Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

In Colorado Springs last week, a four-year-old boy was found in a sandbox face down. He was at a daycare center, and two of the workers there found him. One called 911 and the other tried to clear sand from the child’s mouth. Emergency workers arrived quickly from a nearby fire station and tried using suction to remove the sand, but without much success.

The child was pronounced dead at the Colorado Springs Memorial Hospital about one hour later. Police said that he had put his head into a hole dug by another child playing in the sandbox previously. It was about 12 inches by 16 inches and surrounding sand collapsed on him, burying him for about a minute.

Local police and the Colorado Department of Human Services are both investigating the incident, although it appears to have been a genuine accident. The daycare center has never been cited for any incidents or violations, and has been licensed for 13 years.

The child’s father is not blaming anyone. He told the local newspaper reporter that his son was a happy boy.

“He'd walk up to you without even knowing you and give you a big hug. Not a care in the world," he said. "Bad things happen to good people, you know? Just don't take your kids for granted."

Some daycare centers are repeatedly found to be in violation of one regulation or another, and some are prone to unfortunate incidents. If you have a child in a daycare center, or are considering putting your child in one, be sure to check into the center’s past history and records with the State Department of Human Services. Talk to other parents who use that center and ask them how satisfied they are with its childcare services.

If your child has suffered any injury at a daycare center and you are wondering whether you might have a valid legal claim, please call or email us. We have considerable experience with daycare centers and will be glad to give you a free consultation.

The Supreme Court strikes again.

Patients rights have been taken away by the Supreme Court, leaving them defenseless against medical device makers. The nine judges ruled against the estate of a patient who suffered serious injuries due to an alleged defective catheter, which burst during a procedure.

The Supreme Court found that the estate of Charles Riegel could not sue the manufacturer of the defective product (Medtronics Inc.) because the US Food and Drug Administration had approved it for the market. The court feared that states would impose requirements upon the manufacturers, which were harsher than those imposed by the federal government. In other words this is a case of federal preemption of state's rights. Patients have long held the right to sue manufacturers of defective medical devices in New York State. That right has been taken away.

Under federal law once a company complies with the US Food and Drug Administration's requirements the agency allows the product to be market. At the time Congress enabled the Food and Drug Administration there was no expressed intent to limit states rights or protect the manufacturer of medical devices. Activist judges on the Supreme Court felt otherwise.

Applying the rationale of the Court we can foresee this reasoning affecting other areas where the federal government allegedly has a role in protecting the public interest. The FDA supposedly approves drugs, yet we know of many instances where they fell short of insuring safety for patients. One has only to use their imagination to come up with a list of federal regulatory and approval agencies which are underfunded and understaffed.

If you or a loved one has Queens medical malpractice question , please contact the Malpractice Law Offices of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, serving clients in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, Staten Island and Westchester County

This may be considered a legal advertisement.

Joseph Miklos

Since lead in paint, plumbing, and gasoline has been banned in the U.S., we don’t have very much lead exposure any more. But the main concern with lead exposure is regarding young children, and in old houses, a young child can still be exposed to harmful amounts of lead. If there is old flaking paint, it falls on the floor, gets caught into stuffed toys, clothing, bed linen etc. and a child could ingest it. Toddlers often pick things off the floor and put them in their mouths. The paint flakes also create dust containing lead which everyone in the house will breathe.

If old plumbing still exists, lead can leach into the drinking water. It is also present in food cans and juice containers made in some other countries and can therefore be in the food and juice.

Lead poisoning symptoms in children

Lead affects the brain, the kidneys, and the bone marrow (soft tissue inside bones). Resulting symptoms can be:

• Difficulty with paying attention
• Learning difficulties
• Muscle weakness
• Stomach pain
• Headaches
• Confusion
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Anemia

Any of these symptoms could show up, but not necessarily. The way to detect lead poisoning is through a blood test. Since children are still growing, lead exposure at an early age can affect development.

Cutting down on lead exposure

If you live in an old house and are renovating it, close off each room that is being worked on. Keep young children out of them. Make sure that your diet is high in iron and calcium, as they can help prevent lead poisoning.

• Foods containing iron are chicken and turkey, spinach, eggs, tuna, lean beef and pork, dried beans and peas and whole grain products
• Foods containing calcium are dairy products and anything made with milk such as puddings and creamy soups

Lead Poisoning: Part 3 will cover New York laws regarding lead poisoning and will appear in this space next week. If you think your child or you yourself may be suffering from lead poisoning, be sure and have a blood test done. You might also schedule a free consultation with one of our lead poisoning attorneys, to learn more about your legal options. Please call or email us.

What is Lead?

Lead is one of the group of Earth’s elements known as “heavy metals” (the heavy part referring to atomic weight). Some others in the group are iron, copper, zinc, manganese, mercury and plutonium.

• Iron, copper and zinc are essential nutrients up to a point, but too much will cause illness.
• Mercury, plutonium, and lead have no known positive effect on living organisms including humans. When they accumulate in the body, they can cause severe illness

A Little History

People have mined and used lead for many thousands of years. People have also known for thousands of years that it can be harmful. Writings exist from 250 BC about anemia and colic caused by lead poisoning.

In ancient Rome, where eating and drinking were a major recreation, wine was sweetened with lead acetate and caused gout. A Roman medical document from 30 AD includes “white lead” in a list of poisons for which there are antidotes. White lead (also called sugar of lead) is lead soaked in vinegar, which made a lead paste. The remedy for white lead was walnut juice in the wine. But although the Romans knew of lead’s toxicity, they still used it in make-up and skin care, and in treatments for bleeding, infection, and inflammation.

In ancient China, alchemists had a practice of soaking lead in blood and then firing it. If that was done several times, a protective coat formed on the lead’s surface – very useful for martial training. This procedure kept the fighters safe from lead poisoning.

In Boston, in the 18^th century, people were fond of rum. Because the rum was made in stills made partly of lead, lead poisoning became widespread at that time.

In modern times, lead exposure has mostly come from leaded paint and leaded gasoline, besides occupational exposure for some. Although paint and gasoline are no longer made with lead in the U.S. (or in many other countries), old buildings still have old lead paint, usually flaking off and causing air-borne dust.

In Lead Poisoning: Part 2, this space will cover the symptoms of lead poisoning. If you have a child who may be suffering from lead poisoning, please call or email us and we’ll be glad to consult with you at no charge.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic hormone used in some plastics manufacturing. When the plastic is heated it can leach out, and some of the products that contain it are water bottles, baby bottles and sippy cups. The Canadian government is apparently preparing to declare it a toxin.

The Walmart Canadian division announced on Wednesday that it would no longer sell any pacifiers, water bottles, baby bottles, sippy cups, or food containers made with BPA. In the U.S., Walmart announced yesterday (April 17, 2008) that it would sell only BPA-free baby bottles by early next year.

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Draft Report

The NTP is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and has done BPA experiments on rats, exposing them to BPA levels analogous to human exposure. They issued a draft report on April 14. They found that the rats developed urinary problems, prostate tumors, and early puberty.

The draft report states that human exposure to BPA is mostly through food and drinks. BPA can leach into food from the container, from an internal resin coating on the container. It leaches more as the temperature of the food or drink increases, but not more if the container is older. Workers in plastics manufacturing plants can be exposed to it on the job. We are also exposed to it through the air, dust and water around us, but this is not significant exposure.

The degree of a person’s exposure to BPA can be measured by testing body fluids such as blood, urine or breast milk. So far, the highest exposure has been found in infants and children. In the draft report, several reasons are advanced for this:

• Pound for pound, children eat and drink more than adults
• They spend more time on the floor or ground
• They tend to put more things in their mouths and may even eat soil or objects found on the soil or floor

The NTP concluded in its draft report that:

…there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures. The NTP also has some concern for Bisphenol A exposure in these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females.

The italics on the word “some” are in contrast to later text where italics are on the word “negligible”. The NTP has negligible concern about BPA causing any birth defects, and about adults sustaining any reproductive problems, although it has minimal concern “for workers exposed to higher levels in occupational settings”.

More studies will surely be done and will give us more definite information. Meanwhile, it would be as well to buy BPA-free products, and if you are wondering about possible negative effects in your small children, please give us a call, or send an email. We will be glad to give you a free consultation and information as to your legal options.

Rehabilitation

After hospital discharge, procedures will vary according to the specific injury and its results. There’ll be a team that includes any of the following, or others, depending on the nature of the injury:

• Neurologist
• Orthopedist
• Internist
• Physical therapist
• Occupational therapist
• Rehabilitation nurse
• Social worker
• Dietitian
• Speech therapist
• Psychologist or psychiatrist
• Respiratory therapist
• Vocational counselor

There will be both short-term and long-term medications, for pain, any infections that arise, bladder and bowel control, muscle movement, and sexual function. There will usually be education for the family, so they can best support their loved one and understand what is needed. For example, the injured person may need a ventilator and there are programs for family education about that, as well as weaning programs when the injured person could potentially learn to breathe without it.

Medical Devices

Enormous progress has been made in the past fifty years or so in helping people become more active and functional after severe injuries.

• Neural prostheses – these are designed to replace lost neural transmission. They may be outside the body, or implanted, and they connect electrically with the nervous system. They can enable a person to stand, walk, reach for things, and hold things. A good example is cochlear implants, which have become widely used to restore lost hearing.
• Versatile wheelchairs – improvements have made wheelchairs lighter and more comfortable. Some can negotiate rough ground or climb stairs, and in some the seat can lift to give a person access to high places, as in a supermarket.

Surgery

Great progress has been made in surgeries to enable movement after the nerve damage has made it impossible. Tendon surgery repositions tendons connected to working muscles so those muscles can take over what the paralyzed muscles cannot do. This can restore hand movement, arm movement, and wrist movement, for example. The working muscles do double duty.

There are many spinal cord injury centers which offer counseling, therapy, re-training, and family training. This spinal cord injury site gives a list of such facilities in each state. The New York Presbyterian Hospital site gives good information as to anatomy, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, and rehabilitation.

If you have sustained a spinal cord injury, or if you have a loved one in that position, please call us or send an email to learn more about your legal options. Depending on how the injury happened, you may have a valid legal claim for compensation.

The central nervous system, once damaged, does not regenerate. Such an injury is a medical emergency and needs treatment as quickly as possible to minimize the long-term effects.

On no account should you ever move a person who has sustained a back injury, as that could severely worsen their plight.

Keep the person still and call 911 on the assumption that the spinal cord is injured. The Mayo Clinic website gives good pointers for how to deal with this situation until medical help arrives.

Initial Treatment

Paramedics will make sure the person can breathe, prevent the onset of shock, and immobilize the neck. They will apply a rigid neck collar and use a rigid board to transport the person to a hospital.

Emergency room personnel will focus on maintaining good blood pressure and preventing the many possible complications, such as retention of stool or urine and formation of blood clots in the extremities. They will usually sedate the person and proceed with diagnostic tests to pinpoint the injury. Most often the person is transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, or perhaps to a local spine injury center which has staff highly specialized in every aspect of spinal cord injury treatment.

Emergency surgery may be performed to treat broken vertebrae which are putting pressure on the spinal cord, or to remove bone fragments or foreign objects. There are cartilage pads between the vertebrae which allow us to move flexibly without bones rubbing against each other, which would painful. Some of these may have been knocked out of position or damaged, and may need treatment.

Further Treatment

Once the injury is stabilized, the next group of issues arises from the person’s immobilization. Preventive measures must be taken for:

• Bedsores
• Blood clots
• Urinary infection
• Muscle contracture

Nurses will help with body functions and skin lotion and will reguarly change the person’s position. Special mattresses will be used. A therapist will do range-of-motion exercises for paralyzed limbs.

