Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

Rick Santorum, a Republican candidate for President, blames lawyers and medical malpractice lawsuits for unnecessarily driving up health care costs. He claims that he will push to limit payments to medical malpractice lawsuit victims and has repeatedly spoken about caps on medical malpractice recoveries. What Mr. Santorum fails to mention in his campaign speeches is that he testified in support of his wife when she filed a medical malpractice lawsuit that allegedly sought $500,000 dollars in damages, which was twice the cap in his original legislative proposal. According to sources Karen Santorum, the wife of Rick Santorum, claimed that a chiropractor left her with a back injury that will result in a lifetime of pain medication and restriction of mobility.

On the campaign trail when questioned, Senator Santorum told reporters that he backed limits and that his wife did not sue for pain and suffering which is the area he thought should be capped. The Judge in the Santorum case stated that a majority of the $350,000 jury verdict awarded to the Santorum’s was largely for unspecific losses and pain and suffering which he concluded was excessive. It is unfortunate however, that after practicing as a Pennsylvania catastrophic injury and malpractice attorney for over 30 years, I often find that the people that complain the most about lawyers are the ones that are the greediest when it comes time to the resolution of their own claims. When they are the victim or a family member is the affected victim, they have a totally different view and yes, they too become “greedy for justice”.

I was regularly attacked by a prominent physician in Philadelphia who when dining with me or socializing with me would always chastise the efforts of myself and other trial lawyers committed to achieving justice for injured victims. When this doctor sustained a catastrophic injury as the result of medical malpractice, the sky was the limit for how much he wanted. He was no longer calling for the caps on damages that he was so arrogant and vociferous about before his accident.

Why is it that people will say anything to get them elected to office, yet when it comes time to a personal tragedy where they or their family member is a victim, it is a different set of standards?

I have always believed that a man should be judged by his actions rather than his words. I am not afraid to admit that yes, I am still “greedy for justice” when a wrongdoing occurs caused by the negligence of another or a defectively manufactured product.

I believe wholeheartedly in the American justice system and the average 500 year collective wisdom of American juries.

Over the last three decades our experienced Philadelphia trial lawyers have successfully represented individuals who were injured as a result of medical malpractice as well as product liability due to design and manufacturing defects. Over the last few years, we have witnessed a recall of many surgically implanted medical devices due to mechanical failures or design defects. Notably and more recently in 2010, Johnson & Johnson recalled its ASR XL DePuy tabular metal on metal hip implant after data from a recent study indicated that there was a more than normal failure rate identified due to component loosening, component misalignment, infection, bone fractures, dislocation, metal sensitivity, pain, tissue damage, and muscle damage.

Our DePuy implant failure and recall lawyers have been investigating and litigating a number of these cases, and our investigations have revealed that many renowned physicians who were using this device were also victims because they had not been warned by the manufacturer that the devices they were using and implanting in their patients were dangerous. While many lawyers have chosen to litigate against the physicians for malpractice and negligence, our skilled product liability lawyers understand that in an era of medical malpractice caps and severe limitations on medical malpractice verdicts, it is important to explore all of the alternatives and to look in other directions. In fact, a doctor who unknowingly implanted a defectively designed or manufactured product is now in a position to be one of the best witnesses and advocates for the plaintiff.

In another case of which we have learned involving botched circumcisions, a minimal offer was made by the medical malpractice insurance carrier. However, a skilled team of product liability lawyers decided to investigate and research the circumcision device itself. A circumcision tool known as a “mogen clamp” was routinely used by physicians performing circumcisions. Unfortunately an investigation revealed that the mogen clamp had been linked to numerous penile amputations, and unlike other circumcision tools did not provide for protection for the head of the penis and was designed so that the physician could not see the head of the penis when applying the scalpel to the foreskin. The device’s manufacturer and distributor removed it from the market in 1994 after an injury report but did not recall the clamp or send doctors a warning letter. In 2000, the FDA informed the circumcision tool’s manufacturer to warn all doctors who might be using the clamp. However, the company did not do so.

Very simply put, the underlying product liability cases in these situations are much stronger than a typical medical malpractice or negligence situation and serve as a perfect example of how a creative trial lawyer with years of experience can think out of the box and do what is best for his client when traveling down a road often less traveled.

The skilled Pennsylvania medical malpractice and product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily have consistently placed the safety of consumers and patients above the bottom line of manufacturers who design and manufacture defective products, and we always offer a free, no obligation consultation. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia personal injury and Philadelphia car accident lawyer, I have literally dealt with thousands of chiropractic care cases involving injured clients. For the most part, although many people and defense attorneys consider chiropractors to be “quacks” or “light and magic shows”, mostly I have found that chiropractic manipulation proffered by the properly trained and caring chiropractor can be most beneficial.

In fact, I regularly require chiropractic manipulations and have benefited more therefrom than traditional physical therapy. Unfortunately on the other side of the coin remains the fact that many chiropractor’s offices are nothing more than accident mills operated by businessman or chiropractor more interested in making money rather than offering proper patient care and manipulation.

The underlying basis for chiropractic is the belief is that all physical diseases are the result of misplaced spinal bones and that subluxations of spinal vertebrae cause disease by interfering with the flow of nerve energy from the brain to the body=s tissues. Accordingly, spinal adjustments by a properly trained chiropractor are technically supposed to restore vertebrae to their proper places and allow brain energy to heal the diseased condition. Obviously in order to properly treat a disease or condition, it is completely necessary to have an accurate medical diagnosis as to what constitutes treatment. Many chiropractors administer spinal manipulation without first accurately making a proper medical diagnosis utilizing confirming x-rays, CT scans, or MRI studies and many types of chiropractic medical malpractice claims evolve when a patient sustains an injury or aggravation by manipulation of the musculoskeletal system or the spine where the patient suffers from an illness, disease, or other injury that was not diagnosed. For example, if there is a herniated disc with potential impingement on the spinal nerves and the chiropractor fails to diagnose this condition and engages in aggressive treatment that worsens the condition instead of prescribing immediate medical intervention or diagnosis, that chiropractor may have caused more harm to the patient and may be guilty of chiropractic malpractice. Many times chiropractors don't fully explain the situation to the client or patient and the patient receives treatment or some part of treatment without the informed consent necessary to make an educated decision. Sometimes cervical manipulation or a neck adjustment technique can be more devastating than helpful and can lead to a stroke. A neck adjustment by a chiropractor can cause a dissection of vertebrae or the carotid artery resulting in stroke. The number of chiropractic malpractice and manipulations that report in strokes is vastly under reported in medical literature due to the fact that many patients suffer irreparable brain damage and cannot remember the chiropractic manipulation. All manipulations carry the risk of life threatening accidents and it is important that if you are receiving chiropractic care to do your homework and make sure that you are not treating in an accident mill just focused on volume rather than quality care.

If you have sustained an injury that you believe was caused by chiropractic negligence or malpractice, the experienced and skilled Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys at Reiff and Bily are always available to offer a free, no obligation consultation and work with the finest medical and chiropractic experts throughout the nation. We always offer a no recovery, no fee guarantee. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As strange as it seems, surgery performed on the wrong side of a patient’s body is more common than one would think. In fact, due to a recent publication resulting from Freedom of Information requests, many more revelations of surgery performed on the wrong side of the body are being publicly acknowledged. While it is unquestionable that mistakes may occur during medical procedures, there simply is no excuse for wrong site surgeries. Simply stated, wrong site surgeries are always the result of carelessness, poor pre-operative planning, and an obvious lack of institutional control.

As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney whose law firm has successfully litigated wrong site surgery cases for over three decades, we consider this medical error to be the most outrageous type of insult to the patient due to the fact that it forever changes the patient’s life with irreversible injuries and is so easily prevented.
Surprisingly the reporting of wrong site surgery is not mandatory in most states.

