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Medical Malpractice - Who is Treating You?
2007-05-30 17:48:00
Do you know who is treating you? I learned in medical malpractice defense that patients are often unaware that the professional treating them is not a physician. For example, a patient goes into a routine outpatient procedure under which they are sedated with anesthesia. The anesthesiologist M.D. greets the patient briefly and asks some history and may perform a short examination. This takes place after another professional, likely a C.R.N.A. certified nurse anesthetist and/or a nurse has taken a history from the patient. The M.D. doesn't do a real thorough job taking the history or performing an examination because he assumes this has been done by the nurse and/or C.R.N.A. He is present to sedate the patient and once sedated, leaves the operating room giving control and supervision over to the C.R.N.A. The patient has no idea that this is taking place and that they are not being cared for by the M.D. If something goes wrong during the surgery with the anesthesia, the C.R.N...
More About: Medical , Medical Malpractice , Treat , Eating

Medical Malpractice - Which Entities to Sue
2007-05-30 05:51:00
All of them. Everyone who was involved should get a timely notice of intent to sue. The main purpose of this item is to inform the public about the way hospitals are set up, which is a topic of which I had no knowledge prior to practicing as a medical malpractice defense attorney. Prior to that time, I had no knowledge whatsoever that the emergency departments, radiology departments, anesthesia departments, and various other departments are NOT employed by the hospital. More specifically, the ER Dr. treating you when you walk in the emergency room is probably not an employee of the hospital, but rather is employed by a group of physicians formed into a corporation, which has an independent contractor contract with the hospital to manage the emergency department in such a way as to provide competent, timely, and otherwise professional medical service. The same is true of the anesthesia and radiology departments. In defending the hospitals and its employees, we routinely asked ...
More About: Medical , Medical Malpractice

Tenant's Breach of Lease
2007-05-25 06:49:00
A tenant breached a lease by quitting the premises with more than six months left on her lease. She received an itemized list of damages to be deducted from the security deposit. In Michigan, if the tenant sends the landlord her forwarding address within 4 days of moving out, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit or send an itemized list of damages against the deposit and the tenant has seven days to object. In this case, we got the tenant out of the lease without having to pay anything for that lost rent! Read on to find out how. It was easy but not due to my manipulation. On the merits, we were arguing that the landlord failed to keep the premises safe because though the tenant had requested new locks in light of an attempted break-in at her apartment, nothing was done by the management. This was a good argument but was not weight bearing at all because what clinched the deal was the security deposit timeline. The management sent out my client the list of da...
More About: Breach , Lease , Ease , Brea , Tena

Social Security Disability Claim - Success after Multiple Denials
2007-05-19 21:16:00
I defended a hospital in this medical malpractice claim. The claimant lost oxygen for about eight minutes during a routine outpatient procedure. His attorney claimed that he needed 24-hour nursing care for the rest of his life. He was in his 50s and expected to live another 30+ years, resulting in potential damages in the millions of dollars range. We focused the defense on minimizing the damages and my mission became to prove that he did not need 24-hour nursing care and that he could still do some work in the national economy. He had filed for Social Security Disability Insurance on the basis that he could no longer do his previous job. He did not have an attorney or other representative assist him in his initial application and reconsideration. His Social Security Disability records became the mainstay of the defense. Both he and his wife, and his sister, completed activities of daily living questionnaires for the Social Security Disability examiner reviewing his claim fo...
More About: Success

Cross-Examination of the Lying Mother-in-Law
2007-05-17 07:04:00
I defended physicians, nurses and hospitals in medical malpractice cases for a few years. Several times we discovered evidence that gave our clients the winning edge. The evidence did not come from the medical records but from other documents or statements submitted by the plaintiff or by the plaintiff's family members to other entities. This is a cautionary entry. I caution anyone who is suing or testifying to think back to any source which might have contrary information whether from the deponent or any other person. For example, in one case, a failure to diagnose a pulmonary embolism resulting in death, the deceased patient's mother-in-law took the stand. She took the stand and lied hoping that her son would receive a large damages award, which would trickle down to her. She was the key witness for the opposition, the plaintiff/patient's side. She testified at deposition and at the trial that her daughter-in-law told her that she was having shortness of breath on the ...
More About: Cross , Mother , Lying , Exam , Ross

Scanner Law
2007-05-15 18:10:00
The "Scan ner Law" is something all consumers should be aware of. My law practice is based in Michigan and therefore, I write about the Michigan Scanner Law. A very frugal friend of mine mentioned to me that he rarely makes a trip to a certain retail and grocery supercenter without the scanner incorrectly scanning one of his items. Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 445.360a popularly called the Scanner Law or Item Pricing Act, applies to items on which the price is stamped or otherwise affixed, which are taken through an automatic checkout system, and for which a receipt is given. If the item does not scan correctly, the consumer gets the difference between the price stamped and the price charged, multiplied by 10. The minimum is $1.00 and the maximum is $5.00. Once you tell the storethat you are entitled to Scanner Law damages, they have 2 days to give you these statutory damages. If they do, you can't take them to court, unless you can prove they intentionally charge more. If th...
More About: Anne

Adverse Possession
2007-05-15 07:32:00
It has come to my attention from a very experienced webmaster that information on adverse possession is hard to find on the internet and thus, the topic of this writing. Adverse possession regards rights in the land of another. Acquiring property by adverse possession is analogous to acquiring an easement by prescription. To acquire a prescriptive easement, the use must be open and notorious, adverse and under claim of right, and continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period. To acquire property by adverse possession, the elements are the same except with adverse possession, the additional element of exclusivity of use must be met. If the elements are met and the statute of limitations has run, title to the property will vest in the possessor. If the true owner files suit before the 15 year period of limitations runs, even if the limitations period runs before the suit proceeds to judgment, the judgment will relate back to the time the complaint was filed. The true...
More About: Possession , Sion , Verse