TBI Healing Hope

The face of hope for treatment for traumatic brain injury just got a bit brighter with the introduction of something called Oxycyte. This is a major breakthrough, as there is currently no effective medical treatment.

Traumatic brain injury is a real concern in Cleveland medical malpractice circles when someone has been in an accident. Whether that injury has been the result of a car crash, a slip and fall accident or other blunt force trauma to the skull (such as blasts from explosives), the consequences are life altering, if not deadly when not treated in a timely manner. Cleveland medical malpractice lawyers see instances like this quite frequently.

There are roughly 1.4 million cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the U.S. every year. Approximately 300,000 of those cases are classified as severe. The fact of the matter is that TBI is the number one cause of disability for those under age 35. This injury results in close to 99,000 cases a year of permanent disability. Fifty percent of those who survive a TBI sustain major impairment. These statistics alone speak loudly enough about the severity of this injury to prompt victims to hire a highly skilled Cleveland malpractice lawyer.

Lest we forget, there are hundreds of cases of military blast injury sustained by our Armed Forces personnel overseas, as a result of roadside bombs. There were approximately 360,000 military blast injuries 2002-2008. Those numbers have not decreased over the last two years. While we may be waging a war against terrorists, the real terror is stalking military personnel in the form of blast injuries. The incidence of deaths due to TBI from bomb blasts is also very high.

In most instances traumatic brain injury is “managed” in order to reduce the pressure on the brain from swelling and to ensure it is receiving enough oxygen. Any breakthrough in the medical field that offers promise for those who have sustained a traumatic brain injury is welcome news. Indeed, most Cleveland medical malpractice attorneys feel new therapy like this may assist their clients in recovery. While the proposed therapy and drug are pending trials in Israel and Switzerland, Oxycyte’s initial results appear to be promising.

This company focuses on pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the field of oxygen therapeutics and continuous substrate monitoring. Their latest offering to the medical community is Oxycyte, a perfluorocarbon therapeutic oxygen carrier and liquid ventilation product and an implantable glucose sensor.

Currently there are six treatment sites planned for each country with clinical trials slated to begin in the second quarter of 2009 and tentatively lasting anywhere from 12 to 18 months. There are many test subjects available, as the Israelis have been dealing with TBI and blast victims for quite some time. Their skill will enable them to utilize this promising therapy and provide clinical test results based on the therapy regime of a single infusion of one of 3 incremental doses of Oxycyte given within 12 hours of injury along with 50% oxygen and the usual care in cases like this.

The hope is that Oxycyte will play a crucial role in assisting in cases dealing with traumatic brain injury, wound care, strokes, heart attacks, surgery, etc.

From the point of view of a Cleveland medical malpractice attorney who deals with TBI as the result of someone else’s negligence, this latest medical news may change the outcome for TBI patients, and that could only be good.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

He Took the Wrong Medication

More than 1.3 million people take the wrong medication every year and close to 100,000 of those die.

While you may not have experienced a pharmaceutical error where you got the wrong drug, or the right drug but you reacted badly to it, or a new medication when combined with what you were already taking caused a serious side effect, errors like this happen every day. Some of these errors are not critical. On the other hand some of them may be deadly.

Not many people realize this, but medication errors are considered to be medical malpractice, largely because they have the potential to cause extremely serious injuries or death. Incidents like this can cost up to $72 billion every year – a staggering amount of money wasted on preventable pharmacy errors. Ask a Cleveland malpractice lawyer about the kinds of cases he deals with and you might be surprised at the answer.

A pharmacy error happens when a patient is handed the wrong medicine or given the incorrect dose of their prescribed medication. Other areas where mistakes happen are when the doctor writes out an illegible prescription, when the medication isn’t labeled correctly or when medicines that shouldn’t be mixed are taken together. Mistakes like this are quite easy to make if the pills are the same color, size or shape; if the names are similar or if the abbreviations on the prescriptions for the number of times or quantity to take them are wrong. If you think something like this has happened to you, contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

Let’s say a prescription required a certain number of units of the medicine to be given every four hours and the “U” looked like an O. Obviously this would affect how much medication the patient was given and perhaps have the potential to cause an inadvertent overdose. All it takes is one small oversight in handing out meds and the consequences could be a Cleveland medical malpractice lawsuit.

There are ways to reduce the likelihood of this happening and people need to be more alert and aware of everything they are ingesting. This becomes more of a problem with seniors who may not understand what they are taking and why, and place an enormous amount of trust in their caregivers.

The first place to start to prevent any pharmacy errors is to check and re-check the medication with your physician after you have a prescription filled. While it may seem like you’re a being nuisance, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Asking questions that may avert a potential drug reaction is far better than having to find a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to right a wrong.

If you can’t read the handwriting, chances are the pharmacist will have trouble making it out as well. Ask to have it re-written or clarified before heading to the drugstore. Even though you know what dose the doctor suggested and how many times to take it, write that down on another piece of paper to check it against what you get from the pharmacist. Don’t take anything you are handed until you check it against the information you have.

