Annapolis Personal Injury Law Blog

Researchers find that stressed nurses make more medical mistakes

Published on: May 25, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

When seeking medical care and treatment in Maryland, there is a natural expectation that the providers will be fully prepared, pay attention to what they are doing and adhere to the proper standards. Unfortunately, mistakes happen and patients become ill, injured and lose their lives. This could be the basis for a medical malpractice claim. These errors arise for many reasons and researchers try to discover common causes to prevent them from happening in the future. It is not only doctors who can make mistakes when caring for people, but nurses as well. This should be considered if there are questions about treatment and outcomes.

Nurses who are having mental and physical problems may be prone to errors

A recent study by the College of Nursing at Ohio State University found that nurses experiencing problems physically and mentally might have a propensity to make more medical errors than nurses in a better frame of mind. Nurses who are part of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses were surveyed. Almost 800 took part. Researchers found that 61% stated they felt physically subpar while 51% said the same about their mental state. Forty percent showed signs of depression. More than 50% showed indicators for experiencing anxiety. Medical errors were 31% to 62% more common for nurses experiencing these personal challenges.

Does drowsy driving legislation deserve consideration?

Published on: May 24, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

Our bodies require sound sleep on a habitual basis. A poor’s night sleep can lead to more than poor performance at work. As a worst-case scenario, we may contribute to the statistics that measure the impact of drowsy driving.

While federal and state governments and agencies have assessed its causes and, few have proposed, much less enacted, legislation criminalizing the act. With civil courts able to tackle the issue through personal injury lawsuits, the argument can also be made for legislation addressing the negligent act as well through the criminal system.

Statistics could support action beyond funding and recommendations

How many car accidents are caused by distracted driving?

Published on: May 13, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

Most Annapolis area residents understand how dangerous distracted driving can be. Thousands of people are affected by a distracted driver each year. They are put into these unexpected serious situations because of others who make the mistake of driving while distracted. Distracted driving is a problem that needs to be taken seriously.

What do statistics say?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 3,100 people died because of a distracted driving-related crash in 2019. This is an increase of over 10% from the previous year. In 2019, distracted driving accounted for nearly 10% of all fatal crashes but it can be difficult to determine if the crash was caused by distracted driving so the percentage may actually be larger.

Paying attention to details in a medical malpractice case

Published on: May 7, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

It can seem daunting to make the decision to pursue a medical malpractice legal claim. Most people know that these cases can become incredibly complex at times, since they include detailed medical terms and, potentially, differences in opinions between medical professionals. However, when someone in Maryland has the right team in place to pay attention to the details when pursuing such a claim, there may be a greater chance of success.

Medical malpractice details

Whereas a “run of the mill” personal injury case might be based on a situation anyone can easily understand, like a car accident, a medical malpractice case is based on healthcare decisions and procedures that may be completely foreign to the average person. After all, most healthcare professionals complete years of schooling and on-the-job training just to be in their profession to begin with. The technical details of nursing, doctor care and surgery, for example, are not something the average person is familiar with.

Nine-month-old infant dies in vehicle crash

Published on: April 30, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

An infant was killed in an Anne Arundel County highway accident in the early hours of Easter Sunday. The vehicle crash happened at approximately 4:30 a.m. northbound on I-295, south of Route 100, according to Maryland State Police.

An initial investigation revealed that the mother of the child, who was driving a 2000 Ford Explorer, lost control of her vehicle right before passing a Honda while driving northbound on I-295.

The Ford swerved to the right before veering back across both northbound lanes towards the median, hitting the Honda in the process. The Ford rammed through the median and a guardrail before careening down a hillside and hitting several trees as it came to a halt.

The right approach to medical malpractice claims

Published on: April 28, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

When Maryland residents seek medical treatment, they rightfully expect to receive the very best of care. Unfortunately, as some of our readers may know, the very best of care isn’t always rendered to medical patients in America. Medical malpractice is fairly common, and when it occurs a patient’s life can be changed forever.

Pursuing a medical malpractice claim

It may take patients awhile to realize that they were the victim of medical malpractice. Although instances such as birth injuries or surgical errors might be easier to detect, other instances such as a misdiagnosis, medication errors or hospital errors might take longer to find out about. Sometimes victims of medical malpractice might think that it is too late to do anything about it. Or, they are intimidated by the prospect of taking on a large hospital or medical group in court. Whatever is behind the hesitation to look into the possibility of taking legal action, our law firm works with potential clients to help them determine if there is a path forward to pursue a medical malpractice claim.

Car crash settlements: Important considerations before accepting

Published on: April 15, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

Not long ago, this Maryland-based personal injury blog published a post on settlements for medical malpractice cases. Before an Annapolis victim accepts a medical malpractice settlement, they must be sure that the amount offered is sufficient to meet their needs and cover their losses. Similar considerations should be made when a motor vehicle accident victim is offered a settlement following a collision.

What is a settlement?

Settlements are important agreements that exist in different areas of the law. In the personal injury field, a settlement may be an efficient way for a victim to be compensated for their losses after suffering damages due to another party’s actions. Generally, a settlement keeps a legal claim out of court and provides a victim with an agreed upon amount of money. In exchange for the receipt of their settlement money, the victim must give up their future right to sue the responsible party for their accident-related claims.

The statistics on drunk driving in America are shocking

Published on: April 12, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

Maryland residents have plenty to worry about whenever they get behind the wheel of a vehicle, but usually there are three primary concerns: drowsy drivers, distracted drivers and drunk drivers. All of these dangers have been around almost as long as motor vehicles have existed. Drunk driving, in particular, is a serious problem in America.

NHTSA statistics

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 28 people die in America every day due to being in a motor vehicle accident that involved a drunk driver. As the NHTSA notes, that is almost one death every 52 minutes. Those are shocking statistics indeed. Fortunately, there is also some evidence that the overall rate of deaths due to drunk driving are dropping in America. For example, the NHTSA statistics show that in one recent year – 2019 – the number of drunk driving deaths reached its lowest point in almost 37 years. Still, in that year alone, there were over 10,140 deaths in drunk driving accidents.

Surgical errors can be serious

Published on: March 29, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

When an Annapolis area resident goes in for surgery, they legitimately feel apprehensive about the procedure. Whether the surgery is planned or more of an emergency, it can be scary to put your life in the hands of another person. Most of the time a surgery goes as expected and is successful. But occasionally a surgical error occurs where a person is unexpectedly seriously injured.

Surgeons are highly trained doctors who perform life-threatening work every day. Unfortunately, not every surgeon is as diligent and careful as they should be, causing thousands of unexpected surgical errors each year. Common surgical errors include:

Wrong site surgery. Although it can be hard to believe, wrong site surgeries continue to happen. Patients have wrong legs amputated, wrong kidneys removed, etc.

Maryland rear-end accident causes injuries

Published on: March 25, 2021 | by Joel L. Katz, L.L.C.

It is easy for people to think that a rear-end accident is usually going to be just a fender-bender that causes some damage to the vehicles but little else.

However, an impact from behind, especially if it is at a high speed can leave victims seriously injured.

Such was the case in another part of Maryland south of the Annapolis area. According to police, one driver continued to travel at full speed in a left turn lane. Because of the flow of traffic, the cars in front of the driver had stopped.