Posts Tagged ‘Medical’

Avoiding Medical Mistakes After a Hialeah Car Accident

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

In Hialeah and across Florida, patients who have been in a serious car accident turn to hospitals, clinics, and healthcare professionals to get help. Healthcare practitioners are supposed to be partners in health care and are supposed to be able to provide a high standard of care that helps patients stay healthier. After a Hialeah traffic accident, the last thing you want to worry about is a medical mistake or complication that can make your injuries even more severe. Unfortunately, for many Hialeah car accident patients, medical mistakes cause expensive and painful complications. To help prevent this, there are several things you can do:

1) Take a friend or family member with you to the hospital or emergency room if you can. If possible, consider having a friend or family member meet you at the emergency room to act as an advocate. This person can fill out the medical paperwork, can discuss your condition with physicians, and can generally stand by to ensure that doctors are informed about any pre-existing conditions or situations. In many cases, after a Hialeah pedestrian accident or traffic accident, you may be confused or even unconscious part of the time. Having someone there ensures that the right decisions are made about your care and ensures that doctors understand your medical conditions so that they can make the best decisions about your treatment.

2) Follow-up about your condition with your regular doctor. If you are rushed to an emergency room after a Hialeah car accident, make a follow-up appointment with your regular physician to discuss your situation. Your physician will want to be apprised of what has happened in your own words and your injury may need follow-up care. You will want to discuss this follow-up care with your physician, as he or she likely knows your medical history better than emergency room doctors. Meeting with your doctor also allows you to address any concerns or questions you may have about your emergency room visit and your condition.

3) Be an informed patient. Learn as much as you can about your medical condition and about your health, using valuable resources such as books and medical magazines at your local library. The Internet can also be a powerful resource but keep in mind that the quality of information online varies widely. Ask your doctor for recommended books, online resources, and other informational resources that can help you stay healthy.

4) Keep a record of your medical treatment. This will not only help you to understand what has happened, but if a medical mistake or medical negligence does occur, a record can help your Hialeah personal injury attorney apprise you of your rights and help them take action in your case.


Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Indiana promotes new medical amnesty policy

Sunday, October 28th, 2012

The state of Indiana recently passed a medical amnesty policy, and the attorney general’s office has now set to work making students aware of the new law. Indiana’s new law will encourage students to call for help for their dangerously intoxicated peers. However, until students are aware that the law exists, they will likely continue to avoid calling 911 for fear of getting themselves or their friends in trouble. You can read more about the law here.

Indiana is one of several states to have passed a medical amnesty policy. Other states to have passed similar policies include New Jersey and Michigan. An extensive study by Cornell University demonstrated that medical amnesty (or Good Samaritan) policies have decreased the number of students who did not call for help from 3.8% to 1.5%.

Choose Responsibility Blog

Trucker accused of DWI says he had medical event, was not impaired

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

A truck driver who was reportedly involved in an accident with a Durham, North Carolina, police officer is facing serious charges, including driving while impaired. After the truck accident, law enforcement noted that they thought the truck driver was showing signs of impairment. The truck driver and his criminal defense say that the man suffered a medical event before the traffic crash.

Police say that they found a blue capsule inside the trucker’s rig. Law enforcement took a blood sample to test the driver for alcohol or drugs. The trucker says that the capsule is a regular over-the-counter decongestant. Moreover, an analysis of the driver’s blood tested at Duke University Hospital after the crash reportedly turned up negative for drugs or alcohol.

News reports have broken that the truck driver told authorities after the crash that he could not remember where his truck had been loaded earlier in the day before the truck accident. Law enforcement claims the man could remember details of his trip on the day of the crash, but memory of the details of the crash itself remain a mystery to the trucker.

Durham police say that witnesses saw the truck weaving before the accident. The accident itself occurred on the side of Interstate 85 last Wednesday. An unmarked police car was parked behind a Mazda during a traffic stop. The truck reportedly crashed into the unmarked squad, sandwiching the police cruiser between the truck and the Mazda.

While police questioned the trucker, authorities say he complained of chest pain and took the trucker to a local hospital. The man’s defense says that the trucker with an excellent driving record suffered a medical event, leading to the accident.

He is now charged with felony serious injury by vehicle, DWI, reckless endangering, speeding and unlawfully passing an emergency vehicle. The man is free on 0,000 bond.

Source: WRAL, “Attorney: Trucker suffered ‘medical event,’ not drunk before crash,” July 31, 2012

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Medical Conditions Can Lead to Miami Car Crashes

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Some medical conditions can make drivers unfit for the road. There are measures in place to ensure that drivers who have seriously and potentially dangerous medical conditions can be reported by their doctors and can have their licenses revoked. Each year, across Florida, thousands of drivers have their licenses revoked to ensure that they are not a threat on the roads. The aim of this policy is to ensure that preventable Miami car accidents and Florida traffic accidents in general do not occur because of a known medical condition.

According to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and other groups, however, some known drivers with unsafe medical conditions are getting behind the wheel – and it is putting drivers across the state at risk. In the past few months, at least two fatal accidents in the Tampa area alone have been caused by known medical conditions.

Under Florida law, drivers who have had their licenses revoked due to medical reasons have the right to submit medical reports in order to get their licenses re-instated. Cases can be reviewed by a medical board and doctors can submit regular reports to ensure that someone is not deprived of a license because a condition that is under a control and therefore no longer a threat. However, some experts say that the system is far from perfect.

According to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, some drivers may underreport systems or downplay the extent of their illness in order to get a license reinstated. Other drivers may notice dangerous symptoms but never go to a doctor, so that their license is never revoked in the first place. In some cases, drivers have chosen to alter their names in order to obtain a new license after theirs was revoked for medical reasons.

With the number of licenses revoked for medical reasons on the rise, this is becoming a serious issue in Florida. In 2000, the number of Florida licenses revoked for medical reasons was 3559. In 2010, the number was 7716, more than double. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, many of these revocations occur due to illnesses such as cardiac illness, seizures, dementia, and strokes. About half of licenses revoked are revoked due to these types of illnesses while the remaining half are largely due to addiction-related illnesses and drunk driving accidents.

It’s a sensitive issue, especially with growing numbers of elderly Miami drivers being diagnosed with illnesses every year. Many argue that revoking licenses limits mobility and independence, especially in cases where a person’s ability to drive is not tested and may not even be affected. As well, most patients usually receive care to help control symptoms. In most states, drivers who have not had symptoms for six months and patients who submit to treatment for their conditions are allowed to apply for reinstatement of their licenses. Some argue that this is the best way to give everyone freedom. Others argue that the reinstatement process is too lax and relies too heavily on patient and doctor honesty. If patients are not honest about their treatment and condition, Miami traffic accidents can result.


Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog