Ever since the Stryker hip recalls of the Rejuvenate hip implant and the ABG II hip replacement device in 2012, patients have been filing lawsuits against the manufacturer. As cases continue to mount, it is important for those who undertook hip surgery to know how to pursue the most effective litigation. Facts about Stryker Hip Recalls Fact: The manufacturer voluntarily initiated its own recall of the Rejuvenate and ABG II devices on July 6, 2012,…
Question: What are the costs and attorneys’ fees associated with a medical malpractice lawsuit? Susan: Medical malpractice cases can be very costly to prosecute. We are talking tens of thousands of dollars. And the attorney will pay these costs and be reimbursed at the end of the lawsuit if we are successful. But the biggest cost I think in any medical malpractice case is expert witnesses. A doctor to simply review medical records can charge…
Question: What will happen after the medical malpractice lawsuit is filed? Susan: A process called discovery occurs. And basically what discovery is, it’s where the attorneys will engage in various practices to determine the facts of the case that will be presented at trial. The attorneys will exchange written questions; those are called Interrogatories. And the client will have to answer some written questions under oath. There is also something called a Request to Produce,…
Question: How do I choose an attorney to investigation a potential malpractice claim? Susan: That’s a good question. Medical malpractice is a very distinct and specialized type of law. You want to choose an experienced medical malpractice attorney — an attorney who deals with these types of cases and who has handled these cases in the past. Most law firms now have websites and you can go to the website of the law firm and…
Question: If I think I have been a victim of medical malpractice, what should I do? Susan: I think it’s a good idea to begin documenting. Document what happened. Document everything that happens after the malpractice. Dates of surgery, lab results, if you have a CT scan, the results of the CT scan. Document the names of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers involved. Question: Times, places of conversations? Susan: Absolutely. And you may…
When the Texas fertilizer plant explosion occurred on April 17, 2013, it signaled a need to understand how often these types of events occur. The answers – spanning nearly the course of a century – may be an indicator of where we could be headed. History Repeats Itself Since 1921, there have been at least 17 unintended explosions of ammonium nitrate worldwide, according to the Guardian. Six of these happened in the U.S., and…
The premier of Constitution USA, the new PBS mini-series about our nation’s founding document, will air on WTTW starting this Tuesday (May 7, 2013) at 8 p.m. NPR’s Peter Sagal takes a cross-country motorcycle ride to tell the story of modern Constitutional controversies. He tries to make civics engaging and relevant. The American Bar Association and its iCivics program has partnered with PBS to produce this series that will explain issues such as federal v….
Question: Should I consider a medical malpractice lawsuit if I have had a bad result? Susan: It depends; a bad result may or may not indicate medical malpractice. Simply because a patient experiences a complication, that does not necessarily mean that there has been malpractice. A bad outcome may be what prompts the client to contact an attorney, but further investigation needs to be done to determine if in fact there was malpractice. The only…
Clifford’s Notes, Chicago Lawyer May 1, 2013 By Robert A. Clifford The issue of recusal arose recently in the matter involving the misuse of campaign funds by Jesse Jackson Jr., and his wife, Sandra, both of whom pleaded guilty. On Feb. 20, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins, who was assigned the case and will sentence the former congressman on June 28 and his wife on July 1, wrote a four-page memorandum regarding the parties’…