In 2003, Texas government passed tort reform legislation regarding medical malpractice lawsuits within the state. The new legislation capped medical malpractice payouts at $250,000 per provider, with a maximum of $750,000 all together. It also stated that in order for emergency room physicians to be responsible for civil damages, they would have to act with “willful and wanton” negligence.
In other words, they have to purposefully and knowingly put their patients’ lives in danger.
A San Antonio medical malpractice lawyer, Jon Powell, commented on the “willful and wanton” standard, saying:
You’d have to be a Nazi death camp guard to meet this standard.
The liability caps and impossible standards are making victims of medical malpractice weary as they find that, in Texas, they simply do not have a case.
Medical Malpractice Leads to Amputation
Connie Spears, a 54 year-old woman with a history of blood clots, went the the emergency room at the Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, complaining of excrutiating leg pain. She was discharged with “bilateral leg pain” and told to follow up with her primary care physician.
Three days later, Connie’s legs were purple. An ambulance took her to another area hospital where doctors determined that a filter that had been installed in her heart years before was severely clotted, which led to tissue death in her legs, as well as kidney failure. Weeks later, Connie awoke to find that both of her legs had been amputated in order to save her life.
Now, she can’t find an attorney who will take her case, because in Texas, she doesn’t have one. Clear negligence exists, yet attorneys no longer have confidence in their judicial system due to the new standards set forth by tort reform. They also argue that this “willful and wanton” standard for medical malpractice allows for a serious decline in the standard of care provided to patients in Texas, and could allow Texas ER’s to become the most dangerous in the country.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
Tort Reform has significantly and severely damaged a medical malpractice victim’s chance at justice in Texas. Connie Spears will live the rest of her life without her legs due to a careless misdiagnosis, yet because of the standards Texas tort reform has put forward, she may never be able to gain the compensation she needs and is entitled to.
Medical malpractice affects many patients in the US, and victims should know that when doctors act negligently, they are liable for damages. If you or a loved one have suffered at the hands of a negligent and/or careless doctor, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Let our team earn you the full and fair compensation that you need and deserve.
DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, marketed its DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Hip Imlplant System and ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems worldwide, and all are included in the recall. In December of 2010, about 1,500 Canadian patients who had DePuy hip replacements filed a DePuy class action lawsuit in the courts in Quebec, Calgary, Alberta, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Montreal. DePuy hip recall lawyers in Canada are helping these DePuy hip recall claimaints. It is likely that other DePuy hip implant patients in Europe will soon be filing similar class actions as a result of the DePuy hip recall. 
As a New Jersey and Philadelphia 
First, a medical malpractice lawyer is going to offer you advice on what you should do regarding your case. He or she will explain to you if you indeed have a case.
As we have posted previously, all hip recall lawyers will explain that a partial or total hip implant is not a cure for hip pain. However, what makes this Depuy hip recall so unusual is the extraordinarily high failure rate as compared to DePuy’s hip implant competitors. In fact, the medical research which lead to the hip recall has shown that between 12 and 13 percent of Depuy hip implant patients will require a hip replacement revision surgery within five years of receiving the replacement.
Shoulder Dystocia occurs when the shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone after the head exits the birth canal. Child births with high risk of shoulder dystocia include those of larger babies. In the New Jersey case, the baby weighed 9 lbs, and her mother weighed 300. It is also known that overweight mothers are more likely to give birth to heavier babies. Had an estimated fetal weight been made prior to the woman going into labor, a C-Section could have been discussed as an option. Instead, however, a vaginal birth was attempted, and after shoulder dystocia and excessive force by the OB/GYN, the little girl now suffers from from Erb’s Palsy. 
In our recent 
Patrick Carson is a schizophrenic who has spent most of his life in care facilities and rehab institutions. He was in his sixties when he entered the Burien Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in King County, Washington, and reports from the home show he also suffers from dimentia and heart disease. In October, 2009, Carson fell out of his bed and landed near a baseboard heater positioned dangerously close to his bed. His left leg landed directly on the heater. He laid there long enough to sustain 
Longendorfer and the hospital reached a private and confidential settlement with Mrs. Golden before the trial. Dr. Smolko and his attorney are appealing the $1.88 million jury verdict.
These pressures ulcers and bedsores can be caused by nursing home abuse such as: