Florida Injury Attorney Blog

Nelson Bailey, a Belle Glade judge, intends to sue two surgeons and radiologist for Palm Beach medical malpractice. Bailey developed serious health issues after a sponge was left inside him following a surgery to treat his diverticulitis. The medical procedure was performed at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

The retained sponge wasn’t discovered until five months later, during which time he experienced abdominal pain. Several CT scans were conducted before the sponge was finally correctly identified.

Bailey then underwent another surgery to have the sponge, which by then had festered into a bile- and pus-stained mass that was over a foot wide and a foot long, removed. He says that because of the medical error, part of his intestine had to be taken out because it had rotted. He now has to be close to a bathroom and is no longer go horseback trail riding. Bailey also says that he almost had a heart attack after he was given an incorrectly dispensed medication from the hospital’s pharmacy that accelerated his heart instead of reducing his blood pressure.

While the judge has already settled his West Palm Beach hospital mistake case with Good Samaritan and its owner Tenet Healthcare System, he has yet to file his civil complaint against the radiologist and surgeons.

Retained Surgical Instruments
Unfortunately, accidentally leaving a sponge or surgical tool inside a patient following a surgical procedure is not an uncommon medical error. Retained surgical instruments can cause serious health complications, such as fistula, intestinal obstruction, abscess formation and adhesions, sepsis, infection, and even death.

There are procedures that must be followed in the operating room to ensure that sponges, scissors, clamps, blades, and other surgical instruments are not forgotten in the patient’s body. Failure to remove all surgical instruments can be grounds for a Miami medical malpractice case.

Sponge left inside Palm Beach County judge during surgery spurs him to seek reform, The Palm Beach Post, September 13, 2010

Judge to sue after surgical sponge was left in him, Miami Herald/CBS4.com, September 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Retained Surgical Instruments and Sponges, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Preventing retained surgical instruments, AORN Journal, April 2008

As our Miami truck accident law firm reported in an earlier blog post, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reporting that there were 503 large truck crash deaths and 17,000 injuries in the US in 2009. Granted, that’s 189 less truck accident deaths and six thousand less truck collision injuries than in 2008, but there is still more that can be done by truckers, other motorists, and others to decrease the number of truck crashes that occur each year.

Just this Tuesday, one man died in a New Port Richey truck accident involving a dump truck and three other vehicles. The Florida Highway Patrol says that the multi-vehicle Pasco County truck collision happened when trucker Daniel Howard Arends failed to stop his 1998 Mack dump truck and rear-ended a 2007 Chevy pickup truck driven by Ruben Echeverria. The pickup truck driver died from his injuries.

Injured in the truck crash were Arends and John Shelak, the driver of a Saturn also involved in the Florida collision, who sustained minor injuries. Bonnie-Jean Shelak, who was a passenger in the Saturn, and Darynn Magee, the driver of a Mustang that was also involved, sustained serious injuries.

Also on Tuesday, Hillsborough deputy Mark Longway was killed when his cruiser was involved in a Tampa semitrailer crash in the downtown area. The Florida semi-truck crash occurred at around 5:18 am as the 48-year-old cop was driving home from his night shift.

Trucker Lamont Ashley, a 39-year-old Davenport resident, claims he had the green light. Police are investigating the Florida-semitrailer crash.

Meantime, the FHP is continuing its search for the driver of a tow truck that fled a Pasco County truck crash site. Killed in the Florida truck crash last Thursday night was 83-year-old Joe D. Sampson, the oldest deacon at Trilby United Methodist church.

FHP say that Sampson’s vehicle had just become disabled after colliding with another auto at the US 98 and US 301 intersection when no more than a minute later, his vehicle was hit by a tow truck that then left the scene. James Cramer, the driver of the other vehicle that was involved in the initial Florida car crash with Sampson’s car, sustained serious injuries.

In South Florida, our Hollywood, Florida truck accident lawyers represent truck crash victims and their families.

Hunt intensifies for hit and run tow truck, Examiner.com, September 19, 2010

1 dead after Port Richey dump truck crash, Tampa Bay Online, September 21, 2010

Hillsborough deputy killed in crash with semitrailer truck in downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg Times, September 22, 2010

Related Web Resources:
NHTSA Reports 2,558 Florida Traffic Accident Deaths in 2009, Floridainjuryattorneyblog.com, September 10, 2010

Trucking Accidents, Nolo

Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics-CNTBS

Continue reading " Recent Florida Truck Crashes Cause Three Deaths " »

The parents of 17-year-old Jonathan Fontanez are suing the Broward Sheriff's Office and three deputies for his Florida wrongful death. Fontanez died after a deputy shot him in the heart. The fatal shooting took place at the Fontanez family’s West park residence.

According to Fontanez’s mother Evelyn Fontanez, the deputies never identified themselves when they arrived at the residence at around 1am on Aug. 11, 2008, and her son thought that they were home invaders. The deputies were there to arrest Fontanez on armed robbery and assault charges.

Fontanez swung a baseball bat at them and it was after this that the deputies beat, Tasered, and shot him. Although Fontanez was shot while trying to reach for Deputy Michael Francis’s gun, the plaintiffs' lawyer is arguing that the weapon was in a special holster and it would have been hard for anyone to grab it. Therefore, it was not reasonable to think that the teen would have been able to retrieve the weapon.

In addition to the BSO, the other defendants in the Broward County, Florida wrongful death case are Francis, Sgt. Santiago Vazquez, and Deputy Samuel Wagers. Fontanez’s family is seeking unspecified damages.

Excessive Use of Police Force
Law enforcement officers must abide by strict guidelines when using force of any kind and excessive use of force is not allowed. Unfortunately, every year suspects, defendants, persons convicted of crimes, and innocent bystanders are injured or killed because they were subject to police brutality. The unnecessary use of force has been known to include the use of chemical sprays, fists, batons, electro-shock weapons, dogs, batons, and guns. All of these, especially when used with excessive force, can cause Miami personal injury or wrongful death.

West Park family sues BSO and 3 deputies in teen's shooting death, Sun-Sentinel, August 23, 2010

17-Year-Old Killed In Deputy-Involved Shooting, WPLG Miami, August 12, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Broward Sheriff's Office

Police Brutality: The Use of Excessive Force, Drury.Edu

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that with 2,558 Florida traffic deaths occurring last year, the state saw a 30% decline in highway fatalities from the year before when there were 2,980 Florida motor vehicle crash deaths. Alcohol was a factor in 770 of the 2009 Florida auto crash deaths.

Our Miami car accident law firm considers it good news any time there is a decrease in the number of Florida motor vehicle deaths. This decline in fatalities was also reflected nationally last year in what U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is calling the lowest highway fatality number since 1950. Highway deaths dropped from 37,432 in 2008 to 33,808 in 2009.

According to David Strickland, NHTSA’s administrator, anti-drunk driving initiatives and educating people about the importance of seat belt use have contributed significantly to the declining traffic death toll. Law enforcement and safety officials also began taking more aggressive measures to discourage distracted driving, which causes thousands of US traffic crashes annually.

More 2009 US Traffic Safety Facts:
• 2,217,000 Traffic crash injuries
• 17,000 Large truck injuries
• 503 Large truck deaths
• 90,000 Motorcycle accident injuries
• 4,462 Motorcycle crash deaths
• 59,000 Pedestrian accident injuries
• 4,092 Pedestrian accident deaths
• 51,000 Pedalcyclist accident injuries
• 630 Pedalcyclist crash deaths
• 10,839 Drunk driver-related deaths
• 770 Florida drunk driving deaths

Even if you are covered under Florida’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP), you should still explore your Ft. Lauderdale personal injury options. Many Palm Beach car crash injuries are catastrophic and costly and you may want and need to hold any liable parties responsible to help cover your associated damages and costs.

2009 Data Show Major Across-the-Board Declines in all Categories, September 9, 2010
Despite a Slight Increase in Road Travel, NHTSA

Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle crashes, NHTSA, August 2010 (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Florida Department of Transportation

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

14 years after the death of her husband from lung cancer, Liz Piendle has been awarded $2.2 million for the Palm Beach wrongful death of her husband and $270,000 in punitive damages against tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds. Piendle’s 55-year-old husband Charles was a smoker who lit up two packs a day for 30 decades. The 60-year-old Royal Palm Beach resident has expressed satisfaction with the Palm Beach tobacco litigation verdict.

Although jurors didn’t that find either RJ Reynolds or Philip Morris were negligent, they did hold them 55% liable for Charles’s death. They found the longtime smoker to be 45% at fault, which is why Piendle will get $2.2 million out of the $4 million they said she should receive for her pain and suffering. Piendle’s case is the first of about 300 Palm Beach County tobacco injury lawsuits to go to trial.

The cases stem from a Miami class-action complaint from that in 1999 led to a jury awarding smokers and surviving family members $145 billion in damages for tobacco companies' negligence in trying to hide that smoking was dangerous. The Florida Supreme Court tossed out the award in 2006 and ruled that smokers must file separate Florida tobacco lawsuits each explaining how tobacco companies and their cigarettes impacted them.

Piendle claimed that her husband got addicted to smoking when he was a teenager and was only able to stop seven years before he died. While the defendants argued that Charles could have quit smoking, Piendle’s tobacco litigation attorneys claimed that the “misinformation campaign” that lasted for decades wasn’t Charles’ fault.

Out of 22 Florida tobacco lawsuits decided by juries, 17 cases have gone in the plaintiffs’ favor. Tobacco companies have only won 3 cases.

Some 8,000 tobacco litigation cases have been filed in Florida.

Jury orders two tobacco giants to pay $270,000 in punitive damages to widow of smoker, Sun-Sentinel, August 20, 2010

Widow to get tobacco award, Herald Tribune, August 20, 2010

Tobacco companies ordered to pay $2.2 million to widow of smoker, formerly of Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach Post, August 19, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Philip Morris

RJ Reynolds

Bulletin: Cigarettes Remain Dangerous to Your Health, Politics Daily, June 18, 2010

Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., Florida Supreme Court Decision (PDF)