Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

The first individual lawsuit filed by a hepatitis C infected patient at a Medical Center was filed in district court naming the hospital and anestesiologist. The patient underwent surgery and believes an operating rooom technician, an intravenous drug user with hep-c, left a dirty needle filled with saline in place of the narcotic intended for her.The patient alleges the hospital and anestesiologist failed to follow internal polices and controlled substance laws requiring that potent drugs be either locked up or closely monitored.
Her lawyer stated we have filed this suit on behalf of the patient because she is unable to undergo medical treatment for her chronic hepatitis C and has already developed liver damage. A class action suit against the hospital has also been filed and at least 18 other patients have been found to have the same genetic strand of hep-c as the operating room technician. The technician was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice please call me for an initial free consultation at 800 320-0080 or for an appointmnet in Rockville or Baltimore offices.

A man paralyzed in a tubing accident sued a ski resort for 25 million dollars.His lawye said the man zipped headfirst down the tubing course through the rubber mats intended to slowhim down and crashed headfirst into a cement wall. The man is now paralyzed from the waist down.
According to the association 39 skiers and snowboarders suffered fatal injuries during the 2008-09 season in which 10 million people skied. But lawsuits for ski resorts are not unusual. This lawsuit argues that the resort was negligent in setting up and operating the snow tube runs and accuses the resort of "failure to design a barrier wall with sufficient safety protection". The lawyer further states that more advanced technology was available but wasnt in place and the existing barier had some pading but lacked sufficient give to save his client.
The lawsuit asks for 25 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.The 55 year old victim will need a lifetime of care and medical bills and needs a full time aid also.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of negligence resulting in injury please call my office at 1 800 320-0080 for a free consultation.

St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson is facing lawsuits and two federal investigations related to its cardiac care division has just informed 169 more heart patients received costly and dangerous treatments that were not needed.
These additional cases bring the total to 538 patients notified by St. Joseph's that coronary stent implants they received at the hospital may have been unnecessary. Officials at the Hospital also said more questionable procedures may be uncovered while an internal review continues.
The St. Joseph's announcement is the latest debacle in an issue that has spawned a class action lawsuit, required the removal of a prominent physician and interested the U.S. Senate. It could also result in a multi-million dollar fine for the hospital per court records.
The hospital began investigating its heart catheterization procedures after several warnings last year from federal investigators and quickly focused on stents implanted by a leading cardiologist and senior physician, Dr. Mark Midei.
Stents, which are mesh tubes placed into damaged arteries to open them up are generally implanted in patients with at least a 70% blockage. But hospital officials in their review discovered stents implanted by Dr. Midei had insufficient blockage. And that the amount of blockage was overstated in the medical reports.
"Leaders of (St. Joseph) felt it was their ethical responsibility to notify these patients to allow them to determine if medical follow-up was appropriate." The hospital said in a statement. They reiterated that Midei (who is no longer at the hospital) is the only doctor under investigation.
In 2008 Midei was recruited to lead the cardiac catheterization department at St. Josephs from his former employer MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates of suburban Baltimore.
Last month the U.S. Senate Finance Committee requested St. Joseph to turn over all the records of its financial relationship with stent manufactures and how the $10,000 procedures were billed to federal and private insurers.
"In addition to putting the patients lives at risk unnecessary medical procedures amount to wasteful spending of precious federal health care dollars." Said the U.S. Senate in a letter to the hospital.
If you or a loved one is the victim of a medical mistake please call my office at 1 (800) 320-0080.

