Category: Insights

If you’re preparing to have a child or are already pregnant with a child, you might have started to do some research to help make sure that your child is healthy! One of the things that you might have come across during your research is the term “birth injury.” In case you’re still not sure what a birth injury is, it is a type of medical malpractice that you – or your baby can suffer – that can end up causing severe and permanent harm to your baby. A common issue that can crop up as a result of a birth injury is cerebral palsy. Indeed, one of the most common consequences of a severe enough birth injury will cause cerebral palsy in your child. However, as you may have realized from the wording, there are a few other birth injury possibilities that might also cause cerebral palsy. If, when it comes time to have your baby, you think that you or your baby might be a victim of anything listed in this article, contact another doctor and also contact a cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer. You might be eligible to make a settlement claim and gain some money to try and increase your child’s standard of living.

Cerebral Palsy

According to the CDC, “Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. [It] is caused by abnormal development of or damage to the brain.” Some people with cerebral palsy will also suffer from other conditions such as intellectual disabilities, seizures, vision, hearing, or speaking problems, spinal deformities, or joint issues. It’s bad news all around, and to know that it could be caused by medical malpractice is heartbreaking.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

Most cases of cerebral palsy are due to genetics. Unfortunately, if a bad hand of the genetic lottery is the cause of cerebral palsy, there isn’t much that can be done to prevent it. However, birth injuries are to blame for about 20% of cerebral palsy cases in children. The main cause of cerebral palsy is a severe lack of oxygen to the child’s brain during development, called neonatal anoxic brain injury, or, even worse, significant trauma to the baby’s head during labor or delivery.

Trauma

Sometimes, if a baby is stuck or if the baby is in an odd position that might make for a difficult birth, the doctor might attempt to get the baby from the mother’s womb using forceps or a specialized medical vacuum. However, both of these carry risks of inducing trauma onto the child, which, if severe enough, can result in varying levels of cerebral palsy severity for the baby. If a doctor is even the slightest bit too forceful using forceps or in a vacuum delivery, your baby can have permanent and irreversible health issues. A vacuum-assisted delivery injury lawyer may be what you need if this medical malpractice happens to you and your baby.

Birth Complications

Other complications that might occur during birth can also cause cerebral palsy. Complications such as a placenta detaching, the uterus rupturing, or issues with umbilical cord prolapse . . . all of these can negatively affect a baby and make it hard for them to get the oxygen they need. A lack of oxygen in the brain is the cause of most cases of cerebral palsy. It is the on-site medical professional’s job to make sure that, in the event of fetal distress in your baby, they act swiftly – but with care – to get oxygen to the baby as quickly and safely as possible. Anything less might lead to them being sued under the umbrella of medical malpractice.

Other Causes of Cerebral Palsy

Realize that, if you’re thinking you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, you will only have a leg to stand on if your baby’s cerebral palsy was caused by a doctor’s negligence. However, a majority of cerebral palsy cases are – unfortunately – caused by genetic deficiencies. If this is the case, there might not be anything you can do, and there also isn’t anything you can do to prevent it. But in all other situations, there are things that the mother can do to try and lessen the chance – assuming that the doctors hold up their end of the bargain and don’t cause a birth injury – of cerebral palsy in their child. Some of these things are:

• Be as healthy as possible before pregnancy
• Get vaccinated for certain diseases (such as chickenpox and rubella) before becoming pregnant
• Try to prevent twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc.
• Get frequent prenatal care
• Wash your hands often to try and prevent infections that might put the baby at risk
• Contact a medical professional if you get sick so they can help you manage the sickness in a way that won’t harm the baby
• Get the flu shot
• Compare your blood type with that of the baby and work early to prevent problems that might crop up if the baby is a different blood type than the mother
• Try to mitigate risks of potential preterm birth
• React quickly and in the most efficient way possible if your baby shows severe signs of jaundice
• Vaccinate your child against certain diseases as soon as doing so won’t harm them

Medical Malpractice

If you’ve done all these things and you don’t have a genetic history of cerebral palsy, but your child still ends up with cerebral palsy, you might be a victim of medical malpractice. If this is the case, and you believe that you or your baby are victims of medical malpractice, contact a lawyer or other knowledgeable professional who will work with you to get justice for the crime committed against you. A Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Lawyer will be well versed in the complexities of birth injury malpractice cases and can guide you through this difficult time in order to get the compensation you deserve. Call the experienced team of lawyers at McEldrew Purtell at (866) 721-8431 or fill out or form here for a free consultation on your case today.

