New York Personal Injury Laws

Medical and Dental Malpractice Negligence

When you’re talking about medical or dental malpractice, you’re really talking about negligence. To prove a medical or dental malpractice case, we must show the doctor has failed to meet accepted standards for medical care in your community. Some examples of medical or dental malpractice include failure to diagnose breast cancer or an impending heart attack. Malpractice may also stem from a surgical error. For instance, an oral surgeon may place an implant too close to a nerve. To know if you have a valid malpractice case, it’s essential that an experienced lawyer reviews your medical records and consults with appropriate medical experts. The selection of the right medical expert in your case is extremely important. I will only work with a doctor who truly believes you have a valid case. If you feel you or a loved one has been injured as a result of the negligence of a doctor or dentist, and you would like to arrange a free consultation, please contact us or chat with us on our website.

Increase in Children with Autism

Today on You Be The Judge. The percentage of children with autism has skyrocketed during the past 30 years. Some people blame vaccinations, others say it only seems like autism has increased because we’re more aware of it.

Are Common Drugs Causing Autism

Imagine that you were taking drug X, then imagine that scientist have become curious about the effects of drug X on human health and behavior. They conduct extensive testing on lab animals, and conclude that there seems to be a direct link between the drug and harmful conditions found in a specific segment of the animal population. For instance, pregnant rates.

Next, imagine that you fit into that specific human population segment, and are possibly susceptible to the highly increased risk of the negative effects seen in animals caused by drug X.

Then imagine that there are known alternatives to drug X such as exercise, that have been found to be beneficial and possibly even more beneficial than the drug.

Finally, imagine that studies have shown that a placebo is just as effective as the drug X that you have been taking. How does all of this make you feel about drug X?

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSIRs) Effect on Pregnancy

Now let’s take a look at a real life scenario that goes on today. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSIRs, are often found in antidepressants. These antidepressants are believed to affect serotonin.

Now, in a developing embryo, serotonin plays a critical role in the brain’s development, and many believe that autism is characterized by changes in the serotonin system. Therefore it seemed reasonable that taking these antidepressants during pregnancy might affect developing baby’s brain formation. Regarding these antidepressants, Doctor said, “It really shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise, given that numerous animals studies have shown that exposure during development leads to changes in the brain and changes in behavior. Changes that often mimic autism.”

Studies Connecting Autism to Antidepressants

Authors of the mentioned animal studies warned that their findings of harmful effects should concern us when using these drugs on humans. Only two studies have been completed on the links between autism and antidepressants in humans.

The first study, a smaller one, published in 2011, found that children whose mothers took antidepressants are twice as likely to have autism. A study recently published in the British Medical Journal surveyed a much larger group, and it found that the use of antidepressants was associated with a risk of autism three times that of women not taking those drugs. The authors of these studies were cautious with their words as no one has conducted a Randomized Controlled Trial, RCT.

An RCT can most accurately assess causation. Now to conduct an RCT, pregnant would be required to take antidepressants in order for researchers to evaluate the effects on their babies. However, ethical issues have discouraged studying the negative effects of antidepressants during pregnancy. It’s fair to note that an RCT is not always necessary to presume that a problem exist.

For example, no Randomized Controlled Trial was conducted on cigarettes, yet nearly everyone acknowledges that they cause harm. Regarding pregnant women taking antidepressants, the latest studies suggest that non-drug approaches such as psychotherapy or exercise may serve the mother just as well, or perhaps even better than the antidepressant.

Finally, after years of research, there is little evidence that suggest that the antidepressants are clinically more effective than a placebo. Do you think there is something to be concerned about here? Should doctors recommend other treatments instead of antidepressants for pregnant women suffering from depression?

By: Edward Lake

Insulators Exposed to Asbestos

You’re an insulator. You’ve been working with asbestos products your entire career, but you had no idea that asbestos caused cancer, and now you have mesothelioma. Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City. I want to talk to you a little bit about the types of exposures that insulators had to asbestos. Now, obviously insulators are the trade that handled insulation products. Now, I want to tell you about a client of mine who is a member of Local 12 which is the insulator’s union here in New York City.

 Past Client, Insulator

He worked with every type of asbestos insulation you could imagine. He used insulation at huge power houses here in New York to insulate large high temperature steam pipes. He worked with insulation that was applied in block form to boilers. He worked with refractory that was used in boilers. He worked with insulating cement that was used to insulate all types of equipment in power houses here in New York. He also handled asbestos containing blankets, and applied them to equipment such as turbines. He used these types of blankets and asbestos cement on other equipment like pumps. We also know that insulators used spray on insulation on the steel I-beams in large commercial structures. That asbestos was a dry product that was mixed with water through the use of a spray gun, and the asbestos insulation was sprayed onto the steel I-beams of large structures.

Contact Us with Questions or Concerns

Now these are just some of the exposures to asbestos that insulators would have had during the course of their working career. There are many more, and I’m sure you have many questions about how insulators were exposed to asbestos. I’m Joe Williams, and at our office we handle cases from mesothelioma victims every day, and we’ve represented many, many insulators. I invite you to look at the number below on your screen. Call our office, and we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

Various Ways Brooklyn Workers Became Exposed to Asbestos

You were diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you worked in Brooklyn, New York, and you’re wondering, “Where could I possibly have gotten this from?” Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney. I’m here in New York right now, and I can give you some information about asbestos exposures in Brooklyn, New York. We know that there was major exposure sites in Brooklyn, New York. We know that from handling these cases for many years, and we have to start every discussion about asbestos exposure in Brooklyn, New York with a discussion about the Brooklyn Naval Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was a major shipbuilding and ship repairing site right along the Brooklyn Piers in Brooklyn, New York, in which thousands of workers – at one time, up to 70,000 workers during World War II – worked to build and repair naval ships. All manner of asbestos products were used at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There’s also the Brooklyn Piers, where longshoremen and other workers loaded and unloaded civilian ships, and were exposed to asbestos. There’s the Kentile Asphalt Tile Plant which, in its heyday, was the largest asbestos tile plant in the world. And, of course, during the housing boom of the last century, apartment buildings and schools to accommodate the kids were built by union tradesmen, and those tradesmen with their own hands used asbestos products like insulation, and floor tile, and joint compound, and refractory asbestos bricks, to build these buildings, and build Brooklyn itself. Now, I’m giving this information because you have mesothelioma, and you have questions. We have information about the asbestos exposure sites in Brooklyn, New York, and how workers, union tradesmen, and other workers, were exposed to asbestos in Brooklyn. I’m Joe Williams, and at our firm we answer questions and help victims of mesothelioma and their families every day. We certainly would like to answer your questions. I invite you to call the number on the screen below. Give us a call, and we’ll answer your questions. Thanks.

Causation of Peripheral Neuropathy

Antibiotics. They are among the most important discoveries of the twentieth century. They have saved millions of lives, but the rampant over-prescription of certain antibiotics is leaving many patients disabled for months, even years with an affliction called peripheral neuropathy (learn details at neuropathyreliefguide.com/nerve-renew-review/). These antibiotics are fluoroquinolones. They include drugs like Avelox, Cipro, and Levaquin, some of the most powerful medications on the market.

Many professionals consider quinolones the last line of defense against major infections. However, instead of being reserved for serious or life-threatening bacterial infections, such as hospital-acquired pneumonia, these antibiotics are frequently prescribed for lesser problems like sinus infections, bronchitis, ear infections, and other ailments that can be treated with less potent drugs.

Doctor David Flockheart Research

Doctor David Flockheart, a leading fluoroquinolone expert at the Indiana University School of Medicine explains, “You don’t use these big guns for killing mosquitoes. You should use them appropriately for big infections. A few doses can leave the patient disabled with peripheral neuropathy for months, even years.” One young woman shared, “I was prescribed Levaquin for a sinus infection. On the fifth day I couldn’t get out of bed. I was 16. I wanted to be an animation artist. I couldn’t even pick up a pencil. I ended up in a wheelchair for six-and-a-half years.”

Peripheral neuropathy happens with the nerves that carry information from the brain to the central nervous system are damaged resulting in weakness, numbness, lack of coordination, sharp burning or stabbing pain, and many other side effects.

Doctor Jay Cohen Research

Researcher, Doctor Jay Cohen, said in 2001 that the side effects are, “devastating.” He went on to say, “Many of the people in my study were healthy before their reactions. Some were high-intensity athletes. Suddenly, they were disabled, in terrible pain, unable to work, walk, or sleep.” But it wasn’t until 2013 did the FDA require drug makers to list peripheral neuropathy as a side effect. This came 12 years after the connection had already been made. To make matters worse, studies have shown that as many as 40% of prescriptions for these antibiotics are unnecessary.

Have the Risks of Antibiotics Affected You or Loved Ones?

Share this video with your friends and family to raise awareness. While fluoroquinolones play an important medical role, everyone should be made aware of the risks associated with them. One victim shared, “I used to love to dance. Now I can hardly make it through one song on the dance floor.” Share this video to protect your loved ones so they can dance if they want to.