A six person jury found three cigarette companies responsible for the cancer death of a Florida woman. The woman had begun smoking in 1953 at the age of 15 and died in 1995.
The lawyer who was representing her three children stated , "She started smoking in an era when cigarette advertising was pervasive, on TV-- in its infancy - in print media and on radio."
The verdict follows a series of losses by the tobacco industry after a ruling by the State Supreme Court in a tobacco class action case. In the decision the high court decertified a statewide class of addicted smokers and permitted individual suits to go forward.
Jurors reached the verdict after less than a four hour deliberation.
The jury awarded the victims family $ 15 million in compensatory damages. Jurors assigned 35 % of the responsibility to the victim for her death; 15% to one cigarette company and 20% to the other one. Jurors also assessed $2.5 million in punitive damages each cigarette company.
In most of the post-Engle cases the compensatory portion of the award has been reduced by the plantiff percentage of responsibility as found by the jurors. The issue hasn't yet been resolved in this case.
The Supreme Court upheld many of the factual findings of the jury trial in the past case including finding that the cigarette companies conspired to conceal information about the addictiveness of smoking and that cigarettes are an unreasonably dangerous product. The Supreme Court further ruled that these findings would apply in all future individual trials. The cigarette companies believe this ruling denies them rights to a fair trial.
The tobacco companies Sr. Vice President and general counsel said " We believe this verdict should be reversed because the court's trial plan improperly eliminated any requirement that plantiff prove that the companies did anything wrong to recover damages."
A spokesman for the tobacco company said they were disappointed and plan to appeal.
If your family members or loved ones have been a victim of a wrongful death call my offices located in Baltimore and Rockville, Maryland at 1-800 -320-0080 or email me at jostad@verizon.net for a free consultation.

In December 2004, a man was severely injured when the tire of his car got caught on a six-inch lip on the roadside and he lost control crashing into a guardrail that impaled the vehicle. The man was left with a amputated left leg and an almost severed left arm. He sued the county that was responsible for maintaining the road, and won a verdict of $31 million.

Days after the verdict, the county's insurer sued the county claiming that it should not have to pay because the county's attorney did not properly prepare for trial or adequately update the insurance company. The county claims that the case was handled properly and that the insurance company only voiced its concerns after the verdict. Meanwhile, the man continues to have pain from the accident and cannot receive the medical treatment he needs until the judgement is paid.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury please call my offices at 1(800) 320-0080.http://www.maryland-attorney.us/lawyer-attorney-1112627.html

A paralyzed man won $19.2 million in a negligence claim against a local Medical Center. The patient was admitted to the hospital after complaining of severe back pain. The hospital did not conduct an MRI or CAT scan until two weeks after he was admitted. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with a spinal abscess, an infection on his spinal cord, that quickly led to permanent paralysis. This injury could have been easily avoided had the hospital taken the proper diagnostic test to determine the cause of the injury. This Hospital's failure to take the necessary actions led to this Patient's paralysis.

The suit claimed that there was not a particular physician or specialist that was directing his care contrary to the established hospital standards. After the diagnosis, a neurosurgeon tried to reverse some of the damage but it was too late. The patient has been paralyzed from the chest down and has been living in a nursing facility for five years because he was unable to get around independently in his own home. This patient requires life time care and monitoring which led to a successful verdict.

If you or a relative or a loved one has been injured as a result of other people's negligence please contact me at my offices in Rockville or Baltimore to discuss your case free of charge at (800) 320-0080.

A jury has found an aluminum bat maker liable for failure to provide adequate warnings as to the dangers of the bat used by a player during a game which resulted in another player's death. The company was ordered to pay $792,000 to deceased estate for the loss of earnings he would have made, and pain suffered before his death.

The 18-year-old boy was playing in a baseball game when another player hit a ball with an aluminum bat. The ball then hit the victim in his temple. He died four hours later. His parents argued that aluminum bats are more dangerous than wooden bats because they allow players to swing the bat harder and faster. The Plaintiff's attorney said that the average time needed by a pitcher to defend a batted ball is 400 milliseconds and the victim only had 378 milliseconds to respond. Witnesses to the incident testified that they were unable to see the ball between the time that it was struck by the batter until it hit victim.

Sports injuries and sometimes fatalities are the most horrible tragedies that any parent or family may have to go through as a result of a company/manufacturers' negligence. The injuries and their causality are very difficult to overcome and with the aid of the right expert knowledgable in these fields a positive outcome may be possible.

If you or a loved one has been subjected to these types of injuries please contact me at my Rockville or baltimore offices at (800) 320-0080 for a free consultation.

A Hospital is being sued by the parents of two children who were killed by their aunt. The suit claims that the psychiatric facility provided inadequate care to psychiatric patient who was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, prescribed psychotropic drugs and released after 6 days. The plaintiffs claim that they were never told that patient might pose a risk to herself or others and never informed any officials or the people who come into contact with the patient.

