Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Recent Study Backs Up What Cleveland Birth Injury Attorneys Caution About Postpartum Depression

It’s an injury often overlooked, and while it may not necessarily be a case for a birth injury attorney in Cleveland, it’s a serious issue nonetheless. Depression. Nearly one in seven women during pregnancy suffer from it. That’s more than a half million women in the US alone. And the mother is not the only one who suffers. Depression can also have profound impacts on infant development, according to newly released research.

Lower rates of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a biomarker, have been  associated with depression. Now researchers have found BDNF levels can vary considerably during pregnancy.

“Our research shows BDNF levels change considerably across pregnancy and provide predictive value for depressive symptoms in women, as well as poor fetal growth. It’s notable that we observed a significant difference in BDNF in women of different races,” states Lisa M. Christian, an associate professor of psychiatry in the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center and principal investigator of the study.

Lower BDNF levels at both the second and third trimesters predicted greater depressive symptoms in the third trimester.

“The good news is there are some good ways to address the issue,” Christian offered. “Antidepressant medications have been shown to increase BDNF levels. This may be appropriate for some pregnant women, but is not without potential risks and side effects. Luckily, another very effective way to increase BDNF levels is through exercise. With approval from your physician, staying physically active during pregnancy can help maintain BDNF levels, which has benefits for a woman’s mood, as well as for her baby’s development.”

And that’s good news for mothers as well as the clients of a birth injury attorney in Cleveland.

A Win for a Cleveland Nursing Home Injury Attorney: Abuser Gets 18 Months

Any dedicated nursing home injury attorney in Cleveland understands that feeling when their clients get the justice they deserve.

Such is likely the feeling of the legal team of Edward McShaffrey’s victim. The 59-year old was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually abusing a nursing home resident. A licensed practical nurse at Brookdale Montrose Nursing Home, he was seen with his mouth on the victim’s private body part. The victim suffered from Parkinson’s Disease and suffered from communication difficulties.

The nursing home immediately fired McShaffrey following the incident. He had worked at the facility since 2004.

“We appreciate the jury’s effort in seeking justice for this case. This situation saddens us deeply because having the trust our residents and their families is extremely important to us,” Heather Hunter, senior public relations assistant for the facility, told the Plain Dealer. “This type of conduct or behavior by an associate is never tolerated by us under any circumstances. Our thoughts are with the victim today.”

Sadly, it is a story our nursing home injury attorneys in Cleveland see come across their desks every day. The victims, due to limited communication skills or cognitive abilities, have far too few resources to turn for help. They need a voice. That’s why the Linton Law Firm is here for you. Call us today for a free consultation.

Is Overdiagnosis Reason Enough to Call a Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney in Cleveland?

A new study links mammograms to overdiagnosis of cancer. In the experience of our Cleveland cancer misdiagnosis attorney, overdiagnosis can in some ways be just as dangerous as misdiagnosis.The study linked routine mammogram screening to over-diagnosis of non-aggressive tumors, identifying tumors unlikely to be fatal without curbing the diagnosis of advanced cancer stages.

Better safe than sorry, right? Actually, no.

“Overdiagnosis means that healthy women get unnecessary breast cancer diagnoses,” Dr. Karsten Juhl Jorgensen, lead scientist in the study, told Fox News. “A breast cancer diagnosis is a life-changing event for the woman and her family, with substantial implications for their quality of life. It also leads to overtreatment with surgery, radiotherapy and sometimes chemotherapy – we know these treatments have serious, sometimes lethal, consequences.”

No Link for Advanced Cases

The study compared screening results over a single time period of two regions of Denmark. One offered biennial mammography for women aged 50 to 69, and one that didn’t. The study examined data on more than 1.4 million Danish women aged 35 to 84 from 1980 to 2010. Screening wasn’t linked to a lower incidence of advanced cancer cases.

So should women just forgo mammogram screening? Not exactly. The researchers suggested that would depend on age and family history. At best, however, results would be better taken with a grain of salt.

If you feel you may have been overdiagnosed, you might consider talking to one of our cancer misdiagnosis attorneys in Cleveland. We offer free consultations..

New Study Shows Why Clients of a Cleveland Brain Injury Attorney Suffer Inflammation

Here’s a study that may solve a mystery many of the clients of our Cleveland brain injury attorney have wondered about. Why is there often widespread inflammation following a brain injury?

Researches in a new study have identified a mechanism in the brain that causes this inflammation and suggest it may play a role in other neurodegenerative diseases. The findings were recently published in Science Daily.

The study’s discoveries may change how brain inflammation is understood, and, ultimately, how it is treated, Science Daily reports.

“The researchers showed that microparticles derived from brain inflammatory cells are markedly increased in both the brain and the blood following experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI),” Science Daily states in an article describing the findings. “These microparticles carry pro-inflammatory factors that can activate normal immune cells, making them potentially toxic to brain neurons. Injecting such microparticles into the brains of uninjured animals creates progressive inflammation at both the injection site and eventually in more distant sites.”

Ongoing Inflammation Causing Chronic Brain Damage

The research indicates the inflammation can go on for years and cause chronic brain damage.

“These results potentially provide a new conceptual framework for understanding brain inflammation and its relationship to brain cell loss and neurological deficits after head injury, and may be relevant for other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease in which neuroinflammation may also play a role,” said Dr. Alan Faden, a researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “The idea that brain inflammation can trigger more inflammation at a distance through the release of microparticles may offer novel treatment targets for a number of important brain diseases.”

Hopefully this research leads to better treatment and outcomes for the clients of a Cleveland brain injury attorney.

Cleveland Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer: 1 in 71 Cases Misdiagnosed

Most people are surprised by the statistics. But for a Cleveland cancer misdiagnosis lawyer, the stats, while alarming, prove why litigation is necessary in holding medical professionals accountable for their diagnostic mistakes. In the right direction, a cancer misdiagnosis might be a relief from a living nightmare. In the wrong direction, a misdiagnosis could very well prove to be a death sentence.

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore found that one out of every 71 cases was misdiagnosed, based on the tissue samples they studied from 6,000 people across the country. Moreover, up to one in five cases was misclassified.

“That can change whether a patient gets no treatment, vs. surgery, vs. radiation,” Dr. Jonathan Epstein of The Johns Hopkins Hospital told ABC News.  “If they get surgery or radiation, which type?”

Part of the problem is that despite medical technology advances, the diagnosis pretty much comes down to a judgment call.

“We really still make the diagnosis pretty much the way we did for the last 50 years,” Dr. Leonard Zwelling of the MD Anderson Cancer Center told ABC News. “It has to come down to looking at a piece of the tumor on a slide by a pathologist.”

Bottom line, be certain to always secure a second opinion. And if you have been the victim of a misdiagnosis, consult a Cleveland cancer misdiagnosis lawyer. Medical accountability matters. People’s very lives depend on it.

Medical Records Suspicious? Talk to a Cleveland Nursing Home Injury Lawyer

As any nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland can tell you, a nursing home’s medical records can’t always be taken at face value. If the staff has something to hide, their documents may have been forged, altered or otherwise not true.

In Chicago, two social workers claimed they were fired because they refused to falsify medical records related to incidents of nursing home patient abuse at the former Burnham Healthcare, now known as Bria of River Oaks.

“There was no structure. It was dangerous,” one of the social workers, Kenneth Allen, told the Chicago Tribune.

Documents Missing or Falsified?

Allen alleges that when he documented a resident’s rape complaint, a supervisor ripped the report from the medical file and tore it up.

Allen also claims he was told to falsify another patient’s medical report to look like she had fallen, when she very well may have been assaulted.

State investigations, meanwhile, indicate that the facility indeed had committed several instances of abuse.

From the Chicago Tribune:

“A 2012 state inspection report said two residents alleged guards beat or roughed them up in separate incidents. The report says that at least one guard at the home was fired as a result.

State inspectors have cited the facility for abuse-related incidents after Ogunyipe and Allen were terminated.”

So if your family member references abuse or injuries not mentioned in their medical file, don’t just take the word of the facility. Talk to a Cleveland nursing home injury lawyer. There may be abuse which needs investigating.

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.

Cleveland Birth Injury Attorney: Scientific Benefits of a Doula

Want to avoid injury all together? Take it from our birth injury attorney in Cleveland– relax. And studies show that one of the best ways to have a relaxing, relatively stress-free birth experience is to work with a doula..

According to a study published in the Journal of Perinatal Education, doula assisted mothers are four times less likely to experience low birth weight, two times less likely to experience birth complications, including birth injury, and significantly more likely to be successful in breastfeeding.

“It is notable that despite participating in the same education classes, the women who chose to work with a doula had significantly better birth outcomes as measured by birth weight and fewer birth complications,” the study concluded.

“This finding suggests that women who embraced the premise that a doula may help empower them to influence their birthing experience, manage their labors more effectively, and reach their expectations and hopes for a positive, healthy birth also may have realized that they could improve their prenatal health and the likelihood of a healthy birth outcome through their active participation and engagement in the healthy prenatal activities offered by this program.”

Side by Side, Together

So if you want to avoid birth injury and the need to consult with a birth injury in Cleveland for legal recourse, one preventative measure you can take is working with a doula through the birthing process. A doula, practicing side by side with the doctor, ensures that births can be the beautiful beginnings they are meant to be!

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.

Simple Techniques for Safer Births from the Desk of a Birth Injury Attorney in Cleveland

Whether you tragically end up needing a birth injury attorney in Cleveland following the birth of your child, or the birth goes well, it’s a safe bet that any birth is far from easy. But there are techniques that Mom, Dad, Doctor and Doula can do to make the birth a little more smoother, and reduce the risk of birth injury at the same time.

First is to hire a doula. A new program at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s provides on-call doulas for a very affordable cost. “For $150, a mom in labor buys a bedside best friend or two who suggest position changes, offers massages, supplies cool forehead cloths — whatever is appropriate in the moment,” the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Other non-drug assistance included water therapy. More and more hospitals are allowing, and sometimes even encouraging, water births. Other creative approaches include acupuncture and even hypnosis.

Whether to go natural or to use medicine ultimately depends on the mother.

“I would say there’s not a right or wrong answer,” Dr. Kara Rood, a maternal fetal medicine fellow at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, told the Columbus Dispatch. “It’s very individualized.”

That’s just about as valuable as any advice you might get from your birth injury attorney in Cleveland.