Recently when I went in for a minor surgical procedure on my elbow, I met with a doctor briefly after an IV sedative had been introduced prior to entering the operating room. The doctor asked me what I was there for and I asked told him “Why don’t you tell me?” attempting to have him acknowledge the site of the surgery so that I could confirm the same. Obviously at this stage of the game, even I was in an intoxicated state and under the influence of a sedative. Wrong site surgeries account for almost 15% of all reported medical mistakes and in many of the wrong site surgery cases we have investigated and litigated, many of the defendants, doctors, and nurses point the finger at each other without immediately acknowledging a mistake or properly assuming responsibility.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of wrong site surgery, why not put a team of experienced wrong site surgery and medical malpractice lawyers to work for you. Of course, we always offer a free, no obligation consultation. Recently, the accomplished Philadelphia medical malpractice firm of Reiff and Bily have joined forces with the legendary medical malpractice team of the Beasley Firm to create the Beasley Reiff Law Group. Together our attorneys have been awarded billions of dollars since the mid-1950's. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

For over thirty years, I have worked closely with the medical community in my capacity as a lawyer investigating and litigating cases involving closed head traumas and mild to severe brain injuries, as well as intracranial hemorrhages. Many times individuals who do not possess proper medical insurance do not receive adequate or proper screening after an accident or violent impact to their head. Left untreated, a mild TBI or intracranial hemorrhage can have a considerable impact in the reduction of one’s quality of life and can many times lead to death if improperly diagnosed.

Studies and statistics have indicated that African-American and Hispanic children are less likely than Caucasian children to receive cranial CT scans in emergency departments following minor head trauma according to a study presented at the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics national conference. Many physicians that I have discussed this situation with claim that those who sustain a minor head trauma “are probably at low risk anyway” for a clinically important brain injury. However, one’s socioeconomic status or lack of insurance or ignorance of the insurance and billing systems should not stand in the way of a proper diagnosis and the safe practice of medicine. Many times an impact to the head is the result of a car accident, product defect, or other type of negligence, and third party’s and third party insurance companies may be responsible for medical bills and resulting financial, emotional, and payment of medical bills. Simply stated, I have noted that many individuals contact our office with symptoms of traumatic brain injury and closed head trauma and have not received proper medical treatment because they were afraid that they would be responsible for paying the bills and did not have adequate personal medical insurance. In fact, many hospitals and physicians will not treat these people unless there is a letter of protection from a lawyer representing them or the lawyer’s office has done the ground work to secure funding for the diagnostic testing. What we do know is that individuals with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury have a much lower health-related quality of life at times compared to others. It is important to immediately diagnose and effectively treat a brain injury.

Continue reading "Why Is It That Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Intracranial Hemorrhages Are Not So Readily Diagnosed. Is It A Patient Or Medical Issue?" »

The City of Philadelphia is currently dealing with an EMS crisis where lives are being put at risk due to the fact that EMS units are still arriving late to calls nearly 40% of the time. It is an excepted standard that EMS units should arrive at the scene of an emergency in less than 9 minutes. Several years ago, City of Philadelphia audits indicated that EMS units were only achieving the standard 60% of the time. City Controller, Alan Butkovitz, stated “The City is putting lives at risk by failing to do all that it can to have EMS units arrive on time. The response time is still well below the 90% industry benchmark.” Butkovitz stated that a major factor contributing to EMS inability to arrive on time is the overwhelming demand on the EMS system along with an inadequate number of paramedics. The City Controller made a number of recommendations to address this situation. However, of paramount concern is that the City of Philadelphia and Fire Department must take all necessary and reasonable steps to improve EMS response time and to increase the number of paramedics available to staff EMS vehicles.

The law firm of Reiff & Bily has joined forces with the Beasley Firm and together the Beasley Reiff Law Group now offers for free “My Lawyer - Travels With Me” iPhone and Android application to help Pennsylvania residents who are involved in a catastrophic accident.

The law firm of Reiff & Bily and the Beasley Firm are two nationally recognized law firms dedicated to serving those who have been catastrophically injured or wrongful death due to defective products, medical malpractice, premise liability, and amusement park or water park accidents. Together our lawyers have been awarded over $2 billion dollars in verdicts and settlements since the mid-1950's.

