A physician in a recent New York Times article lamented the current lack of more intimate doctor-patient relationships, and their replacement by technology-driven diagnoses. Our medical facilities might have the latest imaging devices and computer programs, but the human element is sometimes lost, and patients may be suffering as a result. American hospitals and physicians are among the best in the...
Read MoreThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published a study on the effectiveness of various laws in fostering the use of seat belts between 1997 and 2008. The results were revealing-and demonstrate how much of an impact seat belt laws can have on people’s behavior. The single biggest incentive to using seat belts, accounting for gains of 10...
Read MoreP. B. was born ten weeks premature and required supplemental oxygen and feeding via an umbilical venous catheter (UVC). Infants who are born premature often cannot be fed orally. They are fed nutritional fluid via a catheter which is placed through an umbilical vein. A UVC must be carefully placed. The tip of the catheter should be positioned just...
Read MoreClients, a mother, RC, and daughter, SB, were severely injured in a head-on collision requiring hospitalization and extended care. Dempsey Kingsland Osteen action Dempsey Kingsland Osteen’s investigation determined that he defendant driver had only $200,000 in auto liability coverage. Clients had an umbrella policy which included $1,000,000 of underinsured motorist coverage. Dempsey Kingsland Osteen arranged for a functional capacity...
Read MoreMental patients on psychotropic drugs experience many effects from their drugs, one is dry mouth. In this case, the patient was supposed to be continuously monitored but, he was not. Instead, he was allowed access to the pantry where he opened a commercial sized container of peanut butter and while attempting to eat it choked to death. No one...
Read MoreClient had recently retired from a blue collar job because he had structural vulnerability in his spine due to severe osteoporosis and severe ankylosing spondylitis which caused his spine to degenerate. These two diagnoses had caused client’s spine to become brittle and prone to fracture. They had also caused client’s spine to degenerate such that he had developed a...
Read MoreCongress’ recent actions may increase the number of fatigued truck drivers on the road. When a truck accident occurs, serious consequences can result. Due to the large size of 18-wheeler trucks, there is a much greater possibility of serious injury and death in such accidents, especially for motorists in smaller passenger vehicles. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol,...
Read MoreComplicated procedures must be performed or supervised by competent experienced physicians. It is not allowed for inexperienced residents to perform such procedures when not carefully supervised by experienced, knowledgeable surgeons. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to our client when a resident was allowed to perform a procedure on this elderly woman. During deposition, it was learned for the...
Read MorePulmonary embolism is a great risk for many surgeries. Its signs and symptoms much be carefully monitored. If they are not, tragedy can result. In this case, the patient was a forty year-old mother and wife. She underwent weight reduction surgery. She was monitored, but the outpatient facility seemed to ignore the worsening signs of pulmonary embolism. In fact,...
Read MorePrison cases are difficult. Jurors are not necessarily sympathetic to prisoners who have acted irresponsibly and are imprisoned. However, we must not ever tolerate denial of emergency medical care to prisoners. This is exactly what happened here. This poor woman was incarcerated for a not too lengthy sentence. During her incarceration, she had the misfortune to experience an appendicitis....
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