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Posted On: May 22, 2010

Harford County Woman Awarded $3.5 Million Maryland Surgical Malpractice Verdict

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A jury has awarded Victoria Little a $3.5 million Harford County surgical malpractice verdict in her case against Vascular Surgery Associates and two surgeons. The 53-year-old woman claims that she was injured in 2007 when the doctors performed an improper grafting technique during her surgery to treat her blocked arteries.

According to Little’s Maryland medical malpractice lawyers, the doctors' negligence and improper surgical technique caused her blood pressure to drop for a prolonged period of time, which deprived her organs and tissue of oxygen. She developed a spinal cord injury, lost 5,100 milliliters of blood, and is now a paraplegic. Little says that she still experiences constant pain.

The verdict awards Little $2 million for future medical costs, $1.3 million for noneconomic damages, and over $200,000 for past medical expenses. However, the state's pain and suffering cap is $680,000.

Maryland Medical Malpractice
Patients injured as a result of medical mistakes have three years from when the injury was discovered or five years from when the mistake caused the injury to file their Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit against the responsible parties. If a patient dies as a result of medical negligence, then the victim’s dependents have three years to file their Maryland wrongful death complaint. If the claimant is younger than age 11, then the statute of limitations usually doesn’t begin running until the victim turns 11.

Surgical Malpractice
Maryland surgical malpractice occurs when a surgeon makes a mistake or doesn’t provide the patient with a standard level of care. Surgical mistakes can lead to catastrophic consequences. About 225,000 people in the US die every year from surgical malpractice.

Jury awards woman $3.5 million malpractice verdict, The Baltimore Sun, May 14, 2010

Belcamp woman suffered 'devastating' injuries, ExploreHarford.com, May 14, 2010


Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice and Surgical errors/complications, Wrong Diagnosis

Medical Malpractice Basics, Nolo

Aortobifemoral Bypass, HealthSquare.com

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice

Posted On: May 19, 2010

Maryland Medical Malpractice?: Psychiatrist’s License Permanently Revoked for Alleged Inappropriate Contact with Boy Patients

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The Maryland Board of Physicians is permanently revoking Miguel Frontera’s license to practice in the state. The decision comes after the state board found that the psychiatrist engaged in inappropriate contact with about a dozen pre-teen boys in his care. Baltimore County police say that they are conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations.

The board had initially suspended Frontera’s license last year for alleged improper behavior when conducting physical exams on five boys, ages 10 – 12, between 2000 and 2009. For example one boy, age 17, told a crisis interventionist at his high school that the psychiatrist molested him during several visits when he was 11 or 12. A police report was filed in 2006 over the incidents that allegedly took place in 2000 and 2001. In March 2009, the parent of a second boy filed a police report accusing Frontera of molesting the teenager during a physical exam when he was 10.

Both alleged victims had sought treatment from the psychiatrist for suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They claim that Frontera made them wear hospital gowns so he could look at their genitals. At the time the allegations were first made, police said that they were not considered to be at the criminal level.

However, Baltimore Police say that they reopened the investigation because of new information that they’ve received. Meantime, Frontera is maintaining that all of the allegations against him are false.

Psychiatric misconduct or his/her failure to provide a patient with a minimum standard level of care can be grounds for a Maryland psychiatric malpractice lawsuit. Examples of this type of medical malpractice:

• Wrong diagnosis
• Medication mistakes
• Breach of privacy
• False imprisonment
• Failure to provide the proper treatment
• Emotional abuse
• Mental abuse
• Sexual relationship with the patient
• Sex abuse

Towson psychiatrist loses license over improper contact with boys, The Baltimore Sun, May 18, 2010

Towson psychiatrist's license suspension upheld, Towson Times, November 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Maryland Board of Physicians

Psychiatric Malpractice: Basic Issues in Evolving Contexts, Psychiatric Times

Continue reading " Maryland Medical Malpractice?: Psychiatrist’s License Permanently Revoked for Alleged Inappropriate Contact with Boy Patients " »

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice

Posted On: May 15, 2010

Cecil County Townhouse Fire Kills Three Young Children and Leaves Mother with Maryland Burn Injuries

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Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fatal fire to break out at Cecil County townhouse early Saturday. While 29-year-old Jewel Johnson was able to escape through a second-story window, three of her four young children were not as lucky.

Neighbors say they couldn’t rescue the children, who were screaming for help, because the flames were too high to walk across. Johnson’s oldest son, age 10, wasn’t there that night.

Following her rescue, Johnson was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where she is being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. She was admitted in critical but stable condition.

According to Maryland State Fire Marshal spokesperson Bruce Bush, the fire started in the first-floor living room. The townhouse, built in 1974, did not have sprinklers. Fire crews have yet to determine whether the smoke detector alarms went off after the blaze broke out.

Maryland Premises Liability
Property owners are supposed to make sure that there are no fire hazards on a premise. Appropriate fire prevention measures and warning systems must also be in place so that in the event a fire does break out, residents, patrons, visitors, and others can attempt to douse the flames and/or escape in time. You may be able to file a Maryland premises liability lawsuit against a negligent landlord, business owner, or another responsible parties.

Burn Injuries
Burn injuries are incredibly painful and disfiguring and can also lead to nerve damage, internal injuries, respiratory injuries, muscle injuries, shock, depression, electrolyte imbalance, infections, physical deformity, and death. The medical treatments required can be extensive and costly.

3 children killed in Cecil Co. townhouse fire, Baltimore Sun, May 15, 2010

3 Children Die In Cecil Co. Fire, WJZ, May 15, 2010


Related Web Resources:
Burn Survivor Resource Center

Smoke Detectors and Sprinkler Systems, Peoples-Law.org

Continue reading " Cecil County Townhouse Fire Kills Three Young Children and Leaves Mother with Maryland Burn Injuries " »

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Posted In: Burn Injuries , Premises Liability

Posted On: May 12, 2010

Family of Girl Electrocuted at Druid Hill Park Softball Field Revisits Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Baltimore

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Four years after a 14-year-old girl was fatally electrocuted at a softball field on Druid Hill, her loved ones are considering whether to seek a motion asking a court reevaluate its decision to dismiss the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Baltimore. Green, a Deer Park Middle School student, died on May 5, 2006 when she was electrocuted while stretching against a steel fence before a church league softball game.

The fence was in contact with an underground power line. Green grabbed hold of another fence and her body completed completed an electrical circuit. She was knocked down immediately and never regained consciousness.

In 2009, Green’s family filed a Maryland wrongful death complaint against the city of Baltimore, Del Electric Inc., and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. A judge later dismissed the case against the city and BGE.

Now, the family’s Baltimore wrongful death attorneys are saying that on more than one occasion the city hired Del Electric to deal with electrical problems that took place at the field prior to Green’s death. Their attorney contends that this new information sheds additional light on the role that the city of Baltimore may have played as the owner of the premise where Green died. The family also says that following her death, the city never took steps to rework the electrical system at the field.

Electrocution Accidents
Maryland electrical shock accidents can result in serious injuries, including burn injuries, brain damage, heart damage, muscle damage, nerve damage, and tissue damage. If you or someone you love was electrocuted on another party’s property and the premise owner was negligent in causing the injury accident, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland premises liability or wrongful death case. Signs of electrical shock include burns, respiratory failure, spinal cord injury, cardiac arrest, headaches, hearing problems, unconsciousness, tingling, weakness, numbness, seizures, muscle pain, broken bones, deformity, and heart arrhythmia.

Answers Sought In Girl's Death, Baltimore Sun, September 9, 2010

Family of Girl Electrocuted at Baltimore Softball Field to Return to Court, ABC2, May 12, 2010


Related Web Resources:
Electrical Injuries, eMedicine

City of Baltimore, Maryland

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors , Premises Liability , Wrongful Death

Posted On: May 3, 2010

$10 Million Baltimore Personal Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages for 9-Year-Old Who Attempted to Hang Himself After Alleged Bullying

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The grandmother of a Leith Walk Elementary boy is suing the Baltimore public school system, the city school board, the city government, and the Northeast Baltimore school for Maryland injuries to a minor. The child, age 9, tried to commit suicide last September after his teacher refused to pay attention to his complaints that he was being bullied.

The 9-year-old, who attends a special education class and has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, reportedly had been bullied since he started studying at the school. The Baltimore personal injury complaint accuses the boy’s teacher of gross negligence, claiming that before rushing to save the boy, who was hanging from the classroom door coat hanger with the chair kicked from underneath him, she first stopped to take photos of him with the camera on her phone.

Bullying
The issue of bullying in schools has always been a problem, but the repercussions can no longer be ignored. On January 14, 2010 Phoebe Prince, an Irish teenager who moved to the US, was found after she hung herself from the stairwell at her home. She reportedly could no longer take the bullying she’d been experiencing at school. Six teens have been criminally charged with having allegedly committed crimes that led to her suicide.

Also in Baltimore last month, a third grader at Gilmor Elementary School threatened to jump out the window and kill herself to get away from bullies. Her mother, Geneva Biggus, says that the school wasn’t very responsive to her complaints that the girl had been the victim of bullying for months.

Bullying can cause serious physical and emotional injuries. We can no longer consider bullying a childish game and schools must take steps to prevent students from becoming victims of any type of violence. It is important that you speak with a Baltimore injury lawyer to explore your legal options.

School Bullying, Attempted Hanging Leads To Lawsuit, WBAL, March 1, 2010

City school system sued over boy’s attempted hanging, Baltimore Sun, April 30, 2010

Girl's suicide increases urgency to prevent teen bullying, The Seattle Times, March 30, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Stop Bullying Now

Bullying, National Crime Prevention Council

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Posted In: Personal Injury

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