Maryland Injury and Disability Law : Washington DC Metro Injury & Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Greenberg & Bederman : Accidents, Falls, Medical Malpractice : Maryland, DC, Virginia

A few months ago, we mentioned a new documentary that was making the film festival circuit. That documentary is called Hot Coffee, and it is currently being aired on HBO.

We were pleased when we heard that the film had been picked up by HBO, and we are equally pleased by the number of positive reviews that has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and dozens of other papers all over the country.

The title of the movie comes from the Stella Liebeck case, which is more commonly known as the “McDonald’s Coffee Case.” If you ask the average person on the street (as the film’s director does,) you will probably get something like this:

“A woman gets a coffee from McDonald’s, is trying to drink it while she is driving, spills a little of it on herself, and then sues McDonald’s for $1 million. The jury lets her win and she makes off with a windfall.”

The actual case bears little resemblance to the aforementioned scenario, but thanks to an amazing level of media manipulation, the myths of the case are now considered to be the facts ofthe case.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

It has been said that the human brain is the most powerful thing on earth, and when you consider the things of which we are capable, it’s hard to argue with the premise. Jets, computers, modern cities, fast cars, the internet and pharmaceutical drugs are all man-made inventions. If you think your brain isn’t all that powerful, compare your brain to those of all the other species on the planet. There isn’t another species on the planet capable of doing what human beings have done. Squirrels will never build cars, fish will never build a subway system, and despite what current movies are saying, apes will probably never rise up and take over the world.

Unfortunately, there can be a downside to having an intellect. Consider what happens when your own brain turns against you. There are examples of this everywhere you look. Many of the homeless people that you see on the streets aren’t homeless because they are drug addicts or drunks. Many of them are homeless because they are mentally ill and can’t afford treatment. They suffer from severe schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, each of which are illnesses that can leave a victim incapable of living a normal life.

As sadly common as these examples are, more extreme consequences of untreated mental illness certainly exist. Congresswoman Gabby Gifford’s would-be assassin Jared Loughner was suffering from a severe form of schizophrenia. Convinced that Ms. Gifford was an agent of a worldwide criminal plot, Mr. Loughner shot 19 people, six of them fatally. John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan because as a result of his mental illness, he thought that doing so would impress the actress Jodie Foster. Mark David Chapman was delusional and paranoid when he shot and killed John Lennon. These are some of the more high profile examples, but there are several other examples that don’t get nearly as much attention.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Have you ever noticed how some words have more than one meaning? We’re sure that you have. Even though printed dictionaries are quickly becoming a thing of the past, there are still plenty of online versions where you can see examples.

Sometimes words can be nouns and verbs depending on the usage, like “swing”, or “post”, or “stamp.” But sometimes people focus on one definition rather than the other due to sentiment or what is associated with that word. Lately, the word “entitlement” seems to have entered that category.

Here are the definitions of “entitlement” according to Merriam Webster:

1: a : the state or condition of being entitled

    b : a right to benefits specified especially by law or contract

2: a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group; also: funds   supporting or distributed by such a program

3: belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges

There are a lot of organized groups and politicians in this country who have been putting a heavy emphasis on definition number three, particularly the “privileges” part of it. They want to associate the word “entitlement” with “spoiled brat”, or “lazy parasite”, or “handout”, or “wants something for nothing.”

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The Department of Health and Human Services has shut down public access to the National Practitioner Data Bank. According to a story in the Kansas City Star, HHS has also removed any records of medical malpractice suits, judgments or settlements from public view.

We fail to understand the reasoning behind this. If you scour the internet for any conceivable product or service, no matter how important or inconsequential, you can get a pretty good idea as to whether this product or service is worth using. Everything from cars to movies to body washes to Blu-Ray players have ratings attached. Magazines like Consumer Reports and websites like Angie’s List exist solely to make sure that you are spending your money on something that is worth it. We would think that having information about a doctor or surgeon is certainly more important than having information about a cell phone, house painter or blender.

For those of you who don’t know, the National Practitioner Data Bank is a database that stores information about every doctor that is licensed to practice in the United States. This information includes where they went to school, what state they practice in, what their specialty is, and most importantly, if they have ever been sued by a patient or a patient’s family for medical malpractice or medical negligence. The Department of Health and Human Services has prohibited you or your family or anyone who isn’t a medical professional from having access to this information.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Somewhere in your house or apartment is something that was made by the DuPont chemical company. In fact, something on your desk was probably made by DuPont. Probably even something on your computer. Normally when you think of chemicals the first thing that pops into your head is big barrels of solvents or paint thinner. But DuPont does plastics, they do materials, they do fabrics and just about anything that you can name. DuPont doesn’t necessarily sell products as much as they sell what the products are made of.

It’s hard to believe that they are only the third largest chemical corporation in the world, considering how commonplace their products are. Nylon, Kevlar, the first synthetic rubber, Polyester and Teflon are all household names that were invented by DuPont. They are an absolute giant of not just American industry, but worldwide industry.

Being a titan of world industry does not come with zero responsibilities, however. It should be remembered that DuPont is a chemical company, and not a free range organic poultry concern. Chemicals can be dangerous in almost every step of the manufacturing process. Citizens of a town called Spelter in West Virginia found that out the hard way. DuPont ran a zinc smelter nearby which produced both slab zinc and zinc dust, and by 1971 there was a toxic waste pile that stood about 100 feet tall. The idea that this pile could exist without sickening nearby residents is unfathomable.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Hurricane Irene did quite a bit of damage to the east coast last week. The usual states got hit pretty hard (Florida, the Carolinas), but Irene was unique in that it kept a consistent level of strength and traveled a lot farther north than most hurricanes normally do. When was the last time any of you ever heard the words “Hurricane damage” and “Vermont” in the same sentence? Vermont, New Jersey and Connecticut were all hit pretty hard, and even New York got hit with about $1 billion in damage. The Northeast is not used to that sort of thing.

Another thing the Northeast is not used to is how insurance companies behave in the aftermath of a hurricane. While insurance companies may cover wind damage, many simply do not offer flood insurance. The only entity that offers any kind of emergency coverage in the event of flooding is the United States government. This wouldn’t really be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that a hurricane is a combination of wind and water. If there is a situation where there is any sort of doubt as to whether damage was caused by either wind or water, the insurance company will most likely place all of the blame on water to avoid a claim. The insurance companies will not investigate themselves; they will not send anyone around to take a gander, and they will not look at pictures. They will simply say “not our problem.”

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

Washington D.C. is the sort of town where everyone has to be at work in the morning. You can see the evidence of that every morning on 395, 495, 66 or Route 50. You can see the evidence of that at every Metro bus stop or every crowded Metro station.

Weekday mornings are usually very crowded. But during the summer months, they get less crowded, mainly because a huge part of the morning rush isn’t necessary between mid-June and early September. We are referring to your children, and getting them to school.

As it is officially the day after Labor Day, many of you might have noticed that the streets were a little more crowded on your way to work. According to the NHTSA, the number of cars on the road between 7:15 and 8:15 AM increases 30% during the school year, and 25% of morning traffic is parents driving their kids to school. Today is the first day of school for most of the students in the area, so there will be kids walking to school, riding their bikes to school, waiting on corners for school buses, or getting dropped off by their parents. (No doubt, some of the older students are demanding that they get dropped off a block or two away from school so as not to be embarrassed in front of their friends.)

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks