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Medical Malpractice Reform: Pros and Cons

Thousands of medical malpractice cases are filed against individual doctors and hospitals each year in the United States. This number has had a serious effect on physicians and surgeons who require insurance protection against such actions. Some believe that medical malpractice tort reform is the only way to curtail this problem, but it is important to understand the pros and cons before new legislation can be created.

Pro: Reform Limits Non-Economic Damages 

Medical malpractice reform would place a cap of $250,000 on non-economic damages to patients, which means this would limit the amount they could claim for pain and suffering. This may help keep lawyers’ fees and other court costs under control as well, allowing physicians to recover financially and possibly reduce the number of frivolous or fraudulent cases.

Pro: Reform May Help To Lower Malpractice Insurance Premiums 

Many doctors are concerned with the cost of medical malpractice insurance costs. While overall premium prices have declined in the past decade, this insurance is still quite expensive. In addition, malpractice suits have made coverage difficult to find for some physicians, which leaves them vulnerable to litigation. Reform would seek to lower insurance premiums further nationwide and offer healthcare providers other benefits, including:

  • A wider blanket of coverage options
  • Increased provider options for individual doctors and healthcare facilities
  • Improved access to customized coverage for specialists and surgeons

These positive aspects of reform look tantalizing on paper. However, there are a few drawbacks to consider as well.

Con: Federal Involvement Increases 

Many physicians are not in favor of federal reform because state torts are already in control of medical malpractice laws. Some believe that federal involvement is too intrusive and that new laws may give patients a better foothold when it comes to litigation. As such, this point is a deal breaker for many doctors who are already comfortable with state-driven malpractice laws.

Con: Medical Errors May Increase 

Current state medical malpractice torts require that doctors perform a distinct battery of tests before a surgical pathway is considered. These tests can shed light on certain ailments and lower the risk of malpractice suits. While reform may iron out some issues physicians face, it may also reduce the need for such tests, which in turn might lead to medical errors, such as unnecessary surgery or misdiagnosis of dangerous ailments. Over time, this may drive medical malpractice insurance premium costs back up and make it difficult for doctors and hospitals to find proper coverage.

 

The Time Limit to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Medical malpractice lawsuits usually fall under a statute of limitations. That means that you have a certain time limit to file a claim. However, statutes of limitations can be complex, because there are some exceptions to the general rules.

 

The Standard Statute of Limitations

Each state has different rules about medical malpractice statutes of limitations. Typically, the standard deadline is two to six years after the medical malpractice occurred. You would have to check the specific statute of limitation for your state. When a victim of medical malpractice doesn’t file a lawsuit within that time frame, he or she could lose the right to sue.

 

When Was the Malpractice Discovered?

One exception to the standard rule is the discovery rule. Malpractice victims who miss the standard statute of limitations because they didn’t even know that there was malpractice can use the date of discovery to start the deadline. For example, you took a medication that made you sick, but didn’t realize that it was the medication. Several years later, the manufacturer reveals that it was the medication that made people sick. Your statute of limitation may not start until the manufacturer revealed the data. It’s a good idea to speak to a lawyer because the rules are complex.

 

Minor Children May Have Longer Statutes of Limitations

Most states give minor children a separate deadline. If parents or guardians don’t file a medical malpractice lawsuit while the child was under 18. This deadline generally begins when the child turns 18, but specifics for each state do vary. 

 

Drop Dead Deadline

One further exception that may apply is if your state offers a “statute of repose.” This is an absolute deadline for medical malpractice that limits the deadline to a specific number of years after the act of malpractice. Not every state has this exception. Some states call the statute of repose by a different name. Laws change all the time as well.

 

Talk to a Good Attorney

Medical malpractice laws are complex. There can be many variables. Insurance companies will try to fight your claim, because they don’t want to pay out. It might be argued that you knew about the harm before you actually did.

Medical malpractice claims are best handled by those experienced in the law and medical malpractice claims. Proving medical malpractice is not always easy, either.

Accident Negligence Defined

Accident Negligence Defined

Being able to identify when someone else’s actions can be considered negligent is important if you are involved in an accident. When faced with negligence, you can usually collect compensation from their insurance company, or through a lawsuit against them.

Negligence is any behavior that lacks the level of care that someone else with common sense would have acted with in the same situation. This can refer to actions as well as a lack of action when the person had a “duty to act”, such as victims of an accident caused by that person.

Negligent Conduct

Accident negligence is most easily identified when a person’s actions, or lack thereof, specifically caused injury or suffering to another person. The requirements for an “injury” in a negligence case include either bodily harm, which can include emotional distress in some cases, or harm to your personal or real property (such as land).

To prove a case against the responsible party, you must be able to prove that they did, in fact, have a legal duty to help you, that they did breach that duty, you suffered because of it and you have hard evidence that your injuries or property damages were caused by the event.

According to the case United States v. Carroll Towing Co., negligence liability can be determined if the burden of taking precautions is less than the probability of loss multiplied by the gravity of personal resulting loss or injury. If this is true, the person responsible for the incident should be charged with some or all of the liability.

Duty to Act

You or your lawyer will be responsible for proving that the other party had a duty to act in the accident. There are a few ways to determine this, including:

Fair Trial

Sometimes it isn’t a straightforward task to determine the other person’s duty to act or their overall level of negligence in unusual situations. But, in accidents resulting from DWI or other preventable circumstances, you should be able to collect the evidence required to win your case and obtain the settlement you need to cover your medical bills or repairs for damaged property.

Speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer to determine what you need to do next if you have been injured by someone’s negligent actions.

 

Thanks to Davis & Brusca for their insight into personal injury claims and accident negligence.

 

Financial Nursing Home Abuse

 

When people think of abuse, one of the most common kinds they think of is likely physical abuse. Although physical abuse is one of the more common types of abuse seen at a nursing home, you may be worried that your elderly loved one is a victim of financial abuse. Nursing homes are supposed to be safe spaces for your loved one, especially when you are unable to take care of their physical or mental needs as they age. However, financial abuse can happen, and the nursing home abuse attorneys want to make sure you understand the signs to look out for. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse can take many forms, and if you do not know what to look out for your loved one may continue to be a victim.

 

Why are elderly people in nursing homes at such a high risk?

When your loved one is in a nursing home, they are at a much higher risk for financial exploitation for many reasons. One reason may be that they are suffering from some type of mental incapacitation and are unable to understand that someone is taking advantage of them. It is also possible that they have a physical problem that makes it hard for them to see what someone else is doing to them financially, and their failing eyesight can be a contributing factor.  This means that they might rely on someone at the nursing home to take care of their basic financial tasks.

 

What are common types of financial abuse with nursing home patients?

There are a few common types of financial abuse that occur with nursing home residents, including:

 

 

I’m worried that my loved one might be a victim of financial abuse. What are the warning signs that I should look out for?

There are a few warning signs you can look out for if you believe your loved one is at risk or is already a victim.

 

 

Any of these could be a sign that your loved one is the victim of financial abuse, and because of the position their caregivers are in on a daily basis, they may have easy access to your loved one’s bank account information.

 

What should I do?

When you believe your family member is a victim, you should call a nursing home injury lawyer in NJ as soon as possible so that we can get to the bottom of their financial abuse. They want to make sure your loved one is in a place that is safe and cares for them during their golden years.

 

Thanks to Davis & Brusca for their insight into personal injury claims and financial nursing home abuse.

 

Driver Charged in Deadly Pedestrian Accident

Personal Injury Attorney

CBS New York is reporting that a delivery driver who allegedly hit one pedestrian and dragged another to her death has been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in death and leaving the scene of an accident that caused injury (https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/07/30/north-babylon-deadly-hit-and-run/). His license also has been suspended in the interest of public safety, and he is currently being held on $100,000 bail.

Donnell Hicks, a 26-year-old man from Queens, New York City, remained silent as he was brought from the police station into the court for his arraignment. He also showed little emotion as the prosecutors described how he, a delivery man who worked for auto parts retailer AutoZone, admitted his part to the arresting officers in the fatal hit-and-run accident.

According to police, Hicks was in front of AutoZone in the Hamlet of North Babylon, Long Island, when he struck Ann Marie Christina, a 38-year-old woman from the East Quogue district of Long Island. He dragged her body for several blocks–a quarter mile in total, according to the documents filed in court–before stopping. He also hit 40-year-old Eric Krems, who was with Christina at the time but was not caught under the van and dragged. Krems suffered minor injuries in the incident and has since been treated and released from an area hospital.

In court, prosecutors stated that Hicks told police officers that he knew that there was something under his van after he left the AutoZone lot but continued driving along his usual route anyway. He also acknowledged that people were yelling at him to stop as he drove along the street, and that he heard a woman screaming the entire time but did not know that she was under his delivery van. According to Hicks’ statement, he made a turn onto a side street, stopped and then saw the victim, whom he believed was still alive at the time. He then left her there to go make his next scheduled delivery, telling police that he had to get to his next job on the route.

Christina was rushed to a nearby hospital, but she did not survive the horrifying accident.

Just one hour after this deadly hit-and-run, police were able to arrest Hicks at another AutoZone location.

Auto-pedestrian accidents are often deadly for the person on foot. A person who is walking lacks the protection a motor vehicle affords its driver, and the sheer difference in weight, size and speed between a car and pedestrian often leaves the pedestrian in the most danger in an accident. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, there is an average of one pedestrian-accident-related death in the US every 1.5 hours (https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pedestrian_safety/index.html).

If you have been involved in an auto-pedestrian accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, losses, and pain and suffering. Consult an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer about your case today to protect your rights and receive fair compensation for your losses stemming from the accident.

 

 

Thanks to Richard J. Banta, pc for their insight into personal injury claims and pedestrian accidents.

Meconium Aspiration

Meconium Aspiration

After nine months of preparing and waiting, there can be nothing more devastating for parents to hear that their newborn has suffered a birth injury. If your child has suffered injuries during labor or delivery due to medical negligence, contact a law office today.

One of the common preventable errors lawyers see is meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). When a baby is in its mother’s womb, it does not breathe oxygen through the lungs. This is because the baby is totally surrounded by amniotic fluid. Oxygen is delivered to the baby through the umbilical cord.

As the baby develops, it will take what are often referred to as practice breaths. These breaths draw clean amniotic fluid into the baby’s lungs, however, there is no harm to the baby at all.

Just before or during the baby’s birth, the baby may excrete feces into the amniotic fluid. This is referred to as meconium. If the baby inhales or aspirated the meconium, the meconium can become trapped in the airways and the baby may not be able to breathe upon delivery.

MAS occurs in about 11 percent of all births. In most cases, medical professionals will recognize this is happening and will quickly take the steps to treat it. But if they fail to recognize the baby is in distress and the meconium is not removed, the infant can be left with brain damage, lung damage, and permanent hearing loss.

Prompt treatment of meconium aspiration is not difficult since the signs of MAS is easily identifiable. Treatment should begin even before the baby comes fully out of the birth canal. Medical staff should clear the baby’s airway, making sure the baby is receiving enough oxygen. Treatment for or to prevent airway infections should also be administered. In severe cases, the medical team can use an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which acts an artificial heart and lung system and makes sure the baby is receiving enough oxygenated blood flow.

There are some factors that indicate that a baby may be more at risk for meconium aspiration, increasing the possibility that the baby will release meconium and breathe it in during delivery:

Contact a Birth Injury Attorney Today

If your baby suffered birth trauma and you suspect negligent medical care was the cause, contact a birth injury attorney today. They will schedule a free case evaluation and determine what kind of financial compensation your family may be entitled to.

Common Theft Defenses

 

 

If you have recently been charged with theft, you probably feel overwhelmed and scared. You worry about the potential consequences it may have on your future employment, housing situation and personal relationships. However, if you hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer, he or she can build you a strong defense, increasing the chance of a better outcome on your case.

 

Here are some of the most common theft defenses:

 

Claim of Right or Ownership of Property

 

If you’ve been charged with theft, you may be able to defend your case if you can prove that you honestly believed that the property was yours. However, this defense isn’t as simple as just saying you thought the property was yours. Your criminal defense lawyer may be able to help you find the appropriate evidence to support your claim that you believed the property was yours.

 

It Was an Accident

 

To get convicted of theft, it must be proven that you intentionally took property and knew that you weren’t going to give it back. If you committed theft by a complete accident, you may have a valid defense. For example, let’s say you were at a grocery store and opened up a bottle of soda and drank it while you were shopping. When you came up to the cash register, you forgot to tell the cashier to charge you for the soda. You may be able to claim that you didn’t mean to commit theft.

 

You Were Intoxicated

 

If you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the theft, you may be able to use that as your defense. This is because intoxication can impair your judgment and you could mistakenly take an item you thought belonged to you. For instance, if you were at a bar and took someone’s jacket by mistake because you were too drunk, you may have a good defense.

 

Entrapment

 

It’s also possible to get out of a theft charge if you can prove entrapment. The entrapment defense could come into play if the idea to steal came from the entrapping person, with the goal of prosecuting the targeted individual. 

 

Consulting With a Criminal Defense Lawyer

 

If you were charged with theft, it’s important to talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer about your case as soon as possible. Theft is a serious charge and shouldn’t be taken lightly. A criminal defense lawyer in Arlington, VA can build you a strong defense, offer protection from the police and represent you in court.

 

Thanks to May Law, LLP for their insight into criminal law and common defenses for theft.

Tire Blowouts Are A Serious Cause Of Trucking Accidents

A truck driver can easily lose control of the massive vehicle, which can be difficult to handle even when all of its components are in proper condition. Tire blowouts are a serious cause of trucking accidents across the nation.

WHO CAN BE LIABLE FOR A TIRE BLOWOUT?

When the tire blowout occurs, a lawsuit can be brought against the trucker or the trucking company for failing to inspect and maintain the tire’s condition or against the manufacturer of a tire that may have been put on the truck in a defective condition. Sometimes, such as in cases with 18 wheelers, there are so many tires that one blown tire does not affect the vehicle that significantly, but this is not always the case.

The truck driver is always responsible for inspecting their vehicle before driving at all times. Failure to do so could result in the truck driver overlooking a serious tire flaw or another defect.

Truck drivers could specifically be liable in cases when:

By ignoring these problems, they are sacrificing safety for time-effectiveness and should be held accountable. In cases of blowout where a third party is injured or possibly even killed, the truck driver is directly responsible for negligence, although their employer is indirectly responsible.

WHEN A MANUFACTURER OR RETAILER MAY BE AT FAULT

Drivers aren’t the only party responsible for tire safety. Some incidents involving tire blowouts may be out of their control if a manufacturer or retailer negligently or intentionally sold them a defective or damaged tire and failed to warn or provide the necessary information to the truck driver. In some cases, a tire may not have been repaired correctly or identified by an installer when brought in for inspection. This means that a manufacturer or installer may be partially liable for any damages caused in a tire blowout accident.

Whether the tire was installed incorrectly or a driver overlooked a defective, tire blowout cases can be difficult to litigate. You need a seasoned truck accident lawyer, on your side today!

Should My Ex and I Consider Parallel Parenting?

Personal Injury Lawyer

If your relationship with your child’s other parent is tense and prone to high levels of conflict, you may be wondering how you can ever reach a place where you can co-parent effectively. Would it make you feel relieved to learn that you may be able to alter that goal to a reality that is potentially both healthier and more manageable? When a child’s parents are prone to tension and conflict, a traditional co-parenting model may not be the right choice for that parenting relationship. Instead, with the help of an experienced family law attorney, a child’s parents may be able to lay a foundation for a healthy, effective parallel parenting relationship instead.