Our new “My Lawyer - Travels With Me” application will provide all of the tools to those injured in an accident to take timely and lawful action in order to protect their legal interests and financial future.

As a Philadelphia car accident and catastrophic injury lawyer who has been representing catastrophically injured victims, and their families, for more then three decades, I worry that internet and television marketing by many lawyers has led to a high number of victims and their families receiving what many would consider to be improper and inadequate legal representation. Many lawyers just look for an “Easy A”. Too many times attorneys hoping to earn a quick and easy referral fee will spend tens of thousands of dollars even hundreds of thousands of dollars a month designing websites or TV advertising that inaccurately portrays their abilities. It is the goal of these attorneys to make perspective clients believe they are hiring experienced attorneys, who have recovered multi-million dollar verdicts, and are amongst the top car accident lawyers, truck accident lawyers, S.U.V. van rollover lawyers, medical malpractice lawyers, and Products liability lawyers in the field.

Lately I have received an alarming number of phone calls from seriously injured car and truck accident victims who were mislead by what I call a “parasite lawyer”. A “parasite lawyer” is a lawyer who oftentimes lacks experience but attempts to conceal this by purchasing “black hat” internet links and creating embellished website content to make prospective clients believe they are hiring an experienced lawyer or law firm to represent their legal interests when in reality they are hiring a lawyer who simply thereafter refers their case to another attorney for a fee. I call this the “Easy A” system whereby an inexperienced attorney, or an attorney who has no interest in representing you or your loved ones, tacks a fee onto your recovery for doing nothing more then referring your case to another attorney. Frequently many of these marketing attorneys operate their websites from out of state and have creative advertising joint and cooperative ventures with other lawyers and law firms creating the illusion that they are something more then they really are. Always pay attention to the disclaimers and small print at the bottom or end of the advertisement as it quickly passes you by.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, truck accident, tractor trailer accident, bus accident, boat accident, S.U.V roll over accident, 15 passenger van rollover accident, amusement park accidents, premise liability accident, slip and fall accident, burned in a fire, bitten or attacked by a dog, the victim of inadequate security, falsely imprisoned, sexually assaulted, injured on a cruise ship, injured on a plane, in a construction accident or injured as a result of a defective product or medical malpractice you may be eligible to recover for your injuries.

As an experienced and highly rated Pennsylvania Super Lawyer with decades of experience, whose law firm has handled and collected hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries for catastrophically injured victims, and their families, as well as those who have sustained wrongful deaths, I strongly advise that you personally interview the attorney who will be handling your legal case. Do not be afraid to ask for references. Make sure that he or she is regularly available to meet and speak with you about your case as it develops. Make sure your case is not being handed over to a paralegal or newly graduated lawyer who might lack the required experience. Inquire whether or not the lawyer has ever had any disciplinary issues or is even licensed to practice law in your state. Inquire about independent and non biased reviews of your lawyer from third party ranking or rating organization. Check the attorney's ranking on Avvo or the Martindale-Hubble record of standing. Never be afraid to get a second opinion from another lawyer if you don't like what you are hearing or don't feel comfortable as the case develops.

After all you only get one bite at the apple, and the selection of your lawyer may be one of the most important lifetime decisions that you will ever make.
Chance will always favor the prepared mind.

More and more businesses and health services are supplying medication offering injections or diagnosing and treating patients with doctors who really are not medical doctors but rather nurses with Ph.D.’s. Often these Ph.D. “doctors” are paid less than medical doctors. While there is no doubt that there are advanced practice nurses with Ph.D.’s that have excellent and fine medical skills, this is not always explained to individuals who seek medical advice or treatment and assume that the same is being provided by a medical doctor. Many clinics have nurse Ph.D.’s who are identified as doctors performing medical exams, and as an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney for over thirty years, I predict that this is something that will become more and more common in a tightened economy and as big business has a greater role in providing healthcare.

Interestingly enough, researchers show that the new Ph.D. degrees maintained by nurses who call themselves doctors have not brought higher fees to these mostly lesser paid providers from insurers from seeing patients. Certainly and understandably one can understand the frustration from physicians with medical degrees who have spent years of intensive study only to have confusion over the use of the term doctor and services performed by someone using the term doctor.

