Driving in the winter weather can be tricky and scary at times. The roads can be icy and just difficult to navigate altogether. Here are some tips to help you navigate the snowy or icy roads, and some tips to keep yourself prepared.

If you are expecting winter weather to come, make sure your car has all the necessities. In case of extreme weather, you will want to have snow chains or tires handy. 

Do not drive to fast, even if you are in a hurry. Look at how bad the road you are driving on is, to judge how fast you should go. I suggest that you drive under the speed limit anyways, just to be safe. If you are on an icy road, you will want to be extra careful. Nothing will prevent you from slipping and sliding off of an icy road.

Use your eyes. Driving in the winter weather requires you to be very alert. You should put twice the distance from you and the car in front of you that you normally would. You never know what another driver is going to do, so this is just a safety precaution. Be aware of all icy and slippery conditions, and expect the unexpected. 

When turning around a corner, apply your brakes a little bit, then release them to apply all the weight of the car into your turn. Do not enter into a corner to fast, or else you will lose the control of you car. 

Practice your safe driving, and using smooth car controls. Do not wait for winter weather to hit for you to drive safely. You should practice before the snow and ice come so that you are prepared and know how to handle safe driving.

Educate yourself about your car. You should learn exactly where most of the weight of your car sits, and you should know how your engine's power will affect that. You should know if your car is front-wheel, rear-wheel, or all-wheel drive.

You should know how to control your car if you happen to skid. Do not trust your instincts, you will only make your car spin out more. You should turn your steering wheel into the skid. Do not slow down when you start sliding, you should actually press on the gas. This allows the weight of the car to shift, and for you to gain control.

Water Contamination

| No Comments
We wanted to share with everyone our new site about water contamination. We will continue to add resources in the upcoming weeks and months. 

It would be safe to say that with all the statistics and news reports of truck accidents that they are apparently on the rise in our nation. Big rig crashes are happening nationwide and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) studies show that many bus and truck accidents are caused by sick or ill drivers behind the wheel. This ranges from seizures, heart attacks, and unconscious spells that occur behind the wheel. According to the Truck Safety Coalition or TSC more than 5300 people are killed each year and over 10,000 are injured in these truck related accidents. 

What can you do if you have been injured in a truck accident? You can call our office for help. We represent injured victims of truck accidents and will fight for your rights to get you the compensation that you deserve. Yes truck accidents are on the rise and you can do something to protect yourself in case you are involved in one and become of a victim of this type of accident. 

Many of these accidents are driver related due to errors or illness and oversights of the driver. You would expect a professional driver to be more cautious but accidents do happen and not just truck accidents. There are other types of vehicle accidents that can be just as fatal or injurious to the victims. Did you know that 98 percent of the fatalities involved in truck accidents happen to the victims in the car? We specialize in truck accidents and can give you the help you need when it comes to being represented. We have many years experience in dealing with cases involving large truck accidents and know the industry and how it works. We work in favor of the victims and provide honest and reliable representation that you can count on. 

We have experienced staff that are more than willing to go over your case step by step with you and develop a plan of action. Preserving evidence in the case of truck accidents is paramount and a professional will survey the accident scene and preserve it for further study. It is important to note that the agency responsible for making sure that unfit drivers are off the roads have not made any attempts at enforcing the laws passed by U.S. lawmakers. What are the victims supposed to do? And what about future victims if there is nothing done about this?

We are here to help those who have been victimized and have no other recourse but to contact our office for representation. We provide the best service available to you the victim. When you retain our services we go to bat for you and are in your corner from start to finish.

If you need representation due to a truck accident of which you have been a victim or are suffering contact our offices today. A friendly knowledgeable staff member will take your call and information that you provide us and set up an appointment to meet with you at your earliest convenience. We take into consideration your needs as a victim and will provide you with sound advice and representation that is unmatched in our industry. Pick up the phone and contact us today or visit our website, you have rights and don't let anyone take them away.
It's always hard when a person passes on. It is worse when the reason that someone passes on because of a medical malpractice issue. The definition of a medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient. Although many people may never happen to hear about it, medical malpractice happens more often that it does not. This could be due to having a doctor that has little training or has just made MD. Or it could be because of the kind of medicinal treatment you are using. Many practices within the alternative medicine community have waivers and things that have to be signed before treatment because of the experimental element of the practice itself. Be sure to research any kind of practice you are considering before you do it so that you understand all the risks you could be taking when you sign up for such a thing. 

There are three main reasons that medical malpractice happens. The first one is a failure to diagnose the patient properly. Over forty percent of medical malpractice lawsuits are made up of a health care provider failing to properly diagnose a patient's illness. When you go into a doctor's office, it is their job to diagnose the problem and treat it. When they fail to do so, then they are liable for whatever happens in the event that their incorrect diagnosis causes a further problem. Sometimes a person's illness is very similar to a different kind of illness and they may treat for the wrong one. This is not uncommon, we just all hope that it never happens to us. 

