Medical Malpractice Lawyers

From the Desk of Our Cleveland Spinal Injury Attorney: Robotic Therapies Help People Regain Function

Here’s some good news for the clients of a spinal injury attorney in Cleveland. While helping spinal injury victims become more mobile, researchers in Brazil discovered that interacting with robot-like machines could help them regain some sensation and movement.

Published in Scientific Reports, the findings suggest that spinal injury victims may be able to retrain brain functions through repetition and practice.

While the eight paralyzed people did not regain the ability to support their own weight standing up, they did make partial recovery including the use of bowel and bladder functions. Some men were even able to have erections. One woman was even able to deliver a baby vaginally.

“For the first time in many years they were able to voluntarily control their muscles,” Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, a neuroscientist and physician with Duke University who led the research, told NPR. “They could move their legs or contract muscles under voluntary control. This has not been seen before. I call this an important milestone.”

Indeed, this remarkable finding could meaningfully change the lives of the clients of a spinal injury attorney in Cleveland.

A Serial Killer Horror Story from the Desk of a Cleveland Nursing Home Injury Lawyer

It’s a horror story reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. An ex-nurse has been charged with murdering eight nursing home patients. If Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer is found guilty of the crimes she is accused of, she will be “among the worst serial killers in Canadian history,” the Globe and Mail reports. The story certainly sends chills down the spine of anyone who reads it.

The alleged victims include James Silcox, 84, Maurice Granat, 84, Gladys Millard, 87, Helen Matheson, 95, Mary Zurawinski, 96, Helen Young, 90, Maureen Pickering, 78, and Arpad Horvath, 75.

“We’re living my father’s death right now,” Daniel Silcox, son of James Silcox, told the Globe and Mail. “It’s horrific.”

Wettlaufer remains in custody at the Ontario Court of Justice.

“This investigation is ongoing, therefore I’m not going to speculate whether there will be any additional charges,” Woodstock Police Chief William Renton told reporters. “What I can tell you is that we are confident at this time that all of the victims have been identified and that their families have been notified.”

It’s a worst nightmare situation for any client of a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland. Hopefully, the families of the victims find justice, but that does little to fill the vacuum left from the lost lives of their loved ones.

Entrusting the care of a loved one to a nursing facility or long-term health care home is not a simple task for any family to make. Selecting the best facility during a time of illness creates an emotional time not only for the patient, but the whole family. It’s essential to do your due diligence to investigate the facility thoroughly and to be sure it offers the best care available.

Cleveland Birth Injury Attorney Q & A: What is Fetal Distress?

Fetal distress is often used to describe when the fetus is not getting enough oxygen either during gestation or labor. Most doctors avoid the term, however, because it is too vague and not well defined. Its ambiguity makes it difficult to diagnose as well as treat.

Another term for it would be birth asphyxia, when the fetus does not get enough oxygen before, during or after labor. It can be one of the most common causes of birth injury, our Cleveland birth injury attorneys report. There are many causes, including low oxygen in the mother’s blood or reduced blood flow caused by a constricted umbilical cord.

Many confuse birth asphyxia with fetal distress, but most doctors consider both terms too vague. For clarity and better diagnoses and treatment, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) instead prefers  “non-reassuring fetal status.”  They recommend that doctors list additional findings such as fetal tachycardia, bradycardia, repetitive variable decelerations, low biophysical profile and late decelerations.

The layman’s term may be fetal distress, but a birth injury attorney in Cleveland needs to know a more detailed diagnosis to determine if it was the result of a negligence or malpractice before taking such a case to court.