral palsy and neonatal death. If doctors are practicing c-sections defensively, hopefully they will soon learn that defensive medicine is not just interventionist medicine. Sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone.

If you have been injured by a doctor as a result of overinterventionist treatment, contact an experienced Philadelphia birth injury lawyer at Pomerantz, Perlbergerger and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation and case evaluation.