Archive for November, 2009
Taser Wrongful Deaths
There seems to have been a spate of wrongful death actions lately filed in relation to the use of tasers by the police.
While tasers may have their place in law enforcement, there is a burning question about the number of deaths resulting from the use of this weapon on suspects. Just recently a man involved in a traffic stop, who bolted when he saw police, died as a result of the use of a taser to disable him to arrest him. The autopsy reports are expected to show that the taser played a part in his demise.
This is just one more death in a long laundry list of them that hit the media over the use of tasers instead of talking to arrest suspects. Has the company that makes tasers been taken to court in a wrongful death action? Indeed it has and in most cases, it was not found liable. However, that all changed one day in September 2008, when Taser International was deemed partially liable in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Interestingly enough, until September 2008, Taser International had won 45 wrongful death or injury cases. In that landmark court case, it lost a $6 million wrongful death suit. The door swung open that day on the issue of their liability in the future for taser deaths.
Granted the court’s findings in that case apportioned liability to the deceased plaintiff and the company as being 85% to 15%, but the decision had an even greater ripple effect. It saw Taser International stocks plummet.
The facts are that if the company is found liable for damages done after tasing a suspect, they could lose their shirts. It doesn’t matter if the suspect may have had heart damage, the fact remains that if police are chasing a criminal, they aren’t going to stop and ask if the person has a heart condition.
Families faced with the death of a loved one due to the possible questionable use of a taser need to consult with a highly skilled wrongful death attorney to determine their path to justice for that death. It’s not just the police force that may wind up being cited as defendants in such a case.
Often the maker of the product that caused the serious injury or death is joined in this kind of a lawsuit. Keep in mind that wrongful death suits are “not” criminal cases and do not go through the criminal courts. A wrongful death case is conducted in civil court and the standards of proof are different. This makes it essential to discuss the case in detail with an expert wrongful death attorney.
To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer,Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney, visitArkansaslawhelp.com.
Watch Out for the Big Rigs
18-wheelers do not have the ability to stop quickly and the consequences are often death for those in other vehicles.
It’s a given that if a big rig crashes into another vehicle, the smaller of the two vehicles involved in the accident will bear the brunt of the damages. Big rigs weigh in at 40 tons or 80,000 pounds. The average car only weighs about 5,000 pounds. This is a bit like David versus Goliath.
When a vehicle that size is hurtling down the highway, it takes 40% longer for it to get stopped than it does an average vehicle. This has a lot to do with what type of load they have at the time. If it happens to be steel, add in an even longer period of time to stop.
Trucks only have ten brakes, not 18 despite what people think. However, no matter how many brakes a semi has, it still can’t stop suddenly. This is the reason that crashes are so devastating and the rationale behind many states investigating implementing driving campaigns targeted at regular car drivers who drive like maniacs around big rigs.
In Georgia, there are roughly 6,700 truck collisions yearly, resulting in close to 5,364 injuries and 235 deaths. Survivors of these catastrophic accidents often have brain damage, spinal and neck injuries, amputations, multiple fractures, and neurological disorders. These victims generally need extensive and expensive medical treatment. It is essential to hire an experienced Georgia trucking attorney to ensure personal injury damages are properly awarded.
Interestingly enough, not many people realize that nearly 60% of the time the trucker is not at fault in an accident. On the contrary, it is mainly other drivers that don’t respect the rules of the road or the space of the rigs while they’re on the same highway. A new program launched in Nevada has state Troopers hitch rides with truck drivers to see what really goes on when they’re trucking.
If a program like this was implemented in every state, it might just reduce the number of deaths as a result of a collision with an 18-wheeler. If it taught motorists hard facts about driving near a big rig, it would smarten some of them up. For instance, trucks have no-zones. This means if a person can’t see their mirrors, the trucker can’t see the other vehicle. It’s just that simple.
Seen from the other side of the wheel – inside the big truck – it puts a different spin on the real problems on the highways these days. Many of the truckers cite cars following too closely, cutting them off or being in their blind spot. No matter what the cause of an accident with a semi, the results are devastating. Hiring a skilled attorney is the best way to seek justice and an award (even a proportional one) that will deal with the lifelong injuries the victim will struggle to handle.
To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer,Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney, visitArkansaslawhelp.com.
Anesthesia Malpractice a Concern
While anesthesia malpractice is not as common as other medical errors, it does still happen with devastating consequences.
We don’t often read about cases of anesthesia malpractice, but they do happen and may result in the death of someone undergoing surgery. For example in a Florida medical malpractice suit, an 18-year old girl died as a result of malignant hyperthermia. The plastic surgeon and anesthesiologist performing the operation on an out-patient basis were the defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that the surgeon and anesthesiologist failed to meet acceptable medical standards when she had a life threatening reaction to the anesthesia administered for breast surgery. The case hinged on the fact that the doctors failed to recognize a reaction to the anesthesia and because they missed the signs of this deadly reaction, they didn’t give the proper treatment to save her life.
This patient survived long enough to be transferred to another medical facility where she succumbed to hyperthermia. Malignant hyperthermia is inherited and only one parent needs to be carrying the gene for a child to inherit it. It causes a rapid rise in body temperatures and severe muscle contractions as a result of receiving anesthesia. Signs and symptoms include bleeding, dark brown urine, muscle rigidity and aching, and a very fast rise in temperature to 105 degrees F or higher.
The Florida lawsuit alleged the doctors could have treated the patient with intravenous Dantrolene sodium (muscle relaxant) had they paid attention to the patient after surgery. Dantrolene sodium was given later at another medical facility, but it was too late.
At the root of this case is the contention that the doctors did not follow accepted medical practices in monitoring their patient, and as a result of that negligence, caused her death. If they had been paying attention and were capable of identifying malignant hyperthermia, the patient would still be alive today. Evidently, recognized medical standards were not followed with disastrous consequences.
It is medical errors like this Florida case where patients have the right to speak to a medical malpractice attorney about filing a med mal lawsuit. They need to know their rights and how to go about dealing with the devastation such cases dish out.
It goes without saying that we rely on doctors to do their jobs and not allow us to come to any harm. In instances such as this case, something went drastically wrong and an innocent victim paid the price.
Michael G. Smith is a Little Rock injury lawyer and Little Rock accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Little Rock Arkansas. To learn more about Little Rock injury lawyer, Little Rock accident lawyer, Little Rock person injury lawyer, Little Rock malpractice lawyer, Little Rock injury attorney, Little Rock wrongful death attorney, visit Arkansaslawhelp.com.
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