South Carolina Lawyer Blog

The Colorado Springs, city-owned Memorial Health System settled a lawsuit filed by an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who claimed her baby suffered severe brain injuries during delivery four years ago. The now four-year-old is a spastic quadriplegic who cannot stand, sit or walk, and has the intellectual level of a six-month-old.

The city paid $700,000 to the child because the care provided by the Memorial nurses and the doctor “fell below the standard of care” by failing to properly interpret fetal heart monitoring strips that showed the baby in distress during labor, having the mother hold her breath which further depleted the oxygen going to the baby and delivering the baby vaginally rather than performing a cesarean section.

The lawsuit only covered the negligence by the nurses. The doctor is employed by Peak Vista Community Health Centers which is a Federally Qualified Health Center. As such, the lawsuit against the doctor will be handled through federal court. A trial date has not yet been scheduled, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is defending the federal government, has requested a settlement offer.

The Columbia, SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm have many years of experience in medical malpractice cases and we are committed to providing personal service and to obtaining fair compensation for all our clients. Call us at 866-454-1200 or fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.

Medical Malpractice

The family of a teenager who was killed in a June 2009 auto accident has sued the town of Cary, North Carolina for wrongful death, alleging the town failed to maintain a safe roadway. The town has not had a similar suit brought against them in over 15 years.

The 16-year-old was a front-seat passenger when the car in which she was riding swerved at the intersection of Cary Glen Boulevard to avoid striking another vehicle. The driver, the girl’s stepmother, then lost control of the vehicle which flipped several times. There was not a stoplight in the intersection at the time, but after the death and public outcry, a traffic light was installed.

The lawsuit claims the town “negligently failed to install a traffic signal” where the girl died. They are seeking financial damages in excess of $10,000.

A “wrongful death” is a death caused by the carelessness (negligence) or misconduct of another person or organization. The Louthian Law Firm has vast experience in pursuing wrongful death lawsuits. Call us today at 1-866-454-1200 for a free evaluation of your unique case.

Wrongful Death in Accident

A 67-year-old Ithaca, New York woman was awarded $1.25 million after a jury found her surgeon negligent when a 2007 gallbladder operation left her gravely ill and fighting for her life. The surgeon at Cayuga Medical Center had been practicing for over 15 years when found at fault.

The woman entered the hospital complaining of an upset stomach when she was told her gallbladder needed to be removed. The woman’s bowel was unintentionally cut during surgery, yet the surgeon did not inspect the bowel for injury prior to completing the surgical procedure.

Almost immediately the woman became severely ill, exhibiting multiple signs of infection. 32 hours after the first operation, she was operated on again to find the source of the infection, and then to repair the injured bowel. The woman also underwent four more surgeries, needed a ventilator, and spent two months in the intensive care unit.

The jury found the surgeon negligent in failing to check the woman’s bowel for injury during the gallbladder surgery, and negligent in failing to promptly diagnose the injury, leading to substantial injury. The award included $250,000 for medical, hospital and rehabilitative care, and $1 million for pain and suffering for past and future losses.

The Columbia, SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm have many years of experience in medical malpractice cases and we are committed to providing personal service and to obtaining fair compensation for all our clients. Call us at 1-866-454-1200 or fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.

Medical Malpractice

A widow and her two sons were awarded $6.7 million by a jury in Fresno County, California in the death of her husband who was struck by a tractor-trailer while filling the bus he had been driving with fuel. The wrongful death award also included over $500,000 for a nephew who witnessed the accident and has suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The deceased had volunteered to drive the Sierra Pines Church of Oakhurst bus. When he pulled over on the side of highway State Route 99 in Merced County to put fuel into the bus in April 2009, two approaching semis “became entangled as one attempted to pass the other.” One of the trailers hit the man and the bus.

Lawyers presented testimony, which led to a verdict well beyond the $3 million offered as settlement, regarding the wife who was one of 25 students on a bus in 1976 that was commandeered by three armed men. The men buried the children and the bus driver underground in a moving van. All of the victims survived after digging their way out when their kidnappers fell asleep. The testimony was key because the woman’s husband had helped her overcome her fear of buses by getting his bus-driver's license so she would feel comfortable enough to get on a bus with him.

The trucking companies, Logos Group Inc. and Triple E Produce, were both named in the lawsuit.

A “wrongful death” is a death caused by the carelessness (negligence) or misconduct of another person or organization. The Louthian Law Firm has vast experience in pursuing wrongful death lawsuits. Call us today at 1-800-410-5656 for a free evaluation of your unique case.

Nebraska Medical Center (NMC) in Omaha has been named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a child who died at the Center in March of last year after receiving 10 times the amount of heparin she was prescribed. The 23-month-old child was in the hospital for an infection following a liver, pancreas and small bowel transplant she received there in December 2009.

The parents filed the lawsuit, also naming a dialysis center that provides nurses for NMC, claiming their child's condition had been improving when a nurse mistakenly gave the girl the wrong dosage of heparin. Heparin was administered intravenously over a five-hour period.

According to the lawsuit, the overdose caused severe bleeding in the toddler's brain, excruciating pain during the next 48 hours and, ultimately her death. The hospital acknowledged that an overdose of heparin contributed to the toddler's death, but said it may not have been the sole cause.

Overdoses of heparin, which are believed to have caused dozens of deaths over the last several years, led the Joint Commission to issue a safety alert in 2008 urging hospitals to adopt strict measures to prevent such errors.

A “wrongful death” is a death caused by the carelessness (negligence) or misconduct of another person or organization. The Louthian Law Firm has vast experience in pursuing wrongful death lawsuits. Call us today at 866-454-1200 for a free evaluation of your unique case.

Wrongful Death

The widow of a man who died in 2005 after an ATV accident was awarded $6.7 million by a Maine jury in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The man was flown to the center after the accident, and according to the lawsuit, the doctors failed to follow up on tests indicating internal bleeding, that ultimately led to the man's death.

The man arrived at the hospital suffering from several broken ribs, among other injuries, and CT scans ordered by the emergency department physician indicated there was also internal bleeding. The doctors caring for the man failed to follow up on the internal bleeding by not issuing an order for X-rays to monitor the bleeding, according to the suit. Three days later, the internal bleeding caused one of the man's lungs to collapse, and the lack of oxygen precipitated a massive fatal heart attack.

The jury found that Eastern Maine Medical Center, its doctors and nurses, and the lead physician were negligent in the man's death.

The award most likely will be reduced due to a cap enacted by the Legislature, although the cap in place at the time of the man's death will apply.

The Columbia, SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm have many years of experience in medical malpractice cases and we are committed to providing personal service and to obtaining fair compensation for all our clients. Call us at 1-866-454-1200 or fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.

Maine Medical Malpractice Case

A Canadian study has revealed that the popular smoking cessation drug, Chantix, increases the risk of heart problems in smokers who take the medication.

In the study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers concluded that the drug’s long list of dangerous side effects also includes heart attacks and irregular heartbeats.

Prior to this study, patients reported that the drug caused changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions. Our South Carolina injury attorneys have been reporting on the drug's side effects for years.

The authors of the study concluded that their results, and those of other studies, suggest a 72% increased risk of heart attack while using Chantix (varenicline). Dr. Sonal Singh, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine was one of the study’s authors and said he would not recommend that his patients take the drug. When quitting smoking, "you want to decrease your risk of a heart attack, instead of increasing a heart attack by 72%," Singh said.

The results prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a warning in June stating, “If you have cardiovascular disease, taking Chantix may increase your risk of certain cardiovascular adverse events.” The agency also encouraged patients to report side effects from the use of Chantix to the FDA MedWatch program. The latest warning is in addition to the boxed warning on the Chantix packages citing the risk of “psychological events.”

The drug company Pfizer, which makes Chantix, argues that the study’s results are flawed but is working with the FDA to evaluate the existing claims.

The South Carolina injury attorneys at Louthian Law Firm are here for you if you or a loved one has suffered life threatening side effects from Chantix (varenicline) or any other drug. Contact us at today at (866) 454-1200, or locally at (803) 454-1200. You can also use our online contact form. We'll give you a free evaluation of your case.

The family of a motorcyclist who was killed in an April 2009 auto accident sued the city of San Diego for wrongful death for failing to install a traffic signal at the intersection in which the man died. The City Council unanimously approved the settlement earlier this month, although they do not acknowledge any wrongdoing under the deal.

The accident occurred when the motorcycle was traveling northbound on Pacific Highway when a Toyota Corolla heading in the opposite direction turned left on Cedar Street in front of the cyclist. The cyclist was tried to veer out of the way, but struck the rear passenger side of the vehicle dying of traumatic head injuries.

The lawsuit claimed the accident was foreseeable and preventable. The suit claimed, “This turn lane’s position combined with the position of the then existing traffic signals gave drivers the confusing illusion they had the right-of-way on a green signal to turn left onto Cedar Street."

A “wrongful death” is a death caused by the carelessness (negligence) or misconduct of another person or organization. The Louthian Law Firm has vast experience in pursuing wrongful death lawsuits. Call us today at 1-800-454-1200 for a free evaluation of your unique case.

San Diego Wrongful Death Case

A Durham woman has filed a lawsuit against a Durham dentist alleging medical malpractice and battery for pulling 24 teeth from her mouth instead of the 6 she agreed to have pulled.

In 2007, the 18-year-old woman went to Durham Family Dental Care to have four wisdom teeth and two molars pulled by Ilias Haralambakis, but when she woke up and the sedation medication had worn off, she found many more teeth had been pulled.

She is left with six bottom teeth and only two top teeth. She wears only her top dentures because the bottom ones don’t fit, and she is unable to eat certain foods. She claims she can’t teach her young son how to brush his teeth because she has none herself.

The complaint states she has suffered "excruciating pain," her jaw locks up on a regular basis, and she acquired a painful infection in her mouth following the extraction of the teeth.

The Columbia, SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm have many years of experience in medical malpractice cases and we are committed to providing personal service and to obtaining fair compensation for all our clients. Call us at 1-866-454-1200 or fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.

Medical Malpractice