As an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney who has been intimately involved in claims of malpractice against the healthcare industry for over three decades, I believe that clear communications must be made to the consumer about the correct educational background and medical degree of the “doctor” administering the services and that legislators ought to be more involved in defining the roles of these healthcare providers.

If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of medical malpractice, contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

All personal injury cases involve unexpected encounters with others which goes the wrong way whether it be a car accident, slip and fall accident, or a product liability claim. As a personal injury accident lawyer who has represented thousands of clients for more then three decades I understand what it is to walk in the client’s shoes.

Many clients have come to my law firm after a frustrating experience with another lawyer who did not communicate in a timely or responsible manner with the client or victim’s family members after they had already been burdened by the financial and emotional pressures of a tragic accident. After the initial meeting, the smiling lawyer dropped off of the “communications map”. When a personal injury lawyer is retained to represent a victim and their family after a catastrophic injury or wrongful death has occurred, it is perhaps one of the most important relationships that will ever be formed between individuals who may not have ever known each other before. It is important that the lawyer and the client communicate and make all major decisions together and have open conversations in a civil professional and cordial fashion. Litigation breeds anxiety in clients. It is important that the attorney communicate realistic ideas about the value of the client’s case and their prospects of success clearly and candidly.

The experienced catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawyers of Reiff & Bily have been litigating legal claims on behalf of injured clients involving medical malpractice, amusement park liability, defective products, and premise liability since 1979 and we always try to carefully explain the elements and issues of each case to all potential clients as well as explaining our burden of proof. As each case is unique, it is impossible to determine the value of a case in the initial stages, and past results do not necessarily guarantee similar results in a similar case. When something bad happens to a client, it is human nature to want to hear good news. However, one must be honest and candid with the client for the client to understand that our civil justice system is based upon concepts of fairness and reasonable restitution. Many clients mistakenly think that because they were in an accident, they are guaranteed a retirement check. This is not always the case.

When you go to a fine and experienced lawyer, it is analogous to going to a tailor to have a suit custom made. Every situation will be different and the experienced lawyer like the experienced tailor knows how to fit the unique facts of the situation in a custom and individual fashion in order to maximize the result. Years of experience not only benefits the client but also serves as an advantage when dealing or negotiating with insurance companies and defense attorneys who understand the character traits and integrity standards maintained by a particular lawyer or law firm.



Continue reading "Why It Pays To Hire An Injury or Accident Lawyer With Decades Of Experience and Who Has Had His Own Injury Claim – No Substitute For Experience and Empathy" »

For over a decade and a half, an online database that anonymously tracked physician health records of malpractice, medical errors, and medical discipline was available online to researchers and policymakers, as well as others seeking access to this information.

As an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice and defective product attorney who has spent decades litigating these claims, I believe that the reporting of medical malpractice errors and healthcare should become transparent and available to those citizens who take the time to perform independent research in order to become more informed about making an important decision. Loss of access to this information presents a problem to patient safety experts, researchers, and public policy analysts who identify important trends and problems involving delivery of healthcare by physicians.

As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, I believe patient safety and research should always be a priority and that consumers should always have the ability to perform research in order to make an informed decision. Additionally, the removal of this information makes it difficult to make informed public policy decisions concerning malpractice, or to perform peer review on medical licensing. I can think of no good reason to not make this information available.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation. We have been representing catastrophically injured victims and their families for over three decades. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

When a catastrophic accident occurs, helicopter evacuation is often used to save lives. However, last year a record number of people died aboard helicopter medical evacuation aircraft.

In 2009, there was twice as many deaths as any other year and the accidents happened not only in bad weather but in good weather as well. Our office was recently contacted by an individual who was previously employed by a helicopter medical evacuation service where an investigation was commenced by the FAA and found numerous safety violations with one of the aircraft deemed unworthy and unsafe for flying. It is alleged that one of the Directors and mechanics is under investigation by the FAA and allegedly facing potential criminal charges.

As Pennsylvania catastrophic injury lawyers, we are familiar with heli-vac EMS programs and our lawyers have also litigated product liability and aviation disasters for many decades. I am somewhat concerned due to the fact that this industry has been slow to improve itself in the maintenance and safety arena and many operating shortcuts are being taken in the hopes of improving profitability and the bottom line. There are approximately 850 to 1,000 EMS helicopters operated in the U.S. privately and no doubt is a lucrative business as I have had many opportunities to review the bills and even pay the same on behalf of injured clients. A typical flight can cost in the arena of about $10,000 and each year approximately 500,000 people fly on EMS helicopters. Many pilots claim that the industry is “frustrated” that their emergency helicopters keep crashing killing people that they are trying to save as while operators and owners were advised continue to stress profitability above safety. Until the government mandates safety regulations with teeth, this is sure to be an area of growing concern. Nothing could be worse for the family of a catastrophic accident victim to learn of the death of a family member while being transported on a medi-vac helicopter that was designed to save their life.

Transportation and pilot experts claim that the FAA may not be moving as quickly as necessary and that this is an ever growing problematic situation. As emergency rooms in rural areas close down or are ill equipped to handle a catastrophic case, medivac use will be more and more common and safety should never be an option. The skilled catastrophic lawyers of Reiff & Bily have recently joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm to create the Beasley Reiff Law Group. Together we have been awarded over $2 billion dollars in settlements, verdicts, and awards since 1958. For more information, please contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

According to a recent story published in the Pennsylvania Business Journal, Pennsylvania ambulatory surgery facilities submitted 502 medication error reports to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority over a five and a half year period through the end of last year. Unfortunately, there is a lack of medical literature accurately quantifying or addressing medical errors that occur in ambulatory surgical facilities and according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research, Pennsylvania had 265 ambulatory surgery facilities which performed more than 960 procedures between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2009.

Ambulatory surgery facilities are often utilized for general surgical procedures including but not limited to ophthalmologic endoscopies, colonoscopies, orthopedic, gynecological, urologic, and cosmetic procedures.

Recently a national quality forum approved for endorsement a list of 29 serious reportable events in health care. All Pennsylvania hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, and birthing centers are subject to reporting requirements under Act 13 and must submit with the authorities any “serious event incidents”.

Unfortunately, as an experienced Pennsylvania surgical and medical malpractice attorney for over three decades I all too often investigate and prosecute claims of negligence and malpractice involving outpatient or ambulatory surgical centers. I am concerned that many times Philadelphia and Pennsylvania regulatory establishments fail patients who suffer harm or unfortunately wrongful death in an ambulatory surgery center. There appears to be a systematic weakness in Pennsylvania’s enforcement of healthcare facility laws with regard to application or enforcement against many ambulatory surgery facilities. In the pure world, ambulatory surgical facility should offer high quality cost effective alternatives to in-patient hospital surgical services. Almost 90% of ASC’s are privately owned by physicians and are increasingly jointly partnering with hospitals.

Unfortunately many ambulatory surgery centers do not meet federal safety standards which could lead to serious and catastrophic consequences for patients. Many times we have seen single use items reused and medical supplies with expired expiration dates used. Common types of errors cited in Pennsylvania ambulatory surgical facilities include drug omissions, administration of the wrong drug, failing to monitor errors, documenting allergies, confusion or mixup involving ophthalmology products of different pharmacological categories, differentiating lookalike products, operation on the wrong body part or wrong patient, surgical site infections, wrong drug errors, and failure to prophylactically deliver antibiotics.



Continue reading "Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyers Query The Safety Of Outpatient and Ambulatory Patient Surgery Centers Versus Inpatient Hospital Surgery Centers" »

As an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney who is often surrounded by close friends, relatives, and family members who are physicians or members of the health care provider community, I often find myself on the opposite side of a discussion aimed towards lawyer hatred.

Unfortunately while many politicians and medical organizations speak against the legal profession using misleading statistics and boast about lowering insurance premiums, they fail to take into account that much medical malpractice is due to easily preventable and obvious medical errors that greatly impact the lives of patients and their families. Many times I find that a close friend who is a practicing physician or politician expressing disdain towards plaintiff medical malpractice lawyers will be the most aggressive plaintiff’s client against an offending medical facility or physician after medical malpractice occurs. Obviously they have now learned about the personal element of a tragic medical error.

Unfortunately in a tightened economy we see many more health care system failures due to cut backs and although many physicians or nurses never intend to harm a patient, often a breakdown in the system results in a catastrophic injury or death as a result of medical or hospital malpractice. Studies indicate over 33% of all hospitalized patients will experience some form of medical error. While politicians and the medical society speak of a widespread medical malpractice lawsuit crisis, what they fail to state is that the majority of the claims never lead to any plaintiff payments.

Our skilled Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers screen many potential medical malpractice claims every week and pursue a small percentage of the cases that we investigate and probably less than 1% of those will end up in litigation.

Most respected and experienced medical malpractice trial lawyers are not opportunistic and will only prosecute a medical malpractice case that has a reasonable chance of return due to the high costs and resulting likelihood of success. Juries are smarter than what politicians and doctors give them credit for.

Continue reading "When A Medical Error Is Committed Someone’s Mother, Father, Child, Or Relative is Affected Or Often Tragically Impacted - Medical Malpractice Lawyer Opines" »

Over the weekend, I had a chance to view an HBO documentary entitled “Hot Coffee”. The documentary examined the dangers of so called “tort reform” and its threat to our civil justice system. As an experienced Pennsylvania catastrophic injury
and wrongful death attorney who has personally grieved with clients and witnessed some of the most unimaginable tragedies involving my clients over the last three decades, I feel that it is important that individuals understand that tort reform would block one’s ability to access our civil courts and take away their valuable legal rights.

“Hot Coffee” examines the roles of corporations, government, and complicit media in promoting tort reform and was a selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The stories that are highlighted in the film are similar to many cases that any experienced catastrophic injury or wrongful death lawyer has handled over a long career. The title derives from the McDonald’s hot coffee case which shocked a number of people with a substantial verdict. The verdict was “spun” by many tort reformists and corporate entities into a tale of fright for a largely unknowing American populace. However what most people were not aware of was that McDonald’s acknowledged that there were 700 prior burns and the woman burned by the cup of coffee had quite devastating injuries and not merely a minor superficial burn as many were led to believe. “Hot Coffee” reveals how caps on medical malpractice awards affect those who sustain injuries and require medical care for the rest of their lives. The film also highlights a case regarding mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts and how that has prevented a Halliburton employee who was raped while in a bunker will all fellow male employees from obtaining justice after being raped.

Many are told that trial lawyers are greedy and in fact, I admit that yes I am greedy for justice and sick of the relentless attacks on our civil justice system by big business and the government who continue to emphasize profitability and shareholder return instead of safety. We must aggressively protect one of the greatest gifts of being an American, namely our civil justice system. It is imperative that many know the whole story so that the misconceptions that people have regarding tort reform can be properly addressed. I assure you that after watching the documentary “Hot Coffee” your mind will be changed and you will think differently.

Despite new systems to eliminate medical and surgical errors, many busy surgeons still continue to operate on the wrong body part which is considered a “never, never event “. Recently I went in for minor surgery due to tennis elbow and was sedated in a waiting and holding area prior to be wheeled into the operating room at which point the doctor came up to me and said what are we here for today to which I responded him “Why don’t you tell me?”

Recently I read of a case involving a 4-year old girl who went in for surgery on her right eye. The surgeon even wrote her initials above her right eye to prevent a surgical mixup but during the surgery to fix a wandering right eye, the doctor erroneously operated on a healthy left eye. Doctors claim that in some procedures it is very hard to distinguish the target site from the healthy site and that they sometimes confuse identical or similar patient names. As a practicing Pennsylvania medical and surgical malpractice lawyer for over three decades whose law firm employs a team of registered nurses and medical legal professionals, we find that many times health professionals go through the motions but are in such a rush or hurry with a backlog of patients waiting for surgery that they delegate responsibilities and mistakes are made. Of course, the surgeon is the captain of the ship but all of those present during surgery, including the nurse, surgical assistant, interns, or residents have the right and should halt a surgical procedure if they see a safety step being bypassed. Surgeons should always mark a surgical site in advance of the operation and do what is considered to be a one last make sure in which other members of the surgical team ascertain that the correct patient is present and the correct site is revealed for the surgical site and that all medical records including x-rays and diagnostic tests match. It is bad enough to have to subject yourself to surgery. However when you wake up and discover that a wrong and previously healthy body part was operated on, the wrongdoers should be held accountable for their actions.

The experienced Philadelphia medical and surgical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily have recently joined forces with the Beasley Firm and together our skilled medical malpractice attorneys have been noted for legendary work in the area of medical malpractice and surgical errors. Together our attorneys have been awarded over $2 billion dollars since 1958 on behalf of victims and their families. For a free, no obligation consultation contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

A Florida jury awarded the family of Kiarra Smith $19.2 million. Kiarra was prematurely born at 24 weeks gestation and weighed approximately 680 grams. Even though she was a premature baby, she was doing very well after delivery. Due to her young age, she did not have the suck and swallow reflex yet so she could not drink from a bottle. Kiarra had to receive her nutrition, Total Parental Nutrition (TPN), through an intravenous (IV) line until she was able to take formula from a bottle or breastfeed.

According to the Complaint, when Kiarra was about 15 days old, the pediatrician or neonatologist mistakenly wrote Kiarra’s weight in kilograms, instead of grams. That mistake in her weight caused Kiarra to receive 100 times the amount of vitamins and nutrients she was supposed to receive. As a result of the overdose, Kiarra developed brain damage due to metabolic acidosis and cardiac arrest. She is currently blind, wheelchair bound, and has Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Cerebral Palsy occurs when there is damage to a developing baby’s brain. In addition to causing problems with crawling or walking, it can also cause problems with breathing, speech, bowel and bladder function, eating, swallowing, learning, vision, and hearing. The brain injury or insult can occur either during prenatal period, labor, delivery, after birth, or within the first few years of life. Some of the early signs of CP can be a delay in crawling or walking, a lack of coordination, not reaching milestones, tight or stiff muscles, walking on toes, or a floppy, decreased muscle tone. Cerebral Palsy is usually diagnosed by the time the child is three years of age.

Recently the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily have joined forces with the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware personal injury lawyers of the Beasley Firm to form the Beasley Reiff Law Group. Our experienced medical and legal teams have had over $2 billion awarded for injured people like you or your baby. We have secured hundreds of settlements, verdicts, and awards in excess of $1 million dollars. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 800-421-9595.

When my wife was pregnant with our second child, she craved anything with salt. When she was 32 weeks into the pregnancy, her feet and hands started to swell, unlike our first pregnancy when she only craved cantaloupes. Was her swelling due to her salt intake or was it preeclampsia?
As a father of five, I know that each one of my wife’s pregnancies were different. Each pregnancy exhibited completely different signs, symptoms, feelings, or cravings. Are you expected to know what feelings are a sign of trouble with your pregnancy? No. It is the responsibility of your obstetrician, physician, nurse practitioner, or nurse midwife to determine if your symptoms or complaints are something to worry about and treat.

If your doctor, nurse practitioner, or midwife do not diagnose or treat your pre-eclampsia or eclampsia, you can go on to develop seizures, placental abruption, eye problems, bleeding, liver damage, stroke, or even death. In addition, it may also cause a lack of blood supply and oxygen to your baby or cerebral palsy.

For the past 53 years, the Beasley medical malpractice law firm has successfully won personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases with proven results. The Beasley wrongful death law firm is nationally known and well respected for the $2 billion it has been awarded for their clients. In addition to their experienced attorneys, they also have on staff two physicians and three registered nurses. Two of their nurses have over 30 years of bedside nursing experience caring for pregnant women who had preeclampsia, or eclampsia. Our collective knowledge assisted in obtaining two of the largest medical negligence verdicts in Pennsylvