Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Cleveland Spinal Injury Attorney: Metro-Health Grant Announced

Clients of our Cleveland spinal injury attorney should take note of some good news that might directly benefit them one day, to say nothing of spinal injury victims everywhere:

The Cleveland Metro-Health System recently announced $2.26 million in grant funding to conduct studies on spinal injury and recovery.

“This will allow us to attract more (spinal care) patients for care,” said Dr. Gregory Nemunaitis, director of Spinal Cord Rehabilitation at MetroHealth.

Designated over a five year period, the grant will enable the center to, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“Collect data on the recovery of people with spinal cords injuries that will provide a database for future research and care.

Assess recovery patterns in the arms and hands of people with spinal cord injuries to develop guidelines for treatment to restore upper extremity function.

Redesign a spine board used to transport patients from the scene of an injury to the hospital. Led by MetroHealth in collaboration with the University of Toledo’s Department of Engineering, the research will focus on reducing pressure ulcers.”

MetroHealth treats about 100 traumatic spinal cord injuries a year. The announcement of this funding should be good news for them as well as clients of Cleveland spinal injury attorneys.

Could a Global Data Base Help the Clients of a Spinal Injury Attorney in Cleveland?

Australian spinal cord injury experts are currently lobbying their federal government for a national registry of patients to track treatments in an effort to improve conditions. Advocates for the effort contend that millions of dollars could be saved in treatment, not to mention that victims’ lives could be substantially improved. It is an effort any spinal injury attorney in Cleveland could get behind.

“We have pools of acute data in the spinal units around Australia, we have some rehab data,” Chris Bertinshaw from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Network told ABC. “None of it is connected, and we have no information once they leave rehab.”

The proposed registry would track patients throughout their lifetimes, noting treatment, medications and any complications. Such data could substantially improve treatment and in the process help patients lead more fulfilling lives.

“We don’t know what treatment works and what doesn’t work, and we don’t know the risks involved,” Jonathan Tang, a spinal injury patient and wheelchair racer, told ABC.”[A registry] will allow us to answer questions such as, if I had a kidney infection, what would be the best medication to use.”

Who knows? Perhaps other countries will launch similar efforts and combine databases into a universal resource? That would definitely be promising news for anyone who needs a spinal injury attorney in Cleveland.

How the Friendship of 2 Army Buddies May One Day Change the Lives of Every Client of a Brain Injury Lawyer in Cleveland

Army buddies Kit Parker’s and Chris Moroski’s story would inspire any client of a brain injury lawyer in Cleveland. It has all the best elements of movies that break your heart and reaffirm you belief in friendship and humanity at the same time. Read on.

Parker and Moroski became friends jumping out of airplanes together in the 1990s. After 9/11, the two went their separate directions in the two wars that resulted from that attack, Parker to Afghanistan, Moroski to Iraq.

After their deployments, life continued on as usual, at least on the surface. Parker pursued a new career as a heart research scientist. Moroski, who had a bit of a rougher landing back into civilian life, spent his days at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, Ga, healing injuries from an IED that had blown up his vehicle during a patrol near Ramadi. Doctors had been promising a quick recovery, but from frequent phone calls between the two army buddies, Parker realized something was amiss.

“He’d lose his train of thought,” Parker remembered. “He couldn’t remember stuff,” including being awarded the Purple Heart, big stuff that’s tough to lose in the memory of your average soldier.

Parker pledged to help his friend. Beyond the frequent phone calls, Parker turned to his next best resource: science. From his heart research, he knew that sudden forces, similar to an IED blast, could have severe effects on the heart. Could such a blast also affect the brain?

“I had to bring the battlefield into the lab,” Parker remembered.

After much research, Parker published a paper demonstrating how a blast wave could cause integrins to send signals that could disrupt brain cell connections. “When that happens, it affects the networks that allow you to recognize your grandmother’s face or count your change at the fast-food restaurant,” Parker explained.

Dr. Geoffrey Ling, who at one time had been the Army’s leading expert on traumatic brain injury, describes Parker’s research as “a fundamental insight.”

Parker’s discovery could one day make a difference to all people suffering from brain injury, including civilians. That would be good news to the clients of any brain injury lawyer in Cleveland.

“Success is that a quarterback doesn’t suffer from dementia after being sacked,” Parker concludes. “Success is that brain injury is no longer the leading cause of death of children. Success is a war fighter gets blown up in some Third World rathole somewhere and he can still count his change at Burger King afterwards.”

From the Desk of a Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney in Cleveland: When Cancer is Misdiagnosed by an Entire Medical Community

Sometimes an entire type of tumor can be misdiagnosed by the medical community for decades. In this case of cancer misdiagnosis, an attorney in Cleveland turned out not to be necessary. In fact, it’s good news for nearly 10,000 of the 65,000 thyroid cancer patients that are diagnosed with the disease in the US every year.

The New York Times recently reported that a panel of doctors decided that a type of thyroid cancer historically classified as cancer is not actually cancer at all. They have downgraded the condition, sparing thousands of patients the removal of their thyroid, radioactive treatments and regular checkups for the rest of their lives. It turns out the identified tumor is not actually a threat.

