Medical Lawyer Blog

We have had previous lawyers handling our case and this is what they keep having problems with. I know
attorney’s are the best way to go, but I would like to try on my own as well. Please keep this in mind when
answering my questions. Serious answers only please.

Have you heard of a second opinion? Doctors are reluctant to view a case unless the first doctor will release the records of the patient. They call it professional ethics. Actually is a dodge to keep from being sued by a patient. The only way to get the second opinion is to go through all the tests again with a second doctor. Which is more expensive, the doctor or the lawyer?

I have spoken to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer and he wanted me to get a paper signed from my childs dr stating that if the E.R. dr would have cleaned wound , then child would not have gotten infection and been admitted to hospital. Well my childs dr signed it, so how much does that help my case?
The infection that got into head wound was Strep B, a intestinal infection, so the only way it would have gotten infected if someones hands werent clean and if cleaned out it wouldnt have gotten infected.
Hi clock, he got strep b infection in his head, and the only way to get that is from someones hands. My son had to be admitted for 3 days into hospital with 2 IV’s and he was only 4. That could have been avoided if they would have taken 5 min. to clean it out and it was deep.
Sandra, yes I know it could have come from any of us, but my point is IF THE DR WOULD HAVE CLEANED IT, LIKE HE IS SUPPOSE TO DO, WHICH HE DIDN’T MY SON WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO BEEN ADMITTED INTO HOSPITAL. The dr didn’t clean it before closing the wound.

I am a little bit confused on the doctor signing a paper that would mean he/she would need to testify
(at some stage, if the necessity arose) against the other doctor.
I see another Answerer has already stated that.

However, I am more confused about the infection that resulted being STREP B and what it has to do with any wound.?
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How do people get infected with group B strep?

Group B strep bacteria are different from many other types of bacteria that can cause disease. People can be "colonized" with group B strep. This means that they carry the bacteria in their bodies but are not infected and do not become sick. Adults can carry the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, genital tract, or urinary tract. About 10% to 30% of pregnant women are colonized with group B strep in the genital tract.

Colonization with group B strep is usually harmless. The bacteria can become deadly, though, if something happens that allows them to invade the bloodstream. In adults, weakened immunity resulting from cancer treatment or a chronic illness can prompt an infection. More often, pregnant women who carry the bacteria can unknowingly transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Newborns can acquire early-onset group B strep disease either before or during delivery. The cause of late-onset disease in babies is not well understood.

How is group B strep infection diagnosed?

Group B strep infection is diagnosed by a laboratory test of blood or spinal fluid.
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Reference:
Courtesy of >>>> www.dhpe.org/infect/strepb.html
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Now: Having referred to the above Reference..The Facts on Strep B, if the doctor that treated your child was a man, I dont think U have a case, as the disease needs to be transmitted and for a man to do that, even with NO Gloves..would be about 10 million to 1 or even more in Odds.
"On the other hand" IF the doctor was a woman ?!!
and was NOT so hygienic, then a case might be established, as she (the female doctor) may have been or is, a Carrier.( Remember here, that the doctors lawyer would also attempt to prove U as the Carrier)
Even so, the Case would come down to being Hygienic..and the Female doctor (if it was a female) would
deny it..If an infection resulted (say it did/was) from negligence, it would need to be a very clear cut issue that negligence resulted in a Carrier transmitting the disease. THIS Female doctor would also need to advise authorities she was a Carrier..IF, in the event she has not advised authorities that she is a Carrier of Strep B and is practising..U got a Million dollar case.(or more)
All this is, however, supposition.
Your Question is >>?Medical malpractice in Tennessee.
What your Question refers to is (if proven) >> malpractice in ANY city/town/country in the World, not just Tennessee.

[FootNote:]
What "Just Me" is attempting to get a message across is that she understands the Strep B and possible Sources. What she is frustrated in IS that regardless of "WHO" was the Infected Carrier..if Hygiene had been lacking then the risk of infection was high and did occur. It does not matter who touched the child and who might have had been or is, the Carrrier..even IF the Mother was the Carrier, IF the wound had been correctly attended to, then the chances of high infection (which did occur) would have been minimal or non-existant.

Since Lawyers are just Legal Representatives of their respective clients how can they legally take their percentage from the net of a settlement since their clients cannot and the clients must take their percentage after medical liens and lawyer expenses? Hence Lawyers are able to make 30% off their own expenses which they deduct out of the settlement money yet already have made 30% on that money.

The net proceeds are AFTER all the expenses. You seem to be referring to the GROSS amount.

A contingency agreement always is based on the gross amount of the settlement. If the court awards $100,000 and the contingency agreement is for 30%, the lawyer takes $30,000. Any other costs are irrelevant.

You could of course agree to settle for some portion of the net amount, but that must be agreed beforehand. It makes no difference, the lawyer is basing his agreement on what he sees as the outcome of the case. If the net amount of the above example was projected to be say $50,000 after medical costs, the lawyer (still seeking his $30,000) would be a fool to agree to take the case for less than 60%

People seem to fail to understand that, in a contingency case, the lawyer gets NOTHING is he loses, despite devoting hours and dollars to the case. If you agree to pay him X%, he gets x%, that’s what was agreed.

