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Hospital negligence is a scary thought. When you have a routine treatment or medical emergency, you should be able to trust that your hospital will treat you with the proper care. Unfortunately, negligence in hospitals happens more than it should. If you have suffered from hospital negligence, you have legal options.

What Exactly Is Hospital Negligence?

Hospitals owe their patients a duty of care. They are responsible for hiring skilled and experienced medical professionals to ensure their patients receive the proper care. This makes hospitals responsible for the actions of the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals they employ. 

When you suffer harm due to a medical professional’s mistake, you may be able to hold the hospital partly or entirely responsible for medical malpractice.

Negligence in hospitals can be defined as negligence that occurs in a hospital due to an omission, error, or careless act of a hospital employee. Hospital negligence often occurs when medical professionals commit an error or act of negligence. Such professionals include:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Pharmacists 
• Anesthesiologists
• Radiologists
• Chiropractors
• Psychiatrists
• Gynecologists
• Rheumatologists
• Physician assistants
• Hospital administration

Negligence occurs when the medical professional or hospital fails to fulfill their professional duties.

Examples of Hospital Negligence

There are many reasons for suing hospitals for negligence. Hospital negligence can result in the patient suffering from severe injuries and insurmountable medical expenses.

Examples of hospital negligence may include the following:

• Understaffed hospitals or medical departments like emergency rooms can result in patients receiving an inadequate standard of care.
• Overworked medical staff can accidentally make a medical error they usually would never make.
• Insufficient medical supplies and equipment can cause medical professionals to delay or deny treatment.
• Careless medical staff can make mistakes when filling out medical records or charts, resulting in incorrect readings of diagnostic tests or wrong medical treatment.
• Distracted medical professionals can administer the wrong medications or make other medication errors.

Why You Need a Lawyer to Sue a Hospital for Negligence

If you have been the victim of hospital negligence, you should strongly consider hiring a lawyer to help you file a personal injury claim. However, when you file a lawsuit against a large institution like a hospital, having competent and experienced legal counsel on your side is even more critical. Remember, hospitals tend to have in-house lawyers to fight lawsuits like yours.

There are many reasons why having a lawyer on your side can make a significant difference in hospital negligence cases. Here are four of the most important reasons.

They Know What’s Required to Prove Medical Negligence

Your hospital negligence lawyer knows what is required to prove medical negligence. Proving this claim comes with specific elements that your lawyer will use, like a checklist. They will understand which elements must be proven to win your claim or reach a successful settlement with the hospital. 

There are specific standards to which you must prove these elements; some are more rigorous than others. Your lawyer will have a deep understanding of these requirements and how to prove the necessary elements to your lawsuit for hospital negligence.

Sometimes the only proof that you can acquire is questionable. This means it may or may not stand up in court. This is less than ideal. In such situations, your lawyer may suggest reaching an out-of-court settlement with the hospital. Depending on their offer, offsetting the risk of going to court may be the most favorable option.

In these situations, your lawyer will carefully explain the situation and your options in a way that makes sense to you. They will offer their professional opinion, but you will ultimately decide how to proceed.

They’ll Speak With Insurance Companies

Your lawyer will act as the intermediary between you and the insurance companies. This has several benefits, including the following:

• You will avoid the stress of speaking directly to the insurance companies.
• You will not be bullied by insurance company representatives incentivized to pay you as little as possible. 
• Your lawyer will probably settle the issue more efficiently.
• You can focus on your recovery.

Each of these is an excellent reason to have your attorney handle the communication with the insurance companies.

They Know How To Negotiate Fair Compensation

Your lawyer will have seen similar cases to yours. They will know what their previous clients received in court orders and settlements. They may have even helped file claims against the same hospital. After carefully reviewing your case, they will understand the fair compensation range for your hospital negligence claim. 

Once they know what a fair compensation package would be, they will begin negotiations to get you an acceptable settlement. If the hospital offers lowball settlements or refuses to settle, they will take your claim to court and advocate fiercely for your rights.

They’ll Handle All of the Paperwork

Legal paperwork is not only tedious, but it can be particularly daunting. One mistake can sink a case or set it back months or years. When you hire a hospital negligence lawyer, they will ensure that all the paperwork is completed correctly and filed on time. This drastically reduces the chances of errors and missed deadlines. 

Hospital negligence claims have a statute of limitations attached. This means you only have a limited time to file your claim. Even if your deadline is looming, your attorney can help to file your lawsuit for hospital negligence before it becomes time-barred.

By taking the paperwork off your hands, you will have more time to focus on what matters — your family and your recovery.

Request a Consultation With a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you have been injured in a hospital negligence event, you have rights. You may be able to recover monetary damage awards to help you cover the cost of your losses. This can help you cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and future expenses. Additionally, you may be able to recover damages for your noneconomic losses, like pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment. 

Take action and request your free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer who can help.

Doctors and other medical providers are human — they can be careless or make mistakes like the rest of us. But medical errors can have serious consequences. If you’re one of the many who have suffered due to medical misdiagnosis, then you may be entitled to compensation. Read on to find out the answers to the following questions and more: 

• Can you sue a doctor for a misdiagnosis?
• What do you need to prove in a misdiagnosis lawsuit?
• How do you find a lawyer for medical misdiagnosis?

Types of Diagnostic Errors

Unfortunately, Americans frequently experience diagnostic errors. When most people think about diagnostic errors, they think of a misdiagnosis — when a medical provider diagnoses someone with the wrong condition. But diagnostic errors come in different types, including:

• Misdiagnosis or wrong diagnosis. This is the most common type of diagnostic error. In these cases, the medical provider diagnoses the patient with one medical condition when the patient actually has something else.
• Missed diagnosis. This error occurs when a medical provider misses that a patient has a medical condition altogether. The provider makes no diagnosis at all, even though the provider should have known that the patient had a medical condition.
• Delayed diagnosis. This occurs if the provider takes too long to diagnose a condition. In these cases, the provider should have had enough information to make the diagnosis earlier. A delayed diagnosis is particularly significant if earlier treatment for a disease could have changed the patient’s outcome, such as a cancer diagnosis. 

How To Prove an Incorrect Diagnosis

To prove an incorrect diagnosis, you will need to do more than prove that a doctor or other medical provider committed a diagnostic error. First, you must establish that a provider-patient relationship existed between you and the provider. Next, you will need to prove that the provider was actually negligent in making the diagnostic error. Finally, you must prove that the diagnostic error caused some harm to you.

The Existence of a Provider-Patient Relationship

In most cases, the existence of a provider-patient relationship will be easy to prove. If you have an established relationship with the provider — the provider examined you before making the diagnosis or otherwise consented to treat you — then a provider-patient relationship existed. 

However, a provider-patient relationship does not always exist. The provider must have consented to treat you specifically. For example, if the provider was merely speaking to an audience to provide general medical education and not specific medical advice, then a provider-patient relationship does exist. However, a provider may be liable to third parties in limited circumstances, such as when the patient is pregnant.

The Provider’s Negligence in Upholding the Standard of Care

Not all diagnostic errors are a result of negligence. As long as the provider met the standard of care in the diagnostic process, then the provider cannot be held liable for making a diagnostic error. To meet the standard of care, the provider must have used the skill, knowledge, and procedures that the medical community in the area would ordinarily use. This means that a provider does not need to use cutting-edge or state-of-the-art methods to diagnose the patient, even if those methods would have resulted in the correct diagnosis.

However, if the provider did not meet the standard of care when making the diagnostic error, then the provider could be held liable. To establish that the provider failed to meet the standard of care, you need an expert witness who will testify what the standard was and that a medical provider following the standard of care would have made an accurate diagnosis. Often this involves one of the following:

• The provider failed to follow diagnostic guidelines established by professional medical associations. 
• The provider failed to follow another standard practice in examining you, ordering tests, or interpreting test results.
• A primary care physician or another provider should not have tried to diagnose you. Instead, they should have referred you to another type of clinical practice since your symptoms or condition were outside the scope of their specialty.

The Harm Directly Caused by the Misdiagnosis

Finally, you must show that the diagnostic error was the cause of an injury. It is not enough that your provider made some sort of medical error. Instead, the diagnostic error must have harmed you in some way. For example, if you were misdiagnosed with one upper respiratory virus but had a different kind and the treatment and outcome were the same for both viruses, then the misdiagnosis did not cause you any harm. 

In most cases, a diagnostic error caused significant harm. These may include one or more of the following:

• Increased risk of death. In these cases, sometimes referred to as “lost chances” cases, the diagnostic error increases your risk of death. For instance, in a delayed diagnosis case, earlier treatment may have resulted in a lower risk of death than later treatment.
• Quality of life impacted. In these cases, the diagnostic error negatively impacts your quality of life. In a failure-to-diagnose case, for example, you may experience ongoing symptoms that negatively affect your quality of life. Because your provider has failed to diagnose you, you may not receive appropriate treatment to resolve your symptoms. In a misdiagnosis case, the treatment for the wrong condition not only fails to resolve the condition, but it may have negative side effects that affect your quality of life.
• Permanent disability. In such cases, a diagnostic error is the cause of a patient’s permanent disability. This occurs in half of all serious harm diagnostic errors.

What If the Misdiagnosis Resulted from a Faulty Diagnostic Test?

The accuracy of diagnosis often depends on accurate diagnostic tests. If the diagnostic error occurred because of a faulty test, then several parties could be held liable. If the provider who performed the test, such as the pathologist, failed to meet the standard of care in performing the test, then that provider could be held liable. Other potentially liable parties include:

• Supervising providers. Some examples may be radiologists in the case of an MRI or a gastroenterologist in the case of a colonoscopy.
• The provider that ordered the test. The provider who ordered the test could be liable if that provider should have known that the test results were inaccurate. For example, if the test results do not make sense in light of the patient’s symptoms or other tests, then the provider might have had a reason to doubt the faulty test results.
• Technologists or technicians performing the test, such as a radiology technician working with x-rays or the medical technologist performing pathology tests.
• The manufacturer of the equipment.
• The maintenance personnel or company who was responsible for maintaining the equipment.

A Medical Malpractice Lawyer May Be Able To Help

If you’ve suffered an injury due to a medical diagnostic error, then contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney at McEldrew Purtell for help right away. 

An Overview of Dram Shop Law

Dram shop laws hold an owner liable for selling alcohol to a customer who then injured someone else. Examples of its application include injuries caused by drunk driving accidents or fights. Not every state has dram shop laws, but in most dram shop law states, the dram shop must have had a reasonable suspicion that the customer was intoxicated or a minor to be liable.

The Liable Party

Dram shops are usually places that sell alcohol, such as bars or restaurants. In Pennsylvania, the dram shop liability law applies to all holders of liquor licenses. This includes private events that hold liquor licenses as well.

A licensee who served alcohol to either a visibly intoxicated person or a minor who injures a third person can be held liable for the injured person’s damages. This is true even if the injuries occurred on private property other than the dram shop’s premises. 47 P.S. § 4-497.

In addition, the intoxicated person may also sue the dram shop for their own injuries. However, these cases are often not successful because of Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence statute, which does not permit recovery if the plaintiff was more negligent than the defendant. Essentially, the dram shop’s defense would be that the intoxicated person’s negligence was a greater cause of their own injuries than the dram shop’s negligence. A minor who was served alcohol may have a better case against the dram shop than an intoxicated adult. But, Pennsylvania courts have applied comparative negligence to cases brought by minors, as well. 

In addition to private lawsuits brought by third parties, the dram shop may face penalties from the Pennsylvania State Police and Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE). 47 P.S. § 4-493(1). The license holder may have to pay a fine or face suspension of its liquor license. 47 P.S. § 4-471(b).

What Evidence May Include

To establish liability under dram shop laws for your injuries, you must prove two things: (1) the licensee served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person or a minor, and (2) serving alcohol to the intoxicated person or the minor is the proximate cause of your damages. 

Evidence of Serving Alcohol 

Evidence that a licensee served a minor is relatively simple. Once the minor’s age is established, the only required evidence is proving that the licensee served the minor alcohol. This evidence could include receipts, surveillance or other video evidence, or witness testimony. Most commonly, witness testimony is used.

Evidence that the licensee served a visibly intoxicated person can be more difficult. The person’s intoxication must have been visible. Some signs that the person was intoxicated may include slurred speech, loud talking, stumbling, consuming a large number of drinks, or drinking quickly, among others. 

Evidence of visible intoxication may include social media posts, video evidence, witness testimony, or receipts showing the number of drinks sold to the customer. Breathalyzer, blood alcohol, or field sobriety test results along with expert testimony may be used but only if there is other evidence. Because some people are capable of having a high blood alcohol content without visible signs of intoxication, courts have held that these test results are not admissible without some other proof of the customer’s visible intoxication.

The Cause of the Injuries

Liability under dram shop laws requires more than only proving that the dram shop served a minor or a visibly intoxicated person. You must also prove that serving the alcohol was the cause of the injured person’s damages. This may be easy to do if the customer was driving while intoxicated and got into an accident, causing the injuries. But it may be more difficult in other circumstances.

Damages That the Intoxicated Person May Have Caused

In dram shop law cases, the damages frequently result from a physical injury caused by a car accident or a bar fight. In a successful dram shop law case, you will be awarded your actual damages, which may include some or all of the following;

• Medical expenses. Medical expenses include things like hospital bills, therapy fees, prescription costs, and other medical bills. These can be expenses you have already incurred as well as medical expenses you will have in the future due to your injuries.
• Lost wages or lost future earnings. These may include any wages you have lost because you missed work due to your injuries. Lost future earnings may be awarded if you will only be able to perform lower-paying jobs in the future because of your injuries.
• Property damage. If your property was damaged, then you may be entitled to replacement or repair costs.

In addition to actual damages, you may also be entitled to pain and suffering.

Dram Shop Law Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations in Pennsylvania is two years. Because this is a relatively short statute of limitations, you should not delay in seeking legal counsel if you have been injured by an intoxicated person.

An Explanation of Social Host Liability

Liability for serving minors in Pennsylvania is not limited to liquor license holders. Even social hosts — someone who does not operate a business or other establishment — may be held liable for damages caused by serving alcohol to a minor. In these cases, you must prove that the social host intended to give a minor alcohol and actually gave the minor alcohol, usually by doing one of the following:

• Planning to serve the minor alcohol
• Serving the minor alcohol 
• Supplying or purchasing alcohol for a minor

Unlike dram shops, a social host cannot be held liable for serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person. Further, minor social hosts are not liable for serving alcohol to other minors.

Speak to a Lawyer About Potential Legal Remedies

If you have been injured by an intoxicated person or a minor who was served alcohol, you may be entitled to compensation from the dram shop or person who provided the alcohol. You don’t have a lot of time to file a claim. So you should contact the attorneys at McEldrew Purtell who specialize in dram shop laws right away.

A class action lawsuit is a special kind of lawsuit. Instead of one or a few people suing a defendant, a class action lawsuit involves a large group of people joining together to file suit. By filing a class action instead of a personal lawsuit, people are able to share the costs of a lawsuit. But, they may give up some of the benefits of individual lawsuits. 

Before deciding what type of lawsuit would best fit your claims, you should consider the key differences between the two types. Also, you need to compare the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Class Action vs. Individual Lawsuit: Key Differences

To understand the key differences between a class action lawsuit versus an individual lawsuit, the best place to start is to ask what is a class action lawsuit? A class action is a way for numerous individuals to band together to sue one or a few defendants.

Whether you file your class action in federal or state court, however, special rules apply to class action lawsuits that do not apply to individual suits. Individual members of the class action lawsuit do not have the same decision-making power as plaintiffs in an individual suit.

Individual Plaintiff or Class of Plaintiffs

An individual who files suit against a defendant is called a plaintiff. In an individual lawsuit, there are usually only one or a few plaintiffs. 

In a class action lawsuit, however, there are a large number of plaintiffs, called the class. The class includes the initial group of plaintiffs who began the litigation, of whom only a few are actually named in the lawsuit. These are usually called the named plaintiffs or class representatives, as well as anyone else who is similarly situated. Similarly situated means people who have suffered a similar injury caused by the same defendants as the original group of plaintiffs.

Litigation Process and Rules

Whether you file suit in federal or state court, a class action is governed by special procedural rules in addition to or sometimes instead of the rules that apply to individual lawsuits. Many of the rules involve a court-approval requirement, beginning with determining if you meet the criteria for class action lawsuits, a process called class certification. 

Other rules may include court appointment of the class’ legal counsel, notice requirements to potential or other class members, opt-out or opt-in rights for potential class members, and court approval for settlements, among others. 

1. Class Certification. The biggest hurdle in filing a class action begins with a motion for class certification. For a class to be certified in federal court, for example, the court must decide there are so many potential members of the class that joining them all as named plaintiffs in individual suits would be very difficult. 

The court must also determine that class representatives will be able to represent the interests of the entire class. If a court agrees that the class has met these criteria, plus a few more, then the court will certify the class. No such requirement exists in an individual lawsuit.

2. Court Appointment of Legal Counsel. In an individual suit, the plaintiffs have the power to choose their own attorneys without consulting the court. 

In a class action, however, the court appoints the legal counsel that represents the class.

3. Notice Requirements. From notifying potential class members of the class that a class action has been filed and giving them opt-in or opt-out rights to notifying class members of a settlement, notice requirements in a class action can be challenging. 

These notice requirements are different from the typical notice requirements in an individual lawsuit.

4. Court Approval of Settlements. In most individual lawsuits, courts do not need to approve settlements reached between the plaintiff and defendant. 

Instead, in many cases, the plaintiff typically just needs to dismiss the suit against the defendant and the court is not informed of the settlement terms. However, a court must approve the terms of a class action settlement.

Decision-Making Power of Plaintiffs

In individual litigation, the plaintiff makes all the decisions about the litigation, from whether to hire an expert witness and who to hire to whether to accept a settlement offer. 

In a class action, most class members do not get any decision-making power other than deciding whether to opt in or out of the class. Instead, the class representatives make most of the decisions. 

But, the court-approval requirement for class action settlements helps to protect the interests of the entire class.

Pros and Pitfalls

When deciding between a class action lawsuit versus individual lawsuit, consider the benefits and drawbacks of each. Deciding whether class action litigation is best for your case depends on a number of factors.

Individual Claims

Filing an individual lawsuit is the simplest route. Individual litigation with a single plaintiff involves no special procedural hurdles, no need to find a specialized class-action attorney, and no sharing decisions or splitting the settlement or judgment. It also usually has a quicker turnaround from filing to resolution.

However, filing a lawsuit can cost a lot of money. Costs can rack up with filing fees, attorneys’ fees, and expert witnesses fees. If the amount you could recover in damages for the injury you suffered is not very much, it might not make sense to file a separate lawsuit. 

You could end up spending more in litigation costs than any judgment or settlement you receive, especially if you need an expert witness to prove your claims. 

