Wilmington Personal Injury Lawyer

Delay in Diagnosis: Failure to Timely Diagnose Appendicitis

Jean Martin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:44:00 GMT

The third most common medical mistake is the failure to timely diagnose appendicitis. A delay in diagnosis of appendicitis can lead to serious consequences, including death, particularly in adults.

Unfortunately, James Bowers learned this first hand. A Texas resident, Mr. Bowers went to the emergency romm with complaints of nausea and abdominal pain, that had migrated to the right side of his abdomen (where pain from appendicitis is typically felt). Mr. Bowers had a CT scan, which a doctor read and concluded that Mr. Bowers had diverticulitis and sent him home, even thought the CT showed an englarged appendix and other classic signs of appendicitis. When Mr. Bower's condition worsened, he went back to the hospital, more than a week after his initial trip. The doctors continued to treat him for diverticulitis because of the incorrect reading of the first doctor.

Mr. Bower's appendix ruptured, and the delay in treatment resulted in an abscess and severe infection. As a result, rather than a short recovery that usually occurs after a timely appendectomy, Mr. Bowers missed more than a month of work and had to have home health care because of the time it took for his wound to heal.

A Texas jury agreed that the doctor in this case was negligent in missing the appendicitis diagnosis. Not surprisingly, the doctor's insurance company had refused to make any offer of settlement before the trial. I am glad the jury got this one right. And I hope that Mr. Bowers is doing well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Delay in Diagnosis: Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Spinal Abscess Results in Paraplegia

Jean Martin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:45:00 GMT

A 53-year old male with a history of sciatica goes to a Bronx, New York emergency room complaining of back pain and exhibiting flu-like symptoms, including a low grade fever and elevated pulse rate. He is admitted to the hospital and when he demonstrates weakness in this arms and legs, the doctors determine that he has a Staph infection and attribute the weakness and pain to his sciatica. His problems continue to worsen to the point that he was not able to move his arms and legs. The doctors order CT scans of his lumbar, or lower, spine but no one orders an MRI or CT scan of his cervical spine, the neck, until two weeks later, despite his inability to move his upper or lower extremities and despite the finding of Staph A infection ( a bacteria commonly found in a spinal abscess).

When the CT of the cervical spine is conducted, it is found that this gentleman had a spinal abscess - an infection inside the spinal cord - causing his problems. He underwent surgery and rehabilitation, through which he regained the use of his arms, but his problems, and the doctors’ negligence, have rendered him a paraplegic.

The delay in diagnosis and treatment left this father of three paralyzed from the chest down. For the past five years , he has been unable to live in the family home because the house was not wheelchair accessible. This summer, a jury awarded him a little more than $19 million, finding the hospital negligent for the doctors’ failure to timely diagnose and treat his spinal abscess.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Wells Fargo To Buy Back Auction Rate Securities in Settlement

Jean Martin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:27:01 GMT

Wells Fargo has agreed to settle a lawsuit for $1.4 billion with regard to the company's auction rate securities. Wells Fargo faced this lawsuit and an investigation by the California Attorney General for improperly marketing these risky investments. As part of the settlement, Wells Fargo will buy back securities from customers and pay a fine of $1.9 million.

Auction rate securities are bonds with interest rates that reset as frequently as every day. In early 2008 when the market froze because of the mortgage crisis, these securities became worthless and many investors were unable to get out and get any money back. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch have all faced claims that they aggressively marketed these highly risky securities as being safe, when they were anything but. Amidst these allegations, Wells Fargo becomes the latest of these companies to agree to repurchase these securities to settle claims with investors.

But what about investors who saw their investments tumbling and transferred their ARS to a different account before the market bottomed out? These investors transferred their accounts at a loss and still have accounds that are worthless. Are these investors entitled to any money? To which company can they make a claim?

These investors need to seek legal assistance. Many of these investors can also make claims, though the language of the settlement agreements make it appear that they are not. For instance, investors who had UBS accounts, but transferred their ARS to another account (that is now basically worthless) before the market crashed may still make a claim against UBS. Our lawyers here at Shipman & Wright have handled several of these claims and would be happy to speak with you about your legal rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Delay in Diagnosis : Failure to Timely Diagnose Ovarian Cancer Leads to Death of Young Mother

Jean Martin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:05:47 GMT

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death due to cancer in women in the United States. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other gynecological cancer. In 2005, almost 20,000 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and almost 15,000 died from the disease. What an alarming statistic! As a result of these rates, the Center for Disease Control has an ongoing project to raise awareness in doctors of ovarian cancer screening and testing practices.

