Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A couple was awarded $58.6 million in a case involving an obstetrician accused of waiting too long to perform a cesarean section which caused permanent brain-damage to their infant son.The jury sided with the couple whose son now 8, has had severe cerebral palsy since he was born. He is fed through a tube, uses a wheelchair, is unable to eat, talk or walk and is incontinent.When the baby was born, he was born not breathing and was blue and limp said the mother who sued her obstetrician and his practice. He had seizures and he was on a ventilator. As an experienced trial attorney I have reviewed many cases of medical malpractice and have completed same with favorable results.

The parents said in their lawsuit that the doctor did not perform timely incisions to relieve the upper uterine area, delayed the cesarean section and didn't create space for an a traumatic delivery and caused a delay in the delivery that led to permanent brain damage.
It was discovered that he had lost oxygen to his brain, and suffered a brain injury.
The couple was awarded the settlement for the long term care of their son. They hope that it will send a message to doctors what can happen if a c-section is delayed and don't want any other parents to go through what they have had to.The jury agreed with the large settlement and were very moved when showed a video of the little boy.

Continue reading "Couple Receives $58.6 Million For Son in Malpractice Case." »

Parents saw life seeping out of their toddler's body during five hours of waiting in a hospital's emergency room and begged for help, alleges a lawsuit. Medical care came too late," the suit says. The girl lost parts of her four limbs from a bacterial infection.

The lawsuit filed in Superior Court charges a hospital and various emergency room workers with medical malpractice and negligence in delaying treatment for a toddler, who later was flown to Children's Hospital for lifesaving care. Streptococcus A had invaded her blood and organs; as a result she suffered amputations of both feet, her left hand and part of her right hand. She is in intensive rehabilitation therapy. "There is nothing we can do to bring back her amputated hands and feet," said the family's lawyer. "However, we hope that her lawsuit will convince emergency rooms to do a better job treating our seriously ill children and make health care in our city safer for all of us."

The parents took their daughter to the emergency room with a persistent fever, skin discoloration and weakness. As they waited five hours, the girl grew visibly sicker, says the lawsuit. The parents repeatedly asked and begged defendants to treat their daughter. Defendants chose not to do so," until the father forced his way into the medical department and demanded help, the suit says. The hospital "chose to negligently staff, operate and supervise the emergency room," resulting in disaster for the little girl the suit concludes.

"A hospital is never allowed to needlessly endanger patients," the attorney said. Doctors at Children's Hospital said the toddler's sickness may have been the result of a quirk of genetics. They said they are uncertain whether a quicker response would have saved her limbs. Hospital president and CEO said in a statement: "At our Hospital, patient care and safety is our priority. We were sorry to hear about the eventual outcome for the child and our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. We are unable to comment on matters of pending litigation."

Continue reading "Lawsuit Alleges Emergency Room/Hospital Negligence in treating Toddler's Infection" »

The School Board has settled a lawsuit stemming from a January 2009 school bus crash on a Parkway. According to Circuit Court records, the board reached a settlement with the mother of a then-16-year-old High School student who was on the bus at the time of the accident. The terms would not be discussed due to confidentiality matters.

Filed in December 2009,the complaint accused the bus driver of failure to maintain a proper lookout, failure to keep his vehicle under proper control and failure to keep a safe distance. She sought $100,000 from the bus driver and the School Board. The driver - who no longer works for the school division, according to court records - was later dropped as a defendant.

The attorney said at the time that medical bills related to the student's back and neck injuries totaled about $10,000. The case had been scheduled for a jury trial this week. A document filed in court earlier this month said that the School Board "intends to admit liability at trial." The "only remaining issue in this matter will be the amount of damages involved," which "would stem solely from injuries, if any, actually suffered by the minor."

As an attorney concentrating in injuries, I am committed to provide efficient and timely response to your needs. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of somebody's negligence call my office at 1-800-320-0080 to make an appointment at one of my conveniently located offices in Rockville or Baltimore.

The federal government will pay $2.3 million to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a child born with neurological damage at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center. U.S. District Judge approved the settlement between the Justice Department and a family in Virginia Beach, according to a court filing made public. The plaintiffs sued the United States early last year, seeking $15 million in damages. The couple alleged that inadequate care at a Naval Medical Center caused their child to be born with developmental disabilities. The government denied any malpractice and admited no wrongdoing in the settlement.

