Maryland Injury and Disability Law

Maryland Nursing Home Abuse

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:20:56 -0500

Nursing Home Abuse – Are Surveillance Cameras the Answer?

As our elderly loved ones age, it becomes an increasing priority to care for them and their health. If affordable, nursing home care can be an option to care for our elders. In fact, an article in the Elder Law Journal states that approximately half of Americans over age 65 will be admitted to a nursing home in their lifetime, and projects such numbers to increase in the future. Although we would much rather be by our loved one’s side caring for them, often this is not a possibility. Paying someone else to care for them on a full- time basis should be the next best thing.

Although many nursing homes provide exceptional care for residents, sometimes the staff members allow patient’s needs to suffer. This is a problem affecting many nursing homes throughout the country. There is a wide range of estimates regarding instances of neglect and deficiency in such homes. An estimate at the low end of the scale finds that approximately 30% of the nursing homes nationwide have such severe deficiencies to warrant the implementation of sanctions. Additionally, a study by the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration has reported that about one out of 20 nursing home patients will experience some sort of abuse while in the facility.

In New York, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has decided to use hidden cameras (often dubbed “granny cams”) in nursing homes to help reduce the incidences of such abuse, and aid in prosecution when it does occur. The way this procedure works in New York is that the hidden cameras are placed in the rooms of residents with the knowledge and permission of the residents and their families. The nursing home staff, however, will remain uninformed. The video cameras have the additional capability to be monitored in real time. The reasoning for not telling the nursing home staff is that the nursing home abuse will not be captured if the staff knows they are being watched. This camera monitoring system has already proven useful, and has been used by the attorney general’s office in the prosecution of four cases, which resulted in 26 convictions.

Other states are also taking steps to prevent elder abuse in nursing homes. New Mexico and Texas have also recognized the utility of using video cameras to monitor the rooms of patients in nursing homes. Both state legislatures passed laws giving patients and family members the right to place a video camera in the patient’s room. Although this monitoring system may not allow a third party to catch and stop abusive behavior while it is occurring like in New York, this technology can certainly aid in the prosecution of abusive and negligent staff members. Video camera surveillance is not limited to catching active abuse. In New Mexico, video camera footage was used to substantiate a claim of patient neglect. The footage made it clear that a patient’s bedsores had resulted from the nursing home staff’s failure to regularly turn the patient in bed.

Technology retailers have begun to market these cameras as a safety trend. Camera suppliers have begun to specifically market cameras to the elderly. Purchasers are even given the option to hook up the video camera to a local server for at home monitoring (with of course, an additional fee). With just a quick Google search I was able to find such a camera, one disguised as a clock radio, for about $260.00.

Yet mixed among the success stories of prevention and prosecution, are doubts about the usefulness of such video monitoring systems. Currently, no state has a law which explicitly prohibits the placement of cameras in the rooms of nursing home patients. However, the laws of many states require that the patient or their family members inform the operators of the nursing home about the plan to place a camera in the patient’s room. Nursing home care is already cost-prohibitive, and the addition of video monitoring systems only exacerbates this problem.

While the biggest reward of implementing a video monitoring system is the piece of mind of knowing your loved one will not be receiving abusive nursing care, there is the possibility of additional benefits. The installation of such surveillance technology may help lower the cost of insurance premiums. The hope for advocates of such technology is that soon, surveillance cameras will be placed in all of the patient rooms in nursing homes, resulting in a better quality of care for all patients, and increased confidence in nursing care facilities nationwide.

To learn more about maryland medical malpractice issues including nursing home abuse, please click on medical malpractice. To learn more about our Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger, please read our firm bios.

Social Security Income Supplement Change

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:41:11 -0500

The year is drawing to a close and soon it will be 2009. Looking ahead to the future, what changes can a Social Security Income recipient expect? The answer is an increase monthly maximum amount.

The new monthly maximum for an individual receiving SSI will rise to $674.00. An eligible individual and eligible spouse will receive a monthly maximum benefit of $1011.00. Yes, it’s still woefully inadequate but the amount is headed in the right direction.

TO learn more about Social Security issues, please click on social security maryland. To learn more about our social security lawyers, please click on about our firm, and read about Dory Sutker, or Suja Varghese.

Medical Malpractice-Breast Cancer Awareness Month

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:59:03 -0500

Breast Cancer Awareness: Is it Possible to be Over-aware?

Breast cancer awareness month has just passed. The importance of regular mammograms for cancer prevention is one of the mottos of this battle for cancer screening. Most cancer is treatable if it is caught early enough in the process. The stories related to this terrible disease are very tragic, and stress the importance of early detection. We've all heard or known about someone who was too afraid to go to the doctor until it was too late. This illustration has been talked about many times in cancer prevention month. A woman too afraid to go to the doctor delays getting treatment, thinking she could walk-off the lump in her breast until she fell so sick that she finally had to see her health professional. Once at her doctor’s office the woman learns that she has breast cancer, which by now has spread throughout her body. Her chance of survival is low now, and it is dependent upon the success of a rigorous course of surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. The worst part of this story is that the woman would have had a 100% chance of survival if she had come in when she first noticed a problem.

And that story is only the beginning. There are a plethora of tragic stories related to this disastrous illness, such as the woman from Sydney, Australia who recently was awarded a mere $400,000 after a breast cancer misdiagnosis. The woman went to her doctor for an annual mammogram. A lump showed up in the mammogram, but she was reassured by her doctors that it was benign and nothing to worry about, only to later find out that the lump had been cancer, which by that point, had metastasized to her lungs and her brain. These stories are incredibly tragic, and hopefully, breast cancer awareness campaigns, such as breast cancer awareness month, will reduce the incidence of such horrible occurrences in the future.
Regular mammograms are widely heralded as the key in breast cancer awareness. But how reliable is this technology?

Mammograms are certainly useful in the early detection of breast cancer, but to call the technology a golden bullet is going much too far. A study by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force indicates that a random selection of 1,000 women must receive screenings for 14 years for one woman to be prevented from dying due to breast cancer.

It makes sense that when there are more women receiving regular mammograms there will be more women receiving treatment for breast cancer. However, there have been a number of studies which indicate that mammograms and other breast cancer screening technologies can actually over-diagnose patients. In spite of the great deal of stories about failed diagnosis, mammograms can actually diagnose patients as having life-threatening tumors when, in fact, they are perfectly healthy. This is called over-diagnosis, and can result in women without cancer undergoing painful radiation and surgical treatments unnecessarily. A recent study in the British Medical Journal has compiled a few statistics about the likelihood of over-diagnosis. This study suggests that in a population of 250 (assuming an 8% chance of getting breast cancer) regular mammograms will protect one of the women from a death due to breast cancer. However, the mammograms will also result in the over-diagnosis of two women. The study further indicates that there is no way to distinguish between the three women.

There has also been some discussion in recent literature regarding the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in screening for breast cancer. Some studies have been interpreted as recommending this technology over mammograms. However, MRIs are plagued by the same problems of over-detection which affect mammograms. In fact, MRIs cannot even detect all of the types of cancer which can be detected through a mammogram. A recent study found that an MRI could detect 32 types of cancer, but missed 13 other types. Eight of the 13 types that the MRI missed were detected by the mammogram. Additionally, MRIs may also detect normal cyclic hormonal changes as cancer. Doctors recommend that patients who use MRIs for breast cancer screenings use facilities which can also perform MRI-guided needle localizations and MRI-guided core needle biopsies. Another screening tool, sonography, is being tested for its utility in initial breast cancer screenings. The technology is currently used to monitor cancer after it is diagnosed. However, medical professionals agree that the best method of breast cancer screening is a physical examination coupled with a mammogram.

Although mammograms are capable of such over-detection the amount of medical professionals that are capable of performing the procedure is diminishing. Radiologists feel that they do not have much of an incentive to offer the procedure because the cost of performing it is higher than the Medicare reimbursements they receive. Additionally, they fear large liability lawsuits if in fact they do miss a cancer diagnosis. Suggestions for reform include higher Medicare reimbursement rates, and allowing health professionals who are not professionals to conduct initial screenings.

The statistics about over-diagnosis are frightening, and call into question the old saying, ‘better safe than sorry.’ However, this does not mean that you should forego a mammogram, merely, that you should, like everything in life, not always take what you see or hear at face value. Furthermore, let’s not forget the importance of prevention; women who have mammograms every two years are 16- 19% less likely to die from breast cancer.

If you believe that you or a family member has been a victim of misdiagnosis, you may contact Greenberg & Bederman for a free medical malpractice consultation about your legal claims. To learn more about medical malpractice issues, please read our frequently asked questions on our medical malpractice page. To learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger, please read about our firm and go to attorney bios.

Social Security Disability Law Seminars

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:47:55 -0500

For years I have been attending social security disability law seminars. And for years I have sat through some really lackluster presentations by social security administration officials. Typically, they drone on about their latest initiative. Usually, the initiative sounds doomed from the start. But, this time, things were different. There are some exciting changes on the horizon. By the middle of next year, the Social Security Administration should have their "electronic records express" (ERE) up and running. With this program, representatives will be able to view folders electronically through a secure website. The delay, according to SSA, is ensuring claimant’s privacy.

This may not sound like big news to you but to representatives, this is huge. Having access to a social security’s file at our fingertips, will be enormously helpful. We can check to see what evidence has been obtained. We can look to see what the consultative examiners found during their evaluation. In an instant, we can read what the state agency reviewer opined.

There are other new processes in the works including "eScheduling" and "ePulling".The former envisions automated scheduling of hearings and the latter involves the development of software to organize the evidence in coherent fashion.

All the new proposed procedures have the goal of increasing efficiency in disability process. Keep your fingers crossed that ERE is up and running on schedule and that it works relatively free of glitches.

To learn more about social security law, please read social security frequently asked questions on our website. To learn more about our social security lawyers, please read about our firm and read about Dory Sutker or Suja Varghese.

Medical Malpractice Hospital Infections

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:29:57 -0500

Hospital Acquired Infections

The Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 5 -10% of hospitalized patients develop an infection related to healthcare association (HAI). This corresponds to approximately 2 million HAI’s associated with nearly 100,000 deaths each year in US Hospital. Studies have shown that patients requiring intensive care are at much higher risk. Most infections that become clinically evident after 48 hours of admission are considered hospital acquired. Sadly, many of these could have been prevented by implementing practices that would have prevented the infections. Recent measures put into effect in some hospitals focused on HAI prevention into regulatory and financial reimbursement systems, which reflect the growing belief that many HAIs are preventable, possibly thru the implementation of evidence based “best practices.”

There are three different risk factors for the invasion of bacteria, which can be categorized into three different areas:

· Iatrogenic – These include bacteria transmitted from the hands of hospital personnel, antibiotic use, prophylaxis and invasive procedures sure as tube intubation, vascular lines, extended ventilation and urine catheterization.

· Organizational - This includes environmental situations such as contaminated ventilation systems and water systems and staffing and physical layout of facilities, for example bed to patient ratio and nurse to patient ratio.

· Prophylaxis – This includes issues such as length of stay, underlying immune-compromised state and severity of illness.

Viral, bacterial and fungal bacteria cause nosocomial infections. Viruses are the leading cause of nosocomial infections in pediatric patients. While bacterial and fungal infections are less common they are more commonly associated with morbidity and mortality. Some of the more common nosocomial infections include but are not limited to:

· MRSA – Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is now unfortunately a tremendous problem within healthcare facilities. It is a huge challenge in as much as it remains a significant cause of hospital-acquired infection. It can only be treated with the glycopeptides group of antibiotics such as vancomycin, which is expensive, can only be given intravenously, and has been associated with renal impairment.

· Group A Strep – This is a type of strep that causes sore throats but also scarlet fever and rheumatic fever and pneumonia

· Group B Strep – This is the most common type of strep found in newborns. It is very dangerous and can cause meningitis, brain damage, cerebral palsy, hearing and vision loss and death. It is also very dangerous to pregnant women, elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

· Necrotising fasciitis – This is a very severe bacterial infection, which often results in amputation of a limb or death.

Infections such as these can be completely devastating not only to the victim but to their families. Babies may require extended hospital stays, or worse yet have ongoing lifelong effects due to the infection the acquired. A patient going in for a simple operation may come away with a debilitating infection not only requiring months of treatment but also possibly risking the loss of a limb or even worse the loss of their life.

Many states require that healthcare facilities require stricter enforcement of measures to prevent these infections, yet, tragically, this is an ongoing problem. Patients put their trust into the doctors and healthcare facilities at times when they are very vulnerable completely believing they will come home from the hospital healthier than they went in. Hospitals and the medical profession owe it to their patients to make sure they receive the best possible care available in a sterile environment. If you or your loved one has contacted an infection as a result of hospital or medical error, you need a legal team experienced in this type of malpractice.

To learn more about medical malpractice issues, please read medical malpractice frequently asked questions on our website. TO learn more about our medical malpractice lawyer, John J. Sellinger, please read about our firm, and click on firm bios for Mr. Sellinger.