If you believe you or a loved one has suffered peripheral neuropathy as a result of Avelox, Cipro, or Levaquin call and speak with a legal representative immediately. The manufacturers of these drugs may be required to compensate victims, and it won’t cost you a dime to find out if you qualify. Call today at 888-LAW-8500. That’s 888-529-8500 or visit us online at lawyersusa.com/antibiotics.

By: Steven Gacovino

Personal Injury Medical Process

It’s quite common in my experience for people to come into my office who think they have a soft tissue injury and they don’t realize the serious nature of the injury that they’ve sustained. A herniated disk is a good example of that. Sometimes people have herniated disk and they have pain in their back going down their legs to their feet, yet diagnostic tests don’t show the herniation and they can be wandering from doctor to doctor. At the Maurer Law Firm, we have a lot of experience with these types of injuries, and we have the resources so that we can assist you in obtaining a proper diagnosis and care.

Representing Railroad Employees And Passengers

I handle serious personal injury cases for both employees and passengers. The railroad industry is a very dangerous place and the laws are quite complex that apply to those cases. It’s important that  you’re represented by an attorney

 Steps Specialists Take While Treating Mesothelioma

If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma. So what types of doctors treat patients with mesothelioma? Hi, I’m Joe Williams I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney. I want to talk to you about some of the doctors that see mesothelioma victims. Initially, when a mesothelioma patient first presents with the signs or the symptoms of mesothelioma they see their family doctor, their intrest, their primary care doctor. That’s when a patient is talking about general weakness, malaise, maybe they’ve lost weight, maybe they’ve lost a lot of weight, they have shortness of breath. They walked up two flights of stairs and boy they’re huffing and puffing. They normally walk down the block a couple of blocks to get the newspaper every morning but now that’s a little but more difficult than usual. They go in to see their primary care doctor and explain. The doctor says let’s take an X-ray, let’s do some test. Let me send you on to a specialist. Now, usually after the primary care doctor the next doctor that a mesothelioma patient will see is a lung doctor, a pulmonologist. The pulmonologist is a specialist who deals with issues related to the lungs. So the pulmonologist is a doctor who’s probably seen mesothelioma patients before and can understand those signs and symptoms with a little bit more detail and can order some different tests. Things like a PET scan or perhaps based on the presentation of the tumor in the chest from PET scans or CAT scans or even from X-Rays the pulmonologist will refer the patient on to a surgeon. This surgeon is tasked with the job of finding out definitively what this is that is in this patient’s chest. They do that usually through a biopsy, a tissue biopsy that’s either done through a needle biopsy or through a surgical biopsy intraoperatively, often done with either a minimally invasive procedure called a video assisted thoracoscopy sometimes referred to as a VATS. Or if there’s difficulty locating the tumor there’s another procedure which is a more open procedure and that procedure is called a thoracotomy. But either way the area where the tumor is visualized is biopsied by the surgeon and that tissue is sent to a pathology lab to get a definitive diagnosis of what it is that’s growing in this patient’s chest. Now, once a diagnosis is made pathologically by a pathologist looking through a microscope at a slide at the cells and determining based upon different standing that can be done. That this is in fact malignant mesothelioma that it’s in this patient’s chest. Once that’s decided and determined then the decisions are, “What are we going to do for this patient?” There’s surgical options and that’s where the surgeon continues to play a role. There’s chemotherapy and radiation options. Now, chemotherapy is administered by an oncologist. So that surgeon would refer the patient to a caner specialist. An oncologist who would then consult with and evaluate the patient and their medical records and all their signs and symptoms and make decisions as to what type of drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, chemotherapy drugs can be administered to this patient to reduce the size of the tumor. Or perhaps to debulk it or reduce the size of the tumor in anticipation of a future surgery. Or if the tumor is advanced to just control or reduce the size of the tumor for palliative care, to reduce the symptoms or the pain response that a patient’s having. All of these doctors work together and coordinate with each other to assist a mesothelioma patient as they go through a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Now why am I telling you call this? I’m telling you because you have questions about mesothelioma. I’m Joe Williams, I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney and we deal with issues related to mesothelioma each and everyday. We represent patients and their families as they struggle through a diagnosis of mesothelioma. If you have questions I invite you to call our office and we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

 Car Accident Attorney

When you’re in a car accident, there are many parties involved sometimes. There is the insurance company to deal with, the police department, your doctors. You need to have an experienced lawyer to help you work through your case who has your best interests in mind. Hire the Moore Law Firm. We have the experience and the resources to guide you through the process, and enable you to have piece of mind.