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Improper Use of Pitocin Can Out Mothers and Babies at Risk
Pitocin is a prescription version of the naturally occurring hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is famously known as the “love hormone” for its important role in helping people bond with each other. Oxytocin also plays a major role during childbirth. When a woman’s body is getting ready for delivery, it produces oxytocin to induce contractions, the major muscle spasms that help push the baby out.
Unfortunately, Pitocin is not always properly administered and its effects are not always sufficiently supervised in hospitals. This can lead to serious birth injuries for the mother and baby, up to and including neonatal death. This article discusses the uses of Pitocin, the risks of Pitocin, and what potential victims of Pitocin misuse birth injuries can do.
When is Pitocin Used During Childbirth?
Doctors sometimes give women Pitocin as part of the labor-inducing process. If a baby is likely to be too large when it reaches full gestational age, or if a woman has certain risk factors like preeclampsia or a stalled labor, a doctor may use Pitocin to begin or speed up labor and delivery. If used correctly, Pitocin will trigger the body to begin contractions or to increase the rate of contractions.
Can Vaping Marijuana Make Me Sick?
Smoking cigarettes used to be ubiquitous. Virtually everybody smoked - even in places we now find ridiculous, like hospitals and airplanes. Then research proved the seriously detrimental effects of smoking tobacco, and although some people still smoke cigarettes today, the risks are well established.
However, in recent years, electronic cigarettes (also known as vape pens or e-cigarettes) have skyrocketed in popularity. With the advent of legal recreational marijuana in states like Illinois, the use of vaping products is a large part of marijuana culture. Many people believe that vape pens are safer than traditional methods of smoking marijuana and that they face little or no risks from vaping. New research shows this is not the case and that consumers may face serious risks from the contents of vape pens, as well as from defective products.
Vaping Causes Lung Illness
Corresponding with the increased use of vaping products, a new phenomenon known as “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury,” or EVALI, has arisen. Victims of this health problem report symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing, and other concerning respiratory issues. Thousands of cases have been reported, and people have even died. Most reported EVALI cases come from people who vape marijuana products.
How Common is Injury or Death From Accidents at Construction Sites?
Construction workers in Illinois are a large part of the underappreciated workforce that makes our world go round. Every day, rain or shine, they show up to do the difficult work of building the places we work and live. Unfortunately, construction workers are exposed to the inherent risks of the job. Serious injuries and fatal construction accidents due to falls, slips, and contact with objects or equipment occur every year. In 2019 in Illinois alone, 30 fatalities and many more injuries occurred in the private construction industry.
Who is Responsible for Construction Site Accidents?
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the employers to provide a safe worksite. Budgetary concerns and time constraints often pressure employers to cut corners, and workers face increased hazards as a result. Injured construction workers in Illinois are generally able to recover compensation for injuries and loss of income through workers’ compensation benefits. Illinois has a no-fault workers’ compensation system, meaning that a worker is eligible for benefits from the employer’s insurance whether the injury was the fault of the worker, a co-worker, or the employer.
Is It Neglect When a Resident Suffers a Fall in a Nursing Home?
As we age, certain functions become more difficult. The elderly population is at an increased risk for falls and with decreased bone density, those falls are much more likely to cause injuries or death as a result. With nursing homes catering to the elderly population, it is important for Illinois nursing homes and those around the country to employ safety measures to help protect their residents from these incidents. Unfortunately, falls are a common occurrence. Each year, approximately half of all nursing home residents will experience a fall. The question when a resident does fall is what level of liability, if any, does the nursing home facility and staff have.
Factors for Establishing Liability
When a nursing home resident experiences a fall, the nursing home owner or person in charge of the facility can be found liable if they were negligent. Negligence can be proven if the owner or individual in charge:
When Can a Patient Be Injured Because of Failure to Diagnose a Disease?
Patients put a great deal of trust in doctors and medical professionals. They expect to receive quality care, including proper evaluation of their symptoms and effective treatment to address any concerns that may affect their health. Unfortunately, doctors can make mistakes, and when medical malpractice occurs, patients can suffer serious injuries that impact their health and well-being. Diagnostic errors are some of the most common forms of medical negligence, and a failure to diagnose a disease, illness, or health condition can result in a patient not receiving the necessary treatment. In these cases, patients will need to work with an attorney to determine their options for receiving compensation for the damages they have suffered due to these diagnostic errors.
Reasons Doctors May Fail to Diagnose an Illness
Diagnostic errors are among the most common forms of medical negligence, affecting more than 12 million people in the United States every year. Around four million patients per year suffer serious injuries due to diagnostic errors, and these cases result in over 40,000 wrongful deaths. There are many reasons why a medical professional may fail to diagnose a serious illness that could affect a patient, including:
5 Ways Negligent Drivers Can Cause Bicycle Accidents
Chicago is a great city for bicyclists, and it provides many people with the opportunity to use bikes to travel to and from work or for personal purposes. However, the city also sees quite a bit of heavy traffic, especially during busy times of the day. Even though many of the city’s streets have bike lanes and other features meant to protect bicyclists, collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles still occur. In many cases, bicycle accidents take place because drivers act negligently and fail to operate their vehicles safely, and injured bicycles will want to understand how they can pursue financial compensation from a negligent driver.
Bike Accidents Caused by Driver Negligence
Drivers are required to treat bicycles the same as other vehicles. When drivers fail to respect bicyclists’ rights to share the road, they are more likely to strike a bicycle or cause collisions that can seriously injure others. Some forms of driver negligence that are likely to lead to bicycle accidents include:
Building Code Violations Could Lead to Serious Injuries
Recently, people throughout the United States were horrified by the collapse of a 12-story condo building in Miami, Florida. The 40-year-old building had shown signs of deterioration due to the salty climate and regular storms in the area, but its owners had not taken action to perform repairs or address the risks of a collapse. The rubble of the building is still being searched for survivors, but at least 54 people have been confirmed dead, and it is likely that the death toll will be over 100.
This disaster demonstrates the importance of following building codes and ensuring that a structure is safe for its occupants. Unfortunately, far too many building owners, including many in the Chicago area, fail to regularly inspect their buildings and perform repairs to ensure that they are in compliance with safety regulations. When people are injured because of the negligence of a building’s owner, they may be able to pursue a premises liability lawsuit and recover compensation for their injuries and damages.
Why Driver Fatigue Is Increasingly Likely to Lead to Truck Accidents
Currently, the trucking industry in the United States is experiencing a critical shortage of truck drivers. Industry experts have reported that companies have been struggling to recruit new drivers for the past several years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted their ability to provide drivers with the proper training. At the same time, the need to ship cargo has increased since there has been a surge in e-commerce during the pandemic.
These factors have combined to create a situation where fewer drivers are available to meet the increasing demand for shipping, which has made it more likely that drivers will be spending more time on the road. Because of this, truck drivers are more likely to push themselves beyond their limits, increasing the chances that they will be fatigued or drowsy while behind the wheel. This can lead to dangerous truck accidents, and in these cases, victims will need to work with an attorney to determine how they can hold a negligent truck driver and trucking company accountable for their injuries and damages.
How Can Meconium Aspiration Syndrome Affect a Newborn Infant?
There are multiple ways that birth injuries can cause harm to both children and mothers. While some injuries are unavoidable, others occur due to medical malpractice. Meconium aspiration syndrome is one issue that can cause serious injuries to children, and if it is not addressed correctly, it can lead to ongoing health concerns or permanent disabilities. Parents of children who have been harmed by meconium aspiration will need to work with an attorney to determine how they can recover financial compensation for the harm done to their child and their family.
Effects of Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
The first stool that a child passes after being born consists of meconium, a thick, tar-like substance. In some cases, a child may pass meconium before being born, and it may become mixed in with the amniotic fluid in the mother’s uterus. This may occur because the child experiences fetal distress due to the use of Pitocin to induce labor, prolonged labor, or difficulty passing through the birth canal.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse That Families Should Be Aware of
For many elderly people, nursing homes provide the best solution to ensure that they will receive the medical care and assistance they need. When placing a loved one in a nursing home, a family should have the assurance that the person’s needs will be met and that they will be safe from harm. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not live up to these expectations, and patients may suffer serious physical and emotional injuries because of abuse by staff members or other residents. Families who are concerned about the possibility of nursing home abuse will want to understand the signs that may indicate that their loved one has been the victim of these types of harmful behavior.
Signs of Physical, Verbal, or Sexual Abuse
Physical abuse of nursing home residents can take many forms. Staff members may strike or shove a resident they believe is uncooperative or difficult or even restrain a resident to a bed or chair. Signs that a person has suffered physical abuse include serious injuries such as broken bones or brain trauma, as well as unexplained bruises, cuts, or scratches. Rope marks on a person’s wrists or ankles may indicate that they have been improperly restrained, or bedsores or hygiene issues may show that they have been confined to a bed or chair or restricted from moving about freely.
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