Medical Malpractice- Surgical Mistakes

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:03:44 -0500

Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice

Undergoing surgery is never a pleasant experience. Each surgery has its risks and rewards, or we would not consider getting surgery as a form of health care. It is vitally important that the surgeon operate with precision, as even the most seemingly insignificant mistake can result in grave consequences for the patient. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over fifty million surgical procedures performed in the United States in 2007 alone, and sadly, a number of surgical mistakes did take place.

Some of the most common surgical errors include post operative and pre-operative infections, performing surgery on the wrong part of the body, or even on the wrong patient. Although it is difficult to believe that such a mistake as performing surgery on the wrong body part could occur in modern medicine, hundreds of people each year have the wrong leg, arm, side of the body, or even hemisphere of the brain operated on. Many surgical mistakes stem from oversights in pre-operative care, such as a false positive or a false negative report from a lab, or the surgeon fails to collect a complete medical history of the patient before the surgical procedure. Other surgical mistakes result from allergic or other adverse effects of medication. Perforations of internal organs by a scalpel or a laser can cause severe harm to a delicate organ. Severing a nerve is quite common, since the nervous system runs throughout the entire body and is extremely vulnerable. Some of the most common types of surgeries where surgical errors are likely to occur include gastric bypass, childbirth, cardiothoracic, thoracic surgery, laparoscopic intestinal surgery and plastic/cosmetic surgery. Finally, anesthesia errors can happen during surgery, with even a small error in dosage causing grave and potentially life-threatening consequences.

There are a number of serious concerns about safety standards and quality of care in the medical profession. Surgical errors may occur, but a surgical error does not necessarily mean that a malpractice has been performed. Medical malpractice or medical negligence (a form of professional error) is when a doctor fails to adhere to a professional level of standard of care. To bring a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland, another physician in the same field of medicine must certify the claim. A Plaintiff’s expert will review the relevant medical records and certify that the plaintiff's health care provider deviated from accepted medical practices, which resulted in injury to the plaintiff. The plaintiff's attorney then files the certificate of merit, which confirms that the attorney has consulted with a medical expert and that the plaintiff's action has merit. The certificate of merit contains three elements: 1) Where the doctor is licensed to practice; 2) An opinion within reasonable degree of probability that the treating doctor departed from the applicable standard of care in treating the plaintiff, and that there was damage from the breach of the appropriate standard of care; 3) That the doctor does not devote annually more than twenty percent of his professional activities to testimony in personal injury claims.

Other states have similar rules. In Virginia, the plaintiff in a medical malpractice suit is required, except in some limited circumstances, to obtain a written opinion from an expert witness, stating that based upon a reasonable understanding of the facts, the healthcare provider deviated from the applicable standard of care and the deviation caused the plaintiff’s injury. This certification is not necessary if the alleged act of negligence clearly lies within the range of the jury's common knowledge and experience. The Virginia Medical Malpractice Act provides for a system of medical malpractice review panels to assess the validity of medical malpractice claims. At the request of either party, the Supreme Court of Virginia appoints a panel to review the claim, consisting of two doctors, two lawyers, and a chairman. The panel determines whether the evidence supports the conclusion that the health care provider failed to comply with the relevant standard of care and whether that failure proximately caused the injury. The findings of the panel are non-binding and the claimant has the option of filing a lawsuit after the panel has made its ruling. However, any opinion of the medical review panel is admissible as evidence in a subsequent action.
In Washington, D.C. the plaintiff in a medical malpractice claim must present expert witnesses because the technical complexity of the facts and issues usually prevents the jury itself from determining whether the defendant's conduct conformed to the standard of care. There can be no finding of negligence without expert testimony to support it.
According to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), nearly $1.5 billion could be saved every year by preventing surgical errors. The study examined insurance data from more than 161,000 patients enrolled in health plans through their employer and who had a surgical procedure between 2001 and 2002. According to the study findings, insurers paid an additional (per patient): $19,480 for post-operative infections, $28,218 for acute respiratory failure, $12,196 for nursing care associated with medical errors, $11,797 metabolic problems linked to medical errors, $7,838 for blood clots and related problems linked to medical errors, $1,426 for wound openings associated with medical errors. The study also revealed that preventable medical errors were responsible for 10 percent of patient deaths occurring within three months of the surgical procedure.

To learn more about medical malpractice law issues please click md medical malpractice law. To learn about our medical malpractice lawyer lawyer in Maryland, please click about the firm and go to John Sellinger's bio..

Social Security Backlog Cases Review

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:20:04 -0500

In an effort to reduce the backlog of cases pending at the hearing level, Social Security Administration Commissioner Astrue made increasing the Administration Law Judge (ALJ) productivity one of his key initiatives. The goal was having all ALJ’s issue 500-600 dispositions each year. How did the Social Security Administration (SSA) fare?*

The average number of case dispositions per ALJ increased 13% from FY 2005 to FY 2007. While the majority of ALJs fall into the range of 400-700 dispositions per year, there is wide variation ranging from a low of 1 per year to a high of 2,592 cases per year. The average case processing times increased from 443 days in FY 2005 to 512 days in FY 2007. This is an increase of 16%. Not surprisingly, there was a huge variation in average processing times for individual ALJs. The lowest was 63 days and the highest was 1,220 days.

Source: NOSSCR, Social Security Forum, Volume 30, Number 7, August, 2008

The full report is entitled Congressional Response Report: Administrative Law Judge and Hearing Office Performance, No. A-07-08-28094 (August 2008eport) It is available online at ssa.gov.

To learn more about social security disability law issues please click social security disability law. To learn about our social security disability lawyers in Maryland, please click Greenberg Bederman Firm Bios, and read about Dory Sutker, or Suja Varghese..

Product Liability_ Theory of Strict Liability

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:14:19 -0500

THE THEORY OF STRICT LIABILITY I

Strict liability is an imposition of liability on a defendant regardless of whether he or she is at fault. At first, such a proposition may seem nonsensical. How can liability be imputed to someone who was not directly responsible for causing harm? All the lawyer needs to prove is that the plaintiff suffered harm/injury and that the other party is responsible for it, regardless of whether there is intent to harm. The courts and the legislature made a policy determination to place an emphasis on ensuring that the victim is made whole, with the rationale that the business who produces the defective products could more afford to bear the burden than the individual who was harmed. Furthermore, the defendant is in a better position to prevent future injuries from happening and, the defendant has more resources to remedy the defective condition. The total cost of an injury is more likely to be an overwhelming misfortune to the person injured, while the risk of injury can be insured by the manufacturer and distributed amongst the public as a cost of doing business.

It is in the public’s interest to discourage the marketing of products having defects that are harmful to the public. If such products nevertheless find their way into the marketplace and are shown to cause harm, it is in the public’s interest to place the responsibility for injury onto the manufacturer, who, even if he is not negligent in the manufacturing of the product, is still nevertheless responsible. The theory of strict liability should cause the manufacturer to take every possible precaution in the manufacturing process to ensure the safety of its products for the public good, despite the fact that this law provides plaintiffs’ with a lower standard to getting a recovery. Regardless of good faith or precautionary measures by the defendant designed to avoid injury, liability can still assessed to the defendant.
One of the classic cases which led to the adoption of the theory of strict liability, is Escola v. Coca Cola Bottling Company of Fresno (1944). The driver of the local Coca Cola bottler delivered cases of Coke to a restaurant in Fresno. When Gladys Escola, a waitress at the restaurant, picked up one of the bottles, it exploded in her hand, thus seriously injuring her arm. Although it was unclear what caused the bottle to explode, Ms. Escola could not point to a specific negligent act by the bottling company. Justice Traynor famously concluded that “the manufacturer's negligence should no longer be singled out as the basis of a plaintiff's right to recover…it should now be recognized that a manufacturer incurs an absolute liability when an article that he has placed on the market, knowing that it is to be used without inspection, proves to have a defect that causes injury to human beings.”
The emergence of modern strict products liability law as it is known today, was born in the early 1960s. In 1965, the American Law Institute, a select group of distinguished lawyers, judges and law professors created what has become its single most influential restatement provision, Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Section 402A provided that a product manufacturer or other product seller should be held strictly liable, without a requirement that the plaintiff prove either negligence on the part of the manufacturer or privity (a direct contractual relationship) between the manufacturer and the injured party, if the product was “in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user” and caused injury to the “ultimate consumer or user” The adoption of strict product liability by the ALI and the courts has been called the most radical and spectacular development in American tort law during the twentieth century.

Other examples of strict liability offenses include injuries inflicted as a result of inherently dangerous activities, such as use of blasting in densely populated areas and keeping exotic animals. If you are injured by the blasting, no matter how careful the company was, they are liable to you for the injuries. Similarly, if the animal escapes and injures someone, no matter how strong the cages were, the zoo keeper is liable for damages. Today, many products pass the so-called “stream of commerce” before they reach the ultimate consumer. They are passed from the manufacturer, to the wholesaler, to the retailer to the consumer. Those engaged in the stream of commerce with respect to products should reasonably foresee that some people will misuse the product and should design the product so that injury does not occur. Disclaimers and waivers of liability for products are often invalidated by courts as against public policy and typically warranties are limited so that manufacturers and retailers are held responsible for personal injuries caused by the use of the product.

To Be Continued.

To learn more about Product Liability law issues please click Products Liability.

Social Security Free Consultation

svarghese@gblawyers.com (Suja Varghese) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:48:16 -0500

Suffering from back pain?

Don't have insurance, or are your doctor's appointments costing too much? How do you feel about a free consultation with the chief of neurosurgery at Harbor Hospital?

That's right, Harbor Hospital is hosting a free online seminar on back pain, with Dr. Charles Park, M.D., Ph.D., on September 12th, from 12pm to 1pm.

This seminar will allow you to have your questions answered confidentially online by an expert neurosurgeon, from any computer with internet access.

Dr. Park is board certified, and specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery.

Interested? Register at Register.

* disclaimer: We are not endorsing Dr. Park, his diagnoses, nor Harbor Hospital by publishing this link

To learn more about social security disability law issues please click maryland social security lawyers. To learn about our social security disability lawyer in Maryland, please click Greenberg & Bederman about our firm, and read about Dory Sutker or Suja Varghese..

Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:17:42 -0500

Wrongful death in a medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice is a serious issue in our hospitals and is a leading cause of wrongful death. Over 225,000 people die from medical malpractice related injuries in a single year. A US Department of Justice report in 2007 noted that the number of payouts stemming from medical malpractice cases increased 40%. According to a new study by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) one of every ten patients nationwide who died within 90 days of surgery did so because of a preventable medical error. The study also found that those same errors cost nearly $1.5 billion annually. We are taught to trust doctors and follow their advice as it pertains to our health. After all, doctors go through an extensive course of training, pass a medical board exam and complete several years of residency, which thoroughly prepare them to treat and protect our health. Unfortunately, despite all of these safeguards, medical errors are all too common.

Medical error may turn a routine medical procedure into a tragedy. Generally, a medical error is not necessarily medical malpractice. A deviation from the standard of care is what makes a medical mistake a potential malpractice claim. This is known as medical negligence. Some medical errors include surgical malpractice, medication errors, bacterial infections, birth injuries, dental malpractice and diagnosis errors. Often, preventable medical mistakes result from staff failure to follow standard policies and procedures. Some suggest that medical errors occur due to lack of sleep. Others believe that the doctors service too many patients in too short a time. After being on duty for many hours, physicians, nurses and other medical workers may not communicate well due to fatigue, or time constraints with the numerous patients.

Many states have enacted “apology laws” for healthcare workers. These laws provide for open expression of regret, sympathy or compassion by physicians and other healthcare providers without fear of such apology being used against them in a malpractice suit. These laws are purportedly designed to diminish the number of lawsuits against medical workers by providing families and friends of victims with a sense that the medical provider regrets the unfortunate or tragic outcome of the medical error. The apology laws are designed to encourage healthcare providers to speak candidly with the victims. These laws conflict with the advice given to medical providers by their malpractice insurance carriers who advise doctors not to admit any errors unless they are protected by legislation. Moreover, many hospitals waive costs of medical bills when involving medical errors with the patient.

When a victim dies as a result of a medical malpractice, the decedent’s family may bring two distinct claims. One is an action brought on behalf of the personal representative of the deceased, claiming recovery for the injuries suffered by the victim. (“survival action”). This action is for compensation to the victim’s estate for pain and suffering and other damages, as well as for actual expenses incurred by the victim that were suffered up to the moment of death. The other action is a “wrongful death action” brought by the relatives of the victim who are seeking compensation for their relative’s death. In survival action, damages are measured in terms of harm to the victim. The personal representative serves as the victim’s agent. In a wrongful death action, damages are measured in terms of harm to loved ones as a result of the loss of the victim. The surviving relatives do not serve as agents for the decedent nor act on their own behalf for their own loss. While Maryland and the District of Columbia allow the victims to bring both actions, Virginia law allows to bring only one of the actions, leaving the victim’s family or the decedent’s estate without any compensation (Virginia only allows one recovery for a single injury).

The main difference between survival action and wrongful death action is that if death is instantaneous, there can be no cause of action except for medical bills and funeral expenses under the survival statute. This limitation creates a fundamental unfairness, as a parent who does not get to see their children grow up has suffered a great loss, just as children who grow up without their parents have suffered. The survival action law gives that claim to the children and not to the parents under the survival statute.

