Archives for September 2013

When you check into a hospital, you put your trust in the doctors and staff for your medical care and safety. Unfortunately, in many instances that trust is misplaced as hospital errors committed by staff during the course of your stay can lead to worsening of your illness and in some cases result in death. Washington DC medical malpractice attorney Stuart Plotnick helps victims of hospital errors understand their rights and legal options to pursue compensation for their injuries.

Hospital errors can take many forms – from doctors failing to wash their hands between patient procedures and interactions, to the use and re-use of unsterilized equipment, to nurses and other staff failing to monitor patients. Bacterial and fungal infections to the blood, urinary, and respiratory systems of the body, such as the MRSA virus, are a is leading cause of many hospital injuries and deaths.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated roughly 1.7 million hospital-associated infections, from all types of bacteria combined, cause or contribute to 99,000 deaths each year. Other estimates indicate 10%, or 2 million, patients a year become infected, with the annual cost ranging from $4.5 billion to $11 billion. In the USA, the most frequent type of infection hospital-wide is urinary tract infection (36%), followed by surgical site infection (20%), and bloodstream infection and pneumonia (both 11%). Over one-third of these events are largely preventable, however they commonly occur because many hospitals do not provide the resources that doctors and their staff need in order to care for patients in a safe and effective manner. Hospital employees may lack:

• Sufficient training
• Effective supervision
• Necessary resources

Without these, the level of care you receive can fall way below the accepted standard of care that a hospital should provide. Often this is the result of the owners of the hospital trying to increase their profits.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of a hospital error, please call 301-251-1286 today or contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC for your consultation with an experienced Washington DC medical malpractice attorney. We represent clients in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC.

A new study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety suggests that even hands-free devices can be dangerously distracting to drivers. Researchers report that in-vehicle technology will likely increase by five-fold by 2018. Although hands-free technology can make drivers feel like they are being safer and more responsible, it may contribute to an increase in distracted driving accidents.

Dr. David Strayer and his team at the University of Utah conducted the research by measuring brainwaves, eye movement and other metrics as drivers performed common tasks, such as talking on the phone and answering voice activated emails. The team discovered that as cognitive distractions increased, reaction time decreased. Drivers did not scan the roadway sufficiently and missed visual cues of potential hazards.

Applied to the real world, this means that drivers engaged with their hands-free devices may not register important objects like stop signs, red lights or even pedestrians in the road. An increase in the use of hands-free devices could mean an increase in auto accident injuries.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a distracted driver, please call 301-251-1286 today or contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC for your consultation with an experienced Maryland auto accident attorney. We represent clients in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC.

No one plans to have a car accident. It can be a frightening and very stressful experience that leaves you injured and wondering what to do next. Maryland car accident attorney Stuart Plotnick offers these tips to help you protect your rights:

• Call 911. Assuming the accident is more than just a minor fender-bender with no injury, call the police and fire department to the scene. Everyone involved should be checked out by a medical professional.
• Medical treatment: Your health and well-being is the first priority after any accident. If you are injured or just do not feel right after the accident, go to the hospital in the ambulance or as soon as you can.  Get evaluated and follow all instructions from the doctors.
• Collect information. You’ll need the other driver’s name, contact information and insurance information. You’ll also want to talk to witnesses and get their contact information.
• Take photos.  To protect yourself and in order to preserve any important images of the scene, damage to the vehicles, and/or injuries to persons involved, take photographs immediately if you are able.  They can often be the key to resolving a dispute or proving some aspect of the accident or injury at a later date.  Today, if you have a cell phone, you usually have a camera.
• Record details. Although the police report will contain much of the key information about the accident, write down all of the details you can remember as soon as you can. The closer in time you do this to the accident, the more details you will be able to remember and record.
• Don’t admit fault or sign anything. Talk to the investigating police officer and your doctors.  But do not discuss the accident with the insurance company or lawyers for the other driver.

If you have been injured in a car accident, please call 301-251-1286 today or contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC for your consultation with an experienced Maryland auto accident attorney. We represent clients in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC.