Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A new study reveals some disturbing information about medical errors. According to a report in the journal Health Affairs, up to 1/3rd of people admitted to US hospitals end up becoming the victim of a medical mistake. That’s 10 times more hospital errors occurring than previously thought. In South Florida, our Miami medical malpractice lawyers represent victims injured as a result of all kinds of medical errors and we have seen the catastrophic consequences that can occur.

The study used data from a new hospital mistake tracking system to come up with its findings. Researchers looked at the records of 795 patients admitted to three US hospitals in 2004. They used a new method that involved looking for “triggers” to indicate possible problems, such as abnormal lab results or a stop order on a prescription. The team would then look to see if a medical mistake had been made.

The Global Trigger Tool found 354 adverse events occurring in 33.2% of admissions. These findings of medical mistakes are much higher than what other studies have reported.

Also according to the study:
• Medical mistakes happen in one out of every three hospital stays.
• Approximately 7% of patients affected sustain permanent injuries or die as a result.

Our Palm Beach medical malpractice attorneys are here to offer you a free case evaluation.

Examples of common hospital mistakes:
• Wrong-site surgery
• Medication mix-ups
• Anesthesia errors
• Surgical errors
• Patient neglect
• Wrong diagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Birthing malpractice
• Failure to obtain informed consent
• Poor post-operative care
• Nursing errors

Medical errors in hospitals go undetected, study suggests, Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2011

Make sure hospital stay doesn’t leave you sicker, Chicago Sun-Times, April 26, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice, Nolo

Health Affairs

More Blog Posts:
$19.2M Florida Medical Malpractice Verdict Awarded to Family of Girl with Cerebral Palsy, Florida Injury Attorney, March 23, 2011

Florida Judge Who Intends to File West Palm Beach Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against Surgeons and Radiologist Says Sponge was Left Inside His Body, Florida Injury Attorney, September 29, 2010

Ft. Lauderdale Hospital and Orthopedic Surgeon Must Pay $2.15 Million Medical Malpractice Award to Former Teen Ballerina, Florida Injury Attorney, June 24, 2010

Two Weston teens are dead from injuries they sustained in a South Florida pickup truck crash on Alligator Alley on Sunday night. 18-year-old Sasha Abitante and 17-year-old Juan Zambrano were passengers in the Dodge truck, which was transporting six teens from Broward County, when the vehicle went onto the unpaved median and overturned as the driver overcorrected the vehicle twice. Some of the passengers were ejected from the truck and onto the road.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 18-year-old Nickolas Wagy, the Weston teen who was driving the truck, was the only one wearing a seat belt. He sustained minor injuries. 18-year-old Fort Lauderdale teens Brian Corbet and Dylan Delgado suffered serious injuries, as did 18-year-old Weston teenager Gabriel Fernandez.

The South Florida teens were coming back from a reggae concert near Naples when the traffic crash happened.

Single-car collisions can prove just as fatal is fatal as Miami auto accidents involving more than one vehicle or a car and a pedestrian or bicyclist. If you are someone who was injured in a Palm Beach single-car crash, it is a good idea to explore your legal options because there may be other parties who should be held liable.

Common Causes of Florida Single-Car Accidents:

• Rollover
• Drunk driving
• Overcorrection
• Distracted driving
• Tire blowouts
• Vehicle defects
• Road defects
• Poor road condition
• Poor weather conditions
• Negligent driving
• Cell phone use
• Text messaging
• Drugged driving
• Speeding
• Driver inexperience

Fellow Weston students mourn, pray for 2 killed, 3 injured in Alligator Alley crash, Sun-Sentinel, April 18, 2011

2 teens killed, 3 injured in Alligator Alley crash, Miami Herald, April 18, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What to do after a car accident, MSN

More Blog Posts:
Jury Awards $2.25M Palm Beach County Wrongful Death Verdict in Fatal 2008 Boynton Beach Car Accident, Florida Injury Attorney, March 16, 2011

Number of Broward County and Palm Beach County Traffic Deaths Drop in 2009, Florida Injury Attorney, July 15, 2011

14-Year-Old Oakland Park Girl Dies in Boynton Beach Car Crash Involving Broward County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Vehicle, Florida Injury Attorney, January 26, 2010

Continue reading " South Florida Pickup Truck Crash Kills 2 Broward County Teens, Injures Four Others " »

A jury has awarded 87-year-old Mary Tullo $2.47 million for her husband’s lung cancer death. The Palm Beach County wrongful death verdict was issued against Philip Morris, the Liggett Group, and Lorillard Tobacco. Tobacco company RJ Reynolds was cleared of any wrongdoing related to the death of Tullo’s husband Dominick Tullo in 1998 at age 74.

Dominick smoked Parliament cigarettes during the last 30 years of his life, which is why cigarette maker Philip Morris will pay most of the damages at $2 million. Lorillard Tobacco and the Liggett Group, who were found 5% liable for making the other cigaratte brands that Dominick smoked, each will pay $225,000. The jury found Domnick 45% responsible for his death, which is why Mary is receiving $2.47 million rather than $4.5 million.

In this South Florida tobacco lawsuit, the plaintiff’s attorneys were adamant that cigarette manufacturers lied about the dangers from smoking, including the publication of a 1954 ad that was placed in close to 250 US newspapers by tobacco manufactures, whose “Frank Statement” maintained that cigarettes were safe to smoke.

Mary Tullo’s Palm Beach County tobacco lawsuit is an Engle progeny case. There are 300 Palm Beach County tobacco case and 8,000 cases in Florida stemming from the Miami-Dade class action case that in 1999 awarded plaintiffs $145 billion. The Florida Supreme Court threw out the award in 2006 and decided that each plaintiff must file a separate case. Of the 29 cases that have gone to trial, plaintiffs have won in 26 of the lawsuits.

Smoking Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes can cause cancer, heart attacks, emphysema, bronchitis, other health complications, and death. Unfortunately, for years tobacco companies did not notify people of the addictive properties of cigarettes or the health issues that can result. When the complications became publicly known, many smokers who had already become addicted were unable to stop.

Jurors award $2.4 million to Lake Worth widow of smoker, Palm Beach Post, April 13, 2011

Palm Beach County tobacco trial begins, SunSentinel, March 31, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Office of the Surgeon General

Tobacco Industry Marketing, American Lung Association

More Blog Posts:
$3.375 Million Florida Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded in Tobacco Lawsuit Against Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, March 1, 2011

Palm Beach Tobacco Litigation: Smokers’s Widow Gets $2.2M Award and $270K in Punitive Damages from Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, September 1, 2011

Florida Tobacco Litigation: Jury Awards $26.6 Million Ft Lauderdale Wrongful Death Verdict to Widow of Smoker who Died from Lung Cancer, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, September 1, 2011

Three children were killed in a catastrophic South Florida car crash on Sunday. The driver of the vehicle, Steveroy Hansen from Broward County, is the father of two of the kids. According to Florida Highway Patrol, the traffic accident occurred on Florida’s Turnpike when the 1998 Ford Explorer they were riding experienced a tire blowout, causing the vehicle to strike the retaining wall and another SUV and rolled over.

The names of the children that died are brothers Steve Hansen Jr., 11, and Stephaune Sean Hansen, 1, and family friend Laura Miller, 12. All three of them were ejected from the vehicle. Steveroy Hanson, Abigail Hansen, 8, and family friend Oliva Scott, 14, were transported to a West Palm Beach hospital for treatment of their injuries. Another driver, Barbara Ellen Allen, 50, was taken to a hospital after her Ford Escape was struck by debris from the car crash. Also treated for non-life threatening injuries was Satnarine Burton, 39. His Toyota Highlander was the vehicle struck by Hansen’s car.

Police say that the kids who were ejected may have been improperly belted. The authorities are still trying to determine what happened.

Rollover Accidents
Every year, over 10,000 people are injured in rollover crashes. For many of those fortunate enough to survive, they may be left with severe head trauma, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal injuries, paralysis, mental trauma, emotional anguish, or other debilitating injuries. Not only is it a motorist’s responsibility to drive safely to avoid involvement in a Palm Beach rollover accident, but also, the car manufacturer must make sure that the vehicle is designed in a way that doesn’t make it likely to rollover and, if rolling over is a risk—as is common with SUV’s and 15-passenger vans—then adequate safety measures must be put in place in the vehicle protect passengers.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding a Palm Beach car colllision, a number of parties can be held liable for injuries or death. Possible responsible parties may include a driver, a car manufacturer, the government entity responsible for the road where the collision happened, the manufacturer of a defective tire or another faulty auto part, and/or others.

Tire blow out causes fatal accident on Florida Turnpike, ABC Action News, April 4, 2011

3 children killed in turnpike crash, Miami Herald, April 4, 2011

Three Kids Killed, Dad Critically Injured In Turnpike Crash, CBS Miami, April 4, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Rollover, PBS

Tire Defects, Safercar.gov

Related Blog Posts:
Ft. Lauderdale Car Crash on I-95 Leaves Couple that was Ejected from Vehicle in Serious Condition, Florida Injury Attorney, March 9, 2011

Woman Struck by Van Dies in Lauderhill Pedestrian Accident, Florida Injury Attorney, August 11, 2010

Family of Naples Woman Files Collier County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against School Teacher Over Fatal Florida Truck Accident, Florida Injury Attorney, June 17, 2010

Continue reading " Deadly South Florida Crash Near the Palm Beach County Line Claims the Life of Three Children, Injures Two Others " »