The second most common cause of a medical malpractice lawsuit is an incorrectly performed procedure. If it happens that you were at the dentist and they didn't remove all the gaze before they sewed up the area they removed your wisdom teeth from, then they are responsible for any infections or illnesses that that could cause. There is no reason that you should suffer because of a health care practitioner's malpractice. they should not be allowed to repeat their mistake on someone else. 

Lastly, the third most common reason that people file a medical malpractice lawsuit is an error in diagnosis. If you have cancer and you are diagnosed with something else, a wrongful death very well may occur if you are not being treated properly. Error in diagnosis is a much more common practice than it sounds. The H1N1 flu virus that has been going around is effecting many throughout the world, it effects those the worst that are told that their loved one just has a common flu and then they wrongfully die from not being treated for H1N1. 

If you have a loved one that has suffered a wrongful death due to medical malpractice, please call our law firm for a free advise consultation. a health professional should not be allowed to make the same mistake twice. 
happy-holidays.jpg
With the holidays coming, streets are getting busy, people are on the end of their nerves and some of them are feeling a little merry from the parties they have attended. Whatever the case, tis the season for accidents to happen. A study done at the University of Alabama has proven that the holidays are one of the worse times to be driving around. The day of the holiday is fine because of all the festivities but the days leading up to the holiday and trailing it are the ones you should be most careful when driving. 

With all the new fees added when flying and all the restrictions put on travelers these days, more people are driving to get to their destinations than ever before. When you are taking a long drive, sleep deprivation has a huge play in crashes that happen at night. This is because it's already dark and people are rushing to get where they are going as quickly as possible. 

With holiday parties at every corner, drunk driving is something that should be taken seriously. With slippery, icy roads, drunk driving is even more of a concern for people because many times, the reason they get behind a wheel is because they don't think they are that drunk. if you get hit by a drunk driver, you should consult with a doctor immediately to make sure that there are no injuries. Injuries don't always show up as soon as you get hit. Be sure to contact our law firm for a free case evaluation if you are injured during your holiday travel. 

Speeding is a huge problem during the holidays. Make sure that when you are driving to keep your speed low. Many people speed to get wherever they are going faster, whether its because they are late to their second party or to get out of the cold. if you are keeping your speed lower, you will have more time to react if someone is coming at you faster than you should. If you get hit by a speeding car, do not leave the scene. Call 9-1-1 immediately and wait for an officer to show up. It may not look important but if there is an officer to assist you, a police report should always be filed in the event that your insurance company needs to be involved. 

Statistics have shown that before the holidays are the worst time for travel. This is because many people wait until the very last minute to leave. Whether it's because they don't want to spend the extra time with their relatives or because they have their child's Christmas pageant to attend before they go, many people don't leave early enough to make it to their final destination. Road rage is always a concern no matter what time the year, but when a bah humbug gets behind the wheel when it's snowing and people are trying to be cautious, disaster is just around the corner. 

Be careful when driving this holiday season and remember that if you are in an auto accident, call 9-1-1 immediately and if you need legal help, contact our law firm for a free case evaluation. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
Recent news article about the serious side effects of Yaz / Yasmin. Read about it.
Interesting article in the Washington Post about Yaz birth control health risks.

Medical Malpractice History

| No Comments
Medical malpractice cases arise when a patient is harmed by negligent acts of a physician or other medical professional. To prevail, the complaining party must establish that: 1) the care they received was below the standard of care in the community where they physician practices and; 2) the substandard care he or she received caused harm which can be redressed by monetary compensation.

Historically, medical malpractice law was shaped by state court decisions, not legislation. During the past thirty years, due to increasing concern about rising medical premiums and fear of unreasonably high jury verdicts, state legislatures have begun to regulate malpractice lawsuits. Despite various bills that have been presented to Congress, there are no uniform regulations.

In the last decade, industry hysteria and misinformation has again promulgated fear of a "medical malpractice crisis" and states have responded by enacting legislation such as caps on damages, attorney's fees limits, pre-litigation review panels, mandatory arbitration, and restrictions on expert testimony.

Recently, such legislative reforms have been under attack in state courts. In 2005, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Ferndon v. Wisconsin Patients Compensation Fund (#2003AP988) that damage caps violated the equal protection clause of the Wisconsin constitution. Georgia is currently evaluating the legality of caps, and the Virginia Supreme Court recently overruled state limits and upheld a $3.5 million award in a hypoxic brain injury case. To date, the United States Supreme Court has refused to review the constitutionality of state caps on damages on the ground that these state-imposed caps did not present a federal question. (Fein v. Permanente Medical Group, 474 U.S. 892 (1985).

Patients should not be discouraged from hiring skilled attorneys to bring meritorious lawsuits. Patients continue to obtain large awards in malpractice cases. In 2008, the family of a woman who died due to uncontrolled bleeding during minor thyroid surgery was awarded $14.5 million by a Middlesex County, Massachusetts jury. The same year, a Massachusetts jury awarded $13.5 million dollars to a woman who died from a fatal bacterial abdominal infection which arose during chemotherapy, but was completely ignored by her physicians. In 2000, a Utah jury awarded $9.7 million in Williams v. Intermountain Health Care when a baby was born with severe defects due a nurse misreading an amniotic fluid test. In June, 2009, in Devada v. Kevin Niksarli, M.D., et al., NY Supreme Court (107637/07) a New York jury awarded $5.6 million to a patient who was injured as a result of receiving LASIK surgery when it was contraindicated.
News reports proclaim that a proliferation of frivolous lawsuits has caused medical malpractice insurance rates to rise to the point that physicians are shutting their doors. Congressmen talk of a desperate need for tort reform to solve the growing medical malpractice "crisis. However, this fearful rhetoric has no basis. No one is able to present statistical evidence showing that a rise in malpractice suits is increasing costs for physicians. 

Instead, commissioned studies suggest that the number of medical malpractice cases filed each year has remained constant or even decreased. Further, although occasional large verdicts such as the 5.6 million dollars awarded to a patient blinded during LASIK surgery (Devada v. Kevin Niksarli, M.D., et al., NY Supreme Court (107637/07)), receive attention, they do not represent the average amounts awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. According to the Physicians Insurers Association of America, certain medical professionals, such as pediatricians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and obstetricians/gynecologists face an average indemnity of $400,000 per claim. However, this does not reflect the medical profession as a whole. 

The real cost of medical malpractice is borne by the patients, not the insurance industry or doctors. In the 1970's, a study prepared by the California Hospital and Medical Associations revealed that medical malpractice injured more people each year than automobile and workplace accidents. In 1999, an Institute of Medicine study found that as many as 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors. However, few of these people bring lawsuits and only 30% of those suing recover. A 1993 Harvard Medical Practice Study found that only one malpractice claim was filed for every eight negligent medical injuries

A June, 2009 study by the New York Public Interest Research Group found that, based on reports filed with the National Practitioner Data Bank, payments made to patients in malpractice suits have dropped since 2006. In 2003, the United State General Accounting Office reported that there was insufficient data to support a conclusion that raising insurance rates were due to an increase in malpractice claims. In general, large malpractice verdicts are rare.

Experts report that insurance costs have not risen because of frivolous malpractice suits but as a result of poor cost-containment within the industry, the cost of administrative errors, higher costs of insurance, and lack of competition due to insurers withdrawing from the marketplace.

If you have been injured as a result of medical negligence our team of malpractice professionals is ready to help.
Each year, 7 out of every 1000 babies born will be the victims of varying birth injuries. Children sometimes suffer injuries as a natural result of birthing processes either before, during, or after birth. Many of the injuries sustained by these children occur due to no fault of the doctor or his or her medical staff. However, there are circumstances in which the doctor's negligence or their staff's negligence causes injury to the child. 

Medical malpractice occurs when licensed healthcare providers fail to provide care to a patient in accordance with the medical community's accepted standards of care and the patient suffers an injury or death as a result. Newly born children are no exception. When a child's birth injury can be linked to the negligence of a licensed healthcare provider, parents may have the grounds necessary to file a medical malpractice claim. 

It is the doctor's responsibility to diagnose and treat any maternal or fetal medical problems that may arise during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Approximately 28,000 children suffer some type of birth injury each year. An unsettling number of these injuries are the result of a doctor's negligence. It is difficult to quantify the number of birth injuries that occur due to medical malpractice each year, but most would agree that even one child is too many. 

There are numerous underlying causes for preventable birth injuries, and these underlying causes include but are not limited to:

  • Failure to utilize caesarean-section birth in a timely manner
  • Failure to use vacuum or forceps in an appropriate and correct manner
  • Failure to recognize and treat fetal distress
  • Failure to resuscitate a depressed baby in a timely and proper manner

These failures can lead to birth injuries such as:

  • Bruising and lacerations
  • Fractures
  • Facial paralysis
  • Brachial plexus palsy
  • Cerebral palsy

Some birth injuries heal within a week or two of labor and delivery, but other birth injuries cause permanent and irreversible damage to the child. For birth injuries such as cerebral palsy, no is treatment available. It has been estimated that the average lifetime costs of caring for a child with cerebral palsy is approximately $500,000.

Parents that believe their child's birth injury is the result of medical malpractice should contact an experienced personal injury attorney well-versed in the area of medical malpractice. Victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to compensation by those responsible for their injuries, and doctor's committing acts of negligence should be held accountable for their harmful acts.