Medical Malpractice Lawyers

The Case of a Cleveland Malpractice Attorney Client Goes Before Ohio Supreme Court

As any seasoned malpractice attorney in Cleveland knows, you must be prepared to go the distance if you want to win. A recent malpractice case between the Cleveland Clinic and a retired Air Force colonel found itself in the highest court in the state – the Ohio Supreme Court. In fact, the court is being asked to decide whether the patient has any right to bring his case before the law as well, due to a state four year window for medical malpractice.

The case involves David Antoon and his wife, who accuse the Cleveland Clinic of botching a surgery to remove a cancerous prostrate gland, which the Clinic denies. The surgery occurred in 2008, yet the case was only filed this year, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

But Antoon argues that the suit was only delayed because the Clinic refused to grant access to key records in the case. The couple dropped their first suit in 2011.

“There is so much obstruction in the process,” said Antoon told the Plain Dealer. “If the merits of the case are not heard, it is a great injustice. It’s not just an injustice for me as an individual, it’s an injustice for the entire process.”

Antoon will have his day in court, indeed in the highest court in the land. If you have been the victim of malpractice and seek justice, contact a Linton Law Firm malpractice attorney in Cleveland today for a free consultation. You deserve to be heard. You case should be expertly represented.

Your Best Malpractice Law Firm Advice: Don’t Take Your Doctor’s Word for It

Wondering if you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice? Don’t just take your doctor’s word for it. It’s always best to review your case with a malpractice law firm in Cleveland such as the Linton Law Firm. A recent exclusive 5 on Your Side Investigation uncovered numerous instances of doctors and hospitals covering up or omitting critical medical errors.

Though medical practitioners are legally required to track medical mistakes, that information is often hidden from both patients and the public, the report found.

“People who are injured as a result of medical malpractice are almost never told that has happened by their doctors or by hospitals where it’s happened,” Maxwell Mehlman, the Director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University, told the news agency.

One case in point is Parma resident Lyn Adanich, who claims errors made by the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center during her husband’s routine dental implant surgery were never disclosed. Surgical gauze was left in 69-year-old Donald Adanich’s stomach for three weeks. Doctors discovered the gauze later, but failed to tell the couple. They only found out after getting a second opinion from another doctor after the left over gauze resulted in a massive stomach infection. He never recovered, and died in August 2014, six months after the dental surgery.

You can bet Ms. Adanich is now consulting her malpractice law firm in Cleveland. The question remains: What isn’t your doctor telling you?

A Case That a Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney in Cleveland Rarely Encounters: Intentional Misdiagnosis

As any cancer diagnosis attorney in Cleveland will tell you, misdiagnosing cancer is not always a case of negligence. In some cases, it is a punishable crime that deserves jail time, not to mention financial restitution to the victims involved. A doctor in Michigan recently received a 45 year prison sentence for intentionally misdiagnosing cancer in hundreds of healthy patients purely to bill them for his services and line his own pockets.

Prosecutors originally sought a 175 year prison sentence for Dr. Farid Fata, according to the Wall St. Journal. Fata pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud last year. Authorities suspect more than 500 people suffered through the intentional misdiagnoses. More than 150 alleged victims filed impact statements in court.

“I’m here because I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” Marietta Crabtree testified in court. Her husband, Donald Crabtree, died of kidney cancer at the age of 79 after receiving what his family claims was improper chemotherapy treatment to treat a case of lung cancer that actually did not exist. “We trusted him and we never thought that we couldn’t.”

The cancer misdiagnosis was blatant and intentional.

“Fata single handedly designed the fraud, which necessitated fooling his own employees and professional staff,” federal prosecutors contended in a court memorandum.

Most cases a cancer misdiagnosis attorney in Cleveland comes across are the result of negligence. Rarely are they an intentional act. Nonetheless, any case of misdiagnosis can be deadly, either in delaying treatment or resulting in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer they do not actually have, ironically resulting in giving them a deadly cancer.

From the Desk of aClevelandBirth Injury Lawyer: Negligence Can Happen Years Before the Delivery Room

As any birth injury lawyer in Cleveland will tell you, birth injury isn’t always the result of a mistake made during an actual birth. Sometimes the medical malpractice takes place during a completely unrelated incident, yet still has devastating outcomes on a birth with ramifications a family may struggle with for a lifetime.

A jury in Dedham recently awarded $35.4 million to Andrea Larkin, who is paralyzed from a stroke she suffered hours after giving birth to her daughter seven years ago. Yet the incident of malpractice actually occurred four years before when she was treated for dizziness in 2004 after running the Boston Marathon. An MRI and a CAT scan showed brain abnormalities. Dr. Jehane Johnston, a physician who examined Larkin, failed to place her on a special list of patients with certain medical conditions that other doctors could access.

