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Recent Blog Posts
Is a Doctor Legally Responsible for Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer?
The sooner cancer is discovered, the sooner treatment can begin, and the more likely the individual will survive. The American Cancer Society states that when breast cancer is detected in the localized stage, the survival rate is 99 percent. The longer it takes for someone to be diagnosed with cancer, the lower their chances of beating the disease. When it comes to breast cancer, early detection is key.
If a medical professional's failure to diagnose cancer causes a patient's injury or death, he or she may be liable for damages through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Detecting Breast Cancer
There are a number of tests used to detect breast cancer, including mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies. Doctors and radiologists must recognize the warning signs of cancer and order the appropriate tests and treatments.
Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms after a Car Crash
Car accidents are often a chaotic blur of metal scrapping metal and vehicle occupants being jostled around the inside of the car. Many accident victims do not even realize what happened until the accident concludes. In the moments after a crash, adrenaline courses through the body and can mask any injuries. Some injuries, like traumatic brain injury, may not be immediately apparent.
If you or a loved one were in a car accident, it is important to be aware of the symptoms of TBI so that you can get prompt medical attention if needed. Symptoms of TBI can appear immediately after the crash or possibly hours or days later.
Signs You Suffered a Brain Injury in a Car Accident
Headache is the most common symptom of TBI. If you have a headache after a car accident that does not go away or gets worse, it could be a sign of brain injury. Dizziness and loss of balance are also common symptoms. This can make it difficult to walk or stand. You may also feel nauseous and vomit as a result of the dizziness. Blurred vision, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, and changes in the ability to smell are all possible signs of TBI.
Nursing Home Abuse: Causes and Prevention
Nursing home residents trust that the staff will care for their needs and keep them safe. Sadly, many nursing homes miss the mark. Nursing home neglect and abuse is more common than many realize. It can take the form of skipped medication, overmedication, failure to provide for the resident's daily needs, and even intentional abuse.
If your loved one was harmed as a result of nursing home neglect or abuse, you may be able to take legal action against the facility. An experienced nursing home abuse lawyer can help you understand your options and take steps to protect your loved one's rights.
Causes of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
What are some of the main causes of nursing home abuse? In many cases, it is the result of medical negligence, failure to provide medical care, medication mistakes, and understaffing.
Medical Negligence
One of the most common causes of nursing home abuse is medical negligence. This can take many forms, but it generally occurs when a nursing home staff member fails to provide the proper level of care to a resident. This can happen when a nursing home does not have enough staff members to care for all of the residents or when staff members are not properly trained.
When Does Substandard Medical Care Cross the Line into Medical Malpractice?
Most people have had one or two negative experiences at a doctor’s office or hospital. Some of these incidents are minor. A rude receptionist may treat a patient callously. A nurse having trouble finding a vein may need to poke a patient multiple times during a blood draw. However, some negative medical experiences are much more severe.
If you received substandard medical care or were the victim of a medical mistake, you may be unsure of whether the situation constitutes medical malpractice. This blog will explain the four main elements of medical malpractice as well as what you can do if you believe you have a potential medical malpractice case.
Medical Malpractice Defined
Not every instance of poor medical care is considered medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when the following four legal elements are present:
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Duty of care – The doctor, surgeon, or other medical provider had a legal duty of care. In the context of a medical malpractice case, this means that a doctor-client relationship was established.
Commercial Truck Crashes Caused by Overloading and Improper Loading
Semitrucks, flatbeds, and other commercial trucks haul cargo across the country. There is no doubt that trucks are vitally important, but these massive vehicles can also be extremely dangerous. When truck cargo is not loaded correctly, it can increase the chances of a truck accident. Cargo may move around within the truck’s trailer, making it hard for the driver to control the truck. Shifting cargo can even cause the truck to tip over. Freight that is not strapped down well enough can also fall out of the truck and onto the road where it becomes a deadly hazard to other motorists.
If you or a loved one were involved in an auto accident due to improperly loaded and secured truck cargo, you may be able to take legal action against the trucking company or other at-fault party. You could be entitled to financial compensation for vehicle damage, medical expenses, lost income, and more.
