If you have been the victim of medical negligence and you have a malpractice lawsuit pending, one of the primary questions you probably have is “how long will it take for my case to settle?” Our Maryland malpractice lawyers get this question all the time from our medical malpractice clients.

It is completely reasonable to ask. Medical malpractice victims frequently end up in acute financial distress as treatment bills pile up and they cannot work. Many of our clients end up desperately waiting for a settlement in their malpractice case to bail them out.  This makes the time frame for a settlement more important.

The Average Malpractice Settlement Can Take 18 to 24 Months

Mesenteric ischemia or bowel ischemia occurs when there is a sudden reduction in intestinal blood flow that does not meet the metabolic demands of the bowel. When caught early, bowel ischemia can usually be managed. Untreated mesenteric ischemia can cause bowel injuries and death.  Often the failure to diagnose mesenteric ischemia can lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland.

Bowel Ischemia

Bowel ischemia is a medical condition where the blood flow to the intestines is blocked. This can be a result of several factors, including the buildup of fatty deposits in the blood vessels, a blood clot, or an injury to the blood vessels in the intestines. When the blood flow is blocked, the tissues in the intestines can become damaged or even die, leading to serious complications such as perforation, infection, or even sepsis.

Our lawyers handling medical malpractice lawsuit against medical assistants in severe injury and wrongful death negligence cases in Maryland

Medical Assistants in a Healthcare Setting

Medical assistants are an important part of the healthcare team and are responsible for a wide range of clinical and administrative tasks. While they work under the supervision of licensed healthcare professionals such as physicians and nurses, medical assistants can still be held liable for medical malpractice.

If you have watched any TV or been on social media lately, chances are that you have seen an attorney advertisement for Camp Lejeune lawsuits. The proliferation of Camp Lejeune lawyer ads recently has prompted a lot of questions from people who may not be familiar with the Camp Lejeune litigation or even know what or where Camp Lejeune is. In this post, our Camp Lejeune lawyers will attempt to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that we get about Camp Lejeune lawsuits.

What is Camp Lejeune?

If you are not in the military or live in North Carolina, you had probably never even heard of Camp Lejeune until the lawyer ads started popping up recently. Camp Lejeune is massive Marine Corps base and operational training compound in North Carolina. Camp Lejeune opened in 1942 and it is located near the town of Wilmington, NC. Camp Lejeune is like mid-sized town with an on-base resident population of over 50,000.

Philips recalled many of its CPAP sleep and respiratory care devices earlier this year. The company acknowledged that the recalled machines contain a sound abatement foam that can release airborne particles and cause adverse health effects for users. In the wake of this recall, CPAP users immediately stopped using the devices and many have filed lawsuits against Philips. The CPAP recall lawsuits allege that the company failed to warn the public of this hazard and designed defective products. Some of the plaintiffs have alleged that the recalled CPAP devices caused them to suffer health conditions including headaches, inflammation, and cancer.

Philips first-quarter report acknowledges CPAP risks

Philips released its first-quarter report for 2021 on April 26th. The report acknowledged the association between the problematic sound abatement foam in its CPAP and BiPAP devices and possible adverse health risks. Philips disclosed that different factors, including unapproved cleaning methods and specific environmental conditions, caused the sound foam to degrade into a toxic compound and become inhaled by users.

Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson recalled several popular spray-on sunscreen products after testing found that the sunscreen contained benzene, a dangerous carcinogen. Now sunscreen lawsuits are being filed across the country and may eventually get consolidated into a new “class-action” MDL.

The product liability lawyers at Miller & Zois are currently looking for new sunscreen lawsuit cases from individuals who regularly used one of the spray-on sunscreen products recalled by J&J and were subsequently diagnosed with leukemia or certain other types of cancer. In this post, we will look at the details that led to the sunscreen recall and explain who might qualify for a sunscreen lawsuit.

Spray-On Sunscreen Recall

A 2019 study of Chinese cerebral palsy medical malpractice cases found that over 60 percent of them involved birth asphyxia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. These results quantity CP-associated medical errors and conditions. Narrowing them down helps healthcare providers better understand the necessary steps to prevent it.

What does this tell us about cerebral palsy malpractice cases in the United States?   Good question. Well, not much for the compensation awarded for a cerebral palsy case.  But the nature of the claims does provide a lens into malpractice cases here, perhaps with less fluff because so many papers on cerebral palsy malpractice cases are really just arguments against the civil justice system we have had in this country since before we were a country. 

Birth asphyxia

Before undergoing surgery or other types of medical procedures, patients are asked required to sign a medical waiver or informed consent form. These forms often contain language confirming that the patient understands and accepts certain risks associated with the procedure.

But what happens if the medical procedure goes wrong and the patient is seriously injured? Does the medical waiver form the patient they signed legally prevent her from bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit?

We discuss the legal implications of medical waiver or informed consent forms and whether they limit a patient’s right to sue for medical malpractice when things go wrong.

Slip and fall incidents among elderly residents in nursing homes can be very serious, sometimes even deadly. One out of every three nursing home residents dies within 12 months of going to the hospital for a slip and fall.  That is just an insane statistic.  Our Maryland nursing home lawyers see too many nursing home fall cases with tragic outcomes. Nursing home negligence is often a major contributing factor when elderly residents fall and injure themselves. In most nursing home fall cases, the negligence involves poor facility maintenance (unkept hallways, wet floors, etc.) or negligent care by staff members (failing to put up bed rails, walking unassisted, etc.). In some cases, however, elderly residents fall because of underlying health conditions. Orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure) is a health condition that is known to cause sudden falls among elderly nursing home residents. Nursing homes have an obligation to monitor their residents for conditions such as orthostatic hypotension and take appropriate precautions.

What is Orthostatic Hypotension?

Orthostatic hypotension (also known as postural hypotension) is a sudden drop in blood pressure that often occurs when someone gets up from a lying down or sitting position. The term “orthostatic” means an upright posture, and “hypotension” is the medical term for low blood pressure. The clinical definition of this orthostatic hypotension is when standing or sitting up causes blood pressure to drop more than 20 in systolic (top) and 10 in diastolic (bottom) pressure.

Many people think medical malpractice is an invention of medical malpractice lawyers to get money.  It is not.  Before COVID-19, it was the third leading cause of death in the United States.  That is not a malpractice lawyer talking.  It is from Johns Hopkins.

Other studies in the healthcare field have shown that only a fraction of people injured by medical negligence end up bringing a claim, let alone filing a lawsuit. So the reality is that most incidents of medical malpractice never even result in litigation.

When medical malpractice does generate a lawsuit, however, there is a very strong likelihood that the lawsuit will eventually be resolved through some type of out of court settlement. Somewhere between 70-85% of all medical malpractice lawsuits get settled out of court. This means that a big part of every medical malpractice lawsuit is a continuing process of back and forth negotiation about the settlement value of the case. Most people are entirely unfamiliar with how this process works, so the goal of this post is to give you an inside look at how malpractice settlements get negotiated.