The Injury Lawyer Blog

As a result of an Ohio Supreme Court decision last year, doctors and other private practitioners can be granted immunity from lawsuits such as medical malpractice if they are employed by the state even on a part-time basis. Now, the family of a man who choked on his vomit, suffering brain damage and eventual death as a result of oxygen deprivation, must sue the state if they wish to recover damages for medical bills, funeral expenses, and mental suffering. The wrongful death claim is very modest, just $25,000, considering what the family has gone through.

The two doctors who were responsible for the man's post-surgical care were "careless" and "negligent," according to the suit, but because of their employment by the state as teachers of general surgery at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, they may not be liable for the suffering caused as a result. Instead, the Ohio Court of Claims must first make a decision on their immunity status. If the doctors are granted immunity status, the suit will fall on Ohio University. The family has also filed a case against the doctors' private practice to be pursued if the Court of Claims decides they are not immune.

If you have lost someone you love as a result of medical malpractice in Ohio, contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Robert W. Kerpsack CO, LPA, for a free, personal consultation.

Labels: medical malpractice, Ohio

A report by the Ohio Department of Insurance says that medical malpractice claims in Ohio dropped by 20 percent in 2006 from 2005. The report says that there were 4,006 medical malpractice claims filed in the state in 2006, down from over 5,000 the year before. Lawmakers are cautious, but hope that the drop is the beginning of a pattern of results from a set of laws passed in 2003 by the Ohio legislature to cap the amount of money allowed to be paid for pain and suffering and to restrict frivolous lawsuits against doctors.

The effect does not seem tied to the cause cited, however. The cap did not reduce the amount paid on claims, which increased from $269,000 to $288,000 from one year to the next, nor did restrictions on frivolous claims change the settlement rate, which did not change, since in both years four out of five claims ended without payment.

No one knows what the cause of the deviation is, but the restrictions definitely seem geared to protecting doctors and insurance companies at the expense of people suffering as a result of doctors' mistakes. If you or someone you love has been injured by the negligence of a doctor, you need the help of an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. In Columbus, contact Robert W. Kerpsack for help in your uphill fight against the big companies and the legislature.

Labels: medical malpractice, Ohio

The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a law limiting non-economic damages in tort lawsuits, including pain, suffering, loss of consortium, etc. The 2004 law, known as Senate Bill 80, does not limit easily calculated damages, such as lost wages or medical costs, but it does limit the noneconomic portions of damages to $250,000 or three times the economic damages (up to $500,000), whichever is greater. The law also limits punitive damages for dangerous drugs and hazardous products to only twice the actual economic damages, which is a boon for pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers, who regularly factor catastrophic injury or death to a few individuals against millions or billions of dollars worth of sales. The limitation of punitive damages means that companies will never have to worry about the ramifications of maliciously concealing or manipulating data to put an unsafe product on the market as long as the wrongful deaths caused are quick and cheap, no matter how painful or tragic.

The specific case that initiated the ruling was a multi-state mass tort action against Johnson and Johnson, over the Ortho Evra birth control patch, which led to fatal and potentially fatal blood clots in thousands of women.

The limitations on the awards in each case make it more imperative than ever that each person who receives an injury as a result of a defective product or drug comes forward to punish the manufacturer and show them they cannot profit off the misery of others. If you or someone you love has suffered as a result of the negligence or wanton misconduct of a manufacturer, contact product liability lawyer Robert W. Kerpsack at Robert W. Kerpsack Co, LPA, to put your lawsuit in motion.

Labels: defective pharmaceutical, defective product, noneconomic damages, Ohio, personal injury, wrongful death

As a central crossroads in the United States, Ohio highways carry more freight per mile than any other state in the Union. North-South on I-71 or east-west on I-70, traffic travels from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from sea to shining sea goes through Ohio. This traffic brings great revenue for the state and supplies us with all the goods and services we need.

Unfortunately, this traffic has its price. Over 150 people were killed, and hundreds more injured by in trucking accidents on Ohio roads last year. What is the cause for these deaths and injuries? Sadly, it is often the case that trucking companies have put their profits and schedules over the safety of the Ohio drivers with whom large trucks share the road. Ohio issued more citations for trucks driving overweight than any other state, except for California and Texas, showing that trucking companies are cramming the highways with trucks traveling with dangerously heavy loads.

If you or someone you love has been injured by this dangerous practice, contact the Columbus, Ohio law firm of Robert W. Kerpsack Co, LPA to get in touch with an experienced truck accident lawyer who can look out for your rights.

Labels: Ohio, truck accident, wrongful death

According to a Government and Accountability Office report released in April, the FDA does not maintain a "clear and effective process" for monitoring the safety of previously approved drugs. The report was requested in 2004 by Senator Chuck Grassley and Representative Joe Barton. In the study, researchers examined the agency's handling of four controversial drugs: Baycol, Bextra, Arava, and Propulsid. It was concluded that there is a lack of listed qualifications for the determination of what safety concerns to address and when to take action. Of the four drugs observed, all but Arava were eventually taken off the market due to safety concerns, which means that the defective products were allowed to circulate among the masses freely for quite some time before their danger had been addressed.

Additionally, the report finds that while the FDA does on occasion request postmarket studies as a condition of approval, only about 25% of the drugs released to market between 1991 and 2003 had completed such studies. Many dangerous drugs are more than likely to be still flowing in the market today, based on this data.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to defective drugs, please contact a personal injury lawyer. In the Columbus, Ohio, area, contact Robert W. Kerpsack, Co, LPA.

Labels: defective pharmaceutical, defective product, FDA, Ohio, US Senate