Unfortunately for Ann Seneriches and her family, these efforts came too late. Despite six ultrasounds during her pregnancy that revealed a large mass in Ms. Seneriches’ right ovary, none of the obstetricians she saw referred her to an oncologist and none performed surgery to explore the mass. No follow up was ordered for after the delivery either. Six months later when Ms. Seneriches went to the emergency room complaining of a severely distended abdomen, she was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer. She died two months later leaving behind her husband and newborn son.

Thankfully a Los Angeles jury agreed that Ms. Seneriches’ doctors were negligent in failing to timely diagnose and properly treat, failing to perform surgery, failing to refer her to an oncologist for further evaluation and simply failing to evaluate the mass.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer include pressure or fullness in the pelvis, bloating, abdominal swelling or increase in abdominal size, abdominal bleeding, pain during intercourse, low back pain, and changes in bowel or bladder patterns that persist or worsen. Women having these symptoms for more than a few weeks should consult their doctor. And if you are not getting relief from the prescribed treatment, go back for a follow-up visit. If the doctor doesn’t take your symptoms seriously, particularly if you have a family history of cancer, go to someone else for a second opinion.

The negligence of these doctors led to the worst case scenario for Ann Seneriches and her family. I cannot imagine the heartbreak that they are going through. I applaud the efforts of the CDC to spread the word to doctors about ovarian cancer, as it is quite evident that more education is needed in this regard.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Dementia Drug Use is claimed to be “killing many”

Angel Adams — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:13:13 GMT

According to an article in the BBC News, the use of anti-psychotic drugs is widespread in dementia care and contributes to the death of many patients, an official review suggests. According to the expert review, commissioned by ministers, 180,000 patients a year are given the drugs in care homes, hospitals and their own homes to manage aggression and other symptoms of dementia. However, the treatment was found to be unnecessary in nearly 150,000 cases and was linked to 1,800 deaths. The government in England has agreed to take steps to reduce use of the drugs.

It is estimated by www.emedicinehealth.com, a WebMD affiliate, there are 4-5 million people in the United States living with some form of the disease, affecting 1% of people between 60-64 and 30-50% of people over 85. According to www.aboutlawsuits.com the drugs, such as Seroquel, described in the study are not permitted for prescription in the United States and as of 2005 a “black box” label is required of “increased risk of premature death in elderly dementia patients” for antipsychotics. The warning is the most stringent labeling requirement possible under United States federal law. Still, in October of this year, theChicago Tribune , conducting a study, found that similar problems over prescriptions of antipsychotics, particularly in nursing homes. The analysis medical data of 275,000 people living in nursing homes with the disease dementia found that they were more likely to suffer a “nursing home fall or decline in health when taking anti-psychotics or other psychotropic drugs.” It was also found that two-thirds of all nursing homes in Illinois were cited at least once in the past eight years for violating drug use laws regarding anti-psychotics drugs.

This is a real issue, death resulting from anti-psychotics to reduce the effects of dementia and other diseases such as Alzheimer’s can happen to you or a loved one. You should make sure that every drug that you consume is FDA approved, in the least, and not producing studies that cause worse side effects.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Adams

Toyota Locked in Intellectual Property Litigation Over Prius

Gary Shipman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:42:27 GMT

The International Trade Commission is the setting for a classic "David vs. Goliath" contest between Bonita Springs, Florida based Paice, LLC and Toyota over a patent related to a key component of Toyota's "green car", the Prius. A federal court in Texas has already determined that this component belongs to Paice, setting the stage for what promises to be either a settlement (licensing deal) by Toyota of the claims made therein, or a trial that would expose Toyota to an injunction that would prohibit the continued utilization of the technology.

The intellectual property at issue is a microprocesser that combines and controls power used in hybrid cars, like Prius - electric motor; internal combustion engine; or both. Dr. Alex Severinsky obtained a patent for this technology, and founded Paice, which stands for Power Assistend Internal Combustion Engine. He presented this technology to a number of automakers, including Toyota, but no deal was made. Then along came the Prius, in 2004, using technology that Paice contends infringes upon its patent, and alleges infringement involving not only the Prius, but Toyota's Highlander and the Lexus RX400h SUV.

In December, 2005, a jury found that Toyota had, indeed, infringed upon the patent, but awarded an amount ($4.3 million) that the trial judge referred to as "low." However, that set up the ultimate leverage, namely, an injunction that would bar Toyota from making, using or selling cars in the United States for the life of the patent. As the case was marching to trial, the United States Supreme Court issued its Ebay decision, setting forth a four-factor test for the granting of an injunction. Given that Paice doesn't actually make any products, it could fall short of meeting the requisite standards set forth by the Supreme Court, and the strategy switched to a request for a royalty payment from Toyota, which the judge granted at the rate of $25 per car. An appellate court reversed, asking that the Judge justify the $25 rate, and in April, 2009, the judge issued a new ruling, setting the royalty at $98 per car. Toyota has appealled that ruling to the Federal Circuit.