In 2006,the plaintiff checked into the hospital with severe cramping in her lower abdomen. She was 35 weeks pregnant, according to the lawsuit. She was moved to a triage room and connected to a fetal heart monitor, which showed abnormalities indicating the fetus was under stress, the suit says. Instead of notifying a doctor, the papers say, the staff left the patient for more than an hour without any intervention.

About 2-1/2 hours after she was admitted, doctors performed an emergency cesarean section. The doctors determined that the placenta had detached from the uterine wall, causing a loss of oxygen to the fetus, the suit says. The baby girl was born pale and limp, with respiratory failure and a slow heart rate, the suit says. She was intubated and later transferred to Children's Hospital. The girl's "neurological injuries are extensive, severe and permanent," the suit says. "She is severely delayed in all areas of development." The damage, including cerebral palsy, will be lifelong.

The case was set for trial Dec but the parties had been working on a settlement for at least two months, the court records show. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, which defended the suit, declined to comment. Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not return phone messages. The judge's settlement order states that the plaintiff's attorneys will receive about $675,000 in fees and expenses, $54,000 will go toward medical bills, and the remaining $1.57 million will go into a trust set up to care for the child.

If you or a loved one has been wronged by a medical mistake call my offices for an initial free consultation at 1-800-320-0080 located in Baltimore or Rockville for immediate consultation.

A County jury has awarded $6.2 million to a former musician who, after drinking at a private party, was paralyzed when he dove into an under filled apartment complex pool in 2005. Jurors determined that the man, was 49 percent responsible for his injuries and the owner of the Apartments was 51 percent liable for failing to close a dangerous pool or warn swimmers that water levels had fallen about 1 1/2 feet.

The division of liability means the plaintiff, left a quadriplegic with limited use of his arms, would receive 51 percent of the $12.4 million in damages if the judgment stands. Jurors returned the verdict Monday night after two days of deliberations and a nine-day trial. "We never, ever contested responsibility for him," said his lawyer. "He admitted he made a mistake -- a momentary, thoughtless mistake."

But swimmers also should be able to expect that an open pool is safe to use and the managers of the apartment complex failed to close the pool even though employees noticed that water levels had dropped and even though state and city laws require under filled public pools to be closed.

In addition, testimony showed that the Management company -- which owned the apartment complex when the plaintiff was injured but sold it in October -- did not have appropriate safety procedures in place,the attorney said. The plaintiff was a guitarist, singer and songwriter for a now-defunct band who had moved with band mates two years before the accident. A videotape, shot by a friend and played for jurors, showed a group roughhousing around the pool at 2 a.m. before the plaintiff, then 23, dove into an area that should have been 4 to 41/2 feet deep but instead was 21/2 to 3 feet deep.

Defendant arguedthe plaintiff was solely responsible for his injury because the pool's depth was obvious, signs prohibited diving at the pool and his judgment was impaired by alcohol. Blood tests after the accident showed his blood alcohol level was 0.09, he said. The legal limit to drive in the state is 0.08. The plaintiff's attorney argued that the apartment complex, marketed to college-age residents, condoned pool parties where alcohol was consumed, yet neglected to plan for associated risks.

But the apartment complex attorneys noted that jurors, answering a separate question, also found the plaintiff to be 51 percent responsible for negligence in causing his injury. "If a plaintiff is more responsible for causing the accident, the plaintiff receives nothing," he said. "So we believe there is a conflicting jury finding that we will appeal." He also will ask District Judge to dismiss or reduce the award before he enters a final judgment, which typically takes about a month. Since the accident,the plaintiff has been living in New York, where Medicaid benefits are more generous, but hopes the jury award will let him return to his home.

If you or a loved one has been injured at a playground or at a swimming pool please call me at 1-800-320-08080 for a free consultation or make an appointment at one of my offices located in Baltimore or Rockville.

A woman seriously injured in a car crash is blaming the maker of an alcoholic energy drink, according to a lawsuit filed Friday. The woman, 20, was ejected from a car on State Road 417 in an August crash. The driver of the car, 20, who is also named a defendant in the suit, drank the energy drink before she struck another car while driving at a high rate of speed.

The suit, which comes days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to the maker of the energy drink and three other drink makers, was filed against the company.The convenience store that sold the drinks, was also named as a defendant. "We filed this suit against the makers of this beverage because we believe this drink is dangerous," said the lawyer. "My client nearly died."

According to published reports, a man filed a lawsuit against the drink manufacturer because his son drank the energy drinks before committing suicide. The FDA on Wednesday warned the company and other caffeine-alcohol drink manufacturers that caffeine in the drinks was "an unsafe food additive" and further action against them was possible.

Experts have voiced concerns that the caffeine in a drink could mask some sensory cues that people rely on to determine how drunk they are. The FDA said drinking such beverages could lead to risky behavior and hazardous situations. On Thursday, Massachusetts became the fifth state in the nation to ban alcohol mixed energy drinks, known as "blackouts in a can."

The latest lawsuit claims the company was motivated by financial gain in mixing alcohol with stimulants "to create a physiological effect in its customers so they could drink more alcohol."

The drinks are popular among students looking for a quick buzz. Officials have warned the drinks encourage binge-drinking behavior. The energy drink in question which is premixed with the stimulants taurine, guarine and caffeine, are made to appeal to younger drinkers because "it tastes more like a soft drink than an alcoholic beverage," the lawsuit states.

In addition to Massachusetts, the product has been outlawed in Washington, Michigan, Utah and Oklahoma. Liquor distributors in Connecticut are voluntarily stopping shipments of the products.

"The presence of stimulants in an alcoholic beverage is a dangerous and potentially fatal combination," the suit states. "Because the consumer will engage in dangerous behavior such as driving because he or she will not feel intoxicated."

If you or a loved one has been injured to due a defective product or injured as a result of someone elses's intoxication call my offices in Baltimore or Rockville for an appointment or phone consultation at 1-800-320-0080 now.

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.

A law firm has filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of four bicyclists who were severely injured while riding on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in August 2009. The cyclists suffered everything from severe cases of road rash to concussions, broken bones, punctured lungs, even paralysis. The state agency hired an outside contractor to re-pave a portion of PCH in Malibu near Zuma Beach. The re-paving process was in its initial stages. On the first Friday after the project began, the contractor left the jobsite unprotected, without warning of the danger it posed. Bicyclists riding northbound on PCH encountered an incline without any reasonable notice of what they faced at the bottom of the incline, namely that the road was "...cut away and strewn with loose gravel, rocks, sudden irregularities in elevation, narrowing of the shoulder, ground-up roadway surfaces, cracks and crevices," according to the lawsuit. These conditions "would and did cause said roadway to be unreasonably dangerous and defective for bicyclists who regularly and typically used PCH....". The hazardous conditions remained from Friday through Sunday despite messages left on the states hotline and e-mails sent informing them of the conditions. The governmental agency did not begin to remedy the situation until Monday, explaining that they were closed on Friday due to the state-mandated furlough. "The state did not do their job," says Personal Injury Attorney and avid cyclist who specializes in handling bicycle cases. "Pursuant to policy and directive, they are responsible for issuing warnings about highway construction projects, and they dropped the ball ... big time. Call it oversight, carelessness, stupidity or indifference ... it still comes down to many innocent people being seriously injured." If you or a loved one has been injured from a bicycle accident due to fault of a driver contact me for a free intitial consultation at my Rockville or Baltimore Offices at 1-800-320-0080.