Class Claims

With a class action lawsuit, you can pool your claims and anticipate a larger judgment or settlement amount. From that total amount, you will have more resources to pay filing fees, retain the most appropriate attorneys for your claim, and hire the right expert witnesses. This makes success much more likely than filing separate lawsuits. And this is especially true if you need specialized expert witnesses.

On the other hand, you will have to divide your award between a large group of people and you lose some of your decision-making power. Because of the procedural hurdles in a class action, the turnaround time from filing to either judgment or settlement may be much longer for a class action lawsuit vs an individual lawsuit.  

Reach Out to a Class Action Attorney Today

An experienced class action attorney can help you decide whether a class action is right for you. Contact a specialized class action attorney at McEldrew Purtell to find out more.

Upcoding is becoming more common in hospitals, healthcare, and Medicare fraud. Unless you work in healthcare, the concept of upcoding may be new to you. Learn what upcoding is, what it looks like, why it is illegal, and what to do if you have been affected by medical upcoding. 

Upcoding: Medicare Fraud and Abuse Is on the Rise

Medicare fraud and abuse via upcoding have increased dramatically over the past several decades. In 2015, Medicare fraud was responsible for up to $60 billion in overpaid claims. Many hospitals are billing Medicare for more complex treatments, even though the data indicates their patients are less sick today than in past decades. 

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the government watchdog agency responsible for the HSS’s roughly $2.4 trillion program portfolio. The OIG found that the severity of hospital stays that involve Medicare is increasing while Medicare’s low severity stays are decreasing. On the face of it, this data gives the appearance that either U.S. hospital patients are becoming sicker or hospital coding teams are attempting to optimize reimbursements. 

The OIG investigated the patients’ length of stay, which should increase if patients are becoming sicker. However, the medical records showed that patient stays decreased, even for the most complicated issues. The OIG determined that Medicare paid hospitals nearly $5 billion more for short stay claims between 2014 and 2019 than had the claims been billed at the next lower severity code. Some hospitals claim they have undercoded for years, while watchdog agencies claim that upcoding abuse costs significant taxpayer dollars.

What Is Upcoding and Why Is It Illegal?

What is upcoding in healthcare?

When a sick person visits a hospital, medical coders assign a billing code to the patient’s necessary medical procedures or treatments. Many procedures and treatments have different levels of severity. For example, it costs a medical facility more to treat a severe lung infection, like emphysema, than it costs them to treat common pneumonia in an otherwise healthy patient. 

The hospital should use the appropriate code to charge for the appropriate severity of the patient’s illness. However, some hospitals have begun purposefully using the diagnosis codes for more severe illnesses than the patients actually have. This habit is called upcoding. 

So, what is upcoding, and why is it illegal?

Upcoding is the habit of knowingly assigning an incorrect billing code to a medical charge to increase the monetary reimbursement rate from the patient, Medicare, or a private insurance provider. The entity responsible for reimbursing the medical provider is charged for a more serious and expensive procedure than was performed. 

Upcoding can sometimes also occur via unbundling or fragmentation. Medicare often has a lower reimbursement rate for procedures commonly performed or bundled together in a diagnosis-related group. An example of a bundle could be incisions, stitches, and pain medication. Unbundling causes the cost of each procedure to rise artificially.

Upcoding is illegal because the hospitals are falsely telling Medicare that they delivered more expensive medical services and treatments than they did. This causes Medicare to over-reimburse the hospitals for these false treatments. The result is potentially billions of taxpayer money being falsely diverted to these fraudulent healthcare providers. 

Upcoding is a violation of what law?

Upcoding is an illegal practice. Unethical healthcare providers who engage in upcoding violate the federal False Claims Act (FCA). This can result in federal fraud charges for overcharging a product or falsely inflating its price. These federal charges can result in severe penalties, including expenses, damages, civil monetary penalties, and even criminal penalties.

Submitting Billing Codes That Seek Higher Reimbursement

Common types of upcoding include submitting billing codes that seek higher reimbursement than what the patient needed. This may be the most common form of upcoding, like submitting a code for a complex and higher-paying procedure when only a simple procedure was necessary and performed.

Submitting medical codes that seek higher reimbursement is wrong because the procedure did not cost more. The provider is falsely increasing the patients’ medical bills to increase profits.

Submitting a Procedure Code for More Visit Time

Sometimes, a doctor may provide a simple treatment or procedure and use the wrong code. If the code they use indicates that they provided a more complicated and expensive service, it likely qualifies as upcoding, a type of fraud. This upcoding error should be apparent on your medical records.

Submitting a procedure code for more visit time is unethical because the healthcare provider is claiming additional money for services they did not provide. Additionally, Medicare may unnecessarily waste U.S. taxpayer money on healthcare providers who did not perform the services they claim to have performed. This diverts tax money away from other urgent uses.

Showing Additional Services That Are False Claims

Healthcare providers sometimes add on additional services that never existed. These are not upcoding substitutions. Instead, they add additional services to your electronic health record that must be reimbursed. These services were never provided, even in a less complicated manner. 

This practice is blatantly charging additional money for services that were never even provided. This upcoding practice qualifies as a type of fraud committed by healthcare providers.

Charging for Inpatient Stays at a Higher Severity

Different levels can be charged when a patient needs to stay overnight as an inpatient. These levels coincide with the severity of the patient’s medical problem. Sometimes hospitals charge inpatients for stays at a higher severity than the patient exhibited. 

This type of upcoding is unethical and results in more expensive services being charged to Medicaid, the patient, or a private insurer. Any time these medical services are upcoded to a false but higher rate, they may be guilty of committing federal fraud. These actions should be taken very seriously and met with legal action.

Challenge Medicare Fraud By Healthcare Providers

If you have been the victim of Medicare fraud by your healthcare provider, you can find relief. Medicare fraud is not a victimless crime. An experienced Medicare lawyer at McEldrew Purtell can help answer your questions and explain your legal rights. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation.

Patients put their trust and lives in the hands of medical professionals with the expectation that they will receive the best possible care. Unfortunately, even experienced members of the medical field can make medication errors to the detriment of patient safety and health. A mistake in a patient’s medication can cause inappropriate harm, and reporting medication errors is the right of every patient who experiences such a trauma. 

Each year in the United States, between 7,000 and 9,000 people die due to a medication error, and hundreds of thousands more sustain serious injuries and disabilities. If you or a loved one has experienced physical or emotional suffering because of a medication error, making a report can help prevent future errors for yourself and other patients. 

What Are Medication Errors? 

The term “medication error” refers to a preventable event that results in a patient using inappropriate medication. These mistakes can occur due to the actions of many different medical professionals, such as pharmacists, physicians, and hospital nurses. 

Medication errors happen at every stage of the process of providing medication to consumers, such as: 

• Prescribing
• Ordering 
• Labeling 
• Dispensing 
• Administering 
• Monitoring

Using the wrong medication can have severe and long-term effects, such as the development of a new condition, allergic reactions, birth defects, and death. 

Common Medication Errors

While most medical professionals are dedicated to providing excellent quality of care, mistakes still occur. Some of the most common types of medication errors include: 

• Dosing: While medications can be life-saving, many can also be incredibly dangerous or deadly when taken at the wrong dosage. Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists can make errors in the amount of medicine and administration methods, such as intravenous and oral. 
• Medication choice: Doctors sometimes mistakenly prescribe an inappropriate medication for a patient. In other situations, a pharmacist may accidentally dispense one drug rather than the one prescribed. 
• Drug interactions: Some medications are unsafe for patients currently taking other drugs. If a doctor or pharmacist fails to identify interactions between medications, the results can be disastrous. 
• Timing: Most medications can only be taken on a specific schedule and at a set frequency. If a nurse or doctor gives the drug too frequently, patients can suffer serious side effects or death. 
• Patient identification: Medical professionals who are distracted or careless can mix up patient treatments and administer a medication intended for someone else. 

These kinds of common medication errors occur more frequently than you might think. According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, medication errors harm around 1.5 million people yearly. 

How To Report a Medication Error

Once you have received proper medical treatment for your reaction to the medical treatment, you can begin the process of reporting the error.  This allows the proper authorities to conduct a thorough analysis of the event and makes it possible for you to pursue compensation for your undue suffering. 

Document Any Injury or Harm Suffered Due to Medical Error

The validity of your report will rest on the evidence you have documented about the injury or major harm caused by the error. If you were given the incorrect medication or dosage, don’t throw it away. Keep the bottle and the drug in a safe place, along with any labels or documentation that you received. 

If there are physical signs of your body’s response to the medication, such as bruising or a rash, take clear photographs of them. A detailed log of your symptoms is also a useful tool. Keep track of your temperature, how you’re feeling, limitations on your activities, and any changes in your reaction each day until you fully recover. 

Contact a Medication Errors Lawyer

When a medical professional’s mistake or negligence causes physical harm, contact experienced medication errors lawyers for help. These attorneys can offer guidance on moving forward and help you determine whether you are eligible to file a medical malpractice claim. 

A knowledgeable lawyer can help you obtain the compensation you deserve and assist you when you report an error. In most cases, medication errors are reported to organizations like the Institute of Safe Medication Practices and the Food and Drug Administration. They carefully review each reported case and work to reduce the risk of errors to patients. 

Request Your Medical Records From Your Health Care Providers

While your private documentation serves as important evidence, your medical records are official documents with critical insights into how the error occurred and how it affected you. Request your complete records from your medical provider as soon as possible. This helps prove that medication was prescribed to you and that it caused you harm. 

Expected Outcome and Compensation

The amount of compensation you will receive for a medication error depends on the specific circumstances of your case and the extent of your injuries. You may be eligible for damages like: 

• Medical expenses: The cost of hospitalizations, office visits, and physical therapy associated with the error may all be recoverable expenses. 
• Lost wages: If you were unable to work because of the damage caused by a medication injury, you may be able to receive compensation for any lost or reduced wages. 
• Pain and suffering: If you experienced physical effects, such as chronic pain, discomfort, or disfigurement, they may be included in your medication error claim. 
• Mental anguish: In addition to physical harm, a medication error can cause lasting mental effects, such as depression and anxiety.

The financial burdens you experience due to your medication error can be offset by filing a successful medication error claim. 

Work With an Experienced Attorney

Although medication errors are a growing problem in the United States, many people never report them. Common barriers to reporting include the belief that it won’t make a difference and a lack of understanding of the process. 

When you work with an experienced attorney, you can rest assured that your report will not only prevent further patient harm but will also help you obtain the financial compensation you deserve. Reach out to the team at McEldrew Purtell for a free consultation. 

Thanks to advancements in manufacturing, medicine, and technology sectors, consumers today have access to a wide variety of products in their daily lives. Unfortunately, some of these products are unsafe and may even cause severe illnesses. Other times, dangerous chemicals or substances leak into the air or groundwater to cause serious harm. 

If you or a close loved one suffers a toxic injury caused by a dangerous chemical or drug, you can file a toxic tort lawsuit against the liable parties. Keep reading as this article discusses how toxic torts influence product liability litigation. 

What Are Toxic Torts?

A toxic tort is a social wrong in which a person is harmed or injured after exposure to a toxic substance, such as a chemical, pesticide, or pharmaceutical drug. Exposure to dangerous substances can happen anywhere, including at home, at work, or in one’s general environment.

The wrongdoers in toxic tort cases usually have been careless or negligent and avoided accountability. For example, a product manufacturer with toxic chemicals may have failed to warn users of the dangers of using their product. In this scenario, you can sue the chemical company for negligence if the product harms you. 

What a plaintiff must prove to receive damages in a toxic tort action usually differs depending on the level of exposure, the state they are in, and the legal theories involved. But in general, they should prove the following to sustain a case:

• The chemical or substance involved was harmful
• They were exposed to the harmful chemicals
• The chemical exposure caused their injury or harm 

Because toxic torts from pharmaceutical drugs or environmental products often affect thousands of people, they are often subject to class actions called mass tort cases. Even individual actions involving toxic substances in the workplace can involve multiple plaintiffs. 

Examples of Toxic Torts

Some common examples of toxic torts that cause serious harm to people include the following:

Lead Poisoning

Lead is a naturally occurring, highly toxic metal that has largely been used in paint, batteries, ammunition, gasoline, and plumbing materials like pipes. The use of lead in residential housing was banned by the federal government in 1978, but you can still find lead today in food, air, water, and soil. 

You can be exposed to lead in various ways, including:

• Eating food from lead-soldered or lead-glazed containers
• Ingesting lead-contaminated water or dust
• Inhaling lead particles produced by burning materials containing lead (i.e., during recycling or smelting)
• Working in an environment that contains lead

While lead is harmful to people of all ages, it’s especially risky to young children as their bodies tend to absorb more lead. Their brains and nervous systems are also more sensitive to the effects of lead. 