One question families who have lost a loved one by medical malpractice ask is what is the maximum recovery they can receive for their loss? Assuming no problems with insurance or collectability, Metro Verdicts Monthly reports that the median settlement and verdict in Maryland for wrongful death medical malpractice cases over the last 20 years is $900,000. This is far more than the verdicts in Virginia and the District of Columbia, which range between $750,000 and $665,000. However in 2005, Maryland legislature reversed that trend by enacting a cap on non-economic damages in wrongful death actions which is currently $650,000, regardless of how much the jury award is. Virginia and the District of Columbia do not place the same limitations on the verdicts. Maryland provides for $650,000 as the maximum recovery in a death case when there is only one wrongful death beneficiary. The wrongful death cap with two or more beneficiaries in Maryland today is $812,500. Moreover, the cap combines wrongful death and survival actions, even though in Maryland one can bring both survival and wrongful death actions. The non-economic recovery is capped at $650,000 or $812,500 accordingly. The new cap on non-economic damages in wrongful death malpractice cases has had an impact on the amount of verdict awards in Maryland.

There are no caps on economic damages. Economic damages include not only medical expenses associated with the victim’s treatment, but also lost wages from the time of the accident/malpractice and death, as well as future lost wages. A future lost earnings award is allowed for earnings “reasonably certain” to result from the injury and are awarded by the jury (or judge) in a lump sum. But, obviously, the computation of future lost earnings is not exact and to some degree requires speculation about the decedent's life expectancy and expected work experience.

To learn more about medical malpractice law issues please maryland medical malpractice lawyers. To learn about our medical malpractice lawyer in Maryland, please click firm bios and read about John Sellinger.

Social Security Obesity Disability

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:41:48 -0500

SOCIAL SECURITY OBESITY AS A DISABILITY

Quite a few years ago, there was an episode on The Simpsons in which Homer gained a ton of weight, grew out of his trousers and resorted to wearing muu-muus. He lost his job, and went on social security disability. As always on The Simpsons, it was an off the hook parody. But, as is the case in good parody, there were kernels of truth in the mix.

At the time the episode was aired, there was a Listing of Impairment for obesity. If you could prove you were overweight enough to satisfy the weight tables, had documented arthritis of any weight bearing joint, and had pain and limitation of motion in that joint...poof... you were disabled. Many judges disliked that listing because they thought it encouraged lawyers to feed their clients doughnuts by the dozen.

After the Simpsons episode, the Social Security Administration (coincidently?) eliminated the obesity listing. Obesity is still a consideration in determining disability but it no longer has its own listing. However, according to the SSR (Social Security Ruling) 02-1p, obesity, by itself, may be medically equivalent to a listed impairment (or, in the case of a child applying under title XVI, also functionally equivalent to the listings). For example, if the obesity is of such a level that it results in an inability to ambulate effectively, as defined by the regulations, if may be equivalent to a listing.

The Social Security Administration recognizes that obesity can cause limitation of function. The functions likely to be limited depend on many factors, including where the excess weight is carried. An individual may have limitations in any of the exertional functions such as standing, walking, sitting, and lifting. It may also affect ability to do postural functions, such as climbing, balancing, stooping, bending, kneeling and crouching. The ability to engage in fine manipulation may be affected by the presence of adipose (fatty) tissue in the hands and fingers. Additionally, the ability to tolerate extreme heat, humidity, or hazards may also be affected.

Other effects of obesity may not be obvious. For example, some people with obesity have sleep apnea. This can lead to drowsiness and lack of mental clarity during the day. Obesity may also affect an individual's social functioning.

So, while obesity no longer has its own listing, it must be taken into consideration. The ruling regarding obesity is somewhat involved. If this is a topic that pertains to you, I suggest you check for more information on www.ssa.gov , post an inquiry, or email me a question.

To learn more about social security disability law issues please click social security disability law. To learn about our social security disability lawyer in Maryland, please click Greenberg & Bederman Bios and read about Dory Sutker or Suja Varghese.

Maryland Personal Injury--Tort Reform II

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:44:16 -0500

Tort Reform II

Tort reform ranges from legislation that directly affects certain areas of tort law, such as medical malpractice, to changes in various rules, defenses and limits applicable to cases that can impact how much an individual or a group receives in damages. Some of the tort reform proposals to date and laws based on the idea of tort reform have involved limits on punitive damages or non-economic damages in personal injury cases, moving class action lawsuits from state to federal court, or limiting frivolous lawsuits. In February, President Bush signed a sweeping overhaul of the class-action lawsuit process (Senator Obama was one of the 18 Democratic senators who voted in favor of the bill when it was in the Senate). Only a minority of tort cases will be affected by these laws, but the people affected really need the compensation and/or have been done an egregious wrong. Reform opponents argue that the current legal system produce safer products and drugs. They claim that if the right to sue is restricted, it may result in people not having the resources to get into the courts and businesses will have much less incentive to provide safe products.In the area of medical malpractice, tort reform advocates claim that insurance premiums will decrease, making medical care more affordable and eliminating a disincentive for doctors to practice medicine. In contrast, tort reform critics contend that high medical malpractice insurance rates are a result of the cyclical nature of the insurance industry, lack of competition, mismanagement of reserves, and a decline in investment income. Here are some of the tort reform issues:

Noneconomic damage caps. Non economic damages compensate for injuries and losses not easily quantified by a dollar amount, such as loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, or severe physical impairment. This compensation is for the family of the victims who have died or been severely injured. There has been a lot of publicity in connection with huge awards running into the tens of millions of dollars. Noneconomic damage caps limit the amount for a victim who wasn't damaged economically. In contrast, if the same person's capacity to earn money were damaged as a result of noneconomic damages, there would be no limits on that figure.

Punitive damages caps. These awards are designed to punish outrageous behavior such as companies or individuals who knowingly injure others. Reform opponents argue that by capping punitive damages, there is less cost to companies who put out defective products. Those in favor of tort reform deny that companies would benefit in any way by manufacturing and marketing defective products.

Contingency-fee limits. In many tort cases lawyers do not charge their clients an up-front fee, but receive a percentage of any monetary award the client receives. Limits on contingency fees would curb the large amounts some lawyers and law firms make on such cases, tort reform advocates say. On the other hand, anti-tort reform groups believe that many poor consumers who were wronged wouldn't have access to effective legal representation if such fees were capped because lawyers couldn't afford to spend the time and money necessary to win such cases.

Other tort reform issues include:

· Limits on prejudgment interest that would either abolish or greatly restrict the amount of interest on a consumer's award between the time the suit is filed and when a judgment is rendered.

· Restrictions on a company's liability to compensate victims when several companies are found at fault. In this case, if one or more of the at-fault companies goes bankrupt, consumers who were wronged could receive substantially less than awarded by a judge or jury. While under the current system, consumers may recover the amount of full award from a single defendant regardless of whether the other defendants are solvent.

· Rules that would allow juries and judges to reduce the amount of compensation by the amount of any insurance or disability coverage the victim will get.

A factor often overlooked by the proponents of tort reform is not what judicial awards cost the big companies, but what injury and accidents cost the economy and society in terms of lost productivity and the impact on family members who have to take care of the disabled. Some opposed to tort reform claim that accident costs dwarf the costs in the tort system.

Most states have instituted some type of tort reform during the past 10 years. Virginia has done a lot over the last 25 years to enact liability reform. The state has a cap on liability, which has gone from $750,000 to $1 million to $1.6 million. The cap covers economic and non-economic grievances. Furthermore, those caps cover all providers involved in an alleged incident of malpractice, so if the hospital, doctor and nurse are each sued, the caps apply to all parties taken together, not individually. Maryland initiated tort reform in 1986, limiting the amount of non-economic damages patient may receive in medical malpractice cases. The current cap of $1.4 million increases with inflation. These reform efforts has had mixed success, but proponents are working at the federal level to pass laws dealing with class action lawsuits, medical malpractice and asbestos-related claims, among others.

Although The United States is a country with more tort lawsuits than most other countries, in most countries that have lower tort lawsuits, there is a more extensive social safety net. Our country has a free market approach to health care, disabilities and other social issues which also become economic problems. Our tort system is designed with our economic system considered in order to compensate for the lack of social services. In many countries with tort reform, there are more stringent regulation and provisions for health care, disability, and wage replacement, leaving its citizens with basic necessities if injured. In America, many injured people are facing destitution if they are badly hurt.

To learn more about maryland personal injury law issues please click Maryland personal injury lawyer. To learn about our Personal Injury lawyers in Maryland, please click on attorney bios, and read about Andrew Bederman, Roger Greenberg, or Jason Fernandez.

Social Security Estimator

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:39:24 -0500

Ever wonder how much you’ll receive in retirement benefits from Social Security? Now you can find out the answer. Recently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) added the retirement estimator to its website. The estimator is a planning tool that permits you to get a personalized estimate of your potential Social Security retirement benefit.

It is tied to your actual earnings record so you do not need to enter years of earning information. Your reported earnings are automatically accessed.

The Social Security Administration maintains that the site is secure. According to the Social Security Administration, the estimator does not reveal any personal information such as your address, earnings, or other information. The estimates are only provided online. And, for security reasons, there are time limits for viewing each page. After 25 minutes without any activity, you are given a warning.

The estimator is not for everyone. It is intended for use by those you are not receiving benefits (including medicare) on their own social security record and have enough credits to qualify for benefits. If you are subject to an offset based upon a pension, it is not for you.

One benefit of the estimator is that you can compare different retirement options by entering different dates of retirement or expected earnings. But, keep in mind that estimates are just estimates. The estimator is not adjusted for inflation and it bases its estimate on projected earnings.

To access the retirement estimator go to www.ssa.gov and click on retirement.

To learn more about social security disability law issues please click social security law. To learn about our social security disability lawyer in Maryland, please click social security disability lawyer maryland, and read our firm bios on Dory Sutker or Suja Varghese.

Medical Malpractice Cerebral Palsy

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:13:17 -0500

Medical Malpractice – Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe a group of disorders caused by brain damage that affect body movement and muscle coordination. It is a non-progressive disorder which means it will not worsen over time, nor will it be cured. Brain damage that causes Cerebral Palsy can happen during pregnancy, the birth, or shortly after birth; and can be attributed to illness during pregnancy, pre-term birth, or a lack of oxygen to the baby during birth. In the early childhood years it can develop due to certain types of infection, a lack of oxygen to the brain, severe jaundice and other factors. Over 750,000 children and adults in the US suffer from some form or show one or more symptoms of Cerebral Palsy. About 8,000 babies are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy every year. Cerebral Palsy patients are often diagnosed with the disorder before 18 months of age, usually after parents notice infants have not reached certain developmental milestones such as crawling or rolling over.

Effects/Symptoms

Some of the effects of Cerebral Palsy are involuntary muscle spasms, awkward gait, poor balance, difficulty swallowing, sight or speech impairment, seizures, abnormal sensation and perception, or mental retardation. Additionally patients with Cerebral Palsy may experience difficulty with bladder and bowel control, difficulty eating, skin disorders, breathing problems because of poor posture, or learning disabilities.

Types of Cerebral Palsy

There are three main types of Cerebral Palsy: spastic, athetoid, or ataxic. Spastic cases, the most common, affect 70 to 80 percent of Cerebral Palsy patients, and are further broken down into three categories. Patients whose lower extremities are affected more so than upper are classified as spastic diplegia; patients who experience difficulty with only one side of the body are classified as spastic hemiplegia; and patients whose whole body is affected are classified as spastic quadriplegia. Cases of athetoid Cerebral Palsy affect roughly 20 percent of Cerebral Palsy patients. Its characterized by involuntary motions, trouble holding a steady position, or slow, writhing movements. Such patients often have difficulty getting their hands to a certain spot or holding on to objects. Ataxic cases are far less common, affecting less than 10 percent of Cerebral Palsy patients. Affecting balance and depth perception, ataxic Cerebral Palsy patients have difficulty walking steadily or when trying to execute a swift movement. Basic motor skills may also present difficulty.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is made through testing the infant’s motor skills and examining mother and infant’s medical history. Doctors will try a hand test. Most babies under 12 months do not favor one hand over the other and will reach for an object with the hand that is closer to it. Infants with spastic hemiplegia will often show a hand preference, using the hand that is unaffected and therefore stronger and more manageable. Doctors will rule out other conditions that may cause movement disorders and keep a watchful eye to make certain symptoms are not progressing or worsening. Certain tests that examine the brain, such as MRI, CT scan or ultrasonography may be used to check for abnormalities in brain tissue or structure. Lastly, doctors will most likely check for other conditions that Cerebral Palsy patients often exhibit, such as seizures or vision and hearing problems.

Treatment

Cerebral Palsy is not curable, but with proper treatment and management patients can learn to function and live more effectively. The earlier the disorder is treated the better the chance the child has to develop and overcome difficulties or to learn alternative methods to achieve the desired result. Physical therapy and stretching programs can help patients improve gait and strengthen muscles, and help limit contractures. Occupational therapy can help patients work within their limits and maximize their function. Speech therapy helps patients learn to communicate effectively by learning how to control mouth and jaw muscles. Massage therapy can help keep tense muscles relaxed, strengthen muscles and keep joint flexible.

Prevention

Cerebral Palsy can be prevented through a few precautionary measures. Immunization against measles for pregnant women who have not already been immunized is key. Proper treatment of jaundice if the newborn appears to be affected with it is helpful. Other measures are aimed at preventing premature birth, such as reducing the risk of exposure of pregnant women to virus's and bacterial infections, avoiding x-rays and certain medications, proper control of diabetes or nutritional deficiencies, and adequate prenatal care.

Medical Negligence

Often cerebral palsy can be attributed to the fetus not receiving enough oxygen during the birth. If this is the case, a failure or a delay in performing a C-section can result in the brain damage that causes cerebral palsy. If the baby's heart rate or oxygen flow is not monitored properly, resulting Cerebral Palsy could be fault of the hospital staff. If Cerebral Palsy is the result of hospital staff not responding to birth complications appropriately they can also be held responsible.

To learn more about medical malpractice law issues, please view our medical malpractice To learn about our medical malpractice lawyer in Maryland, please read about our medical malpractice lawyer, John Sellinger.

Tort Reform - What Is It?

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:21:07 -0500

Tort Reform I

Before we can understand tort reform, we must first understand what tort law is. Tort law seeks out those responsible for harm to others, usually on the basis of fault. Tort law, or personal injury law, requires those who are responsible to compensate, usually with money. Medical bills, lost time from work, diminished ability to perform every day chores, and the incapacity to enjoy recreational or daily life all are considered for compensation. It is especially difficult to put a price tag on a wrongful death case, as no amount of money can ever make the family completely whole again.

Typically American courts expect a jury to ascertain the damages in a tort case. Juries are comprised of ordinary citizens who are expected to fairly determine fault, and to place a monetary value on the compensation to the tort victim. Juries can arrive at different verdicts when hearing a similar case under the same circumstances. Just as we all do, jurors often bring their own biases that may hurt or help your case. This unpredictability can bring a wide range of results to your tort case.

One of the main determinations a good plaintiff’s attorney will make is choosing a good venue. Some plaintiff friendly venues include West Virginia, Cook County, Illinois, South Florida, and Atlantic County, New Jersey. Sometimes juries award high monetary awards in punitive damages. Punitive damages are different than compensatory damages. Punitive damages are designed, as the name implies, to punish the offender. Remember the famous “pants case’ where an administrative law judge sued his dry cleaners for $54 million for misplacing his pants? He cited the District of Columbia’s consumer protection law to justify his outrageous demand. This case went on for two years and took a two-day trial before it was rightly dismissed. Ah, the Tort system at work.

Back to punitive. Punitive means to punish. The purpose of punitive damages is two fold: to deter wrongful conduct by others (usually manufacturers) and to serve as a normative function of expressing shock or outrage at the defendant’s actions. Punitive damages are to punish an offender for intentional or malicious conduct and to deter similar future conduct. While punitive damage awards are infrequent, their frequency and size have grown in recent years, hence the tort reform political debate. They are routinely asked for in civil lawsuits presently. The difficulty of predicting whether punitive damages will be awarded by a jury at trial, and the current trend toward large amounts when they are awarded, have also contributed to inconsistent outcomes in similar cases.

To defend tort litigation, the costs can get expensive quickly. Organizations advocating tort reform, such as American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), claim that such costs cause all of us to pay more in indirect costs, such as higher health insurance premiums, and a higher price of goods. Tort reform has been hotly debated in Congress, the national media, and in academia, with advocates claiming we are in a tort crisis disagreeing with those who think tort crisis is a myth. According to Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, 2003, the expenditures on the tort system are substantial, about $250 billion a year, and some estimates suggest that indirect costs through “defensive medicine” and other responses to the threat of lawsuits are even more costly.

So, what is tort reform? It’s a group of ideas and proposed and some enacted (Caps on awards for instance) laws designed to changed the way our civil law works. Tort reform laws are designed to limit the circumstances in which the injured party may sue, and how much money to award to cases. If you think that tort reform will help, just look at New Zealand. In 1972 New Zealand introduced the first universal no-fault scheme for all accident victims. This is based on the principle that anyone suffering personal injury, regardless of whether they can point to a negligent party who caused their loss, may receive state benefits from the government run Accident Compensation Corporation. The goal is to achieve full equality in compensation, while reducing costs by removing the process from courts where litigation is hugely expensive. In the 1970s Australia and the United Kingdom drew up similar proposals for similar no-fault schemes. But the efforts and recommendations amounted to little, and with changes of government the reform agenda were abandoned.

Next Tort reform article: The specific ways of applying tort limitations. Stay tuned.

To learn more about personal injury law issues, please click personal injury . To learn about our personal injury lawyer in Maryland, please click personal injury lawyer.

Social Security Earnings Statement

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:10:12 -0500

Social Security Earning Statement
If you are a worker or former worker over the age of 25, chances are good that you have received a social security statement. This statement is a record of the earnings on which you have paid social security taxes during your working years. It also includes a summary of the estimated benefits you and you family may receive as a result of your earnings.

These statements are automatically mailed to workers (and former workers) on an annual basis. You should review it carefully to make sure that all the information is correct. Make sure your name and date of birth are correct. Also check to insure that all your jobs are listed. Employer errors could keep you from getting all the Social Security benefits you have earned so it is important to identify and report mistakes as soon as possible.

If you did not receive a statement or if you want to request another one, you can do so using an online form. Simply visit www.ssa.gov. Your earning statement will be sent to you by US mail in 2-4 weeks. You will need to have the following information available:
name as shown on your Social Security card
Social security number
Your date of birth
Your place of birth
Your mother’s maiden name

If you automatically receive a statement each year, requesting a statement will stop your next scheduled mailing. You will receive the automatic statement the following year.

Social Security Law and Pain, Depression, Anxiety

dsutker@gblawyers.com (Dory Sutker) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:13:04 -0500

Pain, Depression, Anxiety and Social Security Law

I’m a lawyer not a mental health professional but it seems logical to me that if you are in chronic pain, you are going to be depressed or anxious or both. How can anyone live in pain, day after day, without some degree of depression. After all, your life has changed drastically. Pain interferes with your daily activities and intrudes into every aspect of your life. Naturally, you are going to be depressed about that.

Depression can cause work-related limitations and these can be important in determining whether you meet social security’s definition of disability. But, your depression must be documented and your limitations from depression, if any, need to be ascertainable from the medical record. So, you must talk to your doctor about your depression. Get a referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist. It’s important. The best reason to see a mental health professional is that he/she may be able to make you feel better. A secondary reason is that you can document your depression (or anxiety) and demonstrate that it interferes with your ability to perform work-related activities such as concentrate, persist at tasks, maintain a regular pace, work with others, follow instructions, work within a schedule, maintain regular attendance, etc. These are some of the factors Social Security considers in determining whether you are disabled.

It’s important to understand that psychiatrists treat people with a wide variety of mental or emotional problems. Only a small percentage of their patients are “crazy”. A psychiatrist is the specialist best able to diagnose, treat, and determine functional limitations on mental conditions that require medications. This includes persons suffering from depression, mood disorder secondary to pain or other medical condition, and anxiety. Psychologists also treat a variety of conditions and do objective testing. However, in most states, they cannot prescribe medications. If you feel you are not functioning as optimally as your once did, you should seek treatment from a mental health professional.

To learn more about social security disabiliy law issues please click social security disability law. To learn about our social security disability lawyer in Maryland, please click social security disability lawyer.

Watch When You Are Disabled

svarghese@gblawyers.com (Suja Varghese) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:32:17 -0500

“I always feel like, somebody’s watching me …”

It’s not just a song from the 80’s, folks. I’ve seen many an injured worker and motor-vehicle accident victim take the stand and testify to not being able to drive, lift groceries, do the laundry, etc., and then, fifteen (15) minutes later, see video footage of them doing all those activities and more.

Although the Social Security Administration won’t hire a private investigator to follow you around, they will pay attention to how you behave

· when you meet with their representatives at the local offices,

· when you meet with their doctors while attending a consultative evaluation, and especially

· while testifying at your hearing with the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

As we’ve discussed before, the ALJ will review all the medical evidence, listen to the claimant’s testimony at the hearing, then determine whether the claimant’s testimony as to the frequency and level of severity of the impairment are not only credible and reasonably supported by the objective medical evidence, but prevent the claimant from performing work-related activities.

Want an example of what NOT to do at a hearing?

Hypothetical claimant complains of having constant, severe pain in his neck and lower back, although there was no objective medical cause to be found in his medical records (translation: all his diagnostic testing came back normal.)

At the hearing, he testified to being able to “walk all day, every day, all night, every night, one to two miles.” It could be argued that some movement can help relieve pain, but “all day, every day,” and “one to two miles”? I didn’t buy it, and neither did the judge.

And, to put the last nail-in-the-coffin to destroy any chance of being found disabled, when the ALJ excused this claimant, he proceeded to lift a duffel bag --- the size of an elementary-school child --- up, off of the floor, and over the back of his chair. In fact, when the ALJ saw the claimant do this without any problems, the ALJ asked the claimant “That looks like a heavy bag,” to which the claimant responded “Oh, yes, sir.”

I think you get the picture. And I’ll leave you with this: I’ve heard rumor that there is an ALJ in Maryland who, upon completion of testimony and closing of the hearing, looks out the windows of the building, to observe how the claimant is able to walk/stand/lift/carry when they think no one is watching.

To learn more about social security disability law issues, please see our website at G&B Website-social-security. To learn more abour our social security disability lawyer in Maryland, please see our website at Website-about-us.

Teenage Driving Restrictions Study

pstrand@gblawyers.com (Paula Strand) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:57:09 -0500

Teenage Driving Restrictions

Remember when you got your driver’s license? Do you remember the thrill, the excitement and your wonder of the uncertainty of the road? Then there were those few times when you barely escaped an accident…and that time when you were driving through the parking lot heading toward Ferrell’s Ice cream, with the music blaring, and you were singing at the top of your lungs off key, thinking you were cool, when you slammed into a parked police car.....with a police officer inside the car. Wait! That was me.

One of the first steps into adulthood for teenagers is getting that coveted driving permit, and more importantly, the real driver’s license. Add a considerable dose of peer pressure into the mix and that plastic card is viewed by a teenager as the ticket to independence and freedom. (Just don’t do to your teenager what my dad did to me. He knew I was lying, and he also knew I had no sense of direction, so he instructed me to stay away from Bowie, and don’t go down 450 West toward Bowie. Stay away, he said, as I got lost in downtown Peace Cross where half dressed girls were walking late at night, and neon blinking bars were around every corner. Why didn’t I ever listen?)

The combination of hectic schedules, single family households, and all the extra- curricular activities that teens belong to creates pressure on families to let teenagers get a license when it may not be in their best interest. Are the driving tests really designed to determine whether our teenagers are ready for the road?

Historically, teenage drivers have been involved in a disproportionate number of traffic accidents. According to the analysis conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation for AAA, drivers ages 15 to 17 in 2006 were involved in about 974,000 crashes, injuring 406,427 people and killing 2,541. According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for young drivers aged 15 to 20. Despite the fact that teen drivers account for a small percentage of all drivers, they are involved in a disproportionate number of serious and fatal traffic accidents.

The dangers of teens behind the wheel are further exacerbated by financial costs. According to AAA, accidents involving teen drivers ages 15 to 17 cost us more than $34 billion annually in medical expenses, lost work, property damage, quality of life loss and other related costs in 2006. This figure included $9.8 billion in cost from fatal crashes, with an average cost of $3.841 million per fatality. Injury accidents averaged $50,512, producing a total cost of $20.5 billion. Property damage accidents accounted for the remaining $4.1 billion in cost.

According to Federal Highway Administration, the highest driver fatality rates, as calculated on the basis of estimated annual travel, are found among the youngest and oldest drivers. Compared with the fatality rate for drivers aged 25 through 69 years old, the rate for teenagers is about four times as high and the rate for the oldest group (70 years and older) is almost nine times as high.

State officials are trying to reduce the teenage accident rates through changes in driver licensing. Since 1993, 46 States including Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia implemented the so-called graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems, which address the risks faced by new drivers. This system will first grant our new drivers a learner’s permit, with a supervised practice stage, followed by a provisional license that temporarily restricts unsupervised driving. Commonly imposed restrictions include limits on nighttime driving, limits on the number of passengers in the car, and banning the use of wireless devices. These restrictions are lifted as new drivers gain some experience and get a full licensure.

The Graduated License Program is a proven method of reducing fatal and non-fatal crashes. According to the study conducted on behalf of AAA by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, the rate of fatal crashes of 16-year-olds reduced by eleven percent (per capita) in states with 3-stage GDL programs. The rate of injury accidents in those states was reduced by nineteen percent. Moreover, according to the study, if more states were to implement 5-stage programs, which would provide for additional stages in obtaining a driver’s license, they believe there will be an even greater impact on the reduction of auto accidents among teen drivers.

To learn more about auto accident laws, please click on maryland auto accidents. TO learn more about our lawyers who handle Maryland auto accident law, please click on our firm bio, and read about Roger Greenberg, Andrew Bederman, or Jason Fernandez.