Posted on September 15, 2008 in Surgery Malpractice

A Michigan husband and wife have been awarded almost $1.2 million by a jury in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against a local doctor. The jury decided late last week after a two-day trial that the doctor was negligent regarding hernia surgery he performed in June, 2003. During the procedure, the man’s small bowel was nicked but the injury was not repaired at the time, causing him to have a septic reaction that included an long hospital stay. As part of the treatment for the nicked bowel, the man incurred several hundred thousand dollars of medical bills. The surgeon denied any negligence, saying that the patient knew of and appreciated risks and hazards involved in the medical treatment. The man’s wife was awarded $50,544 for being deprived the comfort, companionship, society, and services of her husband.

I have successfully handled a number of medical negligence / medical error cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland, and the District of Columbia, involving surgical malpractice. In this case, the malpractice probably was not causing the injury to the bowel, as that can happen during abdominal surgery. The problem here was the failure to timely diagnose (recognize) and treat the injury once it occurred. Before finishing up the hernia surgery, the surgeon should have checked to make sure that there was no unintended injury to organs including the bowel, found the injury and then repaired it. By not timely recognizing and repairing it, the man developed a severe abdominal infection, which progressed to sepsis, which is when the infection spreads through the blood to the rest of the body. Once the patient came out of surgery and exhibited signs and symptoms of an infection – usually abdominal pain, swelling, bloating, hardness of the abdomen – surgeon should returned the patient to surgery as soon as possible to stop the leak, wash out the abdomen and start the patient on antibiotics. These cases are tragic b/c someone goes in for a routine procedure and should be back on their feet in a few days, but ends up a long hospitalization, extensive medical care and problems that can last a lifetime.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 12, 2008 in Confessions

Maryland DUI/DWI Attorney. In many Maryland Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Driving While Impaired (DWI) cases the issue of a person’s Miranda Rights, that is when or if the rights were read, is central to the outcome of the case. In almost every DUI/DWI case, including one that I had this week in Baltimore County Maryland, the person makes incriminating statements throughout the arrest and booking process. In my initial meetings with both DUI/DWI clients as well as clients charged with more serious criminal cases, the issue of Miranda is very frequently raised by the clients. It is also an subject about which nearly everyone is misinformed about when and under what circumstances the police are required to read a person their Miranda Rights.

So, when and under what circumstances are the police required to read a person their Miranda rights? Most people wrongly believe that as soon as a person is placed under arrest, which they almost invariably define as the point at which they are handcuffed, the police are required to read them thier Miranda Rights. Although this is the common procedure on television, it is simply not how it is done in the real world. The police are only required to read a person their Miranda Rights in the context of a custodial interrogation. That means that the person must both be under arrest (or at least in custody) AND be under interrogation by the police. A common question that I get from my clients in DUI/DWI cases is why are the State is allowed to use incriminating statements that they made to the police prior being read their rights.

The typical situation is that a person is pulled over by the police. The officer smells alcohol and asks the person to step out of the car. In response to questioning or interrogation, the person admits that he or she was coming from a bar and had consumed 5 drinks while they were there. My clients frequently believe that their statements should be suppressed because the officer failed to read them their rights prior to asking those questions. Unfortunately the statements will be admissible because, although the person was under interrogation at the point when they made the incriminating statement, he or she was not in custody. The statements were made to the officer while he was investigating to determine whether or not he had probable cause to arrest the person for Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Impaired. As I said, Miranda is only implicated when a person is BOTH in custody and being interrogated.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 09, 2008 in Automobile Accident

Many individual automobile insurance policies do not provide adequate coverage for catastrophically injured victims. As a result, a product liability case against the manufacturer of the automobile may need to be explored. Such cases can be extremely complicated and expensive to prosecute effectively. As such, it is imperative to consult a trial attorney with significant experience handling such cases.

In addition to a simple “negligence” theory, Maryland law recognizes the “crashworthiness doctrine” and doctrine of “strict liability.” A claim may also be pursued under Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act in appropriate circumstances. Pursuing such avenues may be the only way to obtain full compensation for the catastrophically injured client. Therefore, at the beginning of a case, counsel should take affirmative steps to determine whether a product liability theory of recovery should be considered. At a minimum, counsel should take steps to secure the vehicles involved in an accident and send a “spoliation” letter to any parties involved in the accident to preserve evidence for later inspection.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 09, 2008 in Automobile Accident

Maryland is a major transportation corridor for trucking and other interstate travel with Interstate 95 running from North/South and Interstate 70 running East/West. As such, accidents involving tractor trailers and other large motor carriers oftentimes occur on Maryland’s frequently traveled roadways. In many of these cases, the tractor trailer is equipped with a “black box” containing critical information, such as average speeds of travel, top speeds, braking information for “hard stops” or other valuable information just prior to the point of impact. It may also contain information regarding the number of hours the truck was in operation; information that can be compared with the log books the driver and trucking company are required to keep. The black box can be a gold mine of information. The information contained in the black box can be critical to proving liability not just for the negligent truck driver, but for the company that employs him or her. This information can be used to show that a trucking company should have known there were problems with a particular driver.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 09, 2008 in Personal Injury

An Iowa jury recently awarded a woman $1.5 Million Dollars in a lawsuit she filed against the man who infected her with HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that causes genital warts. Karly Rossiter filed suit against Alan Evans claiming he told her he was free of sexually transmitted diseases in order to coerce her into having unprotected sex with him, when in fact he was carrying the human papilloma virus which causes genital warts.

Under Maryland law, a person who contracts a sexually transmitted disease from an infected partner who neglects to tell the victim they carry the disease is entitled to monetary damages. An experienced Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer, can Maryland residents who were infected with an STD, recover monetary damages from the person who infected them if they knowingly carried the virus yet failed to disclose it to the victim. Maryland allows for one to recover damages under several causes of action.
If you or someone you know are infected with an STD (sexually transmitted disease) and contracted this disease through unprotected sex with a partner who failed to tell you their status, you may be entitled to monetary damages.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 04, 2008 in Physical Child Abuse

A Maryland Lawyer Referral Service refers many cases to silvermanthompson.com. As a Maryland Criminal Attorney or Maryland Criminal Lawyer I regularly handle cases involving allegations of both sexual child abuse and physical child abuse. In most physical child abuse cases, the issue of the parental discipline privilege is central to the defense. I had a case last week in Baltimore County in which my client was charged with child abuse as well as misdemeanor assault but before I get to that particular case I think an overview of the law on child abuse as well as the parent discipline privilege will be helpful.

The Child Abuse Section of Maryland Criminal Code was last Amended in 2002. In this Amendment the Legislature separated child abuse into two degrees, first and second degree. First degree child abuse states that a parent or any other person with permanent or temporary custody of a child may not cause the death or “severe physical injury” of a child. Severe physical injury is defined by the Code to mean brain injury or bleeding within the skull, starvation, or physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes permanent or protracted serious disfigurement or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. First degree child abuse is a felony and any person convicted under this section is subject to imprisonment of up to 25 years.

Second degree child abuse is far more vague in its definition of abuse than is first degree. In fact, it does not contain a definition. It simply says that a parent or any other person with permanent or temporary custody of a child may not cause abuse to a minor. However, in 1973 when the legislature first defined abuse they made clear that in order to violate the statute, the parent or other person must cause some physical injury. Second degree child abuse is also a felony carrying up to 15 years in prison.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 03, 2008 in Hospital Malpractice

A South Carolina hospital and doctor have agreed to pay more than $1.2 million to settle a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who died after she failed to receive a physician-ordered blood test. Apparently, the woman had surgery and was later discharged. Two days after the discharge, she went to the emergency room of the defendant hospital complaining of numbness in her left leg. The medical negligence lawsuit claimed that a doctor ordered a blood test that was not done. The woman subsequently went into a coma and died.

I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice and wrongful death cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland involving a failure to follow-through with a doctor’s orders. One of the cases I handled involved a failure to timely give blood that was ordered by a doctor. As a result, the patient bled out and died. These cases are always tragic because the problem was recognized by the doctor, but the staff just did not follow the order.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 26, 2008 in Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS)

As a Maryland Criminal Attorney I am often confronted with cases in which a person is charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana or some other controlled dangerous substance (CDS) or even simple misdemeanor possession of CDS, where in addition to being charged criminally, the police also seize the person’s property, usually automobiles, weapons and/or currency pursuant to the drug asset forfeiture laws. Most people are surprised to learn that, unlike in a criminal case where the State has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is guilty of the offenses with which he is charged, under drug asset forfeiture law, once property or money is seized by the police pursuant to a narcotics arrest or even a narcotics investigation, it is presumed that the property or money is subject to forfeiture and the owner bears the burden of proving otherwise. Not only that but the government maintains possession of the asset throughout what can be a long and expensive legal battle to have the property or money returned.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 25, 2008 in Cancer Malpractice

A New York surgeon has settled a medical malpractice case for $1.9. The Plaintiff was only 16 when doctors found a lesion on one of his ribs, more than seven years ago. The tumor was removed in 2001, but the hospital’s attending pediatric surgeon allegedly failed to get all of it. Despite assurances to the contrary, the tissue turned out to be cancerous and spread to three other ribs, said the lawyer. The man had to undergo additional surgeries, radiation treatment, and now is at greater risk for reoccurrence of his cancer. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice / medical negligence / medical error cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland, and in the District of Columbia, involving a failure to timely diagnose and treat cancer. In cases involving tumor resection, it is critical for the surgeon to make sure that what is removed is greater than the area of the tumor’s margin. This is the standard of care in these cases.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 22, 2008 in Topics In The News

It is now possible for patients to compare the care received at hospitals in Maryland and the District of Columbia. This can be useful in determining whether certain Maryland and Washington D.C. hospitals have a higher incidence of medical malpractice. As reported today in a leading newspaper, consumers can now search a website and compare local hospitals to see how they stack up against each other.

Last year, the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a comparison of death rates for heart failure and heart attacks, noting how hospitals compared with the national average – better, worse or no different – without releasing the death rates themselves. This year the agency disclosed that information to consumers. The website contains statistics on what percentage of a hospital’s patients get appropriate care for a variety of ailments, including childhood asthma, and 10 measures of patient satisfaction with the hospital experience. Knowing a hospital’s death rates also gives consumers the ability to decide where they want to be treated, and where medical malpractice is more prevalent.

Continue Reading ››