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Posted On: October 27, 2009

Baltimore Man Files Maryland Emergency Room Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Over Botched Penis Diagnosis

Robert Williams, 43, is suing Franklin Square Hospital Center’s emergency room for Maryland medical malpractice. Williams, who is a diabetic with a history of abscess infections and diabetes, had to undergo emergency surgery to remove necrotic tissue from his scrotum and penis. In his Baltimore County medical malpractice lawsuit, Williams claims the procedure could have been avoided if ER workers had checked his medical history, performed the right exam, provided the correct antibiotic therapy, and admitted him to the hospital when he arrived at the emergency room in February 2007.

At the time, Williams was in pain because the left side of his scrotum was swollen. His doctor told him to go to the ER.

At Franklin Square Hospital Center, medical workers diagnosed him as suffering from testicular pain. They gave him medication, triaged him, and sent him home.

Williams’s symptoms grew worse and he developed an allergic reaction to the antibiotics that were prescribed to him. He went to another hospital’s emergency room. A complete exam showed that gangrene had infected his scrotal tissue and the base of his penis.

Williams was forced to undergo emergency surgery. Part of the procedure required that his testicles be inserted in pockets cut into his inner thighs. Skin grafts sealed the pockets and covered the hole that remained in his penis.

Williams says that in addition to the severe physical pain and suffering, disfigurement, and mental trauma he has endured, the medical mistake has caused his marriage to suffer permanent damage.

Failure to Diagnose
Not properly diagnosis a patient or delaying diagnosis of a serious condition can lead to catastrophic consequences. Not only does this decrease the chance of recovery, but a patient who receives a delayed diagnosis or the wrong diagnosis may have to undergo more invasive procedures and more rigorous therapies. In some cases, no diagnosis or delayed diagnosis or a misdiagnosis can lead to death.

Hospital emergency rooms can be held liable for Maryland emergency room medical malpractice if error, carelessness, or recklessness results in a patient not receiving the proper care.

Man Says ER Negligence Led to Penis Surgery, CourthouseNews, October 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Wrong Diagnosis

Medical Malpractice, Nolo

Testicle Pain, Mayo Clinic

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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Posted On: October 24, 2009

$261,000 Prince George’s County Police Brutality Verdict Awarded to Woman

A Maryland jury has awarded a Greenbelt woman a $261,000 Prince George’s County police brutality verdict. Kimberly Jones says sheriff’s deputies forced their way into her residence, assaulted her, and maced her.

The alleged Prince George’s County, Maryland personal injury incident occurred on September 15, 2006. Jones, 35, woke up to the sound of knocking. She put on a robe and slightly opened the door. Two Prince George's County sheriff deputies, Gerald Henderson and Billy Falby, allegedly forced their way in without a warrant.

Not only did the two men allegedly assault her, but they are accused of making her change into dirty clothes at the arrest scene without making sure a female deputy was there to help her. A neighbor, who would later testify in court, called 911 to report seeing the two deputies assault Jones.

Jones was charged with assaulting a cop. She was let go from her job because of the arrest and since then, hasn’t been able to obtain work involving children. The criminal charge against her was eventually dropped.

According to Reason.com, the cops had entered the wrong house. The officers accused of the alleged Maryland police brutality have said they were just following instructions.

The jury agreed that the two men did follow Prince George's County Sheriff's Department protocol. However, they found that the procedures were unconstitutional.

This is not the first incident involving alleged police misconduct by Prince George's County cops. According to the Washington Post, from 2000 – 2006 some 800,000 people have received approximately $16.3 million in police brutality compensation from the county.

Excessive use of force by police is a crime. Injury victims may be entitled to Maryland police brutality recovery. If you were beaten, verbally abused, sexually assaulted, arrested without just cause, or feel that police violated your civil rights in another way, you should speak with a Maryland injury lawyer.

Greenbelt woman wins $261,000 lawsuit against Maryland, Gazette.net, October 1, 2009

Failing His Way to Higher Office, Reason Magazine, October 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Prince George's County Maryland, Office of the Sheriff's

Survey: ER doctors suspect excessive police force, USA Today, January 7, 2009

Top 5 Police Brutality Videos, The Huffington Post, July 30, 2009

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Posted In: Police Brutality

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Posted On: October 19, 2009

Maryland injury law: Court of Appeals will review noneconomic damages cap

Maryland’s highest court is going to review the constitutionality of the state’s personal injury noneconomic damages cap. This court hasn’t done this since 1995. Currently, the cap for a plaintiff’s pain and suffering is $725,000.

The Maryland wrongful death case that brings the noneconomic damages cap issue to the state’s highest court is the one involving the parents of 5-year-old Connor Freed. The young boy drowned in 2006 in a country club swimming pool in Anne Arundel County in 2006.

A jury awarded his parents, Debra Neagle Webber and Thomas Freed, over $2 million for his drowning death. Because of the Maryland personal injury cap, which was $665,000 when their son died, their wrongful death award would go down to $1.3 million.

The judge presiding over the Anne Arundel County wrongful death case wouldn’t let the jury consider whether the boy experienced “conscious pain and suffering” before his death. The Court of Special Appeals, however, reversed the decision.

While the Court of Appeals hasn’t reviewed the noneconomic damages gap for some time now, the court recently rejected a claim that the cap does not apply to cases filed under Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act. In November, it will look at the cap for medical malpractice compensation in the wake of a Montgomery County judge’s decision that it only applies to cases filed through the arbitration process.

The latter case involves the $5.8 million Montgomery County medical malpractice verdict awarded over Richard H. Semsker’s wrongful death. If Semsker’s melanoma had been treated when it was just a small mole on his back, the cancer might not have gone to his brain. Instead, doctors failed to treat the growth for years.

If the Court of Appeals were to reject the argument that Maryland’s medical malpractice cap only applies to cases that went through voluntary arbitration, then the Montgomery County wrongful death verdict awarded to Semsker's family would go down by more than $2 million.

Court of Appeals takes cap battle, The Daily Record, October 5, 2009

Medical jeopardy, Baltimore Sun, October 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Judge: Malpractice Caps Don't Apply to Jury Trials, Renalandurologynews.com, July 20, 2009

Medical Malpractice, Justia

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Posted In: Maryland Legislation , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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Posted On: October 16, 2009

Baltimore Sun Business Editor Dies in Maryland Truck Accident

In Baltimore County, the business editor of the Baltimore Sun died last week when the car he and his nine-year old daughter were riding in was involved in a Maryland truck accident with a UPS vehicle. Tim Wheatley, 48, died at the traffic site. His daughter, Sarah, was seriously injured and was transported to a hospital.

Police are investigating the truck accident to see if anyone involved ran a red light and if charges should be filed.

Truck Accident Cases
Our Maryland truck accident lawyers know how hard it is to cope with the loss of your loved one and/or your own injuries. The last thing you probably want to do right now is deal with insurers and trucking companies and police. This is why it is so important that you contact a Baltimore County injury law firm immediately. Your Maryland accident lawyers can begin the claims and investigation process for you because you will likely need to avail of your financial recovery to cover medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, and other damages. Traffic accident recovery also gives you the chance to hold all liable parties responsible.

In August, a Maryland jury awarded Baltimore truck crash victim Shannon Brown over $1 million for injuries she sustained in July 2006. Brown’s right leg was crushed in a Maryland truck accident with a tanker truck. Luckily, her baby boy who was in the vehicle with her did not get hurt.

On September 26, a young child sustained serious burn injuries to his neck, torso, and face when the car he was riding in burst into flames after it was struck in a Maryland tractor-trailer crash on Interstate-95. A pregnant woman and a man were trapped in the car with him.

Baltimore Sun business editor killed in crash, Chicago Sun-Times, October 5, 2009

Family Rescued After Crash with Tractor-Trailer, ABC2, September 26, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Trucking Accidents, Nolo

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Posted In: Truck Accidents

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Posted On: October 12, 2009

Harford County Woman Dies in White Marsh, Maryland Semi-Truck Crash

A Harford County woman has died after the sport-utility vehicle she was driving collided with a semi-truck on Sunday morning. Linda Buckland, 57, was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock Trauma. Her husband, 62-year-old Charles Buckland, sustained critical injuries.

Buckland was reportedly driving a Chevy Tracker west on Pulaski Expressway when the semi-truck crash happened. The Kenworth tractor driver, Irvine Jones, was charged with multiple violations.

Involvement in any kind of large truck crash can be overwhelming and frightening. This is not the kind of Maryland injury case that you want to handle alone. An experienced Maryland truck accident attorney can help you explore your legal options. In the meantime, there are steps that you or your loved one can take to help your case, including:

• Get medical help as soon as possible.
• Do not admit fault or apologize for the truck crash.
• Take pictures of the crash site or ask someone else to do it for you.
• Do not talk to representatives from the trucking company or their insurance company until you talk to a Maryland injury lawyer.
• Document as much as you can about what happened during and after the accident.
• Collect witness contact information and document their accounts.
• Let your insurer know you were involved in a truck crash.
• Contact a Maryland truck crash law firm as soon as possible.

There may be multiple responsible parties that can be held liable for causing your Maryland truck accident. An experienced Baltimore County truck crash law firm will know how to determine who these parties are and how they may have contributed to causing your semi-truck collision.

One killed in truck-SUV crash in White Marsh, The Baltimore Sun, October 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Trucking Accidents, Nolo

Truck Accidents Overview, Justia

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Truck Accidents

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Posted On: October 7, 2009

NHTSA Says More Traffic Deaths Occur on Rural Roads

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports even though more car accidents happened in urban areas, 56% of the 37,261 traffic deaths that occurred in 2008 took place on rural roads. There were 20,905 rural traffic deaths last year.

One reason for the number of deaths that occur in rural areas is that people tend to drive faster on roads that are not as designed and engineered as well as they are in urban areas. Two of the other reasons that rural auto accident deaths happen is people failing to use seat belts or driving drunk. It can also take longer for medical help to arrive at a rural car accident site. 222 of the 591 Maryland traffic fatalities in 2008 occurred in rural areas.

Findings from another traffic accident study, recently discussed in ScienceDaily.com, affirmed the NHTSA’s findings that driving in rural areas is not safer than driving in urban areas. The study, conducted by researchers abroad, reports that:

• Fatality crash risk in surrounding districts is 40% more than for city dwellers.
• Country inhabitants have a crash risk that is up to three times higher.
• The chance of sustaining serious injuries during a rural car crash is 70-100% greater than in cities.

Many people may harbor the misconception that driving in a metropolitan area is more dangerous. This may cause them to drive more cautiously than they would when driving on a rural road where there is less traffic. Obviously, this is not the case.

A driver whose negligence causes a catastrophic Maryland car crash can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death—not to mention that he or she could end up serving time in jail while having to cope with the guilt of knowing that his or her careless or reckless acts contributed to someone getting seriously hurt or dying.

Our Maryland injury lawyers represent traffic crash victims who were injured in motorcycle accidents, truck crashes, bus collisions, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle collisions in both rural and metropolitan areas throughout the state. Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today.

More Motorists Die on Rural Roads, USA Today, October 7, 2009

Cities Less Dangerous Than Rural Regions, Traffic Accident Study Shows, Science Daily, September 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Maryland State Highway Administration

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Burn Injuries , Car Accidents , Motorcycle Accident , Personal Injury , SUV Accidents , Truck Accidents , Wrongful Death