Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

$62 Million Dollar Medical Malpractice Settlement

April 13, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

The birth of a child should be a thrilling time in a woman’s life, but when doctors, nurses and hospital are negligent, new mothers may find themselves facing a painful and long lawsuit instead of late-night feedings.

Last year, a New York judge awarded a young woman $62 million dollars in damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Winthrop University Hospital. The jury decided on the verdict as thus: $20 million owed for past suffering and pain, $38 million for any pain and suffering the future and $4 million to be used for medical expenses.

The case began in October 2009 when 32-year-old single to-be mother Stacy Galette checked into Winthrop University Hospital to have surgery. She was currently having an ectopic pregnancy, which means the fertilized egg was still in Galette’s fallopian tube. The surgery seemed to go well, but afterward, Galette complained that she was in extreme pain. She also had an abnormal heart rate as well as a fever. Despite these signs, she was discharged from the hospital.

How Do I Know How Much My Medical Malpractice Case Is Worth?

August 14, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

As patients, we expect that we will receive the best care possible from our medical providers. It is hard to believe that a medical provider would be negligent, careless or reckless in the manner in which he or she treats a patient. It is even more difficult to believe that patients in Sacramento and across California suffer injuries every day due to the mistakes medical professionals (i.e. doctors, lab technicians, nurses, etc.)

When someone is injured or someone dies because of medical malpractice, the patient or his or her family is entitled to receive compensation for his or her losses. This compensation can be for damages such as medical expenses, funeral costs, pain and suffering and lost wages. However, it is difficult for a medical malpractice attorney to accurately determine the value of a case, especially at the beginning of the case, because there are so many factors that may or may not influence the value of the claim as the case goes forward.

An experienced California medical malpractice attorney can often provide an estimate of what he or she believes to be the value of a medical malpractice claim based on his years of experience and the hundreds of cases he has handled. Typical, the value of the case is equal to the economic damages and the noneconomic damages.

The Basics of Personal Injury Torts

August 11, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

The people who most often seek out their legal options by contacting an attorney are those who have been injured in a car accident, or by someone else’s negligence. In most of those cases it is the first time A may have seen online or through their own research.

One of the most confusing law terms for the newly legal immersed is tort. It is a commonly used legal term but most people do not know its true connotations. Essentially, a personal injury tort is a civil claim against another person for injuries caused unknowingly. There are several key points to keep in mind.

Injury or Harm

Eight California Hospitals Fined for Safety Violations

August 7, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Hospitals are often named as a party in medical malpractice cases. Whether it is the medical staff that made a mistake or the hospital who failed to provide a safe environment, hospitals are often the subject of medical malpractice lawsuits. Just this week, The California Department of Public Health issued fines in the amount of $775,000 to eight California hospitals.

According to the CDPH, the fines were issued due to serious licensing violations. The CDHP stated that the hospital’s failure to comply with licensing requirements caused or was likely to cause serious injuries and, in some cases, fatalities to patients. The following violations were cited:

Failure to follow surgical procedures and policies

Pecuniary Recovery May Still be Possible in Single Car Calamities

August 5, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

When people imagine horrible car accidents it is most often involving another car. Nightmarish flashes of drunk drivers and irresponsible big rig operators occur when talk of tragic car accidents comes up. Surprisingly, studies have shown that most fatalities occur in single car crashes. AAA Mid-Atlantic produced studies of 8,000 fatal crashes over a period of five years. More than half died in single car crashes.

Survivors of single car accidents, including families of fatal victims, are faced with monetary issues that are often insurmountable. Grief, sadness and mental anguish added to financial difficulties clouds the thought process considerably. Many victims in these cases wrongly assume they cannot seek monetary recompense for damages accrued in the accident. There are some instances when a victim can seek financial compensation even though there were no other drivers involved.

When a third party is responsible for a single car crash they can be held responsible for damages accrued. Negligent drivers taking part in unsafe driving practices do not fit into this category. Unsafe driving practices include drunk driving or driving impaired, speeding, tailgating and distracted driving among others.

Car Accidents Can Cause Hard to Prove Chronic Pain

July 29, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Slip and fall and construction accidents can cause life altering pain. However, automobile accidents result in more instances of chronic physical pain. Car accident collisions inflict great trauma and blunt force upon the human body resulting in violent jolts. The body bounces brutally inside the vehicle and is slammed into the hard interior façade.

