Posted on February 07, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A New York hospital has paid $2.9 million to settle the medical malpractice case of a 6-year-old boy who was killed after he was struck in the head by an oxygen tank during an MRI. The boy was lying in an MRI chamber when the machine’s magnet pulled in a metal tank that a hospital staffer had brought into the MRI’s magnetic field. This is one of a number of recent cases in which people have been severely injured or killed by metal objects that were left in an MRI room.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of medical malpractice cases involving the failure of radiology facilities to follow their own written policies, procedures or guidelines. Cases such as there, in which a doctor, hospital or medical facility fails to follow its own standards, are inexcusable. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

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 Posted on February 05, 2010 in Divorce

The Maryland House Judiciary Committee has rejected a bill proposed by Delegate Emmett C. Burns, a Democrat from Baltimore County, that would prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages lawfully performed in other states. The proposal “was seen as a pre-emptive strike against a legal opinion that state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has been working on since a senator requested it last year.” The Attorney General has been known to favor legislation favoring same-sex marriages, but such legislation has not made it out of the committee. Despite attempted efforts to permit gay marriage, Maryland law still prohibits it. Maryland Code, Family Law 2-201 states that, “[o]nly a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this State.” This issue has possible ramifications in custody and visitation between same-sex partners as explored in our November 27, 2009 blog.

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 Posted on February 04, 2010 in Divorce

The state of the current economy has left many of my clients trapped in a house with their current spouse, limiting their ability to file for an absolute divorce based on a one year separation (For more information on no fault divorce see our August 15, 2010 blog). The Baltimore Sun has reported that Montgomery County Delegate Luiz Simmons is fighting to change the necessity of actually living under separate roofs for the one year period. He is arguing that instead of having parties live separate and apart for one year, parties should just have to abstain from sex for one year. This would allow for couples in a financial predicament to remain in the same home while seeking a divorce. Many are protesting the proposal as it may make divorces more prominent in the state of Maryland. Delegate Simmon’s proposed bill states that the parties would need to testify that they have not resumed marital relations for one year. Currently, parties seeking a no fault divorce based on a one year separation must bring a witness who can confirm, among other things, that the parties have lived separate and apart for one year.

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 Posted on February 03, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A Pittsburgh jury has awarded $2.3 million to a woman in a medical malpractice case against a hospital which arose from a complete abdominal hysterectomy she underwent there. The woman went to the hospital to deliver a child and was improperly discharged with a high white blood count that gave her a serious infection requiring a hysterectomy one week later. The woman’s doctor claimed that he never received notice of the abnormal blood work, but the hospital claimed he had. While the blood work results were i the chart, no one appears to have paid attention to them before the woman was discharged. The verdict was for the woman’s pain and suffering.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving abnormal blood work that was never communicated to the right person or acted upon properly. In one case, a woman who was being transferred from a hospital had a severely low electrolyte level but no one acted on it before she was transferred and she died. In another case, a child had a very low white blood count with what is called a left shift, indicating a severe infection. But the hospital sent him home where he went into arrest and died. Cases like these, where abnormal lab reports are in the medical records but no one responds, are inexcusable cases of medical malpractice. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

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 Posted on February 02, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A California couple have won a $16.5 million medical malpractice verdict against a neurosurgeon. The patient suffered a fractured spine while off-roading and was taken to a hospital where the neurosurgeon was on call. Despite the spinal injury, the man was not seen until the next day and not operated on until two days after his injury, cusing paraplegia. The verdict included compensation for future medical care, lost wages and pain and suffering. The couple had previously settled their claims against the hospital for a confidential amount.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases in which we alleged that a doctor or hospital caused paraplegia or quadriplegia. In one case, a man fell and suffered a subluxation (partial displacement) of his spine which needed to be decompressed and realigned so it did not continue to press on the spinal cord. The experienced emergency room doctor recommended immediate decompression but a neurosurgery resident disagreed which resulted in the man waiting hours before the decompression began. During the decompression procedure, he became permanently paralyzed. He lived that way for one year, and then died of complications from the paraplegia. What a sad story.

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 Posted on February 02, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

Recently, a South Carolina jury awarded the family of a newborn $4.4 million dollars for medical malpractice/negligence stemming from the delivery of the child. In their complaint, the family alleged that a nurse failed to properly monitor the baby’s fetal heart monitoring strips — strips that show the heartbeat rate of the baby — and, as a result, did not realize that the baby was in fetal distress and required emergent medical attention and/or delivery. As a result of this negligence, the family alleged that the baby experienced prolonged periods without oxygen while in utero and during the delivery. The baby was delivered alive, but later diagnosed with cerebral-palsy like complications. At the age of 5, the baby died from these complications.

