Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyers Blog

Published on: March 23, 2009

Nursing Homes, The Mentally Ill And Violence – As America Ages Problems Arise

In what is being reported as a Chicago example of a growing trend nationwide, a 77 year old man south-side nursing home resident was killed by his 50 year-old mentally ill roommate. Over the past several years nursing homes have become common places to put mentally ill adults who have nowhere else to go. The unfortunate problem is that most nursing home facilities are not staffed with care givers who have the appropriate skill sets necessary to deal with mentally ill, and often violent, patients.

Illinois ranks first nationwide in the number of mentally ill patients under the age of 65 who live in nursing or assisted care facilities.

When a nursing home assumes the care of an elderly or infirm patient they owe him or her the obligation to provide a safe and nurturing living environment. We have seen an uptick in these types of cases in our own practice and are concerned that this is a growing trend that will effect Chicago’s elderly as the projected elderly population in america grows over the next many years.

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Published on: March 22, 2009

Department Of Dirty Tricks

By Ian R. Alexander

Jessica Fargen reported in today’s Boston Herald that a Boston Medical Malpractice defense attorney hired by one of the area’s largest malpractice insurance companies advised a doctor that he could avoid being served with a summons in a major medical malpractice lawsuit if he left the country.

Dr. Eran Bar-Mer finished his fellowship at Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center and was travelling cross-country with the intention to emmigrate to Israel. Allegedly his insurance company appointed lawyer advised him that he was “lucky” to be leaving the country and the jurisdiction of the court. He was ultimately served with the lawsuit when he returned to Boston on business two months later.

Legal proceedings are adversarial in nature. Most lawyers believe in punching hard but punching fair. When a member of the bar advises a defendant whom he represents to leave the jurisdiction of the court to avoid service things have gone a little too far. Hopefully this lawyer has simply lost his way. It is sad when the greed and corruption that has become pervasive in corporate america taints the legal profession.

Published on: March 21, 2009

What Are The Measure Of Damages In A Medical Malpractice Case?

By Ian R. Alexander

Our clients often ask us about damages in medical malpractice cases. Sometimes they tell us that they aren’t interested in financial compensation and only want to do something to make sure that their doctor doesnt hurt anybody else.

The remedy in civil medical malpractice is financial. When we proceed with a medical malpractice lawsuit we go to court seeking money damages. What those damages will be is ultimately a decision that will be made by a jury after being presented with evidence of both economic and pecuniary loss.

Some of our clients are happy to learn that each and every malpractice claim is reported to a national databank which is more or less a doctor’s permanent record. Additionally, the Illinois Department of Professional Responsibility investigates every malpractice claim that goes to verdict or settles to determine if the doctor’s license ought to be affected.

Published on: March 20, 2009

Arizona Jury Awards Record Damages

By Ian R. Alexander

We like to take note of outstanding verdicts and settlements from around the country on our blog. Today an Arizona jury awarded $11 million to the widow of a 36 year old victim of a traumatic brain injury that occured at an assisted living facility.

While a resident at the facility his caregivers force fed him plastic bags, catsup packets, paper towels and candy wrappers which caused an obstruction of his GI tract. These foreign body obstructions directly caused the patients death.

Every patient at every facility deserves to be cared for in a humane and dignified way.

Published on: March 19, 2009

Richardson Death Sheds Light On The Reality Of Brain Injuries

By Ian R. Alexander

Yesterday 45 year-old actress Natasha Richardson died tragically after she sustained a brain injury in what has been reported as a minor fall on a Quebec ski slope. It has been reported in some media outlets that her brain become swollen after she sustained a shearing injury caused by whiplash type forces during her fall down.

While her autopsy has not been made public and we have no direct knowledge of the facts surrounding her death, the fact that what at first seemed to be a relatively minor injury resulted in tragedy is not an unfamiliar circumstance. We have represented many brain injured clients who have suffered their injuries as a result of what at first seemed like mundane every day trauma.

In 2005 Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC hired a world renowned expert on vestibular function to measure shearing forces on the brain and theorize on how they translate to brain injuries.. Our expert’s reseach compared the relatively mundane forces that the brain experiences daily during activities of normal living to excessive forces on the brain that occur in activities like roller coaster riding or piloting a jet fighter. What we learned was extraordinary. Force on the brain cannot be measured on a linear axis. The head and brain moves rotationally on a 360 degress plane. The body cannot compensate for some of these more unusual head movements that at first glance seem ordinary. As a result tremendous shearing forces can injury the brain. This research has really helped us learn and understand the mechanisms of head injuries.

Published on: March 18, 2009

The Jury On Facebook

By Ian R. Alexander

There is little doubt that technology has changed the way we communicate with each other. In the past several years social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter have allowed ordinary citizens to connect with one another in extraordinary ways. Trial Lawyers have always been concerned with influence outside information might have on jurors who are actively deliberating important matters in trial courts. At the intersection of the courtroom and technology we are confronted with an Interesting phenomenon. Facebook musings and tweets are now coming to you straight from inside the jury room.

In Philadelphia a juror on a major capitol murder case announced to Facebook that everyone “should stay tuned for a big announcement” before a verdict was announced in a trial that lasted more then five months. This is not an isolated incident. Apparently people are tweeting and facebooking live from the courthouse everyday.

Technology is a part of everyone’s life. People feel compelled to share the most intimate details of their personal lives with people they hardly know over the internet. It should come as no suprise that jurors are sharing the details of the courtroom online. The question for judges and lawyers is how do we deal with this. We live in interesting times.

Published on: March 18, 2009

Obama Names New 7th Circuit Judge

By Ian R. Alexander

President Obama has nominated Indiana judge, David F. Hamilton, to an opening on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. This is our new presidents first appointment to the bench. Hamilton is currently a federal district judge in Indianapolis. He previously served as counsel to U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) when Bayh was governor of Indiana.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is the federal appellate court that has jurisdiction over appeals of matters that occur in the federal courts of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The court is located in The Everett Dirkson Federal Building and is composed of eleven judges. The current Chief Judge is Frank H. Easterbrook who was appointed by Pres. Ronald Reagan.

Hamilton’s nomination was praised by consumer advocates. “David Hamilton is an ideal choice for this seat,” said Kathryn Kolbert, president of People for the American Way. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a willingness to put principle ahead of politics and bring an open mind to every case.”

Published on: March 17, 2009

Chicago Medical Malpractice – Wrongful Death Damages

By Ian R. Alexander

Survivors of a victim of a wrongful death that occured before May 31, 2007 in Illinois were limited under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act to recover only pecuniary loses completely discounting the survivors grief from consideration. Pecunary loss includes the loss of benefit of the decedent’s love, affection, care, attention, companionship, guidance and protection. Now an amendment to the act allows the recovery of grief, sorrow and mental suffering of the survivors of a wrongful death.

Grief, sorrow and mental suffering have long been recognized in medicine as scientifically based components of the anguish associated with the loss of a loved one. The law now more accurately reflects the actual loses sustained by the survivors of a wrongful death.

Published on: March 16, 2009

Kentucky Jury Awards $2.5 Million

By Ian R. Alexander

A Kentucky jury awarded a married couple $2.5 million dollars when their medical malpractice lawsuit went to verdict last week.

In 2001, Sophia Savage underwent a hysterectomy at a Kentucky hospital. During the surgery her doctors left behind a sponge which was not discovered until 2005. Doctors discovered the sponge after she complained of pain.

The sponge lodged itself in her lower intestine, requiring her surgeon to remove 49 centimeters of her bowel when the sponge was removed.

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Published on: March 6, 2009

Doctors Silencing Patients: Is This A Disturbing New Trend?

By Ian R. Alexander

Websites like Angie’s List offer online reviews on all types of service providers, including doctors. It is undeniable that the internet provides a broad forum for public discussion, good and bad, that is very powerful. If a search engine like Google gets a hold of negative information, even if it is untrue, it is next to impossible to have that information removed from the internet. Nevertheless, the internet has made individual consumers a powerful force in the marketplace, through the power of the keyboard and mouse.

Doctors, concerned about the adverse effect of negative online publicity, have now taken to the practice of requiring patients to sign agreements not to post online performance reviews of their physicians. An online company owned by physicians is charging doctors $1500 to learn how to implement this strategy into their practice.

Why the Taliban-style approach to information management? Doctors are panicked by the prosepect of litigation. Are these Draconian attempts to stifle free speech even enforceable? Doubtful, but still unresolved. Luckily, we still have the something called the First Ammendment.