What Falls Under The Category Of Medical Negligence?

By David Halbert
Medical negligence is a legal term. It is a professional negligence, which occurs due to carelessness or incompetency of a health care provider. Health care providers can be doctors, nurses, therapists or anyone who is a professional in this field. There have been many incidents in which patients and their families had to suffer due to medical negligence.

In terms of law, medical negligence is an important aspect. Medical negligence is also termed as medical malpractice. People who have been victims of medical malpractice can hold the health provider accountable for his actions by suing the individual or the hospital, in order to get compensation for the damage done. Although the damage may be irreversible, it is reassuring for the patients to get compensation out of it and to bring the matter to justice.

Medical negligence can be of many types. The first main category is misdiagnosis. In this case, the doctor fails to properly diagnose the patient's condition and so prescribes the wrong medication or procedures to treat it. This can then have negative effects on the health of the patient and cause his condition to further deteriorate. It can also occur due to a prescription error in which the doctor mistakenly gives wrong prescription, which has a bad effect on the patient.

Surgical error is also another category of medical negligence. Sometimes, due to a number of factors, there can be unnecessary complications in surgery which can put the patient at risk. In some cases, insufficient safety measures or improper calculations can lead to surgical complications. In other cases, the doctor takes on too much risk and puts the patient's life in danger. In some instances, mere carelessness is to blame.

Delivery room errors are also a major part of medical overlook. Improper delivery measures can put the mother and the baby both at risk. Many times, due to complications in delivery, there are irreversible damages to the baby's health, and this is devastating for the parents. In worst cases, medical negligence can be fatal for the baby or the mother. Especially in complicated deliveries, the hospital can sometimes be understaffed or ill-equipped to handle the situation, and this can be detrimental for both the baby and the mother.

Medical negligence cases are taken up by lawyers who are specialists in this area of law. It is important to understand that it is a sensitive area of law, and medical negligence cases are usually difficult to win. This is because it is not easy to prove that a patient was put at risk due to medical malpractice, or if it was something unpreventable.

Sometimes, doctors try their best but still the patient gets worse; this does not make them liable under the law. Therefore, if you think that you have a case of medical negligence, make sure that you have enough proof, or it can be a very lengthy process. However, if you really do feel like you are a victim, find a good lawyer and take the matter to the court as soon as possible.http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Falls-Under-The-Category-Of-Medical-Negligence?&id=5564498

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How Much Does an Asbestos Lawyer Cost?

By Alla Tumanyan
Asbestos exposure can be the cause of serious illnesses such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. These diseases are caused by the occupational exposure to the toxic mineral. People who work in factories and mines are likely to develop these illnesses. The directors of the factories or manufacturers are responsible for the loss and suffering the person suffers when he develops mesothelioma. They know about the cancerous effects of the mineral and very often they don't even warn their workers about it. In general special clothing and equipment should be used by people who are in direct contact with the mineral. But sometimes these rules are not preserved. Thus, people become the victims of asbestos exposure. These people have the right to get compensation for their loss and suffering. They hire asbestos lawyers who take asbestosis legal actions and fight for their client's rights.

But how much does an asbestos lawyer cost? It is worth mentioning that the costs vary from one lawyer to another. This is conditioned by different factors. First of all the experience plays a great role. The more experienced the lawyer is the higher the costs of his services are. It is natural, that if the lawyer has won many cases the cost for his services will be higher. Another factor is the reputation. Reputation is important in any aspect and here it also plays an important role.
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Medical Order Negligence

By James Witherspoon
Medical malpractice is an unfortunate reality in the health care industry. Malpractice refers to any negligent or careless errors that medical personnel commit while they oversee a patient. Many patients have become very concerned and worried that medical negligence has played a part in their illness or injury. If you feel that a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or other medical professional was negligent in their duties when treating you, you shouldn't have to pay and suffer for their mistakes. It is the job of these medical professionals to diagnose and treat you with skill and competence.

Potential medical carelessness or negligence

While you are undergoing treatment, doctors will often list their orders for other staff to adhere to. They could compile a very complex list of foods you can or cannot eat, medications you should take, and therapy you need to have. Because doctors' orders can become so complicated, errors and mistakes are possible. By not properly following a doctor's instructions, the following mistakes could occur:

Serving the wrong foodIncluding an ingredient in food that you shouldn't eat, Causing infection due to negligence, Failing to check vital signs and equipment, Failing to provide a patient with a timely treatment or procedure,

The proper care of patients is what nurses and medical staff are trained to do. You deserve to have the best in professional care and treatment and when this does not happen, you deserve to be compensated. By holding negligent medical professionals accountable for their actions, you can help make sure that these mistakes are not repeated in the future.http://ezinearticles.com/?Medical-Order-Negligence&id=5560675

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Suing on Grounds of Pharmacy Negligence

By James Blatt
Does the pharmacist have a duty to care? Can a patient sue a pharmacy for being negligent? The answer to the first question is a yes. However, only a competent lawyer can weigh the facts at hand and give an accurate answer to the second question. Get in touch with a legal professional if pharmacy negligence is the cause of your injury.

Florida accepts pharmacy as a profession, so any negligence on the part of the pharmacist may be interpreted as malpractice. Which incidents classify in this category? Numerous errors may fall within this category - providing over dosage or under dosage, providing wrong medication, providing wrong instructions, and so on.

Every pharmacy has a duty to care towards the patients. Therefore, it is their responsibility to take care while filling out the prescription about the right medication, instructions and dosage. It is also a case of negligence if the pharmacist fails to understand the effects of consuming different medications at the same time.

It is, however, necessary to understand that not every error is necessarily a ground for filing a lawsuit. Consider the circumstances before you go ahead and sue a pharmacy. Discuss the details with your lawyer. Only when you are sure that it was a negligent action, you can file for damage recovery.

Keep in mind, the lawsuit is for damage recovery, therefore, damage is a preceding clause in the dispute. For example, the pharmacist in Orange County gives you the wrong dosage but this does not cause any serious harm to you. In such a situation, you do not have a strong enough ground to file a case.

Many think that in such a case, the Florida statute of limitations is four years. However, this is incorrect. Any personal injury case has a statute of four years but the cases involving pharmacy negligence has a statute of two years. Therefore, if you think your pharmacist's negligence was the cause of your injuries, talk to a lawyer now.

It is necessary to consult an Orange County Florida lawyer, with knowledge and experience in handling such cases, immediately. Without competent legal assistance, it is difficult to establish the occurrence of pharmacy negligence. Moreover, only a lawyer is capable of assessing the damage, with the help of other experts.http://ezinearticles.com/?Suing-on-Grounds-of-Pharmacy-Negligence&type=sv&id=5517092

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Claiming Asbestos Compensation

By Tommy Kas
There are a lot of thing you need to know if you want to get asbestos compensation. This is intended for people who are working with this type of mineral. But before we should know how to claim your asbestos compensation, let's first look at what is asbestos.

Asbestos is a type of naturally occurring mineral that is exploited for their attractive physical properties. Their common physical characteristics are long and thin fibrous crystals.

Now when you inhale asbestos fibers it can cause numerous and serious illnesses. Some of these illnesses are:
• Malignant lung cancer
• Mesothelioma
• Asbestosis

Even though asbestos is a very dangerous mineral to work with, there are many manufacturers who would still use this as its popularity is increasing day by day. Ever since the 19th century, manufacturers of cigarettes as well as those who work with roads are working with this kind of material. Long exposure to this material can induce the serious illnesses stated above.

If you have been exposed to this kind of mineral for over long periods of time, do not worry as you can claim an asbestos compensation. This compensation is not easy to claim as it can be quite difficult as to which company you should blame for your current condition. What you need is expert advice so one of the wisest decisions you should take is to talk to an asbestos compensation solicitor.

There are those asbestos compensation solicitors that would provide you with a free initial consultation to find out whether or not you need a compensation, which would be the right compensation for you, or if you would need to take legal action with a certain company.

Getting the services of these solicitors are easy to find as there are a lot of listings over on the internet. With this kind of solicitor, you are entitled to having his or her full service in order to get you back on your feet at the peak of health.

These solicitors understand that every human life is very important. That is why if you have asbestos related diseases you should immediately seek the help of these solicitors. Not having one at your side can spell immense disaster for your current health condition. Furthermore, they are experts in their field as to assure that they can win for you your compensation. Once they have won you your compensation, imagine how your life will change once you get your health back.

Working with asbestos is not an easy job at all since you are more likely to contract these diseases without the proper gear. But if you do, not to worry as there would always be an asbestos compensation waiting for you.

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Beware of Insurance Company Changing Reason for Disability Approval

By Gregory Dell
Mental health limitations are common to disability insurance policies. The typical policy will limit disability coverage to 24 months, and then terminate disability coverage. But what happens if a disability insurance company approves a claim based on a physical condition? Can the company come back later and terminate disability coverage at 24 months for a mental health condition? This is a question answered by a case that was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

The woman involved in this case had been a participant in a group disability insurance policy offered by her employer. She had been one of the company's programmer managers for 14 years. The job was sedentary, which meant she sat most of the time, but occasional walking, bending, stooping and reaching were also part of the job.
When she began to suffer severe chronic joint and muscle pain, she left work and applied for disability insurance benefits. The basis of her claim was a combination of migraine headaches and chronic pain. The medical records that she submitted with her application included two attending physician statements. Her internist supported her claim of chronic pain, while her physiatrist supported her claim of arthralgias.

The disability insurance company approved her application for long-term disability based upon her chronic pain. It used the "own occupation" definition included in the policy. But after she began sending physician statements from her psychiatrist, the disability insurance company concluded that she was now disabled from her position as a programmer manager because she had a mental issue.

As the two year mark was approaching, the disability insurance provider began reviewing the woman's file. Because no additional information had come into the record to demonstrate that she still suffered from chronic pain, the disability insurance company notified her that they were terminating her long-term disability benefits based upon the mental illness limitation. She was also informed that she would not qualify under the "any occupation" phase which was also set to begin at the two-year mark, because the insurer had determined that she was capable of working in her own occupation.

Appeal of Disability Termination

The woman appealed this decision, which resulted in her file being sent to review by a board-certified rheumatologist. The rheumatologist found that the medical records did support the fact that she met the 1990 criteria established by the American College of rheumatology for diagnosing fibromyalgia. Yet, he went on to question whether or not her symptoms were legitimate because they were not supported by MRI results.

Her file was also sent to a psychiatrist/neurologist. This physician questioned the appropriateness of the woman's treatment program, and questioned whether or not she actually had fibromyalgia at all. He found that her primary impairing condition was depression and anxiety.

These two reviews were sent to the woman's long-term disability attorney. He then made sure that the correct documents that supported her appeal were collected and delivered to the insurance company. He made sure that the woman prepared an affidavit regarding her physical and mental condition outlining the impact of these two factors on her daily activities. He also secured the medical records from her active treating physician which supported her continuing diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Additional medical records from four other physicians were also included. These records supported the woman's chronic pain disorder.

Based upon the opinions of the physicians who reviewed the woman's file, the disability insurance company chose to uphold its termination of benefits. The woman had no further administrative appeals available, so her disability attorney filed an instant action on her behalf.

Court Review of Disability Termination

The Court's first responsibility was to determine which standard of review it should use to evaluate the disability insurance companies decision. Because the disability insurance plan was not vested with discretion, the Court was able to use standard known as de novo. This would allow the Court to sit as though it was the plan administrator looking at the information provided by the claimant.

What did the Court find when it looked at the administrative record? The Court found that the woman had been approved for disability on the grounds of her physical limitations. Even though she had been sending physician statements from her psychiatrist after she was approved for disability benefits, when she appealed the decision to terminate her benefits, she had proved medical records that proved she was still disabled from fibromyalgia.
Yet the disability insurance plan had ignored this supporting information. A previous ruling, Cothran v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., had established that in cases where a claimant suffers from a combination of physical and mental/nervous conditions, a disability insurance company cannot apply the mental illness limitation.

If the woman's disability had originally been based upon a mental illness, and she had waited until after the two years had expired to suddenly claimed that she had a physical ailment, the cases of Tumbleston v. A.O. Smith Corp. and Lynd v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co. would have argued against her situation. But there was no question, based upon the medical record that her disability had begun with fibromyalgia and the fibromyalgia continued to be a serious limiting factor on her activities and ability to work.

The disability insurance company did not have the right to change the basis upon which it determined her disability, when the medical records demonstrated that she still had the condition for which they had approved her for benefits. The Court found that this woman had been wrongfully denied an extension of her long-term disability benefits into the "any occupation" phase of the disability benefit plan.

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Defending Your Nursing License

By James Witherspoon
All nurses are required to be licensed by their state licensing board in order to legally practice nursing within the state. Prospective nurses must undergo a rigorous background investigation in order to become licensed and must meet certain standards throughout their licensure in order to keep the privilege of practicing nursing. If at any point a licensed nurse is believed to have violated the standard of care or other license regulations, he or she may face a licensing board review and disciplinary action.

Nursing Grounds for Discipline

Nursing board license standards can vary from state to state. Some of the common grounds for discipline that may lead to a nursing board investigation include:

Chemical dependencyCriminal arrests or convictions, Fraud, Medical malpractice, Practicing while a license is pending, Professional misconduct, Standard of care violations,

Defending Your Case

If you are entering into a nursing board investigation because you have been suspected of violating the standards or regulations set forth by your licensing board, consider consulting with an experienced nursing license defense lawyer as soon as possible. Just as you would never trust your medical treatment to someone without a medical background, don't trust your license defense to anyone without a strong legal background.

A good license defense attorney can help to clarify the circumstances of your case and will work diligently to protect your legal rights and interests. He or she will handle all communications with your licensing board and will work to pursue the best possible resolution for your case. You may be eligible to negotiate a case dismissal, reduced disciplinary action, rehabilitation, or other alternatives to losing your license.

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How to Prevent Medication Errors

By James Witherspoon
A simple prescription mistake can result in serious injuries. Due to the large number of medications available, as well as their complex effects, doctors can occasionally make errors and cause innocent people pain and suffering. These mistakes are currently the leading form of medical malpractice in America. Victims of this negligence may be able to pursue lawsuits against the responsible parties. These cases will often times end in compensation for the victim.

Causes of Medication Errors

In order to prevent medication injuries, it is important to learn about the common mistakes medical professionals make in the pharmaceutical field. Doctors are notorious for having poor handwriting. Poor handwriting can lead to a pharmacist misreading the prescription and filing it incorrectly or with the wrong dosage. Simple negligence in matching medications to the bottle can also endanger someone's life. Taking the wrong medication can be deadly, especially if a person has a drug allergy. A medical professional that fails to carefully read a patient's medical history can cause serious injury. Both doctors and pharmacists should be aware of all possible interactions and side effects that may endanger the health of a patient.

Protecting Yourself From Injuries

Even though your doctor is responsible for prescribing medicines safely, a patient's actions may be able to ward off some serious injuries. Important steps to take include:

* Informing you doctor of all allergies
* Bringing current prescriptions to doctors
* Memorizing your medications and their dosages and checking this information against the pills you are given
* Researching the of side effects of medications you are prescribed

This form of medical malpractice can be absolutely devastating. Luckily, in many cases, mistakes can be caught before they cause serious harm.

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Preventing Postnatal Infections

By James Witherspoon
Children are particularly susceptible to infection when they are first born. Children's immune systems will strengthen as they grow, but upon birth, even a mild illness can be damaging. Postnatal infections can occur easily because of the change of environment that occurs for every newborn. Any harmful environmental factor is even more dangerous to a child who has never been exposed to different bacterias and pathogens.

Infections can arise from exposure to any number of environmental factors. This is why hospital hygiene is so important. If a newborn comes in contact with medical equipment that is not properly cleaned, they could easily and quickly contract a dangerous infection. If medical staff does not undergo the proper cleaning procedure before handling a newborn child, they could also be exposing the child to harmful germs and diseases that their body is not prepared to fight off.

Contact can come in a number of different forms and does not require lengthy exposure to unleash a harmful infection in the body of a small child. Infections can be spread through direct contact, like skin-to-skin contact. It can also be passed from indirect contact, or droplet contact.

There are also other types of transmission that can occur, including airborne transmission and common vehicle transmission. Airborne transmission may occur from something as simple as a sneeze or cough that is inhaled by the child. Common vehicle transmission is an issue of improper cleaning. An infection is spread by an object coming in contact with two different parties.http://ezinearticles.com/?Preventing-Postnatal-Infections&id=5291683

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I Want to Claim Compensation for Medical Negligence - Who Do I Consult?

By Tim Bishop
The term 'medical negligence' (often referred to as clinical negligence) is a breach of duty of medical care that you have received whereby, as a result, you have incurred injury or illness.

So you entrusted yourself to the doctor or nurse, thinking that you would get the best medical and nursing care. Isn't that what the NHS or private care is about?

Later, when you came round from your operation, something felt wrong. You just knew, but didn't dare suggest, that something had gone wrong that should not have done, and you suspect it was due to medical negligence.

You would like some advice and an explanation but aren't sure who you should talk to. Who will listen? Your GP will probably dismiss it and the hospital consultant will talk medical jargon and fob you off. All these medics will stick together, surely, and you will be left feeling helpless.

It plays on your mind, the more time moves on and your injury affects you; you begin to wonder if you could be entitled to make a compensation claim. Could a medical negligence lawyer help you? You are convinced the injury was caused by a breach in standards of duty during the course of your treatment. You're not certain, but you think that the anaesthetist might be the one to blame.

Surely this was clinical negligence? Yet no-one seems prepared to listen. You feel foolish and uneducated and everyone thinks you're 'just imagining it'.

Well, it's a long list. Medical negligence claims can arise out of anaesthetics, cancer treatment, cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, gastroenterology, general practice, keyhole surgery, mental health treatments, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, paediatrics, plastic surgery, psychiatry, radiology, radiography, sterilisation, urology, vascular surgery and many more.

Personal injuries may also include brain damage, psychological injury or nervous shock. In extreme cases, death can occur in any one of these clinical speciality areas of medicine.

There is someone who can, and will, listen - and take your case seriously. That person is a trained medical negligence solicitor who is specially qualified to handle this emotional and sensitive area of law.

If you aren't sure whether medical standards have been breached, or would like someone to look into your case, talk to an experienced medical negligence solicitor. This professional will guide you through what may be a long and difficult process, requiring medical examination, review of your personal medical notes and, possibly, fierce cross examination by a barrister acting for you in Court.http://ezinearticles.com/?I-Want-to-Claim-Compensation-for-Medical-Negligence---Who-Do-I-Consult?&id=5307450

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Thrombolytic Medication

By James Witherspoon
Perhaps one of the most useful additions to modern medicine, thrombolytics are a class of drug that is used to break apart blood clots that could otherwise prove life-threatening. Using these medications can provide the necessary pharmaceutical assistance to bust apart blood clots in the body, preventing extreme damages like a heart attack or certain types of stroke. As, in both of these cases, a clot can restrict blood flow to absolutely vital systems, causing potentially permanent damage or weakening that can lead to further harm, thrombolytics are an invaluable medical tool.

While these drugs are extremely useful in saving the lives of patients, they can also present serious risks for those who are either treated improperly or those who react poorly to the medication. Naturally, there are some patients who simply will not react to the presence of thrombolytics very well, causing them to suffer embolisms, strokes, or other blood problems.

The occurrence of a stroke can be a potential side-effect of thrombolytics, although the hemorrhaging associated with this resultant stroke may actually occur anywhere these drugs are applied locally. As thrombolytics may destroy a blood clot, which causes what is known as an ischemic stroke, they may also trigger a hemorrhagic stroke, which is the second major cause for brain damage.

One serious concern for anyone in thrombolytic therapy is past use. It is possible that, due to previous treatments, a patient builds up an allergy to thrombolytics, causing adverse side-effects when they are re-introduced. If this is the case, the physician needs to know and recognize that thrombolytic treatment may not be the wisest course of treatment. Considering that the inflammation associated with allergies could make later treatment more delicate, this should be something that healthcare practitioners take serious note of.

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Here Are Tips on Medical Malpractice and How to Handle It

By John Bramlet
Everyone has heard the story of the person that came home from having surgery only to pass away mysteriously. When the autopsy was performed a scalpel or forceps were found to be mistakenly sown up inside the patient. Medical malpractice doesn't have to be that extreme or result in death. It is simply defined as any error on the doctor's part that adds to your pain and suffering. By that definition the stethoscope that they keep at sub-zero temperatures before using on you would be bordering on malpractice.

The statistics on medical malpractice are misleading because studies show that it only happens in less than 1% of patients. That seems like it is within tolerable limits doesn't it? Not when you do the math and find out that it translates to over 200,000 injuries and over 98,000 deaths per year due to medical malpractice. I am not saying that doctors are monsters and do not care about their patients. In fact it is more due to workload than anything else. Surveys show that 25% of hospital residents spend over 75 hours per week on call. Even after residency is finished many surgeons admit to being on call over 70 hours per week. Now think about how tired you are after a forty hour work week, then double that and put peoples lives on the line. The numbers are actually even worse than that in private practices like your family doctor. It is no surprise that mistakes happen but that doesn't mean that the victims should not be compensated for it.

If you believe that your doctor has hurt you or misdiagnosed your condition then you should contact a personal injury lawyer. A general practice attorney will not have the skills that you need. A personal injury attorney will have the training necessary to gain access to your medical records from the hospital. They will also work closely with medical experts that are able to look over the doctors actions and give an impartial opinion about what was done. Often times the expert will be needed to do further research or ask questions of a technical nature to get to the truth of the claims. Once you start the ball rolling, you can sit back and heal while your attorney works on your behalf. In most cases the longer it drags on the better it is for you because the hospital or doctor will settle out of court just to make the case go away. If you are a victim of medical malpractice then don't delay, contact an attorney today.

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A Brief Talking About Medical Claims

By Brad Marc
Can you explain me when do we ask for medical claims or to specific medical compensation claims?

Yes, you are absolutely right. Medical compensation claims are asked for when you face with an accident that requires for medical supervision, and you have medical insurance policy under your name, that is the time when you demand for medical claims in order to undergo the expensive medical treatments required to be done in order to heal the injury.

Various corporates sectors are there those who promise for the medical compensation to be given to their employees as well some close members of their families. These employees if face with any serious disease or injury that may require medical attention may definitely ask for the medical compensation claims from the respective company they are working for.

But only mere asking for the medical compensation will not make you get back the money that is assigned as the claim amount. You or any of the affected employee need to place before the office authority (mainly in the accounts department of the office) proper poof and evidence in regard to the disease or injury the employee or his/her family member is suffering from.

Unless, proper evidence and proof is placed before the authority, they will not give away the amount assigned to as medical compensation claims for that particular employee.

There are several instances when an employee is deprived of getting medical injury compensation due to not having adequate proof and evidence required to be placed before the office authority. In this type of situations, mostly the employees try to revolt against the office authorities.

But if you think with a cool mind, then you will mind absolutely no fault with the office authorities. They are practically helpless. They cannot go beyond the rules and regulation that have been there for such cases. Moreover, without proper proof and evidences, there may be cases when employees try to forge the office authorities by claiming money as medical compensation while being perfectly fit at all. And there have been such case in the past that is the reason that such rules are required on a strict basis.

While these are facts, but there are other instances when even after showing proper proof and evidences, the affected employee is deprived of getting the medical compensation claims assigned under his/her name from the office authority. These are done mainly by some unfaithful cunning person taking care of the accounts departments in such offices. Sometimes, even if the employee gets back money as medical compensation, but he/she is not been handed the proper full amount assigned under his/her name.

These are the cases when the suffering employee may appoint some medical claims lawyers for consultation purpose and to handle the case on behalf of the employee. It is advisable to appoint an experienced lawyer who will have great success rates while handling such cases. These medical claims lawyers will handle these cases following the appropriate legal rules and in most cases, the victim gets benefitted.
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Medical Negligence - Is It Easy To Make a Claim?

By Tim Bishop
You are worried that your recent surgery has actually caused you a greater injury and you think you should make a compensation claim.

But you have lots of concerns. Can any solicitor handle this? Will it be stressful and time-consuming? Am I going to end up paying more than I will gain in compensation? Will I have to go to Court and will I need to be examined by strange doctors? Well, these and a hundred other questions may well swim through your mind and it's not surprising.

As you might imagine, you cannot simply put in a random medical accident claim without a lot of time, sourcing of other details and work being done first. Your case will require hours of investigation into your medical records and the necessity, from this research, to determine whether or not you have a valid case.

Medical experts, independent doctors and background study of all the clinical aspects surrounding your claim will be involved. Although not many claims for medical negligence (also known a clinical negligence) end up in Court, winning a Court action is not always guaranteed.

This is one reason why it is imperative you get the support and knowledge of a highly experienced clinical negligence solicitor. A lawyer who has not been specially trained in this area of law might not have the skills they need. The result could be loss of your - or public - money, not just loss of a Court case.

It is advisable to search out a clinical negligence lawyer who practices with a Law firm who hold a Legal Services Commission Clinical Negligence Franchise. This firm should be able to provide you with funding from the Community Legal Service Fund (previously known as legal aid).

Alternatively, find a firm with lawyers who have been admitted to the Law Society's Clinical Negligence Panel or the AVMA (Action against Victims of Medical Accidents) panel. All of these panels set very high standards for entry and as result you will find that there are relatively few solicitors on these panels. You might therefore have to look further afield for a specialist solicitor, although if you are not well enough to travel a lot of medical negligence solicitors will make home visits - but your effort should be rewarded.

Next, check out their record of success in handling this type of litigation. Ask if you can have a free initial consultation. Time at these meetings can go rapidly so take along a set of basic questions to ask:

1) What access do they have to medical experts with individual specialist knowledge?

2) Do they have a track record of medical negligence cases with successful outcomes?

3) Has a clinical negligence lawyer from the firm experience of going to Court, in order to represent you, argue your case and give evidence?

Building trust with your chosen medical negligence solicitor in this way is vital for success.

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Nursing Standard of Care Violations

By James Witherspoon
Like all medical professionals, nurses are held to a high standard when it comes to providing safe, responsible care to patients. In legal terms, the guidelines that govern a nurse's professional conduct are known as standards of care. These guidelines are set by the nursing board in each state and all licensed nurses must meet these guidelines in order to practice nursing. When a nurse is suspected of violating the standard of care, she or he may be investigated by the state board of nursing to determine whether the nurse is guilty of violations, and if so, what disciplinary action should be taken.

Types of Violations

When a patient or another medical staff member suspects a nurse of a standard of care violation, she or he may report the infraction to the state board of nursing, which investigates licensing violations. Typically, standard of care violations are divided into two different types of nursing malpractice:

* Negligence: When a nurse puts a patient at unreasonable risk that is not typical for the procedure, causing harm to the patient.
* Lack of Informed Consent: Failing to fully inform a patient of the details of a procedure, including its benefits and risks, before performing it.

A single standard of care violation can have serious implications for a nurse's career. If the breach is deemed to be serious enough, the nurse in question may even lose her or his license to practice.

Defending Your Case

Every nurse has the right to retain a lawyer and defend herself or himself in a license violation investigation. Because state boards of nursing regularly oversee these types of investigations, they can be quick to assume that the nurse is at fault without properly reviewing all of the evidence. Retaining an experienced nursing license defense lawyer can help to ensure that all proper procedures are followed throughout your investigation and can help to maximize your chances of uphold your nursing licensure.

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Upper GI Bleeding and NSAIDs

By James Witherspoon
Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a serious concern that may develop in many patients suffering from digestive problems. This medical emergency, which requires immediate treatment if diagnosed, can occur due to damages in the esophagus, the stomach, and the duodenum. Perhaps most frightening for patients, the kind of health concerns that may contribute to an upper GI bleed in these areas can be caused by basic treatments for other problems. In particular, the use of NSAIDs, commonly prescribed pain relievers, may contribute to an upper GI bleed.

NSAIDs, the acronym used to describe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, include such basic pain-killing medication as ibuprofen. Although over-the-counter use for this drug contains a warning and is generally handled in smaller doses, a patient under the direct care of a healthcare professional may be receiving significantly more potent doses of this medication. The manner in which these drugs contribute to an upper GI bleed is due to the kind of damage peptic, or stomach, ulcers can do to the digestive system. As a result of these ulcers, hemorrhaging may occur.

Treating an upper GI bleed often comes down to the doctor's choice of using a surgical option or resolving the damages through immediate use of pharmaceutical treatments. Surgically, a physician may order an endoscopic clipping, which can close up an ulcer, removing the possibility of further damages to the system. Also, electrical instruments may be used to cauterize wherever the hemorrhage occurred, effectively healing the wound.

Pharmaceutical approaches are considered relative newcomers to upper GI bleeding treatment methods, but the results have been impressive enough to warrant many physicians to order these treatments instead of more invasive procedures. The major drug treatment used is a medication that increases the healing capabilities of the affected area, boosting the body's own ability to fixed damaged areas.

For more information, contact a medical malpractice attorney.

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Why You Must Understand Medical Malpractice Law

By Jon Arnold
If you think you may have grounds for a malpractice lawsuit, it stands to reason you should know a little about medical malpractice law. Knowing the basics will help you determine whether or not you do actually have grounds to sue and a reasonable chance of success.

First of all, you must know what medical malpractice is. Let's say that your doctor has diagnosed you with a certain skin disease based upon your symptoms and your medical history. He prescribed treatment and medication. Following the treatment, your symptoms became worse and your discomfort increased considerably. There was some "breaking out" which resulted in serious scarring. Could this be an example of medical malpractice?

Here is an instance where malpractice law comes to light. Under certain circumstances, there could be grounds for a lawsuit. If you can prove that the treatment and medication was prescribed and administered to you either in direct contradiction of the usual and customary course of care for this disease or in contradiction of your medical history, then it could be the basis for a medical malpractice law violation. If, however, the treatment was common to your disease and the medication prescribed was not unusual or one you had not listed as being unable to tolerate, then there probably are no grounds to file a claim under medical malpractice law. In other words, if the results of a prescribed treatment simply do not turn out favorably, it is not necessarily a reason for a malpractice lawsuit. There are no guarantees of success in the medical world. Medical malpractice is when a patient is caused harm, injury, or death due to failure by a medical professional to provide suitable care or through their negligence.

A common misconception regarding malpractice law often involves the medical waiver that you are asked to sign upon admittance to a hospital. Have you always thought that signing it negates your right to pursue a medical malpractice claim? Many people believe this, but it is not true. Generally, the waiver or consent form states that you agree to have a treatment or medical procedure performed and have been informed by the doctor as to why it is necessary, what options you have, possible risks, and that you have been given the opportunity to discuss and ask questions before signing the form.

Understanding medical malpractice law is very important since you will have to prove malpractice should you sue. You will need to keep records and have substantial evidence to support your claim. Your case may end up in court. Very often, though, to escape negative publicity, malpractice cases are settled before they get that far.

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Applying for Medical Negligence Compensation

By Tim Bishop
It's not the easiest thing to cope with when you have been unwell or in need of surgery. When things go wrong or you suspect you, your treatment or diagnosis has not been handled in a professional manner, to whom do you turn?

A lot of people shrink from challenging a medical professional, often because they are anxious that they can't 'fight the system'. You may feel intimidated and that, as a non medic or lay person, no-one is likely to listen to you.

Not so. That is exactly why there are specialist Medical Negligence Lawyers. These experienced Solicitors will listen to you; they will provide valuable professional guidance and support when you are making a claim for compensation following a medical accident.

So what constitutes Medical or Clinical Negligence?

Medical Negligence is when a medical professional, usually a doctor - but it could be a midwife, nurse, radiographer, dentist or other health worker - has given you medical treatment that has resulted in something going wrong.

Your specialist Medical Negligence Lawyer will need to determine whether the treatment you received, in a particular field of medicine, was substandard to that expected by a qualified competent doctor.

To get sufficient proof, your lawyer will have to examine your medical records before sending them, along with a statement prepared by you, to an independent doctor for their assessment. After reviewing these, this doctor will give a report on whether he or she feels the medical treatment was reasonable. If his indication is that your treatment was substandard, your case moves to the next stage.

From this point, your Medical Negligence Solicitor will write to the hospital or clinic where you were treated and inform them of your proposed claim. They must reply within 3 months.

A doctor or clinic may accept immediately responsibility for your injury. If so, it is less likely you will need to take the case to Court; your clinical negligence lawyer will start negotiation to obtain an appropriate compensation settlement.

There are time limits in which you can make a Medical Negligence Claim. Usually this is within 3 years of the accident or injury, although sometimes circumstances occur when symptoms develop later on. In such cases, the three year period runs from the date when the injury was discovered and was linked to previous medical treatment. If it is a child that has been injured, the three years starts from their 18th birthday. These time limits are adhered to strictly, making it vital that you don't waste time, but take legal advice about your chances of a successful compensation claim straight away.http://ezinearticles.com/?Applying-for-Medical-Negligence-Compensation&id=5347236

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More Malpractice

By Douglas Cassel
I'm not a doctor or a lawyer, but as a journalist I've reviewed medical malpractice cases at the local courthouse, and I can tell you that we're not talking about compensating people who have minor injuries or no injuries. Those are weeded out quickly by the courts. We're talking here about surgeons who left stuff inside people, or cut off the wrong limb, or doctors who seriously misdiagnosed an illness or provided the wrong medication or a dangerous dosage. People become permanently disabled. Babies die. Families are devastated. These are the people who are compensated by our court system and therefore are most affected by tort reform, and this is why we shouldn't give up their rights until we implement real safety measures that improve the quality of care and reduce errors.

Kathy Miller

My previous post identified the exaggerated impact of medical malpractice upon health care in America. One of the myriad deficiencies of Obamacare is it's failure to even address, much less solve, this vital concern. Until the haunting spectra of malpractice is lifted from physicians, the continued over treatment and over utilization of testing will not change.

However, I also agree with the statement by Kathy Mitchell, there are some incompetent, greedy, drug impaired, arrogant, stupid and lazy doctors. Even many good doctors have bad days or occasional lapses. Patients are injured and killed, and these issues cannot be dismissed. Doctors need to do better. Medical malpractice reform needs to go hand in hand with medical quality assurance reform.

What would an improved malpractice system include? The adversarial tort based system will have to be replaced with some sort of no-fault system. The lawyers must be removed from the process, replaced by medically trained, unbiased panels that would make awards based upon the degree of patient injury. Such systems are in place and have had some success in New Zealand and Scandinavia. Of course, the trial lawyer lobby, and their allies, both the White house and Congress, will fight this to the death. Lawyers will support the "rights" of the patients, and their own financial interests, despite the fact that only 1 in 15 patients with medical errors get any compensation at all in the present system.

Just to show I am not a typical lawyer bashing doctor, I feel addressing doctor incompetence may even be more problematic Presently, there is no effective method to identify, discipline, retrain or terminate even the most impaired, incompetent or criminal physicians. State medical boards and hospital staffs are impotent. The required complexity and intrusiveness of any system comprehensive enough to monitor the behavior of every care provider nationwide would be enormously expensive and meet intense resistance from the medical community. The bureaucracy involved would rival that created by Obamacare. (perhaps the bureau could be staffed by all of the newly retired physicians such a program would generate). Malpractice reform is vital for any realistic attempt to fix what is ailing the US healthcare system. The award limits which have been enacted do help doctors, but don't change utilization behavior. The almost insurmountable obstacles to making needed reforms may doom of any serious attempt to improve our medical care system.http://ezinearticles.com/?More-Malpractice&id=5351324

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Important Information About HIPAA

By Greg Garner
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has become an integral part of healthcare systems today. This act is used to protect the privacy and rights of a patient that is in the need of healthcare. As a patient we all want to make sure that are privacy is held in tact when visiting any type of medical facility. As a healthcare provider we want to make sure that we are protecting the rights of our patients along with protecting our business. In order to achieve the level of education that is needed we must find a way to provide some type of training for those who deal with patients. Dealing with patients can be such a rewarding job, so we need to do all we can as an employee to protect that patient. HIPPA training will actually benefit you as an employee along with benefiting the business as well. As a professional you want to become a well rounded employee to help your employer as much as possible. It is important that you present a professional image when discussing issues with clients.

4 Topics of HIPAA training

1. HIPAA training includes several different topics that can seem confusing without support from an online training business. Usually HIPAA training will start out with the basic topics that concern HIPAA. Like what does HIPPA stand for, Insurance Reform, and Accountability? These generalized topics will give you a basic understanding when starting your training. It is important that the foundation principles are covered first when viewing any type of training material. This is exactly what the online training does for you. It allows you to gain a basic understanding of the topic before moving on and expanding on those same topics.

2. The training will then usually venture into the privacy rules that are associated with this act. The power point slides will cover privacy rules in general, individual patient rights, and notice consent and authorization. The privacy portion of the training is one of the longer sections of the power point that you will be using online. This is because the privacy portion of the training is one of the most sensitive topics when working in healthcare. Protecting a patient's privacy can be very detailed as there are certain rules you must abide by. You do not want your business to receive a HIPPA violation because you as an employee did not know how to handle a situation properly. This would look bad on you as a professional and cause trouble for the business as well.

3. After completion of the privacy training you will then start to review the security training. These topics can range from administrative, technical and physical safeguards that you must follow. The security training portion also discusses topics such as security management process and security awareness. Privacy and security are the two main topics that you will focus the majority of your time on when viewing the power point. Remember that the power point slides that you will be viewing are easy to understand. If you have questions at any time feel free to chat online with your customer service representative.

4. You will wrap up your training with the implementation of the HIPAA policies and guidelines. This will serve as a review of the security and privacy acts that you will need to follow. This portion will teach how to use these principles in everyday situations which will become very handy.

When you cover the implementation portion of the training you will see how you need to deal with everyday occurrences in a professional manner. Client interaction is actually one of the most important concepts when building any type of business.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Important-Information-About-HIPAA&id=5337621

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