Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Having a car equipped with a keyless system and push button start may be a convenience for some and a cool gadget for others, but regardless, you should be aware of the concerns around owning a keyless system vehicle. A recent LA Times article raised questions regarding the safety of driving a car with a new keyless system. The article states that there have been reported concerns including people not being able to turn off their engines in emergencies and people who unintentionally left their engines running for hours.

How can it be possible for some drivers to forget they left their engines running? With all the distractions of life, it could be very easy to forget to press the off button after stepping out of their vehicles. And while some vehicles warn their drivers that the engine is still running, and some automatically shut off after the driver walks away, some vehicles offer no warning if the engine keeps running after the driver steps away from the car. If all keyless system vehicles shut off on their own via a timer after the driver leaves the car, not only would this be safer, it would also save gas. According to the Chicago Tribune, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Society of Automotive Engineers are working on standards that would make driving these vehicles safer.

If your car is left running in the garage, dangerous carbon monoxide fumes from the vehicle will enter your home, leading to harmful or even deadly consequences. Carbon monoxide does not have a particular smell or color, so it is difficult to detect unless you already feel some of the symptoms from exposure to carbon monoxide. Some of these symptoms include feeling weak, dizzy, disoriented, nauseous, and having headaches.

Causes of carbon monoxide poisoning range from leaving idling vehicles in the garage to having malfunctioning gas heaters at home. Earlier this year, two Sarasota, Florida, Ringling College students woke up feeling dizzy and disoriented. They were lucky to have woken up, as they were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Six people in total were affected as a result of a defective gas heater in a home that is owned by Ringling College. They were all treated and released from the hospital.

Not everyone affected by carbon monoxide poisoning is so lucky. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carbon monoxide poisoning sends over 20,000 people to emergency rooms nationwide and over 400 Americans die from Carbon monoxide poisoning each year. One of the precautions to take in the prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning includes installing carbon monoxide detectors at home.

Continue reading "Florida Residents Beware: New Vehicle Ignition Systems May Pose Carbon Monoxide Risk" »

Dead by Mistake a recent Hearst Corporation study, estimates that 200,000 Americans will die this year from hospital errors and infections. These preventable errors can affect anyone regardless of age, wealth, previous health history, social status, or level of education. And as personal injury attorneys who help relatives of those victims of wrongful death or malpractice, we have seen the disastrous effects of these mistakes.

Three-week-old Alyssa Shinn was born 14 weeks prematurely and was progressing well until her death following an accidental overdose of zinc (ABC News). At a hospital in Indiana, three babies died after receiving an overdose of heparin.

Michael Hurewitz, a healthy 57-year-old newspaper reporter, entered Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City to donate part of his liver to his brother. He died there from an infection contracted in the hospital after the surgery.

Even the prestigious Massachusetts General Hospital is not immune from error. Trevor Nelson, a 34-year-old producer with the television news show 60 Minutes, was admitted with a headache and fever. He was diagnosed with viral meningitis, a condition that frequently resolves itself within about 10 days even without treatment. However, Nelson was administered frequent high doses of powerful narcotic drugs and died within 15 hours of his hospital admission.

How can you protect yourself if you are hospitalized? Be a partner in your care, not just a passive observer. Ask questions, and check your medications to be sure that you are receiving the correct drugs and dosages. Have employees check your name and compare it to the name on the chart or on their orders before giving you any treatment or taking you for any procedures. Check that hospital employees wash their hands or wear fresh disposable gloves when treating you. And if you are unable to take these measures for yourself, have a family member or friend act as your advocate.

Continue reading "Prescription for Death" »

Bayer's drug trasylol, also known under the generic name aprotinin, was widely administered during heart surgery to control bleeding, but research indicates that it may be responsible for a multitude of deaths.

A 2006 study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that trasylol increased patients' risks of kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke. The researchers concluded that the drug accounted for $1 billion in annual dialysis costs as a result of the 10,000 to 11,000 cases of kidney failure attributed to its use.

Additional studies in the United States and Canada revealed that patients receiving trasylol incurred a much higher death rate than those who had received other drugs

According to a report on CBS News' 60 Minutes, trasylol was given to 52-year-old Joseph Randone in January 2008 to decrease the bleeding risk during what should have been routine heart valve replacement surgery. Shortly after the surgery, he suffered two heart attacks and kidney failure. Eventually, his legs had to be amputated, his eyes sewn shut, and a pacemaker implanted in his heart before his eventual death. His surgeon indicated that he believed trasylol caused the complications.

Bayer allegedly concealed information from one of its own studies about the dangers of using trasylol during an FDA advisory hearing in September 2006. In the face of mounting evidence of the drug's adverse effects, the FDA requested in November 2007 that Bayer stop sales. However, it was not until May 2008 that Bayer recalled any remaining supply of the drug from the market.

On April 25, 2008, Bayer announced that 78 trasylol lawsuits were filed. The first trasylol trial consolidated in a multidistrict litigation is now scheduled to begin on January 18, 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Continue reading "Trasylol Increases Death Rate Among Heart Surgery Patients" »

ABC News reported (November 27, 2007) that a Rhode Island hospital was fined $50,000 for committing three serious surgical errors in one year. In two cases, the neurosurgeons operated on the wrong side of the patients head. In the third case, a neurosurgeon drilled on the right side even though the patient's CAT scan showed bleeding on the left side of the brain, but fortunately the error was caught and the hole was closed so that the surgery could proceed on the correct side.

