Archive for January, 2011
Arkansas Injury Lawyer Indicates Medical Negligence Includes Misdiagnosing Necrotizing Fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis has been confused with cellulitis; with deadly consequences. Under circumstances like that, there may be a case for medical negligence.
Even though medical science has made enormous technological advances in the last decade or two, there are some things that still remain the same. One of those is that if a patient has necrotizing fasciitis, it needs surgery, no question about it. It is a fast moving, potentially deadly disease that can accomplish its grim work in a very short period of time.
“There are classic symptoms that are specifically unique to necrotizing fasciitis. Unfortunately, in the early stages of it developing, the signs may also be mistaken for cellulitis. That is a deadly mistake. The way to differentiate between the two diseases is through tests. This is vitally important if the patient has a compromised immune system. In other words, test first, ask questions later and do it fast if there is even the slightest hint of the possibility of necrotizing fasciitis,” said Michael Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer.
Consider the case of a 51-year old woman, admitted to hospital with an abdominal tumor and suspected brain tumor. Surgery was performed to remove the tumor in the abdomen and the patient returned to her room. Two days later, she complained of pain in the vaginal area and around the stitches in her abdomen. The staff informed the doctor about the pain and on the physician’s initial examination, the diagnosis was cellulitis. The woman was given antibiotics.
At the end of the first day of antibiotics, the pain had increased for the woman to the point she required morphine. The vaginal area and the abdomen were grossly swollen and abscesses were visible in both locations. The doctor realized his mistake, diagnosed necrotizing fasciitis and ordered debridement of the tissue. The debridement didn’t get all the tissue and the infection spread like wildfire to her leg. Her leg was amputated to save her life.
“The patient filed a medical malpractice lawsuit indicating the doctor had not taken the time and care to order tests in the first instance of the presence of an infection; something that would have been the accepted medical standard. The case was eventually settled in favor of the patient. There was a valuable lesson to be learned there: that even though it is possible for a person in the early stages of necrotizing fasciitis to show signs that may mimic cellulitis, it is crucial to run diagnostic tests and find out what you’re dealing with,” said Smith. It is a difference that may save a life.
“If you have been in this kind of situation or know someone who has been, please, do not hesitate to call my office for legal counsel and to find out what your rights are. The first consultation is free. You may ask any questions you like and we can proceed from there, should you wish to retain my services,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyer Indicates Elder Abuse Comes in Many Unusual Forms
Abuse is not always evident to the families of those in nursing homes. It pays to be alert and monitor any family members in care.
“Nursing home abuse isn’t always something that family members see right away. It may be subtle things that aren’t immediately detected like pinching, slapping, shoving or hair pulling. In some cases, it may even involve punching residents in locations the family does not see on a regular basis,” said Michael Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer.
Even though nursing homes are supposed to be places where a family member in need of care is treated with respect and dignity and provided with superior care, the reverse is often true. Nursing homes are jammed to the gunwales, short staffed, overworked, underpaid and overwhelmed with the demands of elderly people unable to care for themselves.
“Unfortunately, along with getting older, you sometimes get cognitive deficits, dementia, Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect the mind, memory and coordination of your loved one. While you would hope they would get the care they deserve, they don’t always. These days, you pretty much need to be a detective and check on your senior in care very carefully. If at any time you suspect there is something going on, come straight to my office and discuss the matter. There is something we can do about it,” Smith said.
“If you are faced with placing a relative in care, check the home out yourself. Check their reputation. Have they been reported for violations? Have they been sued? Check to see if you can find anyone with a relative there and ask them about any experiences they may have had. Watch how the staff treats the residents. This isn’t a fun thing to do and chances are placing a relative is going to one of the hardest things you will ever do,” Smith said.
Nursing home abuse is a silent and often ugly problem that people want to tuck away out of the light of day. No one wants to know about it. No one wants to see it. No one wants to take responsibility for it and no one wants to admit to abusing another.
It is time that abuse like this was exposed. The way to do that is to discuss any suspicions about abuse with a competent and dedicated Arkansas injury lawyer. “If you want to get to the bottom of a matter relating to a relative you suspect is being abused, I am here to talk to you about your rights and about what we can do to stop it,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Watch Your Back When It Comes To Insurance Companies
Insurance companies are not your friend in an accident. Never volunteer information to an adjuster without first talking to an Arkansas injury lawyer.
Although you may be conscientious and pay all of your car insurance every year, drive carefully and safely and have a stellar driving record. If you are in an accident, even if it was not your fault, you have no friends at the insurance company. The hard truth is that an insurance company is a business and any business that wants to stay in operation and make money, not hand it out to people who get into accidents.