Some of the effects of lead on children include:

• Brain damage
• Slowed growth
• Learning and behavioral problems
• Headaches
• Hearing impairment

For adults, lead poisoning can cause:

• High blood pressure
• Damage to the reproductive system
• Memory problems
• Nerve disorders
• Muscle and joint pain
• Difficulties during pregnancy
• Anemia

Asbestos

Before the risks associated with asbestos became known, this naturally occurring mineral was used in many construction projects. Unfortunately, people exposed to this substance develop serious health problems like mesothelioma, a lethal and rare cancer that invades the lungs and other organs. 

While the use of asbestos in construction projects has been banned today, it is still used to manufacture many everyday products. For example, some talc-based products such as cosmetics, makeup, and baby powder have been found to contain traces of asbestos, posing severe health risks to their users. In August 2022, Johnson & Johnson announced it would stop selling its talc baby powder products as of 2023 after multiple users filed lawsuits linking it to asbestos and cancer diagnoses. 

Apart from mesothelioma, other issues that you may experience after asbestos exposure include:

• Persistent, long-term cough
• Pain or tightness in the chest
• Swallowing problems
• Lack of appetite and weight loss
• Clubbing (widening of the toes and fingertips)
• Asbestosis (breathing and lung scarring complications)

One major problem with asbestos-caused illnesses is that they can take longer to manifest. For example, mesothelioma cannot be easily detected in its early stages, so most patients are diagnosed when it’s in the advanced stages. By then, it may not be possible to remove cancer. 

If you are exposed to asbestos and have reasons to believe you are at risk, you have the right to explore toxic torts litigation. However, establishing causality between chemical exposure and your injury can be difficult, so seek legal advice from a toxic torts lawyer before filing your claim.  

Dangerous Pharmaceutical Drugs

You turn to pharmaceutical drugs to relieve your symptoms and improve your health when unwell. Unfortunately, some drugs that are supposed to aid in your healing have the opposite effect. 

Some drug manufacturers rush their products to market, so they can begin to make profits. Regulatory agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) typically rely on the research the drug manufacturer provides to approve their drug. If this research is faulty, a dangerous drug may end up on the market. 

Sometimes, drugs have manufacturing defects or flaws. For example, a drug may contain side effects that customers are not properly informed of because the manufacturer did not conduct adequate research before releasing the drug to the market.

How Do Torts Affect Your Product Liability Case?

Tort law is based on fault-based principles, meaning if one party’s negligence led to another person’s injury or damage, they could be held liable for said harm. Negligence occurs when someone fails to act with reasonable care towards others, such as failing to warn consumers about potential risks associated with using their products. In essence, torts form the basis of establishing who is at fault and, therefore, legally responsible for any injuries caused by defective products.

When filing a product liability lawsuit against a manufacturer or seller, plaintiffs must demonstrate that there was some degree of fault on behalf of these companies, whether through negligence (failure to warn), strict liability (liability without proof of negligence), or breach of warranty (not meeting stated promises or guarantees).

Do You Need Help With Your Claim?

Suppose you suffer from injuries caused by exposure to, ingestion, or inhaling toxic substances. In that case, you may be entitled to compensation for lifelong health care, medical bills, loss of income, pain, suffering, and other losses. You can also file a wrongful death claim if a loved one has died from the dangerous substances. 

Determining who to file the claim against can be tricky, and multiple defendants may be involved. You will also need substantial evidence to prove your claims. For these reasons, reach out to our experienced toxic torts attorneys at McEldrew Purtell. We will walk you through your available legal options and help you determine the evidence to build a strong claim. 

Contact us at (215) 545-8800 for a free initial consultation. 

Dog bite injuries are more common than you may realize. The number of dog bite cases is rising nationwide, with Pennsylvania experiencing one of the biggest increases. Pennsylvania has dog bite laws to compensate victims of dog bites in many circumstances. If you have been bitten by a dog in Pennsylvania, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. 

An Overview of Pennsylvania Dog Bite Laws

Pennsylvania law on dog bites creates limited strict liability for dog bites. That means that a dog owner must pay the victim’s medical expenses, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the bite. 

In addition, Pennsylvania law requires the dog to go into quarantine at an animal control authority following a dog bite. Once a dog has bitten someone or another animal, Pennsylvania law may classify the dog as a dangerous dog, imposing significant duties on the dog owner. 

Pennsylvania “Dangerous Dog” Statute

Pennsylvania law classifies some dogs as ” dangerous dogs,” and owners of these dogs have greater responsibilities than other dog owners. Dogs are considered a dangerous animal on an individual basis, considering the dog’s history. The classification is not based on breed. 

To be classified as a dangerous dog, the dog must have either a history or propensity — which can be proven with just a single incident — of attacking humans or domestic animals without being provoked. In addition, the dog must have done one of the following:

• Severely injured a person without being provoked. A severe injury involves broken bones or a laceration that requires stitches or cosmetic surgery. The injury may have occurred on public or private property.
• Killed or severely injured a domestic animal, dog, or cat without being provoked, but only if done somewhere other than the dog owner’s property.
• Attacked a person without being provoked.
• Been used to commit a crime.

Some types of dogs never qualify as dangerous dogs, including police dogs, assistance dogs for individuals with a disability, and farm dogs that did not leave the farm to attack. 

In addition, if the dog was provoked or attacked, or if the victim was willfully trespassing or committing some other act that could have subjected the victim to civil liability, the dangerous dog provisions do not apply.

The Duties of an Owner With Dangerous Dogs

Owning a dangerous dog comes with many legal duties that are above and beyond those for other types of dogs. These include the following:

• Special registration. Dangerous dogs must be registered with the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement annually, which requires the payment of an annual registration fee of $500. The dangerous dog registry is listed by county.
• Proper enclosure.  Dangerous dogs must have a proper enclosure if the dog is kept outdoors. The enclosure may be a pen or a structure, but it must both keep the dog from escaping as well as prevent kids or domestic animals from getting in. Among other requirements, the enclosure must have a top and protect the dog from the elements.
• Protective measures outside the enclosure. When the dog is outside its enclosure, a responsible person must be in control of the dog, and the dog must wear a muzzle and be on a secure leash or chain.
• Warning signs and tags. A warning sign of a dangerous dog’s presence must be clearly visible, and a sign must also warn children. Dangerous dogs must also wear special tags designating them as dangerous dogs.
• Spay or neuter. Dangerous dogs must be spayed or neutered.
• Microchip. You must have your dangerous dog microchipped.
• Insurance. Dangerous dog owners must obtain a $50,000 surety bond or insurance policy that meets certain requirements. 
• Notification. If a dangerous dog gets loose, attacks an animal or person, dies, or is sold or given away, the owner must notify the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, the State Dog Warden, and the local police department within 24 hours. If the dog is sold or given away, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and the State Dog Warden need the new owner’s name and contact information, including the address where the dog will live. 

If the owner of a dangerous dog does not meet these duties, the dog could be confiscated or the owner could be convicted of a misdemeanor. 

Liability of Owner

Because there are differences in dog bite laws by state, whether a dog owner is liable for a dog bite injury depends on the law where the injury occurred. In some states, the circumstances of the dog bite matter for liability. In others, like Pennsylvania, circumstances usually don’t matter.

Pennsylvania has strict liability laws. That means that if a dog bites someone and causes a physical injury, the dog bite laws in Pennsylvania require the dog owner to pay the medical expenses of the injured person, regardless of whether the owner knew the dog had a propensity to bite. 

However, the dog owner is not liable for any other expense or form of damages, like pain and suffering. And if the evidence shows the dog bite victim was more at fault than the owner for the dog bite, such as by committing criminal trespass on private property, the victim may not receive any compensation.

Some states only make an owner liable if the dog had a propensity to bite. Other state dog bite laws only make an owner liable for injuries caused by a dog bite if the owner was negligent. 

Propensities Based

In propensities-based states, if a dog owner knew or should have known that the dog had a propensity to bite, the dog owner is liable for damages caused by the dog’s bite. This is sometimes called the “one-bite rule” because the dog owner often will not be liable for damages caused by the dog’s first bite but almost always will be liable for a subsequent offense. 

However, this name can be misleading, because there are other ways besides a previous bite that can put an owner on notice that the dog may have a propensity to be dangerous. For example, a court may find that a dog’s growling and snapping at people or aggressively chasing people should have made the dog owner aware that the dog had a propensity to be dangerous to others.

Negligence Based

Fewer states take a negligence approach. In these states, the victim of a dog bite must prove that the dog owner failed to exercise reasonable care in preventing the dog from hurting the victim. The standard for exercising reasonable care often depends on the dog’s history. 

For example, a dog owner may need to take more significant steps to keep a dog from getting loose if the dog has a history of aggressive behavior.

Are You Seeking Compensation for Your Dog Bite Injury?

If you have been injured by a dog bite, it’s in your best interest to contact an attorney who specializes in getting compensation for victims of dog bites. Contact a lawyer at McEldrew Purtell today to learn what they can do for your dog bite case.

You may think police brutality will never affect you or a loved one. But when it does, a police brutality attorney can help. Understanding the difference between law enforcement standard operating procedures and police brutality is essential. When police violate a constitutional right, it is time to take action. Here are seven reasons to hire a police brutality lawyer.

7 Common Reasons People Hire Police Brutality Attorneys

As an American, you have seen countless news reports of police brutality occurring across the nation. Stories of police violating civil rights are abundant. Police brutality can and does happen. Since 2015, there have been nearly 8,000 fatal police shootings across the U.S., over 1,000 of them in the last 12 months. 

Police shooting suspects prematurely is not a new issue. As such, dealing with law enforcement can be intimidating and sometimes frightening, even if you have done nothing wrong. A police misconduct attorney can help you enforce your rights after an unlawful arrest.

If you find yourself in a confrontation with police, for your well-being, it is advisable to comply with all law enforcement officer requests promptly and without argument. Police brutality extends beyond police shootings to additional civil rights violations. If officers infringe upon your constitutional rights by causing physical harm or conducting an unreasonable search or seizure, experienced civil rights lawyers can help. 

If you have been detained, request to speak with your attorney immediately, regardless of your innocence.

1. False Arrest

If a police officer arrests you without a legally justifiable reason, you have become the victim of a false arrest, also called an unreasonable seizure. A wrongful arrest violates your civil rights, which the Constitution’s Bill of Rights dictates. 

A false arrest is a federal crime, as it violates your civil rights. Additionally, if the police department involved in your false arrest makes false statements to cover up your illegal arrest, this constitutes an additional federal crime.

If you have been the subject of a false arrest, a police harassment lawyer can help you assert your rights and file a legal action in the appropriate court of law.

2. Police Misconduct

Police misconduct can take various forms. It can occur before an arrest, during an arrest, or after an arrest. There are federal procedural rules that law enforcement must adhere to during each of these stages. If the police fail to follow these rules, you may become a victim of police brutality.

Examples of police misconduct before an arrest may include:

• Racial profiling
• Acting without a necessary warrant
• Harassment

Examples of police misconduct during an arrest may include:

• Police brutality
• Excessive force
• Sexual assault
• False arrest

Examples of police misconduct after an arrest may include:

• Lying on police reports or in court testimonies
• Coerced confessions
• Witness intimidation
• Mishandling evidence

If you believe you or a loved one has been the victim of police misconduct, contact an experienced police misconduct lawyer to discuss your legal options.

3. Illegal search and seizure

An illegal search and seizure can occur when law enforcement conducts a search without proper authorization, such as a search warrant or probable cause to believe a crime was actively in the process of being committed. An illegal seizure occurs when law enforcement takes something, such as evidence, or makes an illegal arrest without following proper procedural rules.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures. The case law based on Fourth Amendment issues helps to flesh out exceptions and expansions of Fourth Amendment rights.

Not all warrantless searches and seizures are illegal, as exceptions do exist. However, the officers must generally have a good reason for conducting a warrantless search and seizure. 

If you believe law enforcement has conducted an illegal search and seizure against you, you should contact a police misconduct attorney.

4. Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is a discriminatory practice used by police officers. Officers target people as criminal suspects based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or religion.

An example of racial profiling is targeting Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, despite the victim-suspect having no connection to the attacks. 

Sometimes a police officer may search for a suspect reported to be a certain race or ethnicity in addition to other defining characteristics. In this case, stopping a potential suspect who matches the suspect’s description is not necessarily racial profiling.

If you think the police have racially profiled you, speaking with lawyers about police harassment can help you understand your rights.

5. Wrongful Shooting of an Unarmed Person

The police shootings of unarmed persons are always a tragedy. Sometimes these shootings are validated, but often, they may be an example of extreme police brutality.