Chronic pain resulting from a car accident can egregiously affect a person’s quality of life. The most basic things most people take for granted can be affected by chronic pain. Victims of chronic pain also frequently experience problems with mental health, depression, anxiety and a wide range of emotional disorder. The chronic pain teamed with the other issues it brings with it change a person’s life immeasurably.

California car accidents often incur whiplash during an accident. When the head is suddenly thrown forward and back violently injury to the muscles, nerves, ligaments and vertebrae occur, known as whiplash, a common cause of chronic pain.

Las Vegas Hospital Files Defamation Case Against Attorney

July 23, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

In a surprising turn of events, a Las Vegas hospital filed a defamation lawsuit against an attorney who represents a client in a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. Robert Cottle, a Nevada personal injury attorney, filed the medical malpractice lawsuit against Summerlin Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas alleging negligence in regard to a tuberculosis outbreak at the hospital last year that affected patients, staff and visitors of the hospital. At least 60 people tested positive for tuberculosis.

The medical malpractice lawsuit names 15 doctors and 7 nurses. During a May 13 news conference, Cottle told the story of the plaintiff, Ruben White, who lost his wife Vanessa White and his twin daughters to tuberculosis. Vanessa died in July 2013 after giving birth to twin daughters, Emma and Abigail. Neither Vanessa nor her daughters were tested for tuberculosis even though Vanessa presented symptoms associated with the disease.

The hospital’s defamation lawsuit stems from comments made by Cottle, during the May 13 news conference. With regard to the medical malpractice lawsuit, Cottle stated that there may have been a motivation to find a cause for her condition besides tuberculosis. If the cause was a different infection, the state government would not be needed to investigate. He went on to say a tuberculosis diagnosis invites oversight and opens up a can of worms.

Can Cat Bites Be More Risky than Dog Bites?

July 21, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Animal bites are always frightening. Dog bites are always in the news and can be devastating. Other animals can be responsible for dangerous bites and one that is often overlooked is the cat.

According to mayo Clinic research, while dog bites are more prevalent and can cause more physical damage, cat bites cause more serious and damaging infections that can result in hospitalization and lifelong effects. The study also showed that two thirds of cat bite victims require surgery to remove all infection from the wound.

Dog bites differ from cat bites in a number of ways. Dog bites occur most often in children while cat bites most often happen to middle aged women.

What Are The Differences Between An MCO, HMO And PPO?

July 19, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Health insurance can be a very complicated subject when you factor in the different types of insurance policies that are available to the public. Understanding the differences of the various insurance policies available is essential to choosing the right insurance policy for you.

Managed Care Organization

A Managed Care Organization (MCO) is part of a Family Care Program that coordinates services from different existing programs and combines them into a single long-term plan of support and services based upon the needs and preferences of the members. MCOs improve the quality of services received by consumers.

California Woman Sues Simi Valley Hospital for Medical Malpractice

July 16, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Patients rely on doctors and other medical professionals to maintain a standard of care when providing medical services. While instances of medical malpractice are not uncommon, some acts are so negligent that patients have no alternative but to file suit against the responsible parties. This is the case of a California woman, Carol Critchfield, who suffered four years from the negligence of medical staff during a routine surgery before she received the medical attention she needed.

In 2007, Critchfield was admitted to Simi Valley Hospital for a hysterectomy. She was a relatively healthy 56-year old woman undergoing a routine procedure. However, rather than recovering from her operation as expected, Critchfield began to experience problems shortly after being released from the hospital. Three days after coming home, she began waking up each morning dehydrated and nauseous. When she began to experience severe pain, her apprehensive husband took her to the emergency room. The emergency room personnel did not take Critchfield’s complaints very seriously. They took x-rays and concluded that it was nothing more than constipation. Critchfield was sent home.

One year later, Critchfield again had to be taken to the emergency room but this time she was experiencing blurry vision, fainting and heavy perspiration. The emergency room staff’s diagnosis was gastrointestinal issues and they advised her not to eat spicy foods. By 2011, Critchfield experienced bleeding in addition to the other symptoms she continued to experience. Suspecting an ovarian cyst, her gynecologist recommended that she have her ovaries removed. It was at this time that the surgeon discovered a sponge that had been left inside her during the previous surgery. Scar tissue had developed around the sponge. In order to remove the sponge, the surgeon had to remove a large section of her intestine.