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The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a 14 year old suburban Chicago girl is in critical condition after the atv she was operating collided with another driven by her eleven year old brother.  While the children were wearing helmets, the girl was injured when the two vehicles collided in suburban Wadsworth.

The child has been hospitalized with a head injury.  Her brother escaped major injury with cuts and bruises.  All terrain vehicles have been the subject matter of extensive litigation surrounding their safety.

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The number of swine flu cases reported in Illinois has risen to 41 as of Thursday, April 30, 2009 according to the Chicago Sun-Times.  11 of those cases are being reported in the Chicago Area.  109 cases of swine flu have been confirmed nationwide.

Chicago area schools are closing in the face of what may be a pandemic outbreak of the virus.  State and local officials anticipate the number of confirmed cases in Chicago, Illinois to rise in the days and weeks ahead.

If you or a loved one has symptoms which may be swine flu please call your local doctor or hospital before you go to the office or emergency room.

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A Tennessee jury awarded a 33 year old woman $12 million dollars yesterday in what is being reported as one of the states largest ever jury awards.  The jury returned the verdict against a local gastroenterologist who left the girl brain damaged after a procedure that was meant to diagnose bowel problems.

The injury occured when the plaintiff suffered a tear in her small intestine during an edoscopic exam.  The doctor defended himself by trying to blame the victim for not going to the emergency room quickly enough once she began to experience symptoms of the tear.

Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC is a Chicago, Illinois law firm representing the victims of medical malpractice and other serious personal injury matters for over forty years.

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A bus full of tourists visiting California crashed on a highway south of San Francisco leaving four dead and dozens injured.  The crash occured on the popular US 101 highway which travels north-south along the California coast.  The bus apparently struck a center divider ejecting and killing several passengers.

Thirty-two passengers are believed to be injured.  Passengers were taken by bus and helicopter to area hospitals.  The bus tour originated in San Francisco and was headed south to Santa Barbara for a wine tasting tour.  Identities and  the origins of the victims of this tragedy are not currently being reported.

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The plastic surgeon who treated Kanye West’s mother the day before she died has given up his medical license in California.  Donda West, the longtime Chicago, Illinois resident and mother of rap artist Kanye West, died the day after cosmetic surgery at the hands of Dr. Jan Adams.

Adams has had a host of legal and personal problems since 2001, including four malpractice judgments, two DUI arrests and convictions and allegations that he failed to pay child support.  Rather then fight proceedings against him, he voluntarily gave up his medical license.

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More than 100 people have already died from the swine flu in Mexico, major news sources are reporting.  The swine flu is an influenza virus that normally infects pigs.  This swine flu outbreak is alarming because it appears the virus has crossed species and is infecting humans as well.  It appears that the virus which is running rampant through Mexico now is a genetic mixture of the swine, avian and human virus that maintains the architecture of a pig-like flu.  While no cases have yet been reported in Chicago or Illinois, there have been 20 reported cases in other states including New York, California, Kansas and Texas.  The United States Center For Disease Control and Prevention is an excellent resource for swine flu information.

The flu appears to be transmitted through the respiratory system, either through phlegm associated with coughing or sneezing.  Droplets of human fluid get on people’s clothing, hands or faces causing contamination.  Contact with pigs or pork have nothing to do with the transmission of the virus.

The symptoms of the swine flu are a fever of over 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, sore throat, respiratory congestion and in some cases, vomitting and diarrhea.  One to four days usually elapse from the time of infection to the onset of symptoms.  There is no vaccine for the swine flu.  If you think that you are infected please call your doctor immediately.

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One of the principal arguments backers of tort reform use to justify damages caps is that increased insurance premiums have an adverse effect on health care costs that are passed on to the consumer.  This argument persists in spite of the fact that there is little or no evidence that this actually occurs.  In California, for instance, caps on medical malpractice damages have been in place for more then thirty years and there has been health care savings passed on to the patient.  The Dallas Morning News is reporting this morning that tort reform is not a panacea for health care costs.

In Texas voters were convinced to amend the state constution to impose a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering damage award.  Again, caps have failed to lower health care costs.  One study, from Dartmouth College, found that health care costs actually rose 24% in the three years after tort reform damages caps were imposed.

Now researchers at the University of Alabama have analyzed health care costs in the 27 states where there is some limit on damages imposed by the legislature, otherwise known as tort reform.  They concluded that there is no correlation between tort reform damages caps and decreased costs of health care.  In fact the price of health insurance has doubled in those states with damages caps and medicare spending has increased on average nearly 5% a year.

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Yesterday, it is being reported, a Cook County, Illinois jury returned a $13 million verdict against a reckless driver who was involved in a car crash while test driving a BMW 530i, killing one of his passengers, the car salesman who was along for the drive.  The jury awarded $13.7 million to the family of 22 year old Roger Czapaski who was killed in the accident in South Barrington, Illinois.

During the test drive the vehicle’s driver was drove at 95 mph, more than twice the posted legal speed limit, according to eyewitness testimony.  The vehicle struck another vehicle that was turning into a parking lot at a local church.  The car then struck a light pole causing the vehicle to explode.

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The Chicago Sun-Times reported today in its health column about a frequently misdiagnosed medical problem in newborns called malrotation.  Malrotation is an abnormal alignment of the bowels which can cut off blood flow to the baby’s intestines.  Malrotation occurs in 1 in 500 births, and most cases are diagnosed within the first year of life.

The condition is often misdiagnosed because its symptoms are often confused with other, less serious conditions, like acid reflux or colic.  The condition can have serious consequences if it goes undiagnosed.  The longer the blood flow is cut off from the intestines, the more harmful the condition can become.  Undiagnosed and untreated it can result in death.  The gold standard treatment is a surgical procedure which untwists the bowel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i1pYz0yi_Fw

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Sadly, medical mistakes continue to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States.  There are close to 100,000 preventable deaths a year in America making medical errors the fifth leading cause of death in our country.  A culture of shame and a lack of accountability often times prevents full disclosure of medical mistakes to the victims or their families.

In Great Britain steps are being taken at the legislative level to change the secrecy that often involves a medical mistake.  Legislation is being introduced which would make it a doctor’s duty to inform the patient or his family if a medical mistake has occured.  This duty of candor will be imposed upon all health care providers and their corporate managers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-fWOmfpa3n8

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