Driving is a hard thing that requires focus to succeed at driving and to make sure you’re driving safely. Certain roads in various parts of the world have different feelings, and the people who drive on those roads will often have quirks or elements of their driving that are specific to the location. Pennsylvania is not exempt from this phenomenon. For this article, we’ll be focusing on Pennsylvania and, specifically, on dangerous roads in Pennsylvania. Every year these roads have the highest incidence of accidents and require higher vigilance from drivers. If you’re someone who drives in Pennsylvania, and you want to avoid getting into an accident – as you should! – you should read this article about the most dangerous roads in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvanian Roads

Pennsylvania is a state that has hundreds of roads and highways that are used to ensure that commuters, residents, and other people who use transportation can access their businesses and homes. Over 120,000 miles of roads cover the whole of Pennsylvania, and hundreds of thousands of people use them each day . . . as such, it should come as no surprise that Pennsylvania auto accidents occur on a very frequent basis. As you may be able to glean from the article title and how much traffic the Pennsylvanian roads see, there are specific roads that see more accidents than others. So, especially if you’re a truck driver, or you frequently drive on truck-heavy roads, you might want to know of certain roads to avoid to try and lower your risk of ending up in an accident.

Roosevelt Boulevard

Although you may think that the biggest factor of accidents is traffic congestion – aid it is, in fact, a large cause of accidents – that isn’t the case for Roosevelt Boulevard. Roosevelt Boulevard isn’t even on a major highway in Pennsylvania. Having said that, many people still use this road daily, and a lot of people who use it end up speeding a lot, which is, of course, dangerous. Roosevelt Boulevard is a stretch of road that is made up of six 12-foot-wide lanes that run in opposing directions. Because of how many people use this road daily and how many of them end up speeding, severe accidents can occur on this road. Even if you are making sure that you’re going the speed limit and watching all traffic signs, you may still find yourself in an accident caused by one of the many other people on the road.

Interstate 83, Near Harrisburg

This particular Interstate (Interstate 83) is the road that runs between Baltimore and Harrisburg. It also is a prevalent road that people use to travel between the two areas. However, because it’s so popular, thousands of people use the road daily. It’s one of the most heavily-trafficked roads in the entirety of Pennsylvania. If you are a truck driver and you have any way of avoiding this road, do so. However, if you have to use it, make sure you’re being as cautious as possible to avoid getting into an accident.

Interstate 95 and Interstate 76

This road is known as both Interstate 95 and the Delaware Expressway. No matter what you call it, this road is notorious for having a large number of accidents happen on it. It has a very well-trafficked interchange with Interstate 76 . . . and this specific interchange was once listed within the top 100 most dangerous roads in the United States. Even though it’s no longer listed quite so high on the danger scale, it is still extremely busy and dangerous. It once had so many accidents that the math worked out to one fatality per mile. This is a wild statistic if you think about it.

Interstate 81

No list of dangerous roads in Pennsylvania would be complete without adding Interstate 81 to the list. This is the road that connects through Chambersburg and Carlisle, and it is used by nearly 100,000 drivers each day. Back in 2014, a 50-car pileup famously happened on this road, and it resulted in two fatalities. And then, in 2016 – although it luckily didn’t result in any deaths – there was a crash that resulted in the interstate being shut down for several hours. 

What To Do If You End Up In An Accident

Especially if you’re a truck driver, you might find yourself on the wrong end of an insurance claim. Considering that, no matter who is at fault, the driver of a smaller vehicle is much more likely to end up with an injury, you might find yourself having to avoid being sued if you end up in an accident. If this is something that is happening to you, you might want to look into getting a traffic accident lawyer to help you avoid the claim. The PA Truck Accident Lawyers at McEldrew Purtell have over 30 years of truck accident experience, having won millions of dollars in truck accident cases. Call the team today at (866) 721-8431 or fill out our form for a free consultation.

As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the nation’s way of life. One example of this can be seen in the amount of traffic on the nation’s roadways. When people are commuting as normal, there are certain times with elevated levels of traffic. However, now that many people are suffering a lack of work and work schedules and routines have been changed to adapt to necessary coronavirus precautionary procedures, the amount of traffic on the road has decreased. Researchers have been looking into whether these altered traffic routines have resulted in any changes to traffic accidents. While it’s clear that the number of cars on the nation’s roads has dropped considerably as a result of the coronavirus and related shutdowns, research has suggested that the number of serious accidents, injuries, and fatalities has largely remained level.

In the fall of 2020, researchers from the University of Missouri investigated traffic patterns as they changed during the lockdown period in several states. They were looking into whether the reduced amount of vehicles on the road reduced the number of car crashes and their seriousness. They performed an analysis using data from the Statewide Traffic Accident Records System. This system logged nearly 2,300 traffic accidents on Missouri roads from January through May. To determine whether or not the shutdowns affected the number of car accidents, the researchers categorized the period from March 23 to May 3 as the shutdown period. According to their findings, the number of daily accidents on the road was reduced, falling from 17.9 to 14.4 incidents per day. They also found that there was a significant drop in the rate of collisions resulting in minor or no injuries, dropping from 14.5 to 10.8 incidents per day. Unfortunately, despite these reductions in crashes, the rate of serious and fatal accidents increased from 3.4 per day to 3.7 per day during the lockdown. The researchers hypothesized that there could be a number of reasons for these conflicting results. One possible factor is that the more clear highways allowed dangerous drivers to speed more easily, leading to an elevation in crashes at high speed. These high-speed crashes are naturally more likely to lead to serious injuries and deaths. Other possible factors are reduced policing and an increase in the speed of commercial vehicles. There have been previous studies that analyzed the effects of COVID-19 on traffic and the results supported the theory that open roads resulted in a change in driving behavior, with the drivers increasing the vehicle’s speed. INRIX, an analytics company that focused on driving behavior, also released a study that showed that the speed of the average driver increased by 75% on highways when traffic dropped from the lockdowns. They also concluded that these higher driving speeds could lead to more serious crashes.

Further supporting the conclusion that increased speeds are the cause of the increase in serious crashes, transportation officials in New York City reported a 60% increase in the number of speeding tickets from speed cameras in March when compared to the previous year. In Washington D.C., there was a 20% increase in the number of speeding tickets issued, with officials reporting that the number of drivers found going over the limit by more than 20 miles per hour also increased by almost 40%. What we can see from these studies and their conclusions is that speed plays a major factor in the number of serious accidents. Even if the roads look clear, you should be defensive when driving.

Slip-and-fall accidents are some of the most common accidents to occur. This is because there are many things that can cause it to happen, including uneven pavement, icy roads, unseen puddles, and upturned rugs. For some, a slip-and-fall accident may result in no injury or non-life threatening injuries, but for others, it may be mean wrongful death. If your loved one recently passed away after they sustained a slip-and-fall injury, you may be wondering if you can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. Like any lawsuit, there are certain pieces of evidence that you must provide to a court and certain factors that must be present for your case to be successful. What Should You Prove In This Lawsuit? There are similar components you must prove for both the slip-and-fall injury and for bringing forth the wrongful death lawsuit. Just like you would for a personal injury claim after your loved one suffered a slip-and-fall accident, you must show that they were not at fault. For example, if your loved one was walking through a grocery store, tripped over their own feet, fell, and hit their head, they were likely the cause of their injury. If this case, you would not have had substantial evidence to bring forth a personal injury claim had your loved one survived. Thus, you likely would not have enough evidence for a wrongful death lawsuit either. On the other hand, if your loved one slipped on a wet puddle in the middle of the grocery store that had no warning signs, hit their head and later died because of these injuries, you likely have what you need for a lawsuit. Components Of the Wrongful Death Lawsuit You must present certain elements to have a successful wrongful death lawsuit. These are:

