Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Being sexually assaulted, in pain and not knowing where to turn is a frightening scenario for anyone. It is what one woman went through after being raped in her home last year.
She went to the Hospital to get a rape kit exam and says hospital staff would not allow that test to happen. That is why she is filing a lawsuit.

"I was injured, I had bruises, and I wanted to make sure I was ok," the unidentified victim said. Now she wants to make sure other survivors do not have the same experience she had when she went to the Hospital two days after being raped.

"We spoke to a nurse who told us we could not get the sexual assault exam unless she pressed charges," said a witness, who went to the hospital with the victim. "She gave us paperwork that said the same thing, and then the doctor came in with the same paperwork; gave it to us again."

The paperwork was an information sheet for sexual assault victims from October of 2005. It says that you must make a report to law enforcement before a forensic exam will be conducted. The problem is that law was changed June 19, 2009, and no longer applies.

"Healthcare facilities need to know and follow the law," said a spokesman from the Civil Rights Project. "They cannot deny people sexual assault exams. We are filing this lawsuit today so that the hospital does follow this law."

According to the state law, a rape survivor has a right to an exam within four days of the assault, even if they do not plan to press charges at that time. The state keeps that evidence for two years.The exam documents evidence of the rape and is an important tool for law enforcement. It is a tool the victim filing this lawsuit says would have helped her bring her attacker to justice.

"If I would have known...now I'm pressing charges and I don't think anything's going to happen to him," she said. "It makes me feel as hopeless as I did when I walked in that hospital." The woman did eventually file charges, but her assailant is still at large.

The Hospital released a written statement late Monday afternoon. The hospital says it cannot discuss specific details of the case due to federal privacy laws. It goes on to say: "We are confident that the physicians and staff at the hospital followed the appropriate procedures as outlined by the Department of State Health Services and that we are fully compliant with all state regulations."

If you or someone you know has been a vctim of an assault call my offices located in Rockville or Baltimore for a free initial consultation at 1-800-320-0080 or make an appointment for a confidential cosultation.

A County Court jury awarded nearly $4 million to a couple who had filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Clinic and one of its doctors. Jurors deliberated for a day and a half last week before awarding the plaintiff's $3,926,200.
According to the couple's lawyers, the jurors found the Clinic and Dr. were negligent in medical care rendered to the victim, which caused a permanent injury, including paralysis, because of violations of safety rules in performing a lumbar puncture procedure in May, 2008.
The Hospital was initially a defendant in the lawsuit but had settled prior to trial. The attorney said that the jury was very attentive and reached an unanimous verdict."The message is that doctors are not allowed to violate safety rules and when they do, the community will hold them accountable," he said.
Safety rules are the backbone of practicing good medicine and their violation can create a prima facie case of negligence agaist the doctors and hospitals. If you or a loved one has been involved a victim of misdiagnosis or negigence by a doctor or a hospital call me at 1-800-320-0080 or make a confidential appointment at my offices located in Rockville or Baltimore, Maryland for a free initial consultation.

A company that also operates buses in the Washington region have been ordered to pay $6.4 million to a quadriplegic man who was injured while getting on a bus.
The victim was being hoisted onto a par transit bus in April 2008 when his wheelchair rolled backward off the platform and dropped him 6 feet into his head. The accident caused severe brain injury.
The plaintiff's lawsuit over the faulty lift named the city and Transportation company, which operates the par transit system under contract. The newspaper reports that a jury determined last week that the transportation company will pay 83 percent of damages and the city 17 percent.A spokeswoman says the city acknowledges some responsibility. The company's attorney declined comment.
On its Web site, the Transportation company says it offers services at more than 100 locations in 24 states. If you or a friend has been injured due to negligence of others call me at 1-800-320-0080 for a free consultation.