Law Firm Resources & News

Pressure ulcer / bed sore / decubitus ulcer – all names for the same painful and life threatening “injury.” Why do I hesitate to call them injuries, because their cause is so unique. When pressure is placed on the skin, in a non active person for long enough, the lack of circulation will cause the…

A Johns Hopkins University study of adult patients admitted to its hospital showed that patients who resided in nursing homes at any time within the last six months were far more likely than other adult patients to carry or be infected with a drug-resistant superbug. The study, conducted over a four-month period in 2006, was…

Please allow me to post this short article on a topic outside of our norm. I am a graduate of Virginia Tech, grew up in Blacksburg, and have parents living about 1 mile from the campus. One of my brothers graduated from the university as did my father. My great-grandfather graduated from the university before…

I am by definition, a “trial lawyer.”… but I really should be called a “settlement lawyer” or “mediation lawyer.” The reason being, very few clients want to take their case to trial. And I can’t blame them – stress, nervousness, it can be overwhelming. Well, today I read about a client who agreed to settle,…

It would be a lie for me to write that I am thinking about legal medical issues right now – my thoughts, and prayers, as well as the thoughts and prayers of my entire office, are in Blacksburg. God bless you Hokies, wherever you are!

Drugs are always in the news! There is Vioxx, and Celebrex, and the hormone-replacement drug Prempro, and the birth-control patch Ortho Evra and on and on and on. In the last few days the following articles have appeared in the media: o FDA’s Position on New Drugs May Hurt Merck’s Arcoxia Bid o Big Pharma’s…

In this article on MSNBC, a Canadian woman is suing her doctor, who told her she had cancer and administered six months of chemo therapy before she discovered from another doctor that she did not have cancer at all! The woman lost her hair, shed 60 pounds, and became anemic as well as contracting a…

In 1972, Medicare expanded its benefits to include disabled individuals. Unfortunately, while expanding their services, Medicare instituted a waiting period designed to limit costs and make certain that only people with severe and long lasting disabilities would qualify. Many groups have worked to eliminate the unfair waiting period, without success. The only two exceptions are…

In this article, a West Virginia family has filed a lawsuit after their father had exploratory surgery for abdominal pain. The man was given drugs to paralyze his muscles, but was not given general anesthesia until 16 minutes after the first cut into his abdomen. The man committed suicide two weeks after the surgery, two…

Many nursing homes do not want to be held accountable for acts of negligence which kill or injure their residents. How do they escape legal responsibility? Well, did the admission agreement your dad signed (or you signed for your mother) when first admitted to the facility contain a mandatory arbitration clause? If so, you may…

Most of our articles on this blog highlight problems with health care providers and health care system. Well, this time we are rooting for the doctors! A new policy announced by mega-health insurer, UnitedHealth Group, Inc., threatens to fine doctors who refer patients to out-of-network laboratories for medical tests. Most current health plans require members…

Yes…you read that correctly…hospital staff calling 911 on the telephone to save their patients! Sound too bad to be true? Unfortunately not! The New York Times reported that this actually happened recently in Texas, where a 44-year-old man named Steve Spivey developed breathing problems after spine surgery. No physician was working there when the staff…