This topic is an enormous one, so the writer in this space will continue with Part 3 next week, on the subject of Rehabilitation.

If you have sustained a spinal cord injury, or if you have a loved one in that situation, please feel free to contact us about your legal situation. If medical negligence was involved, or if the injury was caused by somebody’s carelessness, you may have a valid legal claim.

The central nervous system, once damaged, does not regenerate. Such an injury is a medical emergency and needs treatment as quickly as possible to minimize the long-term effects.

On no account should you ever move a person who has sustained a back injury, as that could severely worsen their plight.

Keep the person still and call 911 on the assumption that the spinal cord is injured. The Mayo Clinic website gives good pointers for how to deal with this situation until medical help arrives.

Initial Treatment

Paramedics will make sure the person can breathe, prevent the onset of shock, and immobilize the neck. They will apply a rigid neck collar and use a rigid board to transport the person to a hospital.

Emergency room personnel will focus on maintaining good blood pressure and preventing the many possible complications, such as retention of stool or urine and formation of blood clots in the extremities. They will usually sedate the person and proceed with diagnostic tests to pinpoint the injury. Most often the person is transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, or perhaps to a local spine injury center which has staff highly specialized in every aspect of spinal cord injury treatment.

Emergency surgery may be performed to treat broken vertebrae which are putting pressure on the spinal cord, or to remove bone fragments or foreign objects. There are cartilage pads between the vertebrae which allow us to move flexibly without bones rubbing against each other, which would painful. Some of these may have been knocked out of position or damaged, and may need treatment.

Further Treatment

Once the injury is stabilized, the next group of issues arises from the person’s immobilization. Preventive measures must be taken for:

• Bedsores
• Blood clots
• Urinary infection
• Muscle contracture

Nurses will help with body functions and skin lotion and will reguarly change the person’s position. Special mattresses will be used. A therapist will do range-of-motion exercises for paralyzed limbs.

This topic is an enormous one, so the writer in this space will continue with Part 3 next week, on the subject of Rehabilitation.

If you have sustained a spinal cord injury, or if you have a loved one in that situation, please feel free to contact us about your legal situation. If medical negligence was involved, or if the injury was caused by somebody’s carelessness, you may have a valid legal claim.

Our bodies have two nervous systems:

• The peripheral nervous system – with nerves throughout the body which give sensation and movement
• The central nervous system – consisting of the spinal cord and brain

These nervous systems are the communication systems within the body. They carry messages from the brain to the entire body, such as “Pull your hand back from that hot stove”, and back to the brain, such as “Right foot is hurting”.

The spinal cord runs from the base of the brain to just above the waist. It is inside the spinal vertebrae, well protected from injury, but not injury-proof. The 33 vertebrae can be damaged – you can break your back – without the spinal cord necessarily being affected.

But when the spinal cord is damaged, paralysis can result, in different areas of the body depending on where the spinal cord was damaged. There are four areas in the spinal cord, each with a number of large spinal nerves which branch off the spinal cord, run through apertures in the vertebrae, and then subdivide, branching around in different body areas.

• The Cervical Area – is in the neck and its nerves control the diaphragm, the shoulders, neck, arms, hands, and back of the head
• The Thoracic Area – is in the upper back and its nerves control the torso and part of the arms
• The Upper Lumbar Area – is in the mid back just below the ribs, and its nerves control the hips and legs
• The Sacral Area – is in the mid back just below the Upper Lumbar Area, and its nerves control the groin, parts of the legs, and the toes

The spinal cord stops in the mid back, but the vertebrae continue on down to the coccyx.

Two types of spinal cord injury

• Complete – the person has now lost all sensation and voluntary movement on both sides of the body, below the injury location. When the injury is in the cervical area, quadriplegia will result. When it is lower down, paraplegia results.
• Partial – the person will have individualized consequences, differing from person to person, and according to the exact nature of the injury

Spinal cord injuries can affect not only the limbs and voluntary movement, but any other body function as well. So, for instance, the person might need a respirator for breathing if the injury is high on the spinal cord. Males can become infertile. People can suffer from bladder and bowel problems. Functions that we take for granted can be impaired, such as body temperature, blood pressure, or ability to sweat.