Most, if not all, insurance adjusters will kick into “minimize” mode the minute you report your accident and any injuries you may have sustained. Why do they do that? Insurance companies need to keep their bottom line profitable. If they paid out full dollars to victims, based on what they truly deserve, they would go broke. To that end, once the adjuster knows you have been injured, they try to make it sound less serious than may actually be the case.
Don’t be surprised when the insurance company tries to get you to settle fast and low. Expect them to put words in your mouth about your accident and how it happened, no matter what you say. They are masters at coming up with things to throw you off guard and make you say things that could be used against you later. For this reason, seriously consider not speaking to the adjuster until you have consulted with a lawyer.
Think that might be overreacting? Consider this. You were in a car wreck that involved six vehicles and four of them were totaled, including yours. What if there was one person deemed at fault for the whole event? What if that person didn’t have enough insurance to pay for the carnage and your insurance had to pay the bill?
Let’s say you lost a lot of time off work and your medical bills were close to $59,000 and your research indicates you should be entitled to about two times the amount for pain and suffering and money for your medical bills. Let’s also say the insurance company flatly tells you that you will only get a one-time settlement offer despite your horrific injuries, astronomical medical bills and totaled car.
If you went with the insurance company’s one-time settlement, you would be short changed out of a lot of money. If you sign anything in addition to taking their offer, you will not be able to sue later if your injuries get worse. This is one of the major reasons you need to talk to a seasoned Arkansas injury lawyer, because if you want justice, want what is fair, want what you deserve, you need a lawyer representing you. No one else will look out for your rights, not when money is involved.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
America Runs Thanks To The Trucking Industry But Fatalities Are Often The Price For Commerce
It is inevitably a fact of life that with large rigs on the roads, accidents happen. When cars and 18-wheelers tangle, the results are nasty.
Even though the nation relies on trucking to transport goods clear across the country, the accident statistics for the industry give one the chills. The U.S. Department of Transportation indicates that someone is killed in a rig wreck just about every 16 minutes.
If you do the math on that, you get roughly 90 personal injury accidents happening every day. Every day of the year, there are 90 accidents. What staggering numbers to even begin to contemplate; numbers that often are used in court when an Arkansas injury lawyer handles a trucking wreck case on behalf of a client.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that when a behemoth weighing in at about 80,000 pounds hits a smaller vehicle, which may weigh about 3,000 pounds, the big rig completely creams the other vehicle. Often, there isn’t a whole lot of the other vehicle left to pick up at the accident scene. Unfortunately, there often aren’t a lot of people left alive either.
For those who do survive an accident like this, their lives are often changed forever due to the catastrophic nature of their injuries which may include amputations, traumatic brain injury, fractures, crush injuries, spinal cord injury and paralysis. It’s enough to make you want to stay home; enough to make you wonder why accidents like this happen in the first place.
Typically, many of the big rig wrecks are the result of a number of factors which may include poorly trained truckers, negligent driving, driving while exhausted, speeding, traveling with an improperly balanced load, poor or no maintenance, inattention, texting, driving while distracted or driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or being overloaded. Truckers are human and many figure that nothing will happen to them while they are on the road. Many take chances based on that assumption. Unfortunately, sometimes the assumption will kill them and others.
Despite the fact that the trucking industry does have rules in place that are supposed to limit the number of hours a trucker may drive, this seems to be more honored in the breach than in actual practice. This fact has come to light in other cases handled by an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer. Truckers don’t make much money, which drives many to break industry rules to pay their bills. They will either put in more hours to make more money or end up driving faster and further to meet company expectations, whether they are realistic or not.
Given the long laundry list of things that may be going on with truckers in the nation today, can you really expect that the big rig in the lane next to you is being piloted by a sober, rested, responsible trucker that is well versed in road safety? The answer is: Probably not. In light of that, take steps to protect yourself and give them lots of room.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
RECENT POSTS
- Car Pedestrian Accident Leads to Death of Former Nurse
- Tangled Web of Events Leads to Death of Former Nurse in Car Pedestrian Accident – Arkansas Injury Lawyer
- Hospital Errors Are a Silent Killer
- Think Insurance Fraud Is No Big Deal, Then Think Again Suggests Arkansas Injury Lawyer
- Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyer Indicates the Golden Years are a Myth When Abuse is Involved
CATEGORIES
ARCHIVES
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- February 2012
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009