Take a look at some articles recently updated on our firm web site.

• Pain & Suffering Damages
• Wrongful Death Frequently Asked Questions
  
• Cerebral Palsy Treatments

Soon we will have more information about auto accidents and personal injury claims.

As a brief background, Maryland statutory law passed by the General Assembly in the late 1970s carved out a special procedure for persons seeking to sue medical providers for malpractice.  The special procedure, known as health claims arbitration, essentially requires that a plaintiff, before he or she files suit in a circuit court for malpractice, must first file their claim with a state agency known today as the Health Claims Dispute Resolution Office.  Along with the claim, the law requires that a certificate of qualified expert accompany the claim wherein an expert, board certified in the same field of medicine as the defendant medical provider, attest that the medical records and factual information reviewed reveals that malpractice was committed and caused the plaintiff injury.  Once the certification prerequisite is met, the case can be removed from arbitration and can proceed in the circuit court like any other personal injury claim.  Obviously, the certification requirement was intended to week out frivolous claims.  There are, however, unintended consequences created by the certification requirement.

Our Maryland cerebral palsy lawyers are often asked, why exactly caused cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is caused by lack of oxygen to the brain, typically during or after the birth process. Another common question is, 'Was my child’s cerebral palsy caused by medical malpractice?'. What's worse is that some parents may never ask this question. Not asking this question may lose you a lifetime of financial compensation.

We recently updated our cerebral palsy page with information that goes into the details of what are some of the warning signs suggesting medical malpractice. Some factors may include:

• Failure to diagnose or treat medical illnesses after the birth process. This can include but is not limited to seizures, jaundice or meningitis.
• Delay in performing a c-section.
• Failure to remove umbilical cord from around the child's neck, thereby limiting oxygen to the brain.

Was your child transferred to ICU (intensive care unit)? Did your child require CPR or have seizures after birth? These are just some of the situations that can arise if there was some sort of medical malpractice involved. Please note that even if any of these events did occur, it is not guaranteed or implied that medical malpractice did in fact take place. In order to determine this, an investigation must take place with a non-biased medical expert. If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy it is advised that you speak with a qualified Maryland cerebral palsy lawyer. A cerebral palsy lawyer will research the situation and search for a cause of the condition. Typically, with cerebral palsy cases, hiring a lawyer is the only way to get the highest possible compensation. We understand your situation, we are on your side, and work for you.

Learn more about brain damage and cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a condition that occurs when a person (typically a young child) has developed some sort of brain damage. Brain damage can occur if the child has a lack of oxygen for a long period of time. This can happen for any reason such as drowning, however it most commonly happens during or shortly after the birthing process. The birth process can be difficult if complications arise. Its what happens during or after these complications that can determine if malpractice has taken place. Medical malpractice is typically defined when a medical professional performs less than an acceptable level. Did the staff really do everything by the book? Was a mistake made that has now caused a child and a family a lifetime of hardship? These are all questions for a medical malpractice attorney. We have recently updated our brain damage section on our main web site. Take a look at some of the information you will find there.

Learn about acquired cerebral palsy

Acquired cerebral palsy is where the disorder appears after the birth process. As described above brain injury or specifically lack of oxygen to the brain. This does not mean that medical malpractice has taken place, however, if your child has cerebral palsy you may want to speak to a lawyer to find out your options and protect your rights. Our Maryland cerebral palsy lawyers have access to the best medical experts in Maryland. These medical experts will look over your case and investigate your unique situation to find out of there was a breech in the standard of care. Remember, if it is proven that medical malpractice was responsible for your child's disorder, you maybe entitled to significant financial compensation for your child. Speak to our Maryland cerebral palsy lawyers today.

If your child has been diagnosed there is important information you need to know. Cerebral Palsy may be caused by medical malpractice. If your childs cerebral palsy has been caused by medical malpractice you may be entitled to compensation to help increase the quality of your childs life. We have recently updated our Cerebral Palsy Help Page to increase awareness on this important issue.

How do you know if your childs Cerebral Palsy was caused by medical malpractice? Typically a medical expert is required to help figure out the cause.

Some causes of Cerebral Palsy

• Leaving an infant in the birth canal too long or failing to recognize the umbilical cord is wrapped around the infant’s neck, causing the brain to suffer a lack of oxygen
• Not treating seizures an infant may suffer after the delivery
• Improper use of forceps
• Failure to perform a timely c-section
• Failing to respond to changes of the infant’s heart rate or changes in the mother’s condition
• Failure to treat jaundice or meningitis, if either of the conditions arise.

There are also some indicators that a mistake was made during the birth of your child:

• The infant suffered seizures within a few days of the birth
• Emergency use of forceps vacuum extraction, or an emergency c-section
• The infant was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit or NICU or a specialist was called in to examine the infant
• The infant required oxygen to help with breathing after the birth.

For more information please contact our firm.