Nursing Home Patients Without Proper Feeding Protocols Can Choke and Die
While elderly or disabled residents of nursing homes are more likely to suffer risks of aging and decreased mental faculties, not all of these risks are inevitable. One common but avoidable danger to nursing home residents is choking on food and drinks. Nursing home residents should not be choking on their food and drinks; nursing homes are responsible for assessing whether a resident is at risk of choking and providing a diet and administrative method that allows that person to eat and drink safely. If you have a family member in an Illinois nursing home who has choked and died, the nursing home may have been negligent in caring for your loved one.
Choking is a Leading Cause of Death in Nursing Homes
Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a condition that affects a significant number of elderly adults. Victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are more likely to suffer from dysphagia, as are patients who have had a stroke and patients who are old enough that they are suffering from muscle degeneration.
Hours of Service Violations in a Truck Accident Injury Claim
Being sleepy is typically a mere annoyance. However, when someone is operating a massive commercial truck, sleepiness can be deadly. Multiple studies show that drowsy driving is extremely dangerous. Fatigued drivers are less attentive and less capable of making sound decisions. They are slower to react to obstacles or hazards. Driving after being awake for 18 hours or longer has the same effect on driving ability as having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05 percent. If a driver has not slept in 24 hours, this is equivalent to having a BAC of 0.10 percent – twice the legal limit for commercial drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) limits the number of hours that a commercial driver may drive without taking a break to rest. However, some truck drivers violate these Hours of Service rules in order to complete their routes faster.
Semi-Truck Drivers Are Not Supposed to Drive Beyond the Limit
The FMCSA limits property-carrying drivers to 14 hours of drive-time. They are required to take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. Commercial drivers are also subject to additional driving limitations including weekly drive-time caps.
Compensation for Victims of Malpractice in Fertility Cases
The recent Netflix documentary Our Father is bringing new attention to an extreme case of reproductive malpractice. The show highlights the history of an Indianapolis-area fertility doctor who impregnated unsuspecting women with his own sperm over the course of several decades. Many of the women were expecting to be impregnated by anonymous sperm donors, but others were expecting the offspring to be with their own husbands. To date, 94 children have been identified. So far, he has only been found guilty on a few counts of obstruction of justice and has escaped criminal prosecution for his actions. Individual lawsuits from some of the affected mothers and children, now middle-aged adults, have been more successful in collecting damages.
Examples of Reproductive Negligence and Malpractice
While this is an extreme example of malpractice, related cases of embryo mistransportation are not unknown. This can include implanting a woman undergoing fertilization treatments with the wrong sperm or eggs. This can lead to a woman unknowingly being impregnated with another couple’s child, having a child with an unknown party, or having a child born with a birth disorder or birth defect that should not have occurred.
What Types of Compensation Can a Family Seek After a Wrongful Death Accident?
The loss of a loved one in an accident is always painfully difficult for surviving family members. Beyond the emotional grieving, it can be difficult to move forward when financial issues are impacting everyday life. The loss of income, hospital bills, funeral costs, and other expenses all contribute to the need for financial compensation. While more difficult to adequately quantify, compensation for the emotional impact of the loss can also be sought. Working with an experienced wrongful death attorney can help you recover the compensation that you deserve.
Potential Types of Wrongful Death Compensation
While wrongful death cases can be complicated, our law firm will learn the details of your case and pursue all potential damages. In wrongful death cases, you may be able to seek compensation for a wide range of losses. The first general category covers damages directly caused by the accident, including:
Bus Accidents Involving Injuries are Common in Illinois
The last few months have brought accidents that resulted in injuries and even death for both CTA and Pace buses. While bus drivers are trained and expected to operate safely, accidents involving buses and other vehicles can still occur. If you have been injured in an accident involving a bus, either as a passenger or when you were in another vehicle, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries as well as for lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Causes of Bus Accidents and Compensation Available
Accidents involving transit buses as well as school buses tend to grab the headlines, but many other types of buses are also on the road, including charter buses, shuttle buses, and intercity buses like Greyhound or Megabus. There can be many causes of bus accidents. While causes generally overlap with factors in other motor vehicle crashes, there are a few factors that disproportionately impact buses.
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