What is the procedure for filing for medical malpractice?
Also what is the court process?
This is for a school assignment. I just need to know the court process.

Let me start by saying, do not do this yourself if that’s what you’re thinking. If you don’t know what you’re doing your case will almost certainly get dismissed. It’s not as simple as filling out some paperwork and explaining what the doctor did wrong. I wouldn’t even trust an attorney with no medical malpractice experience with this case. It takes seven years of college and at least a few years of tort litigation experience to be successful. The court will probably go easy on you if you do the case pro se (represented by yourself), but they won’t bend over backwards to accommodate your inexperience and lack of knowledge. That said, it would probably go something like this (keep in mind this is a simplified version of it and I’m probably forgetting few things too):

You would start by choosing a venue. Do you want to sue in state or federal court? Do you qualify to sue in federal court? Also, check the statute of limitations in the state where the incident occurred and make sure it has not tolled.

Next you would open the case by filing a complaint for medical malpractice and serving it upon the defendants along with a certificate of service.. Make sure you know the elements of a prima facie case for Medical Malpractice and include them in your complaint or your case will get dismissed. You should also include a request for compensatory and possibly punitive damages and any other appropriate relief. There are probably a few other administrative forms the court will require you to file with the complaint.

You would then await their answer and possibly file a reply. The court will hold various hearings. Next discovery will begin and you need to put your case together. For a medical malpractice case you will almost certainly need to hire an expert witness (which is very expensive). You will need to make appropriate motions, subpoena documents, informally interview key witnesses, perform depositions, draft interrogatories and requests for admission. The defendant will probably file a motion for summary judgment, which you will need to reply to appropriately.

You will probably have to attend a pretrial conference next.

Then the case would go to trial. If you somehow managed to make it to trial, my hat would go off to you. It would probably go to trial if you didn’t screw anything up because the defendant probably won’t be too inclined to settle with someone not represented by an attorney. At a minimum you’ll need to perform voir dire (choose jurors), give an opening statement, direct, cross and recross examine witness, and give a closing argument.

I am bipolar, ocd (with high anxiety), adhd, and suffer from depression. could a lawyer help me get medical marijuana?

If medical marijuana is legal in your state, you need a prescription. So a doctor not an attorney.

I suppose if it is not legal, then yea a lawyer might be able to help you draft the initiative and organize a campaign to get it legalized

Honestly?

Open your door and throw a rock. Malpractice attorneys usually aren’t hard to find. To find a GOOD one, ask your friends/co-workers.

AKRON, OHIO area. My Mom has had different Doctor’s give Her medication which causes Her to have seizures. 1 will up Her dose and the others lower the doses. She has brain damage now and don’t even know that She has seizures when they happen. She keeps having seizures and I’m very upset and angry that She has to go through this. 1 Lawyer hung up on Her.

Lawyers who work on contingency basis are not going to waste time and money on cases they cannot win.

Hi,

I believe that I had a surgery on my legs that was not necessary. Now my legs hurt much worse than before, are numb all over, and hurt severely.

How can I go about initiating a malpractice lawsuit? I think I only needed orthopedics before not surgery but the doctor didn’t perform enough diagnosis work.

Step 1: Find a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice. Your state bar has a lawyer referral service. Use it.

Step 2: Contact that lawyer for an initial consultation, usually free.

Step 3: Listen.

Step 4: Act on the information you learned during the consultation.

There is no other successful way to initiate a Medical Malpractice lawsuit.

My plan is on becoming a surgeon. So i plan on majoring probably in a science, like biology, and take the premed path. Can i still take lsats for law school just in case i dont make it???

Yeah I think that you still could. But, I think that you would have to make up some classes that you did not take in law school.

My great uncle ( My Dad’s Uncle) has recently been in rather bad health. He had a kidney stone that got "stuck". When he went in the hospital, they put a stint in his heart. There wasn’t anything wrong with his heart and he didn’t need it.. Well, then after that, they tried to discharge him, they hadn’t even looked into his kidney stone problem. (4got to tell you, the reason the put the stint in his heart is because of a blood-work mix-up) Anyway, we pointed out that they hadn’t looked a t his kidneys…THEN, they put a stint in his kidneys…
Two days later, they discharged him… Well, my family and I were staying in his house while he was in the hospital (We live about 100 miles away) When he came home, my mom and I came home, my dad stayed.. Uncle Gene started peeing blood, he thought it was fine, he let it go for a few days, about 3 days later, he is still peeing blood, so he calls his doctor, the dumb, redneck doctor told him that it would be ok and that he would see him in 2 weeks! Well, my dad went back up there today. As soon as he got there, he noticed that Uncle Gene had been bleeding more than he was telling us…So now, they are on their way to the doctors office…
My dad told me that my both him and my uncle want me to find out how to file Medical Malpractice…. How do they? What type of lawyer do we need? We want to file malpractice for two reasons, 1)They put a stint in his heart that wasn’t needed. 2) They obviously f*kd something up inside him because now, a week later, he is still bleeding…….Thanks,-Jaden

P.S. Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital is who did all this….

There is a lawyer referrel site called http://www.selectcounsel.com this site specializes in Medical Malpractice and personal injury cases. You can submit your case on the site with all the same details in your question and one of the best lawyers in your area will be contacted to take the case at no cost to you. Good luck.