Just because you may get medications and are told to use them according to the directions on the package, doesn’t mean something can’t go wrong. If you have a bad reaction, then something is obviously amiss. If you feel you have been the victim of pharmacy error, contact a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your case.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Insurance Company Tactics Really Bite

Many people who run across an insurance company that deals in bad faith and other tactics, wishes they'd never had to deal with the company in the first place.

It's depressing, to say the least, to think that the insurance industry, one of the biggest money makers in the US with profits over $30 billion a year, have been known to stoop to engage in dishonest tactics and a flagrant lack of ethics to inflate their profits.

Given the tough economic times America faces currently, it's not too much of a stretch of the imagination that those same insurance companies will jack up their rates even more and deny more claims. While this might be called a defensive position to support their bottom line, it certainly plays havoc with the industry as a whole. "Not only that, it seriously hampers consumers who ultimately suffer the consequences of denied insurance despite paying their contractual obligations monthly – meaning premiums," commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer.

People might once have thought that the big name insurance company we all thought was the salt of the earth and had earned our family's trust was above reproach. Nowadays people are finding out that the family friend has turned into Uncle Scrooge overnight and is not only denying reasonable claims for strange reasons, but is delaying payments, burying customers in insurance legal jargon and even refusing people retroactively who file claims. One might well ask, "What is wrong with this picture?"

"As horrendous as it may seem, there is evidence that those once friendly companies have gone out of their way to deny claims by actually offering rewards to employees who were successful in turning down claims, added Mellino. Workers who would not engage in that kind of behavior were fired. If denying claims didn't work, some of these companies were not above perpetrating fraud to not pay claims.

While denying claims is bad enough, get ready for the worst stunt in the book - delaying claims until death. This has been done in instances by long-term care insurers whose rationale is simply this: if they don't pay a claim they make money. Some of them have waited until an aged policyholder died to avoid paying. "This behavior is just the tip of the iceberg in an industry that is now also using credit reports to decide who gets insurance or not and how much they will pay," said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer. Brings to mind another good question: "When will it end?"

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Myths About Justice

There are quite a few myths about justice that many Americans don't seem to be aware of, likely due to the fact that even the media gets it wrong.

Haven't we all heard this one before: "Of course the number of lawsuits, including medical malpractice suits, being filed is just staggering." Well, guess what? This is definitely not the case and hasn't been true since at least 1985. "Just to throw around a few statistics here, consider this: personal injury cases dropped 79 percent between 1985 and 2003. This is the most interesting thing though - that in 1985 there were 3,600 trials floating around in US District Courts. By 2003 the number had plummeted to a modest 800 or so," indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

While some might think these are old and out-of-date figures, the trend of fewer personal injury lawsuits continues, not only nationally, but at the state level. Sure, we all read about cases in the paper, but they are nowhere near as prevalent as the media makes them out to be. The ones that get reported are the big cases, and they are by no means representational of the number of cases actually tried per year.

Another prevalent myth that seems to make the rounds on what appears to be a daily basis, is that rising health care costs are making it insurmountable for doctors to practice because of all the lawsuits. "It's true that the costs of health care are rising every year, the medical bills alone certainly prove that, but medical malpractice lawsuits don't have anything to do with the cost of health care," commented Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

The truth of the matter is that med mal suits are roughly less than 2 percent of the total health care spending. In other words, call this a drop in the bucket. So rather than doctors dropping like flies because they are being picked off by med mal suits, the numbers of physicians is actually rising – a reassuring fact to say the least.

Everyone has heard about, or perhaps participated in a situation where a small business owner was driven out of his or her livelihood by a lawsuit, so to address this issue, legal reform is well past due. "This is not accurate either and lawsuits rank dead last as a concern for small business owners," said Mellino. What really appears to be happening is that the larger concerns are trying to upset the legal apple cart to avoid being held culpable for malfeasance and neglect.

This last myth is rather counter intuitive if anyone bothers to dig past the initial impression the words create – that trial lawyers are driving corporations out of business. "That couldn't be further from the truth. Justice is for everyone and wrongdoers need to be held accountable for their deeds, whether they're a large corporation or not," added Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Medical Errors Result in a High Death Toll

Sadly, medical errors that were preventable in the first instance are the reason that thousands of Americans are badly injured or die each year.

This is yet another great debate among trial lawyers, Cleveland malpractice lawyers, and the public in general, over the number of medical errors that were preventable. This subject inevitably comes up when anyone reads a story about medical negligence or is discussing how to reform the medical health system to prevent these errors. Actually, the core of the discussion is medical negligence resulting in medical errors.

It's funny, but most people who wind up talking about this topic usually cut a wide swath around the issue of the inherent negligence, which is the underlying problem and causation of medical errors. Usually when this argument raises its ugly head, people dodge the real issues. When it comes to actually tackling negligence itself, there tends to be a resounding silence unless you have a chance to speak to a Cleveland malpractice lawyer well versed in the nuances of this debate.

Frankly, the only way to make a significant difference in the health care system today is to deal with the negligence that causes medical errors. If medical errors were reduced, many of the other companion problems would be addressed. This isn't to say they would be one hundred percent resolved, but it would be a good start. Here is the real truth – if medical errors were decreased, the costs of health care would go down, medical malpractice insurance premiums would be scaled down and patients would remain healthy and safe. This is an opinion shared by many Cleveland malpractice lawyers.

If you seriously don't think medical errors are that much of a problem, consider the fact that they cost the system close to $29 billion dollars a year. Yes, billion. A staggering number that is highly preventable if someone takes the bull by the horns about avoiding negligence and does something about it.

If you need further convincing, then do some research on the extent of medical errors as outlined by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Their numbers estimate 15 million people are medically harmed every year. Don't stop there, ask a highly skilled Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer what the real scoop is and be prepared for an honest and in-depth answer.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg that sank the Titanic. The unaddressed negligence issue will founder the medical care system if left unchecked. And yet, many Americans today remain unaware of the problem, and how all encompassing it appears to be. This is really quite odd when you consider that one in three people has personally experienced a medical error and one in five were seriously harmed or died. What is even more interesting is that the public generally estimates death by medical error to be about 5,000 yearly, and not numbers running into the millions.

The odd twist to this debate is that while Americans think medical malpractice negligence suits are rampant, the reverse is really the truth. The problem is preventable medical errors causing serious harm and taking lives.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Myths About Justice

There are quite a few myths about justice that many Americans don't seem to be aware of, likely due to the fact that even the media gets it wrong.

Haven't we all heard this one before: "Of course the number of lawsuits, including medical malpractice suits, being filed is just staggering." Well, guess what? This is definitely not the case and hasn't been true since at least 1985. "Just to throw around a few statistics here, consider this: personal injury cases dropped 79 percent between 1985 and 2003. This is the most interesting thing though - that in 1985 there were 3,600 trials floating around in US District Courts. By 2003 the number had plummeted to a modest 800 or so," indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

While some might think these are old and out-of-date figures, the trend of fewer personal injury lawsuits continues, not only nationally, but at the state level. Sure, we all read about cases in the paper, but they are nowhere near as prevalent as the media makes them out to be. The ones that get reported are the big cases, and they are by no means representational of the number of cases actually tried per year.

Another prevalent myth that seems to make the rounds on what appears to be a daily basis, is that rising health care costs are making it insurmountable for doctors to practice because of all the lawsuits. "It's true that the costs of health care are rising every year, the medical bills alone certainly prove that, but medical malpractice lawsuits don't have anything to do with the cost of health care," commented Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

The truth of the matter is that med mal suits are roughly less than 2 percent of the total health care spending. In other words, call this a drop in the bucket. So rather than doctors dropping like flies because they are being picked off by med mal suits, the numbers of physicians is actually rising – a reassuring fact to say the least.

Everyone has heard about, or perhaps participated in a situation where a small business owner was driven out of his or her livelihood by a lawsuit, so to address this issue, legal reform is well past due. "This is not accurate either and lawsuits rank dead last as a concern for small business owners," said Mellino. What really appears to be happening is that the larger concerns are trying to upset the legal apple cart to avoid being held culpable for malfeasance and neglect.

This last myth is rather counter intuitive if anyone bothers to dig past the initial impression the words create – that trial lawyers are driving corporations out of business. "That couldn't be further from the truth. Justice is for everyone and wrongdoers need to be held accountable for their deeds, whether they're a large corporation or not," added Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Insurance Company Tactics Really Bite

Many people who run across an insurance company that deals in bad faith and other tactics, wishes they'd never had to deal with the company in the first place.

It's depressing, to say the least, to think that the insurance industry, one of the biggest money makers in the US with profits over $30 billion a year, have been known to stoop to engage in dishonest tactics and a flagrant lack of ethics to inflate their profits.

Given the tough economic times America faces currently, it's not too much of a stretch of the imagination that those same insurance companies will jack up their rates even more and deny more claims. While this might be called a defensive position to support their bottom line, it certainly plays havoc with the industry as a whole. "Not only that, it seriously hampers consumers who ultimately suffer the consequences of denied insurance despite paying their contractual obligations monthly – meaning premiums," commented Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer.

People might once have thought that the big name insurance company we all thought was the salt of the earth and had earned our family's trust was above reproach. Nowadays people are finding out that the family friend has turned into Uncle Scrooge overnight and is not only denying reasonable claims for strange reasons, but is delaying payments, burying customers in insurance legal jargon and even refusing people retroactively who file claims. One might well ask, "What is wrong with this picture?"

"As horrendous as it may seem, there is evidence that those once friendly companies have gone out of their way to deny claims by actually offering rewards to employees who were successful in turning down claims, added Mellino. Workers who would not engage in that kind of behavior were fired. If denying claims didn't work, some of these companies were not above perpetrating fraud to not pay claims.

While denying claims is bad enough, get ready for the worst stunt in the book - delaying claims until death. This has been done in instances by long-term care insurers whose rationale is simply this: if they don't pay a claim they make money. Some of them have waited until an aged policyholder died to avoid paying. "This behavior is just the tip of the iceberg in an industry that is now also using credit reports to decide who gets insurance or not and how much they will pay," said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland, Ohio lawyer. Brings to mind another good question: "When will it end?"

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.