Undaunted, Paice struck again, but this time in the International Trade Commission. While the ITC lacks the ability to award damages, it has the authority to grant the injunctive relief sought by Paice in the courts of the United States. Decisions by the courts (who have already concluded that Toyota infringed) are binding on the ITC. Toyota counters that, given that Paice doesn't actively conduct any continued research and development, is not a "domestic industry" and is therefore, not entitled to any ITC protection. There are two other pending cases before the ITC, involving similar issues, and the resolution of those cases could have an impact on the Toyota case. Ultimately, there must be a resolution of the differing standards for the grant of injunctive relief in the Court versus the ITC.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gary Shipman

Judges Questioned when Two Young Men were Sentenced to Life in Jail with out Parole

James Moore — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:34:47 GMT

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the cases of two young men who have been sentenced to life in jail with out parole. This was agreed on to see if there sentence hinders their rights to the 8th amendment. In many states judges can exercise their power to issue a life sentence to Juveniles even if their crime did not include taking the life of another person. Not only is the question of the Juveniles rights up for interpretation, but also the means in which the Judges are exercising their powers. It was said by FoxNews.com, not always the most impartial source, that “in both cases the judges ruled in large part to protect citizens from future crimes, prompting critics to say that they used their gavels to police society, and not just to administer law.” This role falls outside the responsibilities of a judge which is simple to govern the law.
It will be interesting to see the decision that is declared by the Supreme Court, and how the precedent they will be setting will affect crime rates among Juveniles.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573365,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/opinion/l12juvenile.html

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Moore

Susan Galinis Warning to Other Women Taking Yaz Birth Control

Aileen Wu Viorel — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:24:05 GMT

Take the time to watch the linked video below. Susan Galinis speaks out in efforts to warn other women who may be at risk due to taking Yaz birth control. Like many other cases that have recently surfaced, Susan suffered a stroke only a month after she started taking Yaz. Susan's life will never be the same. Susan's story is just one of many. Yaz is still on the market and many women taking this birth control are still at risk.

View Video

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Aileen Wu Viorel

Auto Insurance Options- Protecting Yourself from the Unprotected

Aileen Wu Viorel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:23:55 GMT

In several states including North Carolina, the law requires you to have insurance in order to have a license, but the law does not specify how much coverage the insured must have. Not all states follow this law, in many other states; insurance is not required at all. This insurance law that differs from state to state can lead to drastic problems if an accident occurs involving drivers lacking insurance. Imagine that a car ran a red light striking you and your vehicle. The accident itself caused severe damage including upwards of 70,000 dollars in medical bills. This is not including the cost to repair your car. The individual at fault has only 20,000 dollars maximum allotted in their policy agreement. This is obviously not enough; where does the rest of the money come from? There are many options that individuals can take to protect them from being in this position. When choosing auto insurance, most companies offer underinsured, uninsured protection, or Med Pay. These policy options are very inexpensive and because they are so inexpensive, most insurance companies do not suggest it to their customers. When choosing insurance, ask if these options are a possibility. This allows you to file a claim showing that the faulty party neither has insurance or adequate insurance to cover the cost of the damages. This will allow your insurance company to use your policy to help pay the damages. Another tool at your disposal is the Med-pay policy. Electing to include this in your policy will allow you to have coverage for each of your passengers and yourself in the event the faulty party does not have coverage to pay the cost of medical. Too many times we have seen clients suffer from sever injury or even the loss of a loved one because the person at fault had either no insurance or very limited insurance. It is never good to put your fate in the hands of other people. Look into options that will protect you and the ones you love.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Aileen Wu Viorel

New AAJ Report On Corporations Negligent Conduct

Gary Shipman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:55:03 GMT

Yesterday, October 28, the U.S. Chamber held the 10^th annual “Legal Reform Summit”- a day spent blaming the civil justice system for all the country’s hardships. The American Association for Justice has released a report entitled “They Knew and Failed To,”exposing corporations through several detailed examples of consumer products such as perscription drugs and medical devices that had known safety concerns within the company yet remained on the market.

Consumers are no longer surprised when they turn on the news to find another recall or product warning. Consumers would be surprised to find out that some corporations knew about the dangers of their products but thought the profit was more important, deciding to carelessly risk the lives of people and market the product anyway.

Through several true stories, non- oppinionated merely factual, the AAJ report “They Knew and Failed To,” discredits the Chamber and shames corporation after corporation. While the report creates awareness and raises red flags to consumers, it is unfortunate that there is no protection from becoming a victim. The Chamber’s “ Legal Reform Summit” is a day that fights the civil justice system that they claim works against the country and its economic success, while the Civil Justice System fights daily to hold the Chamber and countless corporations accountable for decades of wrongdoing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gary Shipman