Here are some additional recent examples of wrong site surgery:

• A Chicago area man had surgery performed on the wrong knee, resulting in serious injury to a healthy knee and unanticipated medical bills.
• A man was permanently disabled because the surgeon fused the bone in the wrong ankle.
• A 52-year-old Florida man had the wrong leg amputated and received compensation of $900,000 from the hospital and $250,000 from the surgeon.
• The right kidney of an 84-year-old woman was mistakenly removed instead of her gall bladder.
• A 17-year-old girl received the wrong heart and lungs in a transplant and eventually died.

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) Sentinel Event Statistics, between 1995 and June 30, 2009 there were 837 cases of wrong site surgery.

Minimize the Probability of Surgery on the Wrong Site

You can take steps to help prevent wrong site surgery:

• Investigate your doctor's credentials to determine Board Certification(s) and how many of the same procedures he/she has performed.
• Investigate the quality of the hospital and its ranking in various specialty areas at websites such as:
• United States Department of Health and Human Services
• HealthGrades
• Consumer Reports
• Tell the nurses and doctors your full name, why you are having the surgery, and your date of birth. While this may sound obvious, there is at least one known case of two people with the same names but different middle initials having surgery in the same hospital at the same time but for different reasons.
• Be sure that the doctor initials the site of the surgery as recommended by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Continue reading "Hospital Performs Brain Surgery on Wrong Side Three Times" »

It is imperative for the South Florida personal injury attorney to ascertain all sources of insurance coverage available to the client.  This is especially true when the negligent driver's insurance policy is insufficient to cover the injuries sustained by the client.  Determining what coverage is available can be complex and require diligent research to uncover all available sources of insurance.  Florida law and the insurance policy will provide assistance in finding additional coverage for the car accident victim.

The owner of the negligent vehicle is an appropriate party to look to first for insurance coverage.  If the driver of the negligent vehicle owns his own car, then you also want to look to him for coverage.  If the negligent driver did not own his own vehicle, but lived with a relative that owned a vehicle, then the client may be entitled to the coverage of that relative.  If the negligent driver was in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident, then the diligent personal injury attorney should also look to the negligent driver's employer for additional coverage.

Florida personal injury lawyers must also look to their own clients for additional coverage in the form of uninsured motorist insurance policies.  First, the attorney should look to the client's policy and determine if it includes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.  Next, if the client did not own the vehicle he was driving at the time of the accident, uninsured motorist coverage may still be obtainable from the policy on the car the client was driving when the accident occurred.  Finally, coverage may be derived from any relative the client lived with at the time of the accident if the client did not own an automobile or the client owned an automobile, but a resident-relative had a stacking uninsured motorist policy.

These coverage determinations often require more research than simply looking at the available insurance policy and the police reports.  It is important to also research what vehicles are owned by the negligent driver (if any), where he resided at the time of the accident, whom he resided with, where he was employed at the time of the accident, and any other information that will assist the South Florida personal injury attorney in securing the highest possible insurance coverage available for her client.

Continue reading "Finding Insurance Coverage for South Florida Car Accidents" »

Recently, a disturbing story involving a San Diego, California Public Defender and his disgruntled client splashed the headlines with an in-court, feces-flying fiasco.  The appointed defense attorney was apparently smeared with feces about his face and head by his client who had smuggled a bag of excrement into the courtroom.  After besmirching counsel, the defendant turned his wrath on the jury and flung the remaining fecal matter into their box.  The reason given for such an outrageous offense was the defendant's disappointment of not having his present counsel removed as his representative.

Although this incident occurred in a Californian criminal court, many lessons can be derived from it by the South Florida personal injury attorney.  Although inexcusable, it is an important reminder that personal injury attorneys need to protect and nourish the sacred attorney-client relationship.  Whether it is an automobile accident, a medical malpractice action, or any of the numerous other cases maintained by the personal injury attorney, it is important communicate effectively with your client and set their expectations from the initial consultation.

The Rules Regulating the Florida Bar focus heavily on the client-lawyer relationship.  These Rules not only provide excellent guidance for attorneys, but expressly convey the requisites by which all attorneys are to interact with their clients.  This includes promptly informing clients of decisions and circumstances that require the clients informed consent, reasonably consulting with the client about how the objectives of their case are to be accomplished, keeping the client informed about their case, and replying to the clients requests for information.  Although these mandates at first glance seem to be inherent in the ideal of professionalism, it is important that South Florida personal injury attorneys take the time to make sure they are providing this level of service to each client.

The attorney-client relationship is symbiotic, however, and requires the active participation of not only the lawyer, but also the client.  That is why it is important to explain to the personal injury client what will be expected from them throughout the course of their representation and any limitations of the attorney's assistance.  If the proper expectations are set from the very beginning of the relationship including what the client should expect throughout the representation, what will be required of them, how long the case is anticipated to last, and what services the attorney will not be providing, it will make the process much smoother.

With a focus on the mandates of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar and active communication with--and participation from--the client, it will enable the South Florida attorney to act with the commitment and dedication necessary to pursue the matter with the zeal that all clients expect and deserve.

***DISCLAIMER: The content provided is not intended to be construed as legal advice.  If you have any questions or concerns, based on your factual circumstances, please contact Law Offices Cytryn & Velazquez, P.A. at 1-877-853-7466. 

Continue reading "The South Florida Personal Injury Attorney-Client Relationship" »