• Your loved one died.
• Their death was not their own fault but someone else’s negligence caused it.
• The negligence directly caused your loved one’s death.
• You or surviving family members are suffering in some way (typically financially) because of their death.

With the above example, the components would be that your loved one slipped and sustained injuries due to the negligence of the store manager or staff, died because of these injuries, and you and other family members are suffering for various reasons because of their death.

What Kind Of Damages Can Someone Claim?

When your loved one was the victim of wrongful death after a slip-and-fall, there are certain damages you can claim. Some of these are:

• Burial and funeral expenses
• Medical bills prior to your loved one’s death
• The loss of the victim’s income
• The loss of the victim’s benefits
• The loss of consortium or love
• The pain and suffering your loved one went through before dying
• A loss of companionship

Why Slip-And-Fall Accidents Are So Dangerous

Many people walk away from slip-and-fall accidents without a scrape. Others may have mild injuries. Slip-and-fall accidents are particularly dangerous because brain injuries (like concussions or hemorrhages) may not have any signs until it is too late. If your loved one died after a slip-and-fall accident, don’t hesitate any longer in seeking help from a compassionate attorney, like a personal injury lawyer in Melbourne, FL Thanks to our friends and contributors from The Law Offices of Arcadier, Biggie, & Woods for their insight into personal injury and wrongful death.

National data on cases of abuse in America’s 15,600-plus nursing homes and other elder-care programs is hard to come by. But several recent studies by government investigators, advocacy groups and the news media have chilling implications.

According to the National Ombudsman Reporting System (NORS), 14,258 (7.6 percent) of approximately 188,599 complaints reported to state ombudsman programs in 2014 involved abuse, gross neglect or exploitation. Another study of nursing home staff throughout the country found that 36 percent had witnessed at least one incident of physical abuse of an elderly patient in the previous year, 10 percent committed at least one act of physical abuse and 40 percent admitted to committing psychological abuse. It gets worse: A CNN special investigation in February 2017 found that the federal government cited more than 1,000 nursing homes for mishandling or failing to prevent alleged cases of sexual assault and abuse from 2013 to 2016.

Given that 1.4 million aging adults already live in nursing homes and that the number of Americans 65-plus will double between 2010 to 2050, this issue will only become more pressing.

Keep a Watchful Eye

Abuse can encompass a wide range of behaviors, including physical, mental, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse and neglect. Beyond the physical scars left by abuse, neglect and mistreatment have dangerous effects on the quality of life left to an aging person. Elders who have been abused have a higher risk of early death compared to those who have not been mistreated. If your loved ones are in a nursing home or other elder care program, watch for these warning signs:

• Broken bones or fractures
• Bruising, cuts or welts
• Bedsores
• Frequent infections
• Signs of dehydration
• Mood swings and emotional outbursts or unusual depression
• Reclusiveness or refusal to speak
• Refusal to eat or take medications
• Unexplained weight loss
• Poor physical appearance or lack of cleanliness
• Caregivers that do not want the patient to be left alone with others
• Sudden changes in financial situation or missing personal items

Protect Your Most Vulnerable Loved Ones

For a family member or caregiver choosing a care facility, the risk of abuse can be overwhelming and traumatic. The best way to prevent elder abuse is to choose the right care facility, which is not always easy given location or financial constraints. Nevertheless, here are factors to consider:

• Talk to residents or other patients. Observe their physical well-being and behavior. Also visit with residents’ families if possible, and learn whether they have experienced problems with the facility.
• Avoid facilities that have restricted access.
• Meet with key personnel (nurses, aides, social workers, administrators and doctors).
• Read contracts carefully before signing and look for a forced arbitration clause. The rights of your loved one may be denied even if they are abused. Ask that the forced arbitration clause be removed or consider another facility.
• Visit frequently. Vary your visits to different times of the day and evening to assess the care provided during the day, night, weekends and holidays.
• Trust your gut. Pay attention to whether residents appear clean, well fed and free of bruises or other wounds. Also note if the environment is peaceful and feels safe.
• Document in writing the details about any problems or concerns.
• Compare facilities. Look up state survey reports here.

Neglect and inadequate medical care can risk the health and safety of your loved ones. From the failure to treat serious staph infections or pressure ulcers to the failure to respond to calls for help, negligence at a residential care or skilled nursing facility can end in tragedy for families of elder abuse victims. If you or a family member have suffered from abuse at a short or long term care facility, contact our team of personal injury lawyers at McEldrew Purtell today by calling (215) 545-8800.

Losing a loved one due to someone else’s negligence can really take a toll on the family. Often, they are not only left with grief, but serious financial troubles. After a tragedy such as this, the family has two legal options they can pursue: wrongful death claims and survival actions. Both of these options offer a way to recover damages from the person liable for the victim’s death. It’s important to understand the difference between these options when pursuing action against those responsible.

What is a Wrongful Death Claim?

A wrongful death claim centers around the family of the deceased person and allows close family members to file a civil lawsuit for damages. These damages can include the grief and suffering the family has endured, the current and future income they have lost because of their loved one’s death, funeral expenses, and outstanding medical bills associated with the victim’s injuries.

What is a Survival Action?

A survival action centers around the suffering of the deceased person rather than the grief and financial losses of the family. The survival laws allow the estate to be awarded damages that the deceased incurred from the moment of the injury until the time of death. Survival damages include the deceased’s pain and suffering and lost earnings until his/her death, however, if the deceased died immediately as a result of the accident, then the estate would be entitled to pain and suffering (if pain and suffering can be proven) but would not be entitled damages for the deceased’s lost earnings. The compensation is then dispersed through the deceased person’s estate rather than distributed directly to surviving family members.

Who can file a Wrongful Death Claim or Survival Action?

In a wrongful death claim, the personal representative of the estate will file the lawsuit, which is usually the deceased victim’s closest surviving relative (spouse, child, or parent). Typically, the deceased’s family will agree on who should be the personal representative, however, if the deceased left no will or if the family members don’t get along, the surviving family members may not agree over who will be the personal representative. In this case, the dispute can only be resolved by the courts.

Typically, a survival action is brought forth by the executor of the decedent’s estate. In some cases, the grandparents or siblings of the deceased person may be eligible to pursue either type of legal action.

Who can be held responsible?

In a wrongful death case or survival action, the plaintiffs must prove that the death was caused by careless, negligent, or reckless action by someone who had a duty of care to the person who died. Duty of care is a legal concept that means an individual has an obligation to exercise reasonable care while performing actions that could cause harm to someone else. For example, all nursing home staff have a fundamental duty to care for residents of the facility, so a death caused by a neglectful or abusive nursing staff could be considered a wrongful death and could provide grounds for a wrongful death claim or survival action.

Other examples of people who could be held liable for a wrongful death include:

• Negligent commercial truckers and trucking companies
• Manufacturers of faulty auto parts that cause crashes or make a crash worse than it should have been
• Physicians who commit malpractice
• Careless or reckless driver

Determining who is liable for someone’s death and filing a wrongful death claim or survival action can be very complex. It’s important to contact one of our lawyers immediately if someone you love has died due to another person’s negligent actions.

Over the past five years in Pennsylvania, if a vehicle owned and operated by a municipal entity in the Commonwealth (such as SEPTA or the local water authority) was involved in a collision while the vehicle wasn’t in motion, the Commonwealth or entity was not liable for paying any damages.