And of course, there can be pain, often chronic.

Causes of spinal cord injury

Some are the result of a disease such as spina bifida or polio, but most result from trauma. About 44% of spinal cord injuries are caused by auto accidents. Other causes are violent assaults, falls, and sports injuries. Over 80% of spinal cord injuries happen to males.

Please watch this space for Spinal Cord Injuries: Part 2, on treatment and management.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) are often hard to diagnose and harder to treat. There is a great deal of imaging that can be done, such as CTs and MRIs, but the brain has many areas and each area, if injured, will cause different disabilities and symptoms.

Researchers have worked for decades on mapping the brain and this is an overview of the cerebral cortex areas and what they enable us to do.

• Frontal Lobe (under forehead)Provides consciousness, so that we know where we are and why. It controls our movements in our environment, emotional responses, language, and memory of habits.
• If it is injured, we may experience paralysis of some body areas, trouble with planning our actions, with speaking, and with thinking flexibly. We may become stuck on one thought and have wide mood swings.
• Parietal Lobe (at back and top of head)Visual attention, touch perception, manipulation of objects, integration of our five senses.
• Injury can reduce ability to focus on one thing at a time, ability to name things, to find words for writing, to read, to distinguish left from right.
• Occipital Lobe (back of head)Provides vision.
• Injury causes hallucinations, inability to recognize words, read or write, color confusion.
• Temporal Lobes (sides of head)Hearing, memory, some visual aspects
• Trouble with recognizing faces and understanding spoken words; memory loss, increased aggression.

The cerebral cortex is not the entire brain. There are also the brain stem, deep inside the brain, which controls heart rate, blood pressure, and other life-sustaining functions; and the cerebellum at the base of the skull, which coordinates balance and fine movements.

If you have sustained a head injury, but didn’t feel hurt or sick, and therefore didn’t go for any medical treatment, you might want to reconsider that. Brain injuries can give delayed symptoms. They can also give mild, vague symptoms at first which then worsen.

One thing to remember if you’re in an auto accident is to always have medical treatment as soon as possible. If you pass on it at the time of the accident and later on develop symptoms, your initial refusal will be used to your disadvantage in any possible lawsuit.

Please contact us if you have had a head injury and would like to know more about your legal options and rights.

Yesterday, April 1, some U.S. truck drivers drove slowly to cause traffic backups and others staged a protest at a service area with hundreds of people in attendance. These things took place on freeways around Chicago and New Jersey but not in California where trucks are more numerous on the freeways. Other protests occurred in Florida. Some truckers who were driving below the speed limit received tickets.

These were independent truckers, who comprise about 90% of the trucking industry. They were protesting the cost of diesel fuel which has risen recently. Many of these big rig drivers are represented by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). This organization has about 161,000 members, and there are about as many more truckers in the U.S. who are not members.

The OOIDA has asked Congress for help with the diesel fuel cost and is warning the public that the cost of many items such as groceries could rise because of the extra costs that truckers have to bear. Some truckers have to keep their vehicles off the roads for lack of funds up front to buy diesel fuel. Others are finding other work. If there’s a shortage of trucks, prices of goods they normally transport will rise.

The numbers of big rigs on our roads has certainly been increasing in recent years. The drivers work to tight delivery schedules and there is a trend among retail stores to order smaller amounts of goods each time. That way they need less storage space on their premises. It also means that trucks must head for their back entrance more often, and most such stores are in neighborhoods where we all drive our passenger vehicles locally, expecting to be relatively safe.

The issues involved with numbers of 18-wheelers and the accidents they are involved in are many, complex, and changing. If you, or someone you love, have been injured in an accident involving a big rig, please contact us for some legal help. We can give you a free consultation and advise you of your legal rights and options.