As experienced medical negligence/malpractice attorneys in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C. area, we have handled numerous cases involving the negligence of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers involved with the delivery of a baby. These health care providers are charged with providing a certain level of care to both the mother and the baby to ensure that both navigate the labor and delivery process safely. In fact, there are many standards and/or regulations published by reputable medical professional societies, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), that govern the care that should be provided to a mother and baby during the pre-natal, labor and delivery phases. The following are examples of medical mistakes and/or errors that have, in the past, led to our office filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in this context:

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 Posted on February 02, 2010 in Personal Injury

Following the drowning death of their three-year-old son in a septic tank, a Montana family recently filed a lawsuit against their local water and sewer district. In 2007, the young boy, while playing in a driveway at a family friend’s home, fell into the tank and drowned. In the lawsuit, the Montana family claimed that local district officials were negligent in two ways: (1) the septic system was placed to close to the driveway; and (2) that the district was negligent in failing to install what is known as a "kid-catcher" safety device at the opening of the tank, a saftey feature that would have prevented their son’s death.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland lawyer, I have successfully handled prior drowning deaths in septic tanks or similar sewage facilities. Because of the well-known hazard that these tanks/facilities pose to small children, there are clear standards and safety features that have been adopted by a variety of professional organizations, standards/features that are designed to prevent these types of tragedies. Unfortunately, due to the large number of these older tanks that remain unmarked and/or unidentified on individuals’ properties, these preventable tragedies continue to this day. If a loved one has been injured or died as a result of a similar tragedy, call the lawyers at STSW for a free consultation.

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 Posted on February 01, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A Georgia jury has awarded more than $6 million in medical malpractice / wrongful death case on behalf of a husband and his deceased wife’s estate after she developed blood clots and died shortly after undergoing outpatient knee surgery. The woman had knee pain and went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI of the knee. That MRI showed something behind the knee which resulted in the the orthopedic surgeon performing outpatient arthroscopic surgery on the woman. The next day, the woman was found dead at home. An autopsy showed that deep venous thromboids had formed at the site of the surgery, and then traveled to the lung causing a pulmonary embolism. Apparently, the orthopedic surgeon ignored several risk factors that should have indicated that blood clotting could be a problem, such as obesity and birth control pills.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of pulmonary embolism malpractice cases. There are clear guidelines from a variety of professional medical organizations, such as the American College of Chest Physicians, which state who should be considered at risk for deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and what should be done to prevent it. Every patient who is undergoing surgery under anesthesia or who is unable to move around on their own should be evaluated for the risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is a preventable condition in this day and age. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

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 Posted on February 01, 2010 in Criminal Defense

Of all of the cases that Baltimore Maryland Criminal Attorneys/Lawyers are called upon to handle, some of the most difficult are cases involving repeat offenders in drug distribution cases. In Maryland, if a person who has been previously convicted of a either possession with the intent to distribute a narcotic such as heroin, cocaine or prescription controlled dangerous substances, is again charged, he will likely face a mandatory jail sentence that must be served without the possibility of parole. Some jurisdiction such as Baltimore County, pursue these mandatory sentences in virtually every case. Other jurisdictions such as Baltimore City more often than not use the threat of invoking the mandatory sentence to pressure defendants into plea bargain on terms that prosecutors view as favorable.

In Maryland, in cases where a person is charged with distribution of or possession with intent to distribute narcotics such as cocaine, heroin or prescription drugs, a second offender will be subject to 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole. A third offender is subject to a mandatory 25 year sentence without parole and a person with 4 or more convictions faces 40 years. However, in cases involving second offenders, a defendant who is convicted may be eligible for a modification of that sentence if the person is found to be in need of drug treatment by the Department of Health and Mental Hygene and to be sufficiently motivated to take advantage of the opportunity to receive treatment.

For a Maryland Criminal Attorney to put his client in a position to have his mandatory sentence modified, the attorney must file two motions within 90 days of the imposition of the sentence. The first is a motion for modification of sentence. The purpose of this motion is to allow the court to maintain jurisdiction over the case beyond the 90 day period. The second motion is a motion under section 8-505 of the Health General Article.

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 Posted on January 29, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A New York state jury has awarded a $2.4 million verdict to a woman in a medical malpractice case. The woman underwent partial bowel removal surgery that should not have been performed, causing her to spend 2 ½ months in the hospital and have three more procedures to fix the complications. During the next few months, she was admitted to three hospitals and had to undergo two other surgeries to take care of infections and complications from the first procedure. As a result of her condition, she now is unable to control her bowels, lives with severe pain and has terrible scars. The jury’s verdict consisted of $2.2 million for the woman and $200,000 for her husband. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving the bowels. Some have been negligent bowel injury cases from procedures such as minimally invasive surgery. These injuries frequently cause major complications because the bowel has so much bacteria in it. Other bowel malpractice cases that I have handled have involved the failure to timely diagnose and treat mesenteric ischemia, which is the lack of proper blood supply to the bowel, causing death of the bowel. These are extremely painful and devastating injuries. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

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