Posted on August 22, 2018 in Car Accident

Any car accident can be deadly. Whether a car accident results in fatalities depends on a variety of factors, including the speed at which it happened, the angle at which it happened, whether the drivers and passengers in the vehicles were wearing seat belts, the age and overall fitness levels of the drivers and passengers, and whether there were additional issues that made the collision worse, like a slick roadway.

When a victim dies in a car accident, his or her loved ones can pursue monetary compensation for their damages related to the death through a wrongful death claim. Additionally, any individual injured in a collision can pursue compensation for his or her damages through a personal injury claim.

Head-on Collisions are the Most Deadly

There are a few different types of collision. These include:

• Side collisions;

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 Posted on August 15, 2018 in Wrongful Death

Kelly Wenzel, wife of Robert Wenzel, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the rideshare company Lyft for compensation of more than one million dollars. One Saturday evening in April of 2016, Robert Wenzel was killed on his motorcycle by an illegally stopped car driven by a Lyft driver. The accident occurred on a generally busy road, where Wenzel's attorney says Wenzel crashed after a truck driving in front of him abruptly swerved to the left, revealing the Lyft driver in a Honda Civic who had stopped for its passengers. Wenzel then lost control of his motorcycle and hit the curb of the road, striking a wooden utility pole. 31-year-old Robert Wenzel was found dead at the scene.

Lyft spokesperson Alexandra LaManna released a short statement after the announcement of Wenzel's death saying, "Our heartfelt sympathies are with the family and loved ones affected by the accident. We are available to assist the authorities in their investigation."

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 Posted on August 15, 2018 in Car Accident

The 100-day span from Memorial Day to Labor Day is often known as the “100 Most Dangerous Days for Teen Drivers.” This is because statistically, this is the time of year when teenage drivers are most likely to be involved in car accidents and suffer injuries. In the summer, teen driver deaths are about 15% higher than they are during other times of the year.

There are a few reasons why teen car accidents spike during the summer months, and there are a few ways that you, as a parent of a teenage driver, can reduce your child's chance of being involved in one.

More Young Drivers are on the Road with More Young Passengers in Their Cars

Perhaps the most obvious reason why teen drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents in the summer is that there are simply more teen drivers on the road in the summer.
With school out of session, more young drivers are on the road throughout the day.

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 Posted on August 14, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

A newlywed couple is suing two Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) doctors over an alleged improperly performed birth that left their newborn daughter permanently injured with cerebral palsy. The couple filed the lawsuit in early 2016 in the Hampshire Superior Court. According to the lawsuit, the doctors, Jay Sprong and Lisa Stephens, neglected to explain the risks of a vaginal birth after a previous Cesarean delivery (c-section).

The newborn's mother was admitted to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in 2013. She alleges that when her water broke, one of the doctors told her she could continue with a vaginal birth without mentioning any risks to her baby. The infant, however, showed signs of cardiac distress with her heart rate dropping as low as 50 beats per minute. The lawsuit points out that the doctors should have called for a c-section delivery.

The court pleadings explain that the mother's uterus ruptured, allowing baby girl to “float in a blood-filled abdominal cavity.” According to the pleading, this is because the doctors neglected the signs that the baby was in distress.

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 Posted on August 14, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

In Illinois, the lead plastic surgeon Dr. Shah of A New You clinic in Cook County will potentially pay $50,000 for grossly violating a woman's privacy by intentionally posting pictures of her breast augmentation online and causing her emotional distress.

The woman, who has chosen to be identified only as Jane Doe, visited the suburban clinic on an early afternoon in December to speak to Dr. Shah about a tummy tuck and a breast augmentation surgery. During the consultation, Jane Doe agreed to have the surgery, where Dr. Shah took photos of her exposed breasts with an iPhone to document the progress of her surgery. Although Jane Doe had signed a consent form during her consultation expressing that she did not want her photos used for public advertising, the clinic posted her pictures on their website anyway. The woman says she immediately recognized herself from the "highly distinctive freckle pattern on her chest which is easily recognizable by friends and family" and has been "humiliated" by the release of the photos, suffering "intense fear that her close family members" would discover them. The photos were up for an entire year before the she discovered them.

