Posted on August 03, 2009 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

The Maryland Court of Appeals has issued a new decision on the law of informed consent in Maryland medical malpractice cases. According to the court, doctors must inform patients not only of the risks of procedures but also the potential consequences of forgoing a medical procedure. The decision is a victory for patient’s rights.

A number of years ago, the Maryland Court of Appeals held that informed consent only applied when there was some physical contact with the patient. The Court’s new decision, however, removed that limitation.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a large number of informed consent cases. In any medical malpractice case, it is always important for a lawyer to ask whether the patient was properly informed of risks, alternatives, probabilities of success and failure and other considerations that bear on what was important to the patient. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 03, 2009 in Childbirth Malpractice

A Montgomery County jury has awarded $1.85 million to the parents of a baby who died three days after delivery from complications of internal bleeding caused by the method of delivery. The women arrived at Frederick Memorial Hospital for a scheduled, induced labor 41 weeks into her pregnancy. She pushed for three hours early the next morning, but the baby’s head was too large to pass through her pelvis, a condition known as cephalopelvic disproportion. The baby could have been safely delivered by c-section, but the obstetrician twice tried to forcibly pull the baby through the birth canal using a vacuum extractor. This injured the baby and caused his death.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I frequently handle medical malpractice cases in Baltimore, Maryland and other places involving obstetrical mistakes. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here . In fact, I handled one of the first cases in Maryland to successfully argue that it was malpractice to use a vacuum extractor on a premature infant.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 03, 2009 in Surgery Malpractice

A jury has awarded $1 million to a New Mexico man who alleged a surgeon committed medical malpractice in repairing a colon perforation after a colonoscopy. The patient suffered a tiny bowel perforation during a colonoscopy. The surgeon then operated in order to repair the hole, but the surgeon did not see any hole and therefore failed to repair it. Because the surgeon didn’t see the perforation, he assumed it had sealed itself, but the surgeon failed to use procedures he could have used – such a dye test – to locate the perforation. As a result, the man’s bowels continue to leak feces into his man’s abdomen for eleven days causing massive infection. The infection resulted in severe scarring in his abdomen, which has required thirteen operations.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I frequently handle medical malpractice cases in Baltimore, Maryland and other places involving surgical mistakes. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here .

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 03, 2009 in Hospital Malpractice

A New York man has been awarded $19.2 million in a medical negligence case against a hospital in New York City. The man was admitted to the hospitalcomplaining of severe back pain. The hospital’s staff negligently failed to diagnose a spinal abscess, which is an infection on the spinal cord, which quickly led to his permanent paralysis. Apparently, the hospital did not conduct an MRI or CAT scan until two weeks after thje man was admitted, when the damage had already been done. A neurosurgeon tried to reverse some of that damage, but it was too late. The man has been paralyzed from his chest down ever since.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I frequently handle medical malpractice cases in Baltimore, Maryland and other places involving paralysis. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here .

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 30, 2009 in Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS)

https://www.silvermanthompson.com/lawyer-attorney-1300820.htmlAs a Maryland Criminal Lawyer/Attorney I often have cases that make me wonder what it is exactly that the police are attempting to accomplish. Are they really attempting to win the so called war on drugs or is their strategy (or lack thereof) more cynical than that? Is it just to make as many felony drug arrests as possible regardless of whether the people arrested are really involved in the actual distribution of narcotics in order to give the false impression of progress? I have had several cases recently that have reluctantly made me think that it is the latter.

I have had several cases recently that have followed a very similar pattern:

In these cases, the police get tipped off by a pharmacist that someone is attempting to pass a phony prescription for pain killers or other controlled dangerous substances. The person attempting to pass the prescription is told that the prescription will take an hour or so to fill and asked to return later. By the time the person comes back to pick up the prescription the narcotics detectives are waiting and watching the pharmacy counter. As soon as the person picks up the prescription, he or she is arrested.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 29, 2009 in Constitutional Violations

As a Maryland Criminal Attorney I am often confronted with cases in which a white police officer stops an African American (usally a man). In many, if not most, of these cases the person stopped believes that he was racially profiled or that at the very least, his race played a part in the officer’s decision to stop and/or arrest him.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 13, 2009 in Radiology Malpractice

An Indiana jury has issued a large verdict in a medical malpractice case last month, an unusual thing in a state where such judgments are rare. The jury awarded the woman $5 million after miscommunication about X-rays led her to lose a portion of her stomach. Due to caps on damages, the verdict will shrink to $1.25 million. Only about 1/3 or that state’s medical malpractice cases result in verdicts for plaintiffs .
Before they can sue, that state’s residents must bring their cases before a three-member medical review board, which can take a year or longer. Even if the board decides the case has merit, a trial can take years, and health-care providers are unlikely to settle because the state’s cap on damages protects them from the risk of massive judgments. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

In medical malpractice cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland, we don’t have medical review boards. But we do have tort reform. Though there are many components, the main elements are the requirement of Certificates of Qualified Expert (also called a Certificate of Merit) and medical report before a case can make it to court, and a cap on pain, suffering and emotional distress. These two things have kept verdicts down in Maryland and, as a result, kept medical malpractice insurance premiums down for doctors and hospitals.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 13, 2009 in Radiology Malpractice

An Indiana jury has awarded $5 million to a woman in a medical malpractice case that was caused by a misdiagnosis. The woman, then 18, arrived at the emergency room with a ruptured diaphragm after playing softball. But through several miscommunications about what was shown by x-rays, she was misdiagnosed with a urinary tract infection and muscle strain, and then sent home.
Her condition deteriorated, so she saw doctors several times over more than two weeks. Eventually, emergency surgery revealed the correct diagnosis and resulted in the removal of a third of her stomach. Even today, she must limit food intake to avoid vomiting. She has had six surgeries and expects further complications. The woman can no longer work due to fatigue from the malpractice. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

I have successfully handled many medical malpractice cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland involving the failure to properly read, report and/or interpret a radiology film. These cases are tragic b/c the answer to the problem is right before the doctor’s eyes, but it doesn’t get properly reported.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 13, 2009 in Premises Liability

A Georgia jury has awarded a Home Depot customer and his wife $1.5 million in a case arising from a forklift accident in a store. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff suffered severe neck and spine injuries after a pallet of plywood fell 24 feet from a forklift. The wood hit a barricade that knocked the plaintiff over, trapping the plaintiff under the plywood. This caused the plaintiff to incur over $120,000 in medical expenses and have to stop working in construction. The verdict included $30,000 for loss of marital relations.

Over the years, Home Depot and other “big box” retailers have faced many lawsuits over what is called “sky shelving,” which involves storing stock above customers.

I successfully handled a negligence case just like this in Maryland, where a woman was injured when wood fell on her in a large home improvement store. The key to these cases is getting the policies and procedures of the store in order to show that the store violated its own policies and procedures.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 13, 2009 in Surgery Malpractice

A Frederick County jury has awarded almost $1.37 million to a woman who suffers severe and chronic leg pain and must take a blood thinner each day, after a diagnostic test left her with vascular injuries. The jury found that a doctor negligently performed a laparoscopy to determine the cause of the woman’s ovarian or abdominal soreness, and that he lacerated blood vessels. The lacerations led to emergency surgery which stopped the bleeding, but the incident left her with a deep vein thrombosis, or blood clot, in her leg and the possibility of more clots. The plaintiff alleged that the doctor violated the standard of care by performing the procedure without proper visualization, using excessive force and failing to take proper precautions to avoid cutting blood vessels.

The pain and suffering portion of the verdict, which included more than $315,000 for loss of consortium, accounted for about $1.2 million of the jury’s award. That figure will be reduced by about 45 percent to $650,000, the cap that was in place when the claim arose. The jury also awarded $156,915.01 in economic damages, of which $83,004.16 is for future medical expenses, $65,186.77 is for prior medical costs and $8,724.08 is for lost wages.

Continue Reading ››