Parallel Parenting – The Basics

In a traditional co-parenting relationship, a child’s parents regularly communicate in order to make mutual decisions related to that child’s welfare. A parallel parenting relationship minimizes the amount of communication required between parents in order to cut down on the potential for conflict. Certainly, if parents have joint legal and/or physical custody of their child, some communication is necessary. Determining where a child will go to school and whether a child will undergo a major medical procedure will necessitate communication between both parents. However, day-to-day decision-making is largely kept separate in a parallel parenting situation. Subject to any restrictions outlined in a child’s parenting agreement, parents are allowed to make general decisions for their child whenever that child is in their individual care.

It can be difficult to let go of control over one’s child when that child is with his or her other parent. But in exchange for this release of control, an individual parent assumes the right to be free of the child’s other parent’s control when that child is entrusted into that parent’s care. This arrangement can potentially empower a family to behave in healthier lower-conflict ways that directly benefit any minor children affected by a high-conflict parenting relationship.

Legal Guidance Is Available

If you have questions about child custody determinations, parenting agreements, co-parenting or parallel parenting, please do not hesitate to connect with an experienced family law attorney today. There is no single “right” way to parent a child. This reality holds true whether parents remain romantically involved or have gone their separate ways. Experienced family law attorneys are invested in helping parents find the healthiest arrangement possible in pursuit of their children’s best interests. If parallel parenting seems like a healthy alternative to co-parenting for your family, our firm can help devise a solid legal strategy that will support that arrangement.

Consultations are generally confidential, so you should not feel shy or otherwise hesitant about seeking legal guidance and exploring your options. Similarly, speaking with a lawyer will not commit you to any particular action, so you should feel free to reach out. If your relationship with your child’s other parent could benefit from a parallel approach, please consider reaching out today. There is no time like the present to build a stronger, healthier reality for you, your child, and your family generally.

 

Summer Camp Injury

Personal Injury Attorney DeKalb County, GA

So you and your children have been awaiting for the summer break. Finally a time for them to relax and have fun. Much like sending your child to school, when you allow your children to spend time at these summer camp facilities, while always prepared, you do not anticipate your child suffering an injury of any kind. Your child is to be looked after and cared for while at summer camp, and if an injury is somehow sustained, just like any other injury case, someone must be held responsible. If a summer camp was unsuccessful in keeping you or someone you knows child safe, there are appropriate steps to take to ensure that the person responsible takes care of some or all of the damages.

The person with guardianship of the child must prove that the summer camp the child was injured at failed to hold up their end of care. Or in personal injury terms, the parent must prove “negligence”. This means, the parent must show that the summer camp and its staff had a responsible to uphold and did not do so to the fullest extent. More specifically, there are a few things that must be proven:

The summer camp was actually responsible for preventing any injuries that can be predicted. Such as making sure any outdoor equipment like slides and swings are properly secured and safe for use. In order to claim the summer camp was responsible and negligent, they must have breached that duty by failing to provide secure equipment. This occurs when maybe a screw was not secured, or even parts of a swing is broken. This failure must have led to the injury the child sustained. Maybe the swing set was not securely screwed and the child sat on it and fell, breaking his or her arm. This arm break, or any injury sustained will then be something most victims will seek compensation for.

An injury alone does not always mean it is the responsibility of the summer camp and its staff. Proving there was negligence is sometimes clear, other times it may be difficult and for this reason it is always best to speak with a skilled personal injury attorney that will be able to review and investigate the details of your claims and seek all damages owed to you, if any. If you or someone you know has been a victim of an injury at a summer camp, contact a personal injury attorney in DeKalb County, GA from Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. as soon as possible, there may be compensation for you to claim for your damages.