In December 2008, unbeknownst to the parents of the two minor children the psychiatric paptient arrived at the home of the children around 8pm to pick up the two children, a 5 year-old and a 4-year-old, to spend the night at her home. They state that she was behaving normally when she arrived and took the children, however, earlier in the evening a State Police Trooper had almost detained her for a psychiatric evaluation when they found her acting erratically on the median strip of a highway, punching a motorist who had stopped to help her. The psychiatric patient told the tropper that she was having a debate between "good and evil." She calmed down and was released. After she picked up the children, she crossed the median of a highway, stopped her car going in the wrong direction, undressed herself and the two children, ran into traffic and was hit by a car which killed all three.

Psychiatric patient cases causing injuries require an indepth analysis and investigation of facts surrounding an injury and that condition must have been known to the person having the duty to inform others and as the result of such failure to warn the patient caused injury to others. Thes are extremely fact sensitive cases and appropriate fact witnesses and experts muust be employed to prosecute such cases.

If you or a person you know of has been injured or traumatized as a result of such injuries you can contact me at my Baltimore or Rockville, Maryland offices for a free consultation at (800) 320-0080.

A City Council has agreed to pay $2.2 million to the family of a 14-year-old girl who was choked by playground equipment three years ago and suffered an irreversible brain injury and remains in a vegetative state. The victim was found unconscious hanging by the neck from a rope tied to a playground ride.

When a Police Department officer arrived, he concluded that the victim had no pulse and did not cut her down. He instructed first responders to not disturb her because it was a crime scene and he started to take pictures. It wasn't until six to eight minutes later that it was discovered that victim was still alive and she was treated. Her parents argued that the lack of oxygen during that time increased the severity of her brain injury. The City Council decided to settle due to the cost and uncertainty of litigation but did not admit any wrongdoing. Most of the award will go to a special needs trust set up for the victim's care, which is currently at a skilled nursing care facility.

The victim parents also received $7 million from the County Housing Authority who was in charge of maintaining the playground. the victim's doctors believe that she could live for another 16 years.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to negligence of another person or as a result of a defective condition call my offices at Rockville or Baltimore for a free initial consultation at 1-800-32-0080.

In 2007, a 17-year-old girl, was refused a liver transplant by her health insurance company. The transplant was denied because the health insurance company said that it was experimental and was not covered. After a storm of publicity, the health insurance company agreed to the transplant nine days later but it was too late and the 17-year-old girl died a few hours later. Ten months later, the deceased' mother went to the insurance company's headquarters and announced at the security desk in the lobby that "You guys killed my daughter. I want an apology." Instead of an apology, she got heckeled by insurance employees looking down into the atrium lobby from a balcony above and one of them gave her the "finger."

The child's parents parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the insurance company's for their child's death due to insurance company's refusal to pay for the transplant. A Los Angeles judge threw out the complaint, saying that it was barred by a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that shields employer-paid healthcare plans from damages over their coverage decisions. Under the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, the only monetary damages that beneficiaries of workplace health plans can sue for is the cost of the treatment of service in dispute, not damages arising out of refusal of the treatment.

Recently, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the parents could pursue damages for any emotional distress caused by the incident at the insurance company's headquarters. The parent's of the child are hoping that by bringing the wrongful-death suit the legislature will see that ERISA needs to be revised and that insurance companies need to be liable for their treatment decisions.

If you or a loved one has been injured by delay in coverage by health insurance companies or have been injured by negligence of a third person call my Rockville or Baltimore offices for an initial case review and consultation at 1-800-320-0080.

A Florida jury awarded a family 4.3 million dollars in a medical malpractice suit against two doctors for failing to properly diagnose their child shortly after birth. According to the allegations the doctors failed to properly perform the necessary tests to diagnose the newly born infant with enterovirus causing her to suffer from lifelong disabilities.

Shortly after the infant was born in 1994, large bruises began to appear and her skin turned yellow. Her liver showed signs of scarring and a blood clot formed in her brain. Her parents were advised to make funeral arrangements. The doctors ignored the symptoms that pointed to enterovirus, which is normally a mild virus that can become deadly in infants. The doctors failed to take blood and liver tests that would have identified the virus. Although the infant survived, the blood clot left her with a learning disability, she has severe vision problems and permanent cirrhosis of the liver.

