Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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How do we cap medical malpractice without capping medical malpractice awards for those patients who are injured by the negligence of doctors. Everyone agrees that the health care system in the United States is in need of a drastic overhaul. The key is accomplishing an overhaul without further abridging the rights of the needy.

Andy Hoffman in Friday’s Daily Kos Online wrote an excellent editorial suggesting a novel, yet thusfar, unexplored solution to reducing the cost of medical malpractice claims on society. Weed out the worst offenders, those doctors who repeatedly victimize their patients and have no business practicing medicine.

Focusing on medical malpractice caps will do nothing to reduce health care costs. California, as Hoffman notes, has had caps on medical malpractice awards for the past 34 years. The caps in california are drastic, $250,000 limits on malpractice awards, and have had literally no effect on the cost of malpractice insurance or the price of health care in that state. Why not focus on the cause of medical malpractice cases and the conduct of those bad doctors who are driving up prices for everyone else, rather then the victims? Sounds reasonable to us.

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Searching for a lawyer who practices in the area of medical malpractice in Chicago, Illinois is as easy as opening up you web browser and Googling “medical malpractice chicago.” When i ran this search term Google returned 275,000 search results. The first page of results alone listed more then 30 lawyers, including those who have purchased sponsored ads. I know a lot of these lawyers, and some of them do practice in the area of medical malpractice and are very fine attorneys. The vast majority of others are “brokers”, business men who earn a living referring cases to other lawyers who are capable of actually working on a case and expecting part of the fee as a result of finding the case.

At Goldberg & Goldberg we have been practicing in the area of medical malpractice in Chicago for more then forty years. We do not broker cases out to other lawyers. We work up and try our client’s cases ourselves. Our results speak for themselves. We have collected almost $1 billion in compensation for our clients.

When you interview a lawyer that you have found on the internet about his ability to handle your case you are making an intensely important decision. Can this lawyer carry my banner and accomplish the herculean task of bringing a hospital or doctor to his knees in court. In order to do this you should ask a few basic questions of your potential lawyer to see if he has the right stuff to handle your case. If the lawyer hems and haws when answering your direct question you should consider finding someone else to represent you. Here are some sample questions you should ask:

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Trying lawsuits in Chicago at the Cook County Courthouse located at The Richard J. Daley Center is a risky proposition. Even though anti-consumer groups like the Chamber of Commerce and other insurance company proxies have identified Illinois as a judicial “hellhole” the fact of the matter is that injured people face an uphill battle whenever they go to the courthouse.

According to statistics published by the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the presiding Judge of the Law Division, Judge William Maddux, the Law Division had 14,713 new jury filings, and 17,548 pending jury cases — numbers that are fairly consistent with the last several years. And in the three-year period used for this review of Law Division jury verdicts, the number of verdicts each year ranged from 402 to 475. Among those cases juries ruled for defendants in 71 percent of the medical malpractice suits in that same three-year period. And comparing 2007 to 2008, the plaintiff win percentage in medical malpractice verdicts fell from 39 to 18 percent.

While it is true that the vast majority of lawsuits are settled by the parties prior to a jury verdict, those plaintiffs that take a matter to the jury for final resolution face a greater chance of leaving the courthouse without being compensated. At Goldberg & Goldberg our record of success in the Cook County law Division is without compare. We have settled and tried to verdict more then 135 cases that have settled for more then $1 million dollars, including the largest personal injury verdict ever in the State of Illinois, $127,700,000. Winning a case against a doctor or a hospital is an uphill battle. We work up and try our own cases in the firm unlike other lawyers who advertise their experience and results and then refer cases to actual trial lawyers like Goldberg & Goldberg.

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On March 26, 2009 we reported on the efforts of one family to have the Feres doctrine legislatively overturned.  If you recall the Feres doctrine prohibits an active member of the United States military from suing the an Army hospital for medical malpractice.  This prohibition on medical malpractice suits brought by members of the armed services has long been an unfair bar to the legitimate claims of our nation’s heroes.

We are glad to announce that a House Judiciary subcommittee recently approved legislation to correct the injustice that is the Feres doctrine.  This new bill would allow servicemen and their families to hold the military accountable for medical malpractice.  The Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2009 is sponsored by Rep. Maurice hinchey (D-NY) and is named after serviceman Carmelo Rodriguez who died in 2007 after his cancer was misdiagnosed by military doctors.  Below is a CBS news report about the late Sgt. Rodriguez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5l7BObKkb5Q

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A bus full of tourists visiting California crashed on a highway south of San Francisco leaving four dead and dozens injured.  The crash occured on the popular US 101 highway which travels north-south along the California coast.  The bus apparently struck a center divider ejecting and killing several passengers.

Thirty-two passengers are believed to be injured.  Passengers were taken by bus and helicopter to area hospitals.  The bus tour originated in San Francisco and was headed south to Santa Barbara for a wine tasting tour.  Identities and  the origins of the victims of this tragedy are not currently being reported.

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The plastic surgeon who treated Kanye West’s mother the day before she died has given up his medical license in California.  Donda West, the longtime Chicago, Illinois resident and mother of rap artist Kanye West, died the day after cosmetic surgery at the hands of Dr. Jan Adams.

Adams has had a host of legal and personal problems since 2001, including four malpractice judgments, two DUI arrests and convictions and allegations that he failed to pay child support.  Rather then fight proceedings against him, he voluntarily gave up his medical license.

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More than 100 people have already died from the swine flu in Mexico, major news sources are reporting.  The swine flu is an influenza virus that normally infects pigs.  This swine flu outbreak is alarming because it appears the virus has crossed species and is infecting humans as well.  It appears that the virus which is running rampant through Mexico now is a genetic mixture of the swine, avian and human virus that maintains the architecture of a pig-like flu.  While no cases have yet been reported in Chicago or Illinois, there have been 20 reported cases in other states including New York, California, Kansas and Texas.  The United States Center For Disease Control and Prevention is an excellent resource for swine flu information.

The flu appears to be transmitted through the respiratory system, either through phlegm associated with coughing or sneezing.  Droplets of human fluid get on people’s clothing, hands or faces causing contamination.  Contact with pigs or pork have nothing to do with the transmission of the virus.

The symptoms of the swine flu are a fever of over 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, sore throat, respiratory congestion and in some cases, vomitting and diarrhea.  One to four days usually elapse from the time of infection to the onset of symptoms.  There is no vaccine for the swine flu.  If you think that you are infected please call your doctor immediately.

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Yesterday, it is being reported, a Cook County, Illinois jury returned a $13 million verdict against a reckless driver who was involved in a car crash while test driving a BMW 530i, killing one of his passengers, the car salesman who was along for the drive.  The jury awarded $13.7 million to the family of 22 year old Roger Czapaski who was killed in the accident in South Barrington, Illinois.

During the test drive the vehicle’s driver was drove at 95 mph, more than twice the posted legal speed limit, according to eyewitness testimony.  The vehicle struck another vehicle that was turning into a parking lot at a local church.  The car then struck a light pole causing the vehicle to explode.

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The Chicago Sun-Times reported today in its health column about a frequently misdiagnosed medical problem in newborns called malrotation.  Malrotation is an abnormal alignment of the bowels which can cut off blood flow to the baby’s intestines.  Malrotation occurs in 1 in 500 births, and most cases are diagnosed within the first year of life.

The condition is often misdiagnosed because its symptoms are often confused with other, less serious conditions, like acid reflux or colic.  The condition can have serious consequences if it goes undiagnosed.  The longer the blood flow is cut off from the intestines, the more harmful the condition can become.  Undiagnosed and untreated it can result in death.  The gold standard treatment is a surgical procedure which untwists the bowel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i1pYz0yi_Fw

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Sadly, medical mistakes continue to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States.  There are close to 100,000 preventable deaths a year in America making medical errors the fifth leading cause of death in our country.  A culture of shame and a lack of accountability often times prevents full disclosure of medical mistakes to the victims or their families.

In Great Britain steps are being taken at the legislative level to change the secrecy that often involves a medical mistake.  Legislation is being introduced which would make it a doctor’s duty to inform the patient or his family if a medical mistake has occured.  This duty of candor will be imposed upon all health care providers and their corporate managers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-fWOmfpa3n8

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