Sometimes brain injuries are obvious — a person goes into a coma, experiences seizures, or has some other overt manifestations. Mild brain injuries, however, are often overlooked at the time of the injury. In large part, this is because a patient who has suffered a mild brain injury does not exhibit an overt injury such as a skull fracture or…
Unfortunately, many victims of medical malpractice or negligence never realize it. This fact is confirmed by national data which reflect that up to 90% of documented malpractice events remain unreported and unclaimed by patients. At Shevlin Smith, our experience has shown that patients cannot depend upon their health care providers to admit their mistakes. Patients also cannot depend upon subsequent…
When trauma to the brain or spinal cord occurs, the resulting nerve damage can lead to paralysis. This type of injury can be the result of a botched surgery or another medical procedure. It can even affect the most innocent among us—infants during the labor and delivery process. When a mistake is made during delivery, the baby may suffer cerebral palsy and…
There are two types of expenses in bringing a medical malpractice or personal injury case — fees and costs. Fees are earned by the attorney who represents a client. Costs are expenses incurred in pursuing a case. Costs include such expenses as filing fees, medical record costs, expert witness fees, deposition costs, travel expenses, postage and copying costs. There are…
Whether a surgeon makes a critical mistake during brain surgery or a doctor fails to adequately monitor oxygen levels during a medical procedure, a brain injury or brain damage may be the result. When trauma to the brain occurs due to medical negligence, the patient may also be left paralyzed. While any type of paralysis will drastically affect a person’s life,…
National data suggest that only about 15% of all medical malpractice cases go to trial, meaning that as many as 85% of such cases are settled. Other types of personal injury claims have an even higher rate of settlement. While these figures undoubtedly suggest that a filed case is much more likely to settle than go to trial, each case…
At Shevlin Smith, we always advocate that an injured person’s first concern should be to seek any medical treatment that is necessary to address the injuries suffered. Whether the injured person should go to the emergency department of a hospital, or first seek treatment from a primary care physician or specialist is case-specific, and cannot be answered on a general…
As an expectant mother, you put your trust in the hands of your obstetrician or the doctor who is on call when you go into labor—trusting that the doctor will guide your baby out of the birth canal safely. However, some labors are more difficult than others, such as when the baby’s head gets stuck in the birth canal and…
Generally speaking, there are two different types of fees charged by attorneys. One type of fee is an hourly fee, where the attorney charges a set fee for the actual time that the attorney spends on your case. With an hourly fee agreement, the client pays the attorney whether the case is ultimately won or lost (i.e. the fee is…
A misdiagnosis or the failure to make a diagnosis is not always considered medical malpractice. Not all diseases have a definitive test that will absolutely diagnose or rule out a disease. Some diseases are so rare that more common diseases are considered first. Some diseases mimic other diseases. In those types of cases, the determination of negligence will be based…