This means if a car owned by a municipal entity was parked illegally on the road or positioned vulnerably in the roadway, and you hit it, you would not be able to bring a suit against that person or authority even if the primary reason for the crash was the way the vehicle was parked.

These suits were banned by Pennsylvania’s Sovereign Immunity Act. The Act only allows the Commonwealth itself to be sued for damages in specific limited cases and only for a limited amount of damages. In a vehicle accident involving a Commonwealth vehicle, prior court rulings determined that if a vehicle owned by a state entity was not moving (parked or stopped) then the state or its entity is immune from suit.

Huge Win for Injured Vehicle Crash Victims

The law has finally changed due to a decision made by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on August 21st. The PA Supreme Court ruled that a public vehicle does not have to be in motion for a government entity to be liable if someone is hurt or killed by it. The new PA Supreme Court ruling reverses prior decisions that ignored the health and safety of individuals in favor of government, insurance companies, and big business.

Why was the Prior Ruling Changed?

The case that led to the reversal was BALENTINE v. CHESTER WATER AUTHORITY. Edwin Omar Medina-Flores was a subcontractor for a water line project for the Chester Water Authority (CWA). On August 15, 2012, Medina-Flores was working in a ditch for the CWA when a CWA project inspector arrived in a CWA truck, parked next to the ditch, and left the vehicle’s engine running and four-way flashers operating. While the inspector was out of the truck reviewing construction plans with his work crew, another vehicle rear-ended the CWA truck, which then struck and killed Medina-Flores.

Witnesses said the CWA truck was illegally parked almost completely within the traffic lane near the ditch where Medina-Flores was working.

The victim’s widow filed a lawsuit against the CWA, the CWA inspector, and both the driver and owner of the vehicle that crashed into the truck. The lower courts ruled that because the CWA truck was “parked” with its four-way flashers on, the state was immune from suit under the Pennsylvania Sovereign Immunity Act.

The issue before the Supreme Court was “whether the Commonwealth Court erred in holding that the involuntary movement of a vehicle does not constitute operation of a motor vehicle for purposes of the vehicle liability exception to governmental immunity under 42 Pa. C.S. § 8542(b)(1).” The court ruled that, “because we determine that movement of a vehicle, whether voluntary or involuntary, is not required by the statutory language of the vehicle liability exception, we reverse the order of the Commonwealth Court thereby allowing this matter to proceed in the trial court.”

McEldrew Purtell regularly litigates cases like this every day. Our team is ready to assist you if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of vehicle incident anywhere in the United States. Contact our team of lawyers at McEldrew Purtell today by calling 215-367-5151.

As parents, we like to think sending our children to school on the bus is safe. In reality, school bus accidents occur every year, often resulting in catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. In these moments it is difficult to think about involving a lawyer, however the sooner you engage a qualified lawyer, the sooner your child and family’s legal interests are protected and you can focus solely on your child and families well-being.

If your child is injured or if you have lost a family member in a school bus accident, there are steps you should take to help ensure your family’s legal rights are protected and in the event your child is injured, that they receive the best medical treatment available.

1. Engage the best medical specialists possible, including those specializing in the grieving process. Attorneys who are qualified to handle these types of case have spent decades assisting families through this process. At McEldrew Purtell, we consider this level of assistance to be one of our prime responsibilities and will not stop until you and your loved ones have the best care that they require.
2. Preserve any information you have about the accident. As a parent of a child involved in a bus accident, you will most likely receive information from the school (facts about the accident and what steps to take). Keep a file of this information in a safe place for future reference.
3. Talk to other parents whose children were involved in the accident. From a legal perspective, these cases often come down to “accident recreation” in order to identify all of the responsible parties. Start by identifying anyone who witnessed the accident and engage other parents in discussion – every detail matters. Eyewitnesses often have relevant information that no one else has, and it is best to document as much as possible while it is still fresh in the witnesses mind.
4. Monitor and document your child’s healing process. Document any specific ways the bus accident has affected your child; both physically and mentally. Some common things to watch out for are: insomnia, nightmares, feelings of depression and/or anxiety. Document the issues you notice and take pictures of your child’s injuries during the healing process.
5. Contact a qualified catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawyer. McEldrew Purtell specializes in representing families who have been effected by tragic events such as the East Brook Middle School bus crash. We do not handle a large volume of claims, we do however have decades of experience handling serious medical injuries and wrongful death. We treat every client as if they were our only client, and our knowledge, experience and expertise will make a difference for you and your family. If you would like us to provide a free consultation regarding your potential legal case, please contact us at (215) 545-8800.

The U.S. PIRG Education Fund has released its 30th annual survey of toy safety this year, called “Trouble in Toyland”. The report details the continued presence of unsafe toys in the marketplace as well as what to look for in terms of potentially dangerous toys.

Hundreds of toys were examined by the researchers, who found some toys with chromium, phthalates, magnets, lead, excessive noise exposure, and choking hazards such as small pieces and balloons. The list isn’t exclusive, providing examples of toys that you should avoid while you are shopping for your children.

Toys in general are getting safer. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is authorized to protect children from unsafe products. However, the report urges parents to be vigilant and to not assume that toys are safe simply because they are being sold on the store shelves. There were numerous examples of products in their search that could cause serious injury in children.

The report found specific examples of toys with high levels of toxic substances on the shelves, in excess of the amount permitted by federal law. The researchers found inadequate warning labels that did not meet U.S. standards on several toys, including one specifically mentioned which could pose a choking hazard in children under three because of the risk that the small parts break off. The report also pointed out a number of toys that were within federal limits for the production of noise, but nevertheless could be potentially harmful to the hearing of children.

The complete report is available at http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/USP%20Toyland%20Report%20Nov15%201.3%20%281%29%20FINAL%20FINAL.pdf. If a member of your family is injured by a toy that does not meet federal standards or has an inadequate warning label, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact one of our personal injury attorneys at (215) 545-8800 or fill out our contact form.

Medical malpractice litigation frequently requires doctors acting as experts to opine about what happened in the operating room based on the notes of the surgical staff and subsequent treatment by physicians. However, laws under consideration by the legislature of Wisconsin and possibly New York would allow patients to have their surgeries recorded. When things go wrong, this could make it easier for medical malpractice attorneys to prove that the medical team was negligent in their patient care.

The Wisconsin bill is inspired by the story of Julie Ayer Rubenzer, who was given an overdose of propofol (anesthesia) during a surgical procedure in 2003. There have also been discussions about a proposed New York bill known as Raina’s Law, inspired by Raina Ferraro, but it is unclear at this point in time whether it has indeed been introduced into the legislature as there is little information about it on the internet.

The benefits and problems with having video cameras in surgeries have been debated for several years now. Studies have indicated that cameras at washing stations increase hand washing and gastroenterologists spend more time inspecting the colon when colonoscopies are recorded.

A team of researchers in Canada are working on what has been deemed a surgical “black box” which can record movements in the operating room and help identify mistakes which are happening. Media reports published last year indicated it wasn’t far from reality.

The topic has come to light again recently when a man undergoing a colonoscopy accidentally recorded the medical team’s disparaging comments on his phone while he was under anesthesia. The jury returned a verdict of $500,000 in his lawsuit.

But medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. A study in the Journal of Patient Safety said that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients while under hospital care suffer preventable harm every year that contributes to their death. Only heart disease and cancer are higher than medical errors. The American Hospital Association puts the numbers lower, around 98,000 a year.

There’s been no proposal by lawmakers in Pennsylvania yet. However, as the technology becomes available, we expect that more patients will ask for it and more states will look into implementing it. The tremendous cost of this problem to society demands it to hold those who commit malpractice accountable.