You may be wondering why a law firm blog would have tips on cancer prevention? Our legal team deals with medical malpractice cases on a daily basis and one type we specialize in is cancer misdiagnosis. Cancer is an illness that is much more treatable in the early stages. Doctors and medical professionals are required to provide a reasonable level of service. If they do not perform adequte tests and/or miss warning signs of a illness - you may be a victim of medical malpractice.

As always the best way to avoid an illness is to prevent it totally. While there is no cure for cancer, we do know some ways that it can be prevented. Lets take a look at some things to do or not do to prevent cancer.

1. Do not smoke
This is probably the most commonly given advice. Smoking is something we know causes cancer. Its written directly on the box, yet people still do it - everyday people buy them and chain smoke them. If you are a smoker you know its bad, I realize this advice is something that people know but yet they do not stop. Regardless this is at the top of the list for a reason - it causes cancer.

2. Eat a healthy diet
Its known that many vegatables help prevent cancer. Brocolli is one of those perfect vegetables, tastes great, goes with a lot of dishes and helps clean you system and prevent cancer. What more could you ask for? Most fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants which helps repair damaged cells. Avoid eating red meat, studies show diets high in red meats and animal fats may have an increase chance of developing cancer.

3. Exercise!
Overweight people are actually at a higher rate of developing cancer. Exercise (combined with eating a healthy diet) is a great way to stay in shape. Exercise doesn't have to be a boring chore, try taking a quick walk.

Hope everyone has a great and safe weekend and if you are on the east coast please be careful. We hope everyone is safe during these terrible storms.

Earlier this year a woman was awarded $4.5 million dollars for pain and suffering damages. Unfortunately for her even though the jury awarded $4.5 million to her the judge had other thoughts and reduced her payout ... by more than half. Lets take a look at the play by play. The case involves a woman against a Silver Spring gynecologist. A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury awarded the woman $4.5 million dollars for the pain and suffering she went through after her doctor left a surgical sponge inside of her during a hysterectomy. A surgical error like this is a type of medical malpractice and a fault on the doctor or medical staff.

Why did the judge do that? Under Maryland law no more than $650,000 can be awarded to a plaintiff for each claim of non-economic damages. The woman's lawyer claims the cap is 'unconstitutional'. It certainly brings up an interesting point of debate. The woman had $30,000 in medical expenses, so that leaves $4.5 million dollars for pain and suffering. They were also paid $375,000 for loss of consortium.

Should the cap be increased? $4.5 million dollars is high but is it unreasonable for this woman's pain and suffering?

In a recent article it was confirmed that cancer is currently the #2 misdiagnosed illness in the United States. The article posted on CNN was actually a part of a Harvard study. The Harvard study was about malpractice claims in the US. The study found that Breast and Colorectal were at the top of the list of being misdiagnosed. The study linked the misdiagnosis to doctors and medical professional not sticking to the cancer screen guidelines. We'll go over the specifics on what exactly is involved with cancer screening. For now lets go over a simple request you can make to help prevent misdiagnosis.

Request for more tests

Typically this is where the failure occurs. Not enough tests are being done to properly determine what exactly is wrong. Asking for more tests can sometimes be the difference between life and death. A woman went to her doctor and complained of irregular bleeding, the doctor told her it was menopause and not to worry. After three years she found out she had ovarian cancer. A simple ultrasound would have detected the cancer years earlier.

This is where medical malpractice comes into play, in this case its really negligence that is the cause of the error. In the upcoming days we'll go over some other types of:

• Medical Malpractice (Negligence)
• Cancer screening

If you have any questions or concerns about any of the topics here and would like to speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney please contact our firm.

Spastic

Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common, and can be further classified by what parts of the body are affected. Spastic hemiplegia indicates one side of the body is more affected than the other. Spastic diplegia tells us the lower half of the body is more affected than the upper half. Spastic quadriplegia means the whole body and all its limbs are equally affected.

Ataxic

Ataxic cases are the least common and may cause tremors and usually affect motor skills and balance. Patients may have trouble processing things using visual or auditory skills. Cerebral Palsy patients may also have a mixed form of Cerebral Palsy, and may therefore suffer some of the symptoms of each form.

Athenoid

Athenoid, which is less common, means having mixed muscle tone. Such patients may trouble keeping steady, controlling limbs, or holding onto objects.

For additional information take a look at our Cerebral Palsy page under Medical Malpractice on LegalTeam.net.

In an effort to increase awareness on serious issues relating to Medical Malpractice we have added several more articles to our Cerebral Palsy section. We have recently added or updated the following sections.

• Cerebral Palsy prevention
• Medical Malpractice & Cerebral Palsy
• Cerebral Palsy symptoms
• Diagnosing Cerebral Palsy
• Types of Cerebral Palsy

We will also have updated information in our Cancer Misdiagnosis page in the upcoming week.