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 Posted on July 20, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

Birth injuries due to physician negligence can have long-lasting, even permanent, effects on a child's quality of life. When a child is injured before, during, or shortly after birth because of a medical professional's negligence, his or her parents may pursue compensation for their related damages through a medical malpractice claim.

Below are a few common birth injuries associated with physician negligence. These are not the only injuries a child can suffer at birth. Others include Bell's Palsy, subconjunctive hemorrhaging, and caput succedaneum.

Broken Bones and Soft Tissue Injuries

A newborn can suffer broken bones and soft tissue injuries anywhere in his or her body due to rough handling by the medical professionals attending the birth or because of conditions like shoulder dystocia, which occurs when one of a baby's shoulders is trapped behind the mother's pubic bone during birth.

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 Posted on July 20, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

Before you can have a medical procedure performed, you must provide the doctor with informed consent. This is because you have bodily autonomy, the right to control what happens to your body. Many medical procedures carry some level of risk of adverse side effects or complications, and a key component of bodily autonomy is having the right to decide for yourself whether a specific medical procedure's benefits outweigh these risks.

Obtaining a patient's informed consent before performing a procedure is part of the standard of care for everything a doctor does. In most cases, performing a procedure without obtaining the patient's informed consent beforehand is an act of medical malpractice.

Required Steps for Obtaining Informed Consent

To obtain a patient's informed consent to a procedure, a doctor must:

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 Posted on July 05, 2018 in Birth Injuries

Cerebral palsy is one of the most commonly cited birth defects associated with acts of medical malpractice. Any error on the part of a doctor or another type of healthcare provider, such as a nurse or a hospital's administration staff, can be considered an act of medical malpractice if another professional in the same position would not reasonably have taken the same action, and the unreasonable action resulted in a victim's injury, worsened condition, or premature death.

Cerebral palsy is a movement disorder caused by injury to the developing brain. People who live with cerebral palsy can exhibit exaggerated reflexes, uncontrolled motions, stiff and weak muscles, and poor coordination.

Injuries Sustained Before and During Birth

The majority of cerebral palsy cases are caused by injuries sustained before birth. These include:

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 Posted on July 01, 2018 in Slip and Fall

The indoor slip and fall hazards you face are consistent throughout the year. Wet tiles, broken steps, and unsecured carpets can cause injuries 12 months out of the year. Outdoor slip and fall hazards, on the other hand, tend to vary by the season.

Some of these hazards are weather-related, like ice and snow during the winter. Others are present all year, but only an issue to consider during certain seasons because they are related to the activities people enjoy at specific times of year. Below are a few of the slip and fall hazards you can face during the summer months. If you are injured by one due to another party's negligence, you may pursue compensation for your damages through a personal injury claim.

Wet Tiles

For many, summer means it is time to hit the pool. Many pools are surrounded by tiles, which can become quite slippery when they are wet.

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 Posted on June 19, 2018 in Car Accident

There are many, many ways you can be injured in a car accident, and not all of them are physical. Following an exceptionally traumatic car accident, you can experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition characterized by debilitating anxiety surrounding a specific event. You can suffer from PTSD after a car accident regardless of whether you were physically injured.

PTSD is treatable. If you experience one or more of the following symptoms after being involved in a car accident, discuss them with your doctor to get appropriate treatment.

PTSD Symptoms

Sometimes, PTSD symptoms are difficult for the victim to recognize. This is true with many mental conditions, like depression and anxiety. When an individual suffers from PTSD, he or she can experience:

• Anxiety;
• Irritability;
• Social isolation;
• Self-destructive behaviors;

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