Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Posted on 17. Feb, 2010 by Admin.
Medical malpractice comes in many more forms than those shown in high-profile cases: anesthetic errors, surgical accidents, amputation of the wrong limb. There are practically as many types of medical malpractice as there are fields of expertise in medicine, of which there are dozens, if not hundreds. However, most cases of medical malpractice fall under one of six categories: emergency room errors, misdiagnosis, prescription errors, birth injuries, surgical errors, and general neglect.
Emergency room errors
Because of its fast pace and high-stress environment, the emergency room is the most common site of medical errors. While some safety measures are standard, some hospitals fail to comply due to budget, staffing, or organization problems. Common emergency room errors include delayed treatment, insufficient first aid, and poor sanitation.
Misdiagnosis
This term can refer to a wrong, delayed, or missed diagnosis, which results in a delay or complete lack of treatment that aggravates the patient’s condition. Effects can range from pain and discomfort to long-term injuries or death. Commonly misdiagnosed conditions include cancer, meningitis, heart attacks, stroke, and brain injury.
Prescription errors
In this type of malpractice, the fault can be attributed to the prescribing doctor, administering nurse, pharmacy, or pharmaceutical company involved. This can include the unauthorized use of experimental drugs, incorrect dosage, poor administration, or prescriptions inappropriate for the patient or the patient’s condition.
Surgical errors
Its delicate and high-risk nature makes surgery an easy site for medical errors. A surgical error can result in anything from post-operation pain to unnecessary loss of a body part. Anesthesia errors, wrong-site surgery, and the use of improperly sterilized equipment are among the more common types of surgical error.
Birth injuries
Errors in the birthing process can cause long-term disability or death for the mother or child, or sometimes both. These include improper monitoring of vital statistics, inadequate care, and inappropriate medications. Such errors can lead to brain injuries, fractures, cerebral palsy, infection, or stillbirth.
General neglect
A study by the House of Representatives showed that around 30% of nursing homes in the U.S. have had incidents of patient abuse, which cause hundreds of otherwise preventable deaths. Most cases of nursing home neglect involve failure to provide proper medication, appropriate diets, adequate supervision, and protection from safety hazards.
This article is purely for informational purposes and must not be taken as legal advice.
Additional legal resource: The Barber Law Firm, Dallas, Texas. Serving clients in the Greater Dallas area.
Continue Reading
Truck Accidents Caused by the Trucking Industry
Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by Admin.
When investigating an accident there may be some initial assumptions on what caused the accident. It may have been excessive speeding by the truck driver. It could have been a poorly maintained truck. It might even be a load that is excessive or unbalanced. These are just some of the factors that cause trucking accidents. While they may seem like these are the fault of the driver and his trucking company, many can actually be traced back to the trucking industry itself.
One factor involves inadequate training. All drivers do no receive the same level or quality of training. There are many reputable and accredited truck driving schools who strive to graduate safe and responsible professional truck drivers. Unfortunately, there are too many training schools who only give rushed training. They teach just enough to get the driver through a licensing exam. They fail to teach good driving technique and road safety concerns. They don’t teach the student driver good defensive driving skills. There are too many truck accidents that might have been avoided if the driver had received quality training.
A second way that the trucking industry causes accidents is their system of compensation. Many trucking companies have pay schedules that encourage speeding because they pay more if the truck reaches the destination sooner. This makes drivers speed on their routes hoping to make the extra money. Truck speeding can cause many different kinds of accidents including rollovers and jackknives.
These compensation plans that are based on delivery time may also tempt the truck driver to avoid sleep. They may figure that it is worth more to stay on the road a few more hours than pull over to sleep. They make take prescription or non-prescription stimulant drugs to help keep them awake. These drugs can affect their decision making capabilities and may slow their reaction times. They can also wear off suddenly, making the driver very drowsy and in danger of falling asleep while driving.
