Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

What You Should Know About Insurance Companies

December 17, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

Insurance companies have become contenders in a fight for the most customer-related television commercial lately. From quirky, sassy, truck stop waitress type salesgirls, to tiny, charming and charismatic if a bit sarcastic reptiles, these companies are battling it out to get your attention.

The catchy jingle from Nationwide Insurance, Nationwide is one your side, gets stuck in everyone’s head at least once a year. These companies try hard to get in your head and stay there. It isn’t just to offer you the best deal possible. They have motivations of their own.

Insurance companies are not founded by people with a deep seated need to give people gigantic amounts of money. These types of companies are founded by people that believe shareholders will invest and they will make a profit from those investments.

Anesthesia Malpractice Issues

December 10, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

Mistakes with anesthesia are a fairly common occurrence during surgery. The far majority is noticed before they cause damage or even occur. Patients rarely, if ever, even know the mistake occurred. Only in cases of death or bodily harm do most patients learn of an error in anesthesia.

Aestheticians are a very important part of the surgery. Unfortunately, however, they are one of the least known persons involved. The surgeons and the nurses are usually introduced and available to the patient for some time prior to the surgery. Not so, the aestheticians, who are often only introduced moments before the procedure. This gives the patient less time to check background experience and credentials.

Patients are also able to select their surgeons from a variety of opinions they have been given by each. The aestheticians are a different story. Most patients do not consider this important role in their surgery.

Can you be Charged for Distracted Driving at Home?

November 14, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

Distracted driving has been a problem since the advent of automobiles. Distracted driving is when the driver takes his or hers eyes from the road to focus on something else. Throughout the years, the reasons for those distractions have changed with the times from, fussing with children and radios to swatting insects, eating and most recently texts and GPS devices.

The use of cell phones and texting while driving has led to many deaths and is considered the leader in distracted driving issues today. Texting and cell phone use takes a lot of brain power. It takes more than a few seconds to type out or even speak a message to someone else. It is a big distraction, especially while traveling at 45 + miles per hour.

Laws across the country have been developed to severely limit or even ban texting and driving. The effectiveness of these laws is addressed daily across the country wherever they are in place. In jurisdictions without these laws, the issues are building and pressure is high to take measures.

Sacramento Cyclist Dies

November 7, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

A cyclist, Mr. James Glendon Combis, 59-years-old, died in a crash with an automobile in Sacramento in October. Mr. Combis was riding along Stockton Blvd near Quinta Court approximately 6:30 a.m.. For reasons unknown, he veered suddenly into traffic and was struck by a SUV.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver of the Chevrolet Tahoe attempted to stop and avoid hitting Combis but was unable to. Mr. Combis was jetted into traffic and received major, life-threatening injuries. He was rushed to Kaiser South Sacramento Hospital, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Mr. Combis was not wearing a helmet. The bicycle had no rear light and it is not known if it had a front light. Details like these seem unimportant in the face of such a tragedy but, in fact, may have saved his life.

Can Your Medical Condition Cause a Bad Accident?

September 25, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

In some states, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, licensed drivers are required by law to report any medical conditions or diseases that could possibly interfere with basic driving skills to the Registry of Motor Vehicle. All of the guidelines and regulations for the minimum physical requirements set by Motor Vehicle were formed with the help of medical experts. There are stricter guidelines for commercial drivers.

Some common medical conditions that can impair your driving skills are impaired vision, seizures, sleeping disorders, dementia and a host of other illnesses. Not all medical limitations have been acknowledged by Motor Vehicle so sometimes a licensed driver will have to make a conscious decision on whether or not they can safely operate a vehicle.

Here are some medical conditions that can affect your driving.

Medication Mistakes Cost Millions

September 25, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

When folks in Sacramento get sick they visit a doctor. The doctor will recommend a plan of health which usually includes a prescription of pharmaceutical medications. For those with chronic issues, the doctor’s visits are frequent and repetitive. However, medical negligence can turn this common occurrence into a nightmare.

A patient getting the wrong medicine or the wrong dosage can experience severe complications and even death. Unfortunately, this occurrence happens all too often. News reports show medication errors cause upwards of 200,000 deaths a year and up to 1.5 million health issues and complications. American Health and Drug Benefits, a peer reviewed medical journal, reported in 2012 that preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) or medication errors associated with injectable meds harm over one million people a year and cost hospitals over $600,000 in damages each year.

Injectable medicines and errors that are associated with them are quickly becoming more frequent. These types of mistakes are a prominent cost of the entire healthcare industry and growing rapidly. They are called preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) because due diligence would have most often prevented the mistake from occurring.

Driving and Drinking the Number One Cause of Automobile Accidents

September 20, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

You’ve seen the popular drunk driving PSA commercials all over your television screen. You may have read the blogs headlining a famous celebrity’s DUI. Even worse, you’ve watched your local news and seen some of the fatal accidents that have occurred right in your town as a result of someone operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Yes, drinking and driving is so prevalent that it has now become the number one cause of automobile accidents. In the state of California in the past year, there have been 774 DUI fatalities and well over a quarter of a million people were third time DUI offenders.

The Mindset of A Drunk Driver

Most people, including DUI offenders can reason that driving while intoxicated is dangerous, that’s it’s both legally and morally wrong. Alcohol interferes with the way that the central nervous system functions which prevents the brain from functioning like it normally would. When a person is intoxicated their mind and process of thinking is severely altered. Alcohol changes your sense of judgment and the depth of a person’s perception. It also affects basic and vital driving skills.

How Expert Witness Rules Affect Medical Malpractice Trials

September 20, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

Thirty states now employ a very specific set of rules to testimony by expert medical witnesses in medical malpractices cases. In the vast majority of these states, the expert medical witness must be of the same or comparable medical background and the defendant in the case.

Here’s where it gets tricky. Not only are the criteria for “similar” defined differently from state to state but also court to court. Many of these definitions are not favorable to the defendants. These loose definitions from court to court have allowed for some weak cases to progress. Maryland recently progressed in courts that ruled a vascular surgeon was able to testify on the standard of care of an orthopedic surgeon, a pharmacist was ruled able to testify against a doctor in an informed consent case, and a nephrologist was deemed as qualified to testify for the plaintiff against a urologist.

The legal world and the medical world are far apart. It is not common knowledge that all doctors are not knowledgeable on every subject. It is completely plausible that one type of doctor can have no working knowledge of another’s area of expertise, including treatments, protocol and aftercare.

Can Your Cellphone Cause An Accident?

September 15, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

In recent years, states all around the United States have adopted laws that prohibit the use of cellphones while operating a vehicle. Failure to abide these laws can lead to heavy fines and lawsuits if an accident happens. California has strict laws regarding cellphone usage while driving. The first law prohibits drivers from using hand held cellphones or devices while driving.

The second law prohibits newly licensed drivers 18 years of age and younger from using both handheld cellphones and hands free devices. Another law says that all drivers are not allowed to text while driving.

There are exceptions of using cell phones while on the road:

Different Types of Medical Malpractice Insurance

September 15, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

As a medical professional, it’s important to take necessary measures to protect your livelihood. The increasing number of medical malpractice lawsuits makes it essential for physicians and healthcare facilities to purchase medical malpractice insurance.

What Is Medical Malpractice Insurance

Medical professional liability insurance is needed when a health care provider fails to provide the standard medical care due to a patient.