personal injury

Published on: May 26, 2015

Failure to diagnose neurosarcoidosis can cause severe personal injuries that can significantly affect the well-being of a person

Failure to diagnose neurosarcoidosis can be medical malpractice that can drastically impair the quality of life of a person. In its “Case of the Month” , the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA) discusses the case of a 68 year old woman who’s condition severely worsened after she was misdiagnosed. In 2011 the patient complained to her neurologist that she had difficulties walking. The neurologist’s diagnosis was normal pressure hydrocephalus and had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt placed to drain the increased Cerebrospinal fluid. The condition of the patient seemed to improve at the beginning but after two years the symptoms worsened and she developed double vision and couldn’t walk without a cane. The neurologist thought the problem was coming from the shunt and tried different adjustments that were unsuccessful. The patient was using a walker and suffered from ataxia, weakness and increased urinary incontinence when she decided to consult with a neuromuscular clinic. The patient was diagnosed with a rare condition called neurosarcoidosis. The patient received cortocosteroids and her condition started to improve after 5 days.

Read the complete case in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)

Published on: May 13, 2015

6 people dead and more than 100 injured in an Amtrak train accident

By GGCRBHS&M

An Amtrak train heading from New York to Washington DC derailed yesterday night in Philadelphia. 6 people died and many the 243 passengers of suffered personal injury and were taken to the hospital. Among the people injured 6 of them were in critical condition. The Amtrak accident happened yesterday night around 9:30 close to Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane near a bend in the track. One of the nation’s deadliest railroad accidents happened in the same spot on Labor Day 1943. A train carrying military service members on leave derailed killing 79 of them and injuring 117. The cause of yesterday’s train accident is still unknown. Speed as well deteriorating infrastructure and aging equipment are among the potential factors to be investigated. Former Congressman Patrick J. Murphy was on board when the accident happened and tweeted the pictures on the left.
Read more about this train accident in the New York Times

Published on: April 20, 2015

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz to speak at the 360 Advocacy “Damages, Go Big or Go Home” Conference

By GGCRBHS&M

Our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz will be a speaker at the 360 Advocacy “Damages, Go Big or Go Home” Conference that will take place in Las Vegas from June 14 to June 16, 2015.

All cases come down to one issue – DAMAGES. Even when you win liability, without a great damage settlement or award, the case is not really “won” in your eyes and the eyes of your client. Winning big is not only about the case, but also about the skill and talent of the trial lawyer handling the case. The faculty put together for this conference will teach participants both what they know and how to apply the knowledge, techniques and skills to bump up your success rate.

Ben will be speaking Monday June 15th on” Using Cross Examination at Trial to Enhance Damages”. Ben has written extensively on the Art of Cross Examination and spoken at Seminars across the country. Ben was the 2013 recipient of the Robert Keeton Award for Outstanding Service as a National Institute for Trial Advocay (NITA) Faculty Member. This award recognizes Ben’s exceptional work as a NITA faculty member. Here is what NITA had to say about Ben: “In considering his nomination, it was recognized that “Ben is a ‘best’ teacher and deserves the best teacher award.” He began teaching early in his career, and has contributed to new and evolving methods, such as “drills” and the drill room. He lectures in the same persona that he presents to a jury-a consummate role model.” See our prior post here.

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Published on: April 17, 2015

More than 2,500 teens die on the road every year and around 300,000 will suffer personal injury in car accidents: What can parents do to help their teens become safe drivers?

By GGCRBHS&M

Parents can play a big role in helping their children become safe drivers and avoid being injured or killed in a car accident. Thursday April 28th at 1:00 PM CST, the National Safety Council is organizing a webinar during which Jessica Mirman, PhD, a behavioral scientist and researcher on the Center for Injury Research and Prevention HOP’s Teen Driver Safety Research team, will share her recent research on the effectiveness of TeenDrivingPlan, a prototype interactive web-based application to help parents more effectively supervise driving practice. Another speaker Kathy Bernstein, senior manager of Teen Driving Initiatives for the National Safety Council, will talk about DriveitHome– a new resource from the National Safety Council designed to support parents of newly licensed teens. Read more here

Published on: April 14, 2015

Tips to protect chidren from being injured at the playground

By GGCRBHS&M

Every year around 250,000 children visit the ER because they were injured at the playground. Broken bones as well as bruises and cuts are the most common injuries suffered by kids. Death can also happened in more rare cases. If you are bringing children to the playground the video below offers a few tips that can help you avoid dramatic outcomes.

Published on: March 10, 2015

Patient Safety Awareness Week: how to improve communication between patients and health care providers to mitigate harm?

By GGCRBHS&M

Medical errors and adverse events are among the leading causes of death and personal injury in the U.S. According to a recent study in the Journal of Patient Safety the number of premature deaths associated with preventable harm to patients is estimated at more than 400,000 per year. Serious harm seems to be 10- to 20-fold more common than lethal harm.