If you or a loved one has been injured and is a victim of a medical malpractice contact me at my offices in Rockville, Md or Baltimore, Md for a free initial consultation at 1-800-320-0080.

The mother of 17-year-old female has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a church-run treatment center and three of its former employees after she died while being restrained. The suit alleges that the victim was held by staff members in a prone position which caused her death.

The county coroner ruled that the victim's death was a homicide, saying that the teen suffocated and choked on her own vomit while employees restrained her. The President of the treatment center, who runs the center, stated that the staff is taught to use a face-up method to restrain patients. The face-down restraint position was banned in Ohio in November and several states and has been prohibited by several other agencies who oversee treatment homes and centers.

If you or your loved one has suffered an injury because of lack of supervision or failure to provide adequate monitoring at public or private facilities please visit my website at www.ostadlaw.com or call my Baltimore or Rockville office at 1-800-320-0080 for a free initial consultation.

The parents of minor filed a $40 million lawsuits against a Swim Club and the company that runs and manages the swim club, accusing them of failing to both "timely recognize and respond" to the struggling boy and to properly perform resuscitation efforts. In July 2006, a15-year-old male was swimming at the club where he almost drowned and was without adequate oxygen for almost 10 minutes. Paramedics were able to get a pulse back but the boy suffered severe brain damage and is now severely disabled, confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak.

The amount of the claim is said to be the best estimate of what it will cost to care for him for the rest of his life. The attorney for the swim club and management company says that minor child's brain injury was not caused by the near-drowning but instead by a heart attack that he suffered in the pool. The attorney states that he was pulled out of the pool less than a minute after he showed signs of struggling and never went to the bottom. He was given CPR immediately by a Maryland Shock Trauma nurse who happened to be at the pool at the time.

If you or your loved one has suffered an injury because of lack of supervision or failure to provide adequate monitoring at public or private facilities please visit my website at www.ostadlaw.com or call my Baltimore or Rockville office at 1-800-320-0080 for a free initial consultation.

The Indiana Medical Review Panel found that an Orthopaedic group failed to comply with appropriate standards of care that led to a woman having her leg amputated and cleared the way for the woman to go forward with her lawsuit. The patient went to an Orthopaedic group three times in March 2006 with signs and symptoms of a vascular problem in her leg. She was not diagnosed with the vascular problem and was instead given two injections into her knee.

On April 10, 2006, The patient was admitted to the hospital for loss of blood flow to her right foot and a large acute blood clot in the artery that supplies the blood to the knee and thigh. Her leg was amputated above the knee on April 14. The patient contends that the Orthopaedic group fell below the required standard of car by failing to test for the loss of blood flow in her foot after noting a lack of pulse, reddened foot and reports of unexplained pain. She was also not given a timely referral to a vascular surgeon or cardiologist.

If you have been injured by the negligence or mistake of medical professionals or their staff please visit my website at www.ostadlaw.com or call my Baltimore or Rockville office at 1-800-320-0080 for a free initial consultation.

According to a recent study between 2004 and September 2008, New York issued 16 citations to hospitals for incomplete, altered or missing medical records. In a review of the documents, it was found that the records were altered or missing when a medical screw-up was involved. Workers at city-run hospitals faked records to cover up incidents or claimed that they couldn't find the data when investigators asked.

One such incident occurred at New York Hospital. A young man showed up on September 8, 2005 and was diagnosed as suffering a "cardiac event." An IV was placed by a fourth-year medical student but it was listed in the records that a medical doctor administered the IV since med students are allowed to. Over the next two days, the medical student and several nurses made entries into the record that the patient's arm was fine, was "warm to the touch" and that there were "no signs of inflammation." During this time however, his arm was covered from the knuckles to his elbows in a material called Kerlix. When the Kerlix was removed, patient's arm was blistering and his left hand was "cool to touch and pulseless." The patient ended up having his arm amputated at the elbow.

If you have been injured by the negligence or mistake of medical professionals or their staff please visit my website at www.ostadlaw.com or call my Baltimore or Rockville office at 1-800-320-0080 for a free initial consultatio