“The reclassified tumor is a small lump in the thyroid that is completely surrounded by a capsule of fibrous tissue,” the New York Times explained. “It’s nucleus looks like a cancer but the cells have not broken out of their capsule, and surgery to remove the entire thyroid followed by treatment with radioactive iodine is unnecessary and harmful, the panel said. They have now renamed the tumor. Instead of calling it ‘encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma,’ they now call it ‘noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features,’ or NIFTP. The word ‘carcinoma’ is gone.”

Is it a case for a cancer misdiagnosis attorney in Cleveland? Probably not, but it certainly is a relief to the patients and families who can rest assured knowing this particular tumor is not actually cancer at all.

Does Football Cause CTE? Should the NFL Fear Brain Injury Lawyers in Cleveland?

The National Institutes of Health recently announced a $16 million grant to researchers from Boston University seeking ways to detect a disease caused by repeated head trauma. How much will be coming from the NFL, which in 2012 pledged $30 million to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health to study chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? Not anything. And no brain injury lawyer in Cleveland who pays attention to the news should be surprised.

Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after an individual dies. It has been found in many former professional football players. Being able to diagnose it in current players would solidify a financial iceberg for the NFL. Citing unnamed resources, ESPN has reported that because the NFL dragged its feet for so long on the issue, the National Institutes of Health decided to write the study its own check to expedite the research.

“Sources told Outside the Lines that the league exercised that power when it learned that [Dr. Robert Stern], a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, would be the project’s lead researcher,” ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported. “The league, sources said, raised concerns about Stern’s objectivity, despite the merit review and a separate evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.”

ESPN isn’t the only one calling foul. Also citing an unnamed source, the New York Times reported that the NIH had requested some of the $30 million for the research but ultimately “it decided to finance the grant with other funds.”

The NFL is obviously scared and concerned. Anyone who has played football for any duration of time would be well advised to contact a brain injury attorney in Cleveland for a free consultation. Brain damage is real, and may possibly result as a side effect of America’s favorite past-time.

Should The NFL Fear Brain Injury Lawyers in Cleveland?

The National Institutes of Health recently announced a $16 million grant to researchers from Boston University seeking ways to detect a disease caused by repeated head trauma. How much will be coming from the NFL, which in 2012 pledged $30 million to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health to study chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? Zero. Zilch. Not a penny. And no brain injury lawyer in Cleveland who pays attention to the news should be surprised.

Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after an individual dies. It has been found in many former professional football players. Being able to diagnose it in current players would solidify a financial iceberg for the NFL. Citing unnamed resources, ESPN has reported that because the NFL dragged its feet for so long on the issue, the National Institutes of Health decided to write the study its own check to expedite the research.

“Sources told Outside the Lines that the league exercised that power when it learned that [ Dr. Robert Stern], a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, would be the project’s lead researcher,” ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported. “The league, sources said, raised concerns about Stern’s objectivity, despite the merit review and a separate evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.”

ESPN isn’t the only one calling foul. Also citing an unnamed source, the New York Times reported that the NIH had requested some of the $30 million for the research but ultimately “it decided to finance the grant with other funds.”

The NFL is obviously scared. And they should be. Anyone who has played football for any duration of time would be well advised to contact a brain injury attorney in Cleveland for a free consultation. Brain damage is real, and likely a side effect of America’s favorite past-time and Super Bowl Sundays.

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.

Even with an Approved Award, a Good Birth Injury Lawyer in Cleveland Should Always Be Prepared for Court

As any birth injury lawyer in Cleveland worth their fee knows, it’s always best to have all your ducks in a row, even after a judge approves an award. Despite a judge last August approving $9 million to a Virginia family in a lawsuit over an alleged botched birth at a Hawaii military hospital, their lawyers wisely prepared for a trial anyway just to make sure the family wasn’t caught off guard and their rights could be protected, according to the Military Times. The case had been in “settlement limbo,” since the Department of Justice rejected a same amount of settlement last year.

Richard Whitney, a member of the Coast Guard, and his wife sued the government following the birth of their son Noah, who was born with catastrophic brain injury because of medical negligence, according to the lawsuit. Last year’s deal of $5 million in cash and $4 million paid over Noah’s lifetime was ultimately rejected by the government, so the family’s lawyers still prepared for court just in case of legal déjà vu. Their lawyers told the Military Times they were hopeful “but gun shy.” Passing on a trial date a month later would be give up their leverage. Trials would require testimonials by experts, which would increase the cost of the trial if the settlement is delayed.

Mrs. Whitney “was at risk for uterine rupture in connection with future pregnancies, including her pregnancy with Noah,” according to the lawsuit filed in July 2012. The lawsuit accused the government of “failure to promptly notify and consult the obstetrician who had been managing” the pregnancy.

Working with a birth injury lawyer in Cleveland can make all the difference when it comes to winning a claim. The Linton Law Firm has proven experience winning substantial awards for their clients. Contact them for a free consultation today.

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.