In a lawsuit filed 14 years ago, a Floyd County jury has awarded $23.5 million to a New Albany family for severe illnesses to two children caused by a pesticide that was sprayed in their apartments unit in the mid-1990s. The award came after following years of motions and delays. It is expected to be appealed. The attorney for the apartment did not return a call to his office. The plaintiffs and their children, a daughter, then 2 years old, and son, then 6 months old, moved into the apartment in February 1994. Soon, both children began to suffer seizures and other neurological problems. According to their attorney the children's problems were caused by exposure to Creal-O, a chemical based on the pesticide Diazinon. The Environmental Protection Agency banned the pesticide from residential use in 2004. The attorney who filed the suit for the plaintiffs said the chemical was applied in the wrong way, even though it was legal for residential use at the time. "There was more applied than should have been applied, and it was applied in a careless manner," he said. He said a "crack and crevice" application of the pesticide should have been made. Instead, he said, it was applied "on the baseboards, ran down onto the carpeting (and) splashed up on the wall coverings. That's a misapplication." The daughter now 20, is developmentally no more than a 2-year-old, her mother said during an interview. "She can feed herself, but that's about it," she said. "She can't dress herself, undress herself, brush her teeth, brush her hair, shower herself--basically everything but feeding has to be done by somebody else."
The son, now 17 and a student in the 11th grade, has athletic physical ability but is delayed academically and socially, his parents said. "He's a big follower and really doesn't know how to distrust anybody or doesn't know how to judge somebody whether they're good or bad," said his father. The plaintiffs divorced during the years it took to bring the case to trial, and they now share the care of their children. "It's been devastating," the mother said of the effect on her and her ex-husband. "Our lives will never be the same." She said their son and daughter "haven't been the same since the first seizure." Her daughter slept on a metal daybed when they moved into the apartment, her mother said, and it would start to squeak at night. "That would wake us up, the squeaking," her mother said. "She would wake up moaning and she would convulse." At the same time, their son was also showing symptoms, his parents said. Still, they said, it took months before doctors diagnosed the problem and experts traced it to the chemical. They moved out of the apartment in January 1995 before their lease ended. The Superior Court jury that heard the case, and, awarded $500,000 each to the parents and $16 million to their daughter and $6.5 million to their son. Projected future medical costs for the daughter are about $14 million,attorneys said. But they said it would likely be a long time before any money changes hands because of anticipated appeals. The apartments still operates under the same ownership as when the plaintiffs lived there, the couple's lawyers said. "I just hope that this is a wake-up call for some people and that nobody ever should have to go through this," the plaintiff said.
Iy you or a relative has been subjected to health hazards at your home caused by another persons' negligence do not hesitate to contact me at my offices located in Rockville or Baltimore at 1-800-320-0080.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal has upheld a $65 million verdict for a woman injured in a 2007 traffic crash. The verdict is considered to be one of the largest by her County jury.
The victim, then 19, was driving her Dodge Neon when a tractor-trailer struck her car at State Road 35 and State Road 64 , according to the lawsuit. Her lawyers argued at trial that she had the green light and produced an eyewitness to testify to that. Before the crash, the High School graduate was attending a Florida Community College, majoring in psychology, court records show. She could speak six languages and was working as a residential aide for Florida Institute of Neurologic Rehabilitation, according to the deposition of her mother. After the crash, the victim was left with extensive injuries and is unable to care for herself. Her mother said in her deposition her daughter's condition requires constant supervision. During a normal day, she requires help to bathe, to dress, to eat, to go to the bathroom and other routine tasks. She has trouble walking and uses a wheelchair.
On March 18, , a jury found in favor of the victim with the multimillion-dollar verdict. A trucking company, and its part-time truck driver, had argued the amount should be reduced because it was excessive and a new trial should take place, court records show.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident do not hesitate to call my offices located in Rockville or Baltimore, Maryland at 800-320-0080.

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.

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 major Hospital settled a wrongful-death case with the family of a victim for $900,000. The case stemmed from the victim's death seven days after suffering a massive head injury due to a fall in the operating room as she was being prepared for transfer to her hospital bed. The fall caused a fractured skull and severe internal bleeding. The victim fell and broke her hip at home and was rushed to the emergency room. There it was determined that she would need surgery.
The next day, surgery was performed to repair her left hip. However, following the surgery, while the victim was still under anesthesia and had a breathing tube in her mouth, she fell as medical personnel were preparing to transfer her to her bed. A nurse had removed the belt on the surgical table in preparation to move her but did not announce that to others in the room. The family stated that they sued because they wanted to raise awareness about patient safety and to lead to changes in operating room procedures.

If you or a loved one are a victim of medical malpractice please contact my offices either in Rockville or Baltimore Md. at 1 800-320-0080 for a free consultation and case evaluation.

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.

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.