Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

A Florida man was recently awarded $12 million by a jury that blamed two emergency room doctors for ignoring a brain infection that left him brain damaged and paralyzed. Joey Crume, 43, went to the emergency room at Mission Viejo Hospital in September 2004 with what he thought was a very bad headache. A CT scan showed that Crume had a brain infection that forced his brain to crush itself against his skull. Crume had worked at a nuclear power plant testing radiation levels.

A radiologist who testified on behalf of Crume said he could not understand how someone in Crume's condition could even be alive. The radiologist discussed the CT scan results with the ER doctor, Dr. Andrew Lawson, but Crume was given some pain pills and was sent home. Five days later, Crume's brother found him in a coma; Crume had suffered two strokes resulting in permanent paralysis on the left side and brain damage.

The jury decided that while both doctors were negligent in this case, Dr. Lawson was to blame because he sent Crume home even though the radiologist had made him aware of the CT scan results. Crume, who now requires 24-hour care, was awarded a total of $12 million; his wife, Judy, has had to quit her job to take care of her husband.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury in a hospital due to the malpractice or negligence of a healthcare professional in New York or New Jersey, please contact the Medical Malpractice Law Offices of Silbertstein, Awad & Miklos.

It is estimated that each year in the United States, people age 60 and older are victims of abuse and neglect; 40,000 of those victims reside in New York state. There are many forms of elder abuse including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect; however, one of the more insidious forms of elder abuse is financial exploitation. Currently, financial exploitation is the most prevalent forms of elder abuse and occurs in 46% of the total cases of elder abuse.

Elders who are frail and not fully able to take care of themselves are vulnerable to abuse. Family members, contractors, telemarketers, financial advisers and even healthcare professionals entrusted with the elder's care are usually the ones exploiting them financially. Elder adults who have been financially exploited are often left without the resources they need to assist in their care; they also often lose their dignity and any sense of independence they may have had. Older adults made destitute have no alternative but to turn to public aid when they need care.

There are steps to take to ensure you elderly loved one is not take advantage of by swindlers. Power of attorney is a useful legal tool that allows an individual to designate another party to manage funds to transact business on his or her behalf. Also, in some states, bill have been introduced in the Senate and Assembly to help protect elders by making long overdue changes in the power of attorney law.

If your elderly loved one has been the victim of abuse by financial exploitation in the New York area, please contact the Personal Injury Law Offices of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos.

The Missouri Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the city of St. Louis over its lead-based paint public nuisance lawsuit against former manufacturers of lead-based paint. The City of St. Louis had to remove noxious lead paint from city housing, and because the city could not identify which company made which lead paint, the city sued seven market participants. At trial, the paint companies prevailed due to insufficient evidence presented by the city. An appeals court upheld that decision in the fall of 2006.

The paint companies named in the suit were as follows:

• Benjamin Moore
• Millennium Chemicals Inc.
• NL Industries Inc.
• PPG Architectural Finishes Inc.
• SCM Corp
• Sherwin-Williams Co.
• SGD Inc
  

The city's attorney accused the paint companies of knowingly selling a product they knew posed a serious health risk to the city's homeowners. This case is considered a nuisance case and not a personal injury case because the city cannot prove which lead-poisoned buildings have which company's paint. However, the lead in the paint is a threat to public health and had to be removed.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the paint companies.

Edith Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel after laying bleeding on the emergency room floor of an inner-city hospital on May 9, 2007. Relatives claim Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain on the floor for 45 minutes while she was in a waiting area in the emergency room at Martin Luther King, Jr.-Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles.

Rodriguez's boyfriend, Jose Prado, called 911 from the ER waiting area and pleaded for help, but he was referred to hospital staff instead. The dispatcher allegedly told Prado to contact a doctor and said paramedics could not help her because she was already in a hospital.

A second call was placed 8 minutes later by a bystander who requested that an ambulance be sent for Rodriguez to her to a different hospital. The bystander told the dispatcher, "She's definitely sick and there's a guy that's ignoring her." During this call, the dispatcher and caller argued over whether there really was an emergency or not. The dispatcher allegedly retorted, "I cannot do anything for you for the quality of the hospital. It is not an emergency. It is not an emergency ma'am."

Relatives reported that Rodriguez died as the officers who finally showed up to help her were wheeling her out of the hospital after arresting the woman for a parole violation.

The director of the county Department of Health Services, Dr. Bruce Chernof, called Rodriguez's death "inexcusable.

If you or a loved one has suffered or died due to the fault or negligence of a medical facility or healthcare professional in New York, please contact the Medical Malpractice Law Offices of Silberstein Awad & Miklos.

Friday, June 15, 2007 is Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which is intended to raise awareness of abuse towards older adults and is recognized by healthcare professionals and organizations around the world. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), elder abuse is the term used to refer to any knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm to a vulnerable adult. Much of this abuse takes place in nursing facilities and hospitals across the nation.

Abuse of an elderly person's finances is the most common form of elder abuse; however, there are many other kinds including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is the use of physical force resulting in bodily injury, physical pain or impairment. Acts of physical abuse may include striking with a hand or object, beating, pushing, shaking, slapping, kicking, and burning. Force-feeding an elder adult is also considered physical abuse as is the inappropriate use of physical restraints.

Signs of physical abuse:

• Bruises, abrasions, burns, or broken bones
• Open wounds or cuts
• Broken eyeglass and other signs of being subjected to punishment
• Sudden change in behavior
  

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is non-consensual contact with an elderly person that can include unwanted touching, sexual assault or battery such as rape, sodomy and sexually explicit photographing.

Signs of sexual abuse:

• Bruises around breasts and genital area
• Unexplained venereal disease or infection
• Unexplained vaginal or anal bleeding
• Torn or bloody undergarments
  

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the infliction of pain or distress through verbal and nonverbal acts such as insults, threats, humiliation, intimidation and harassment.

Signs of emotional abuse:

• Being upset or agitated
• Being withdrawn and non-communicative
• Unusual behavior

Neglect

Neglect is the failure to fulfill any part of a person's obligations to take care of the elder.

Signs of neglect:

• Malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores, or poor hygiene
• Untreated health problems
• Unsanitary living conditions
  

Abandonment

Abandonment is the desertion of the elder adult by an individual who is supposed to be taking care of him or her.

Signs of abandonment:

• The elder is left at the hospital or nursing facility
• The elder is left at a public place such as a shopping mall or church
  

Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation is the most common type of abuse found in older adults and is defined as the illegal or improper use of an elder's funds, property or assets. Checks may be cashed that belong to the elder adult, signatures may be forged, and possessions may be stolen.

Signs of financial exploitation:

• Sudden changes in financial situation
• Additional names found on the elder's accounts
• Unauthorized withdrawals of money
• Disappearance of possessions
• Unexplained transfers of funds
• Evidence of forged signatures
  

If you feel a loved one may be the victim of elder abuse, please contact the nursing facility supervisor, hospital administrator, or some other person of authority in the institution in which the elder lives. Elder abuse is a growing problem in the United States, however, there are organizations such as the National Center on Elder Abuse dedicated to protecting our nation's elders from the horrors of this abuse.

While most of us have car insurance, we may not all know exactly what our policy provides in the event of a collision. If you've been in an automobile accident, you know the cost of repairs can be very high; when there are injuries, especially serious ones, involved in those accidents, the bills can be astronomical. We assume that because we have insurance, our bills will be paid in the event of an accident with injuries. However, that is often not the case.

In May 2006, the Nixon family was heading home after a family trip to Florida. Bob Nixon was driving, and his 8-year-old son Travis was sleeping in the front seat next to him. Travis' 5-year-old sister, Danielle, was in a child seat right behind Bob, and wife, Nancy, was seated in the back seat behind Travis.

All but Bob were asleep when a drunk driver smashed head-on at 60 mph into their SUV Chevrolet Tahoe. The force of the impact caused the body of the Tahoe to shear from the bolts that held it to the truck's chassis. The impact also caused the floorboards to rise and the dashboard to come down in front of Travis, who was laying crossways in the front seat with his seat belt on. Had Travis been sitting upright, his legs would have been severed. Karen Nixon was pinned against the back of the front seat; her pelvis, thigh, leg, arms and ribs were broken, and she suffered a head injury. Travis suffered head injuries and compound fractures to both of his legs.

Just when the Nixons thought their nightmare could not get worse, it did. They soon found out the driver of the vehicle that hit them had insurance that only covered $25,000 per occurrence. The Nixons had uninsured driver's coverage, but they did not have under-insured driver's coverage. The majority of their medical bills would not be covered, and they would be left with several hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses. The man who hit them had the minimum coverage that was required in the state of Tennessee.

Because the Nixons, like many families, did not know about under-insured motorist insurance, they will have the burden of financial debt for the rest of their lives.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an automobile accident in the New York City area or anywhere in New York, please contact the Personal Injury Law Offices Silberstein, Awad & Miklos.