Some cases have shown police to be too trigger-happy, using more force than police training recommends. Police shootings often involve high-stress situations where the police officers may genuinely fear for their lives. Sometimes this fear is valid; other times, it is not. The data shows that black Americans are overrepresented among those fatally shot by police. Regardless of officers’ genuine concern for their own safety, shooting an unarmed person in many situations is illegal.

Another issue is the tendency of police to shoot people who suffer from untreated mental illness. Whether a police shooting is validated or illegal takes careful consideration of the facts. If a police officer has shot you or a loved one, you should speak with a civil rights attorney about filing legal action.

6. False Imprisonment

False imprisonment occurs whenever officers unlawfully confine a person. False imprisonment can occur in various locations, including:

• Your home
• In a police department car
• In a jail cell

Victims of false imprisonment should speak with an experienced lawyer and explore possible police misconduct lawsuits.

7. Civil Rights Violation

No one should be forced to endure civil rights violations by the police officers who should protect them. Civil rights violations can come in various forms. Lawyers file civil rights cases in civil lawsuits. If you believe an officer impeded your civil rights, you should speak with a civil rights lawyer to determine the strength of a potential lawsuit.

Do You Have a Case?

Victims of police brutality and other civil rights abuses have a right to justice. If you believe law enforcement officers have violated the civil rights of yourself or a loved one, you may have a valid legal case.

Not every negative encounter with a police officer amounts to brutality or civil rights abuse. However, the best way to find out is to speak with an experienced police brutality attorney. The civil rights legal team at McEldrew Purtell is well-versed in the laws surrounding police brutality. 

Contact us today to speak with a police brutality lawyer about your experience.

Imagine that you’re driving to work when you see a fully-loaded tractor-trailer bent at an angle and headed in your direction. With nowhere to go, you brace yourself for impact and hope for the best. This is a terrifying reality for motorists every day in the United States who experience accidents due to jackknifing. Due to its size and weight, a jackknifed semi-truck has the power to cause massive damage to the people and vehicles in its path.

While it may not always be possible to prevent or avoid jackknifing accidents, victims in these incidents have options for seeking justice and financial settlements. To better protect yourself on the road and strengthen the odds that you’ll receive fair compensation in the event of an injury, it’s important to answer a few essential questions: what is jackknifing, why does it occur, and what harm can it cause? 

Understanding the Term “Jackknifing”

A tractor-trailer is comprised of two parts: the cab and the trailer. These components are meant to operate in alignment, with the trailer following immediately behind the cab. Unfortunately, a situation can occur in which the trailer swings out from the cab and forms a V shape similar to a pocket knife. This is known as truck jackknifing, and it presents a very real threat to the safety of yourself and your vehicle.  

What Causes a Jackknife Accident?

Jackknifing can occur due to a driver’s error or poor judgment, particularly in combination with elements outside of human control, such as bad weather. A truck accident case often rests on the driver’s liability, so knowing what causes jackknifing can help you better understand whether you have a valid claim for compensation. 

Speeding

Truck drivers who do not obey the posted speed limit or who do not lower their speed in response to driving and traffic conditions place themselves and other motorists at significant risk. The FMCSA reports that speeding is the most common driver-related factor in truck accidents in the United States. 

When a loaded truck operates at high speed, the driver doesn’t have adequate time to react if there is an unexpected obstruction on the roadway. While traveling on the interstate, a truck driver might encounter: 

• Slowed traffic
• Fallen objects such as branches and signs
• Construction zones 
• Traffic accidents 
• Pedestrians
• Stalled vehicles 

Normally, a driver would have time to slow down before reaching the hazard in question. However, even high-quality, well-maintained brakes may not be up to the task of stopping a full-size trailer in a short distance if the driver is going too fast. Rather than stopping, the truck could jackknife, placing everyone in the area in harm’s way. 

Driver Fatigue

Truck drivers often face difficult and stressful work conditions that leave them exhausted, and fatigue can contribute to jackknifing. The United States Department of Transportation associates tens of thousands of accidents yearly with drowsy driving. 

Drivers who aren’t alert can easily drift across lanes or onto the shoulder and then abruptly hit the brakes when they realize what’s happening. As a result of this improper braking, the trailer can jackknife. Likewise, if a sleepy driver swerves the truck, cargo can move dangerously from one side of the trailer to the other. 

Harsh Weather Conditions

Dangerous roads make a jackknifing accident far more likely. Ice, snow, and water can cause slippery roads, making it difficult for the wheels to get traction. If a truck slides, the weight of the load on the trailer and cab can shift, which in turn causes the trailer to become unbalanced. Slick roads are especially dangerous for drivers who: 

• Do not adjust their speed 
• Suddenly apply the brakes 
• Go into a curve too fast

In the worst scenarios, jackknifing a trailer can cause a driver to lose control of the truck entirely. 

Cargo Shifts From Improper Loading

Balance is vital to safely operating a truck, and drivers receive specific training to ensure that they pay close attention to how their loads are distributed. Careless or inexperienced drivers can make critical errors when it comes to loading their trailers. This includes: 

• Overloading the trailer beyond its weight capacity
• Neglecting to secure cargo, allowing it to shift during transport 
• Failing to correctly balance the load, which affects the trailer’s center of gravity

In each case, the result can be disastrous. A trailer and cab can become misaligned due to improper loading, causing the trailer to jackknife. 

The Injuries and Damages That Result From Jackknifing

In the United States, a loaded semi-truck can legally weigh up to 80,000 pounds. A truck and trailer of that size can cause catastrophic damage to you and your personal property. The impact of a commercial truck can crush or destroy your vehicle and cause serious or life-threatening harm to you and any passengers in your car. 

Some of the physical injuries that you could experience due to a jackknifing accident include: 

• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Burns
• Broken bones 
• Organ damage

Surviving a jackknifing accident can also have long-lasting psychological effects, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In the most devastating accidents, jackknifing accidents can also cost human lives. According to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). several thousand jackknife accidents occur annually, and approximately 3.5% of these accidents involve fatal injuries. 

Discuss Your Options With a Truck Accident Attorney

People who experience a jackknifing accident often face substantial financial burdens in the form of medical care, physical therapy, mental health treatment, and home modifications. In an attempt to get help with managing these mounting bills, victims must spend time communicating and negotiating with insurance companies rather than focusing on their recovery. 

An experienced truck accident attorney can help alleviate this stress and ensure you receive the maximum compensation for your expenses and suffering. If you or a loved one has suffered from jackknifing, reach out to the experts at McEldrew Purtell for a free consultation.