Larkin delivered her daughter, Alexa, without a caesarean section, and suffered a massive stroke hours later that left her completely paralyzed beyond movement of her left arm. Had her doctor known of her brain abnormality through the special list, they would have ordered a caesarean section, which would have ultimately avoided the stroke.

With interest, the jury award resulted in just over $41 million. The Larkins have been paying for Andrea’s daily care, which is over $200,000 a year.

Many of the clients of birth injury lawyers in Cleveland pursue such financial settlements simply to afford the lifetime care their conditions require. It is not a matter of legal revenge, but a necessity of family care that pushes them to pursue litigation.

From the Desk of a Cleveland Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer: The Cost of False Positives in Breast Cancer

You don’t need to be a cancer misdiagnosis lawyer in Cleveland to understand that getting cancer wrong can be expensive. A recent study manages to put a price tag on breast cancer: $4 billion a year, for false positive mammograms and the over diagnosis of breast cancer in women ages 40 to 59.

The study was published last April in the journal Health Affairs.

According to the report, about 11 percent of the women surveyed had a false positive result, which means about 3.2 million women in the nation received a false positive that cost $2.8 billion in health care spending.

“Ultimately, the decision to undergo breast cancer screening must be based on careful consideration of the trade-offs between the benefits and the harms of screening,” the report’s authors wrote. “We need a balanced message that continues to encourage women to seek medical care when they detect a breast lump, but we should also caution them about the negative consequences of over-detection from mammography.”

Of course, that only reflects the cost of false positives. False negatives, on the other hand, carry an untold cost, including potentially that of a life. If you believe you have been the victim of a false diagnosis, contact a Linton Law Firm cancer misdiagnosis lawyer in Cleveland for a free consultation today.

Coma Misdiagnosis and Consulting a Brain Injury Attorney Cleveland

If your loved one has been the victim of a brain injury and lies in a coma, the good news is they might not be as unresponsive as they appear. Rom Houben was paralyzed in 1983. Doctors incorrectly diagnosed that he was in a deep coma and assumed he was unconscious the whole time. Only a reevaluation of his case in 2009 revealed that he was actually fully awake and aware of what was going on around him. He spent over 23 years trapped in a state of isolation because the world assumed he was entirely unconscious. Ask any brain injury attorney Cleveland. His case is far from uncommon. As new technologies make it possible for people in near coma like states to communicate, the medical world is realizing that many people diagnosed with comas area actually quite conscious and capable of leading engaging lives in the future.

Mr. Houben describes the day he was able to communicate successfully again with doctors as “his second birth.” His example is just more proof that we should never give up on people afflicted with brain injuries who have slipped into comas. A study in 2009 by top neurological expert Dr Steven Laureys reveals that coma misdiagnosis can be surprisingly common. If your friend or family member lives in a comatose state, it is crucial you have them evaluated properly. In today’s healthcare system, that can be difficult to do, as insurance companies often don’t want to pay for it. It is critical that you work with a brain injury attorney Cleveland to ensure a proper diagnosis for the sake of your loved one and their long term care.

The Assessment of Risk and When to Consult a Nursing Home Injury Lawyer in Cleveland

The sad fact about nursing home injury is that it is many times quite preventable. Aging people naturally have health problems, but when an injury is the direct sign of abuse or neglect, something must be done, not only for that individual, but for his and her neighbors who also depend on that facility. When you advocate for a loved on by consulting a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland, you advocate for his or her friends and neighbors as well. Nobody lives in a vacuum, which makes preventing nursing home injury everyone’s responsibility. Let’s examine the different levels of risk that may lead to nursing home injury.

Facility Risk Factors

Unfortunately, we live in an era of budget cuts and cutting corners, which has a direct impact on the life and care of your loved one. Ask any nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland. Countless studies clearly show that poor staffing contribute greatly to the risk of neglect and even abuse. The more staff turnover, the smaller the staff and the general culture of the facility can greatly contribute to burnout, which has a considerably adverse effect on the residents. Watch for signs of under-staffing, as well as the overall mood and disposition of the staff. Do they have enough people to properly handle the care of the residents?

Relationship Risk Contributors

Pay attention to the interactions between your loved one and the care providers. Do they treat the resident as a human being with respect, and act in a nurturing way or are they irritated and overworked? Don’t always take the staff at face value, either. They could just be putting on a good front because you may be paying the bill. Talk to your loved one personally and find out exactly how he or she is being treated. Often, you can sense instances of abuse or negligence simply because you know them so well. If you have your concerns, always consult a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland.

Birth Injury Lawyer Cleveland: The Psychological Effects of a Traumatic Birth

As a child’s first experience, birth, has an inevitable emotional impact. When something goes wrong, say a prolonged birth or the baby becoming choked on the umbilical cord, for example, birth can easily become traumatic, and this can have a lasting psychological impact on the baby. When consulting a birth injury lawyer, Cleveland, remember to consider the psychological health of the baby as well in the overall assessment.

Studies show that children who have undergone traumatic births are more prone to aggression, anxiety and depression than those who experienced an easy birth. At birth, the child’s mind is purely unconscious. The natural process of being misplaced from a warm and comforting womb is naturally stressful, but in a life threatening condition, that unconscious mind must first experience trauma, which can vastly shape the way the brain responds to stress. Added to this burden is the mother’s own stress, to which the baby is psychologically and emotionally linked, creates an enormous stress response that may affect the baby for the rest of their life. A good birth injury lawyer in Cleveland will certainly consider any mental trauma when making an assessment.

Yet there is hope for children who grow up with anxiety resulting from a traumatic birth. Modern psychological therapies such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), and AIT (Advanced Integrative Therapy) can help rewire and heal children’s brains, but they are naturally expensive. Talk to a birth injury lawyer Cleveland to consider all of your options. As you would expect, your child will need extensive resources. A birth injury lawyer Cleveland can best prepare a case that secures your child’s future.

How Recessions Affect the Need for a Nursing Home Injury Lawyer in Cleveland

Recessions affect the entire country, but the elderly can be hit especially the hardest. They often depend on the very governmental services that get put on the chopping block first. The state of New York, for instance, has taken to shutting down a number of nursing homes, and many city and county governments around the country are considering doing the same. There simply aren’t enough beds. Sadly, these kind of depressed conditions are impacting the care that the seniors receive, and many families for the first time are contacting a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland to advocate for their loved ones rights.

On top of limited social funds, healthcare is going through the roof, which further impacts the nursing home industry in a multitude of ways. Stretched down to the wire of their budgets, nursing homes are often forced to cut the level of care their residents receive, resulting in fewer checkups by staff, less custodial work and an overall degraded level of care. Further, overworked staff may often neglect the care of the residents, resulting in over or under medication, inattention, or less than sanitary living conditions which often need the advocacy of a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland.

If your loved one isn’t getting the care he or she needs, however, at least they have family that can advocate for them. Do something about it, and consult a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland to advocate on your behalf. Remember, this is more than just about your loved one, but your loved one’s entire community. If nobody does something about dismal conditions, your loved one suffers, but also his or her neighbors. Be the lifeline of your loved one, not only for their sake, but the entire community.

Consult a Brain Injury Lawyer in Cleveland for Ways to Heal Following a Brain Injury

What assets can families use to help their loved one recover as fully as possible? Your brain injury lawyer in Cleveland will be able to provide you with valuable direction and resources, and make some great recommendations. In reality, your brain injury lawyer in Cleveland won’t have all the answers. And ultimately it will be up to the family to find what works best for their loved one. Here are a few places to start:

The Healing Ability of Pets

Like the rest of us, people with brain injuries seek unconditional love, someone who will love them as they are, not what they once were. Pets are a perfect medium for this kind of unconditional love. A pet is kind, accepting and forgiving. Therapy animals can have proven profound psychological benefits on people afflicted with brain injuries. They can teach them how to love again, which promotes healing and rebirth on life.

Plan Structured Family Time

No two brain injuries are created equal and the healing process will differ drastically among patients. The injury creates the beginning for a lifetime of healing process. Life will never be the same; however, family and close friends can provide a world of good toward the results of treatments just by helping to arrange structured visits that they can depend upon.

People with brain injuries seek structure and community support. Structured family time will provide both. Plan to watch movies together, join in activities, games or outings together at regular times, such as a special day of the week or a special time each day. This gives the loved one something to look forward to, and gives them that feeling of acceptance and community which can expedite healing.

Set Up Regular Exercise Program

People with brain injuries need regular exercise. Inactivity in anyone (even healthy folks) can lead to depression, which slows down recovery. Simple walks, participation in sports and other activities with others recovering from a similar injury, or even a regular stretching program will do wonders to induce happy chemicals like serotonin which can further aid the healing process.

Let’s face it. Not all the answers will come from a brain injury lawyer in Cleveland – but the expert advice from a trusted expert is a good place to start rebuilding your loved one’s life.