Another factor that is related is the expectations of the trucking industry. Many have schedules that are almost impossible to meet. They do not take into account factors such as inclement weather or road conditions. They work out schedules that they expect the truck drivers to meet. These unrealistic expectations put a burden on the drivers, forcing them to drive faster to meet the deadlines. They speed down the highways disregarding any risks that could cause an accident.
When a truck accident occurs often the initial blame is put on the truck driver. It is true that they will carry some responsibility. They drove too fast and too reckless. They failed to keep their truck properly maintained. They did not do the safety checks that are required before and during trips, including making sure tires are properly inflated and brakes are in good order. But while they have some responsibility, there are practices of the trucking industry and its companies that can contribute to many of the accidents involving commercial trucks.
This article is not to be construed as legal advice.
Related Legal Website: For additional reading on truck accidents please visit the Law Offices of Gordon & Elias, LLP. Serving clients nationwide and in North Florida.
Continue Reading
Divorce Law and Types of Child Custody
Posted on 28. Oct, 2009 by Admin.
Determining what is in the best interest of the children after a divorce is very important. There are a number of different options for child custody, and it’s important to keep the interests of the child first and foremost when determining what kind of child custody is best.
Physical Custody
Physical custody refers to which parent the child will live with. In the case of joint physical custody, the child spends a good deal of time with both parents. This can be successful if the parents both live relatively near to each other, allowing the children to spend time with both parents which may help them to maintain a sense of normalcy after divorce.
Legal Custody
Legal custody refers to having the right to make decisions regarding how to raise the child. In many states courts prefer to award joint legal custody, so that decision making must be shared between both parents. Some examples of the decisions parents are responsible for with legal custody include:
- Schooling
- Religion
- Health care
Sole Custody
Sole custody can refer to either sole physical custody or sole legal custody. Sole custody is more likely if one parent has been found to be an unfit parent. Even if the child lives with only one parent, meaning one parent has sole physical custody, often the parents will have joint legal custody, which means they will share in the decisions as to how to raise the child.
Joint Custody
Like sole custody, joint custody can be joint physical custody or joint legal custody. Joint physical custody is when the child lives with both parents. Joint legal custody means that both parents must work together to make decisions that affect the child.
Joint custody has both advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage is that both parents are still in the child’s life. However, if the parents don’t get along, the arguments that can arise from joint custody can have a negative impact on the child. Also, if the child has problems adapting to change, or needs a great deal of stability, joint physical custody can be hard for them. Having a different home each week can be stressful for a child that doesn’t like change.
Joint custody works best when the parents are able to communicate with one another openly and come to decisions based on what is best for the child. If the parents have a great deal of anger toward one another, joint custody might be detrimental to the child, as every decision can end in a heated argument.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact an attorney in your local area for more information about divorce law.
Additional Legal Source: For more information on child custody please visit WurtzelLaw.com
Continue Reading
Truck Accident Lawyers That Do What They Say They Will Do
Posted on 13. Oct, 2009 by Admin.
Continue Reading
Charging Against Criminal Threats in Raleigh
Posted on 09. Sep, 2009 by Admin.
Many people have the unfortunate experience of terroristic and criminal threats. Depending on the type of threat, these can be charged as felony or misdemeanors. When a threat is charged as a felony, it is very significant. Make sure that you find a Raleigh attorney who specializes in criminal defense law. The intent of such threats is usually with the intent to injure, destroy, or kill a person. This intent must be clearly stated or a plaintiff may not get the results that they are looking for. The plaintiff must have feared for their life when a threat is charged as a felony. The penalties for a felony threat are very serious.
The consequences for criminal threats are very serious. There are very few options for the person if they are found guilty of such a charge. Possible penalties include up to three years of jail time, probation or parole, fines, and the loss of ability to own a gun. This can make a serious mark on anyone’s life. You could ruin your family life, lose the ability to find employment, not be able to pay bills, and so much more. This is extremely serious and requires attorneys that have the knowledge to deal with the situation.
Raleigh criminal defense attorneys can help you make a case. Many components must be proven. The case must show willful intent to cause injury or death. It needs to be shown that a threat was clearly made without other possible interpretations. It must have caused reasonable fear in the person that it was aimed at. A good defense attorney can help discredit a case. This is done by presenting evidence and other factors that lead to the interaction or conversation.
This information is not legal advice. Please contact a Raleigh criminal lawyer for counsel regarding your specific situation.
Continue Reading
Have a DWI? Hire a DWI Attorney.
Posted on 12. Aug, 2009 by Admin.
Aside from this, a DUI lawyer may be able to erase a suspect’s DUI arrest from his permanent record; appeal a license suspension by the state until trial commences; reduce the charged to reckless driving for first time offenders resulting to lesser fines and reduces license suspension time and even decide if the suspect should have been pulled over in the first place to perform a DUI test on the driver and if it was properly performed.
The more common mistake that DUI suspects make is not getting a DUI lawyer to save money since services of lawyers are expensive. If you enter a deal with the state, a DUI lawyer can bargain for lesser jail time and fewer fees paid to either the victims of the DUI accidents and the state. On the contrary, suspects who choose to represent themselves pay more on fines and even spend jail time. Prosecutors may even use this to attack the suspect on matters he has on expertise on.
Keep it mind that a charge will not surely result into a conviction. If you are able to get the right lawyer for the case, you have a great chance of acquittal. Leave it to the experts to find ways in getting you through your DUI properly. It’s their job to prove your innocence so let them do their job.
Continue Reading
More DUI/DWI Myths
Posted on 31. Jul, 2009 by Admin.
Myth: A person can go to the bar and drink anywhere from three to five single-shot drinks and still test negative for a DUI.
Truth: The law says that in order for the average person to stay under the illegal BAC level when driving they can only consume one drink per hour. Even consuming one drink per hour may cause your BAC level to exceed .08, depending on your body type and how often you consume alcohol.
Myth: If the government lowers the legal BAC level then this will lead to less people drinking and driving.
Truth: It doesn’t matter what the illegal BAC level is; there will still be people that drink and drive. It has been calculated, in most DUI arrests the person is far beyond the legal BAC anyways. There are rarely people that drink and keep their BAC level in mind.
The most important lesson to be learned from some of the myths I have featured is that do not drink if you are going to drive. Plain and simple. If you are going out with friends and you plan to consume an abundant amount of alcohol, you need to make certain that you get a designated driver. Getting behind the wheel is a big responsibility that should not be taken for granted no matter what day and age. Think of the innocent lives that we have lost because of the sheer recklessness. Think about your own life and the hurt that your family will be put through if they lose you. Think about your future.
Continue Reading
DUI Myths
Posted on 31. Jul, 2009 by Admin.
Over the years, alcohol watchdog groups have successfully made the public believe that driving under the influence-related accidents are the major contributors to traffic accidental deaths. Aside from this, the media reports what is far from the truth. In reality only approximately 10% of traffic deaths are caused by drunk driving, not the reported 50%.
The reason for this inflated number is simple. When we hear that an accident is related to drunk-driving, we automatically assume the man who caused the accident was the one drinking. No matter how much or little alcohol he had in his system and the person who caused the accident is sober, it is still seen as an alcohol-related accident. To most of us, alcohol related accidents are accidents caused directly by alcohol. If a man sitting in a parked car has had one drink and another man hits him, this is considered an alcohol-related incident. If a pedestrian who’s had a drink was run over by a car with a sober driver, this is also considered an alcohol-related incident. This should not be the case. This is just one of the many myths surrounding DUI statistics and facts. Here are some more myths and the truths behind them:
Myth: The best way to tell if someone is drunk is by conducting a blood alcohol test.
Truth: People that drink often begins to develop immunity to the strength of the alcohol and because of this their blood may not accurately measure how much alcohol they have actually consumed.
Continue Reading
- Probation and Surveillance Officer Duties
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Children's Disability Claims
- Drug Operations
- US Compensation Laws