The patient safety awareness week is an annual campaign led by the National Patient Safety Foundation to create awareness about patient safety among healthcare providers and their patients. The campaign is running this week and the subject is “United in safety” . The emphasis is on better communication between healthcare providers and patients to reduce adverse events or medical errors.

Tomorrow Wednesday March 11th at 8:30 pm ET anyone interested can join a twitter chat on patient and family engagement using #PSAWunited to participate. People interested can also join a free webcast on patient safety on Thursday March 12th.

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Published on: March 9, 2015

To prevent medical malpractice and address the risk of spreading CRE infections in hospitals, ECRI institute recommends culturing duodenoscopes

By GGCRBHS&M

After two patients died and many other suffered personal injury from a recent “superbug”outbreak involving duodenoscopes, the safety of these medical devices (see previous blog) and the method used by hospitals to reprocess them are being questioned. In a recent Hazard Report, the ECRI Institute is recommending culturing Duodenoscopes as a key step to reducing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). The Institute believes that duodenoscope procedures are vital when treating and diagnosing conditions of the gall bladder and pancreas with Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures and the risk of infection can be mitigated if hospitals upgrade their reprocessing methods by also scope culturing.The Institute recommemds that hospitals not only check with the duodenoscope manufacturer as to whether they are using the appropriate reprocessing method but also add a baseline culture of all duodenoscpoes. Read the complete ECRI High Priority Hazard Report
Picture Duodenoscopy image of two pigment stones extracted from common bile duct courtesy of Wikipedia

Published on: March 4, 2015

Registrations are open for the CHOP 3rd Annual Diagnosis and Management of Concussion, a one day conference on head injury and concussion for clinicians and school personal involved in the management of care for students with concussion

By GGCRBHS&M

Every day students from elementary school to college are sustaining concussions during sport or playground activities. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that can affect the student’s cognitive, physical emotional and sleep functions. Recent research has shown that knowledge of a concussion’s potential effects on a student and appropriate management of the return-to-school process is critical for helping students recover from a concussion. Clinicians and school personnel who are are involved in the management of care for students with concussion can attend a one day conference on this subject organized on May 9th by the Children Hospital of Philadelphia. Click here for more info and to register. For detailed information on Traumatic Brain Injury see the CDC related web page.

Published on: March 4, 2015

The number of fatal vehicle accidents per mile traveled on American roads may have reached an historical low in 2014 according to preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council

By GGCRBHS&M

35,400 people died and 4.3 million people suffered personal injury that required medical attention last year on American roads according to preliminary statistics from the National Safety Council (NSC). The number of crash fatalities is 0.5% higher than in 2013 however because 2014 was a year of economical expansion during which the estimated mileage on US roads increased 1.4%, the estimated annual mileage death rate was 1.18 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a decrease of 1% from the 2013 rate. It is also the lowest NSC preliminary estimate ever recorded. The number of personal injuries that occurred during a crash in 2014 was unchanged. Read more in Automotive Fleeet

Published on: February 19, 2015

How should hospitals deal with security to prevent their staff from being injured ?

By GGCRBHS&M

Reports of medical staff suffering personal injury after being attacked by patients or patient’s visitors are on the rise. Recent cases of extreme violence such as one involving a 68 year old patient attacking nurses with a metallic bar that he pulled from a bed (see video) or the death of a prominent cardiologist at a Boston Hospital who was shot by a gunman last month have led hospitals to revisit their security policy.

Shootings in hospitals are not that common but violence against hospital staff is happening daily. Workers are being kicked, scratched, punched beaten and even sexually assaulted by patients. Emergency room and psychiatric nurses and other workers dealing with elderly patients are the most at risk of being assaulted and injured by a patient. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics hospital workers are five time more likely to be assaulted on their jobs than workers in other industries. Last year a study entitled “Incidence and Cost of Nurse Workplace Violence Perpetrated by Hospital Patients or Patient Visitors” and published by the Journal of Emergency Nursing indicates that in the last year 76% of nurses experienced violence (verbal abuse by patients, 54.2%; physical abuse by patients, 29.9%; verbal abuse by visitors, 32.9%; and physical abuse by visitors, 3.5%). Perpetrators were primarily white male patients, aged 26 to 35 years, who were confused or influenced by alcohol or drugs.

Hospitals have started to initiate various programs to train their staff on how to recognize and deescalate potentially violent situations but too little is being done to stop the assaults. According to a recent article, Epidemic of Violence against Health Care Workers Plagues Hospitals published in Scientific American, hospital administrators and the judicial system do little to prevent assaults by patients. The cost of violence prevention is small, however, when compared to the amount that hospitals lose in worker-compensation claims every year and in time off due to injury—roughly a third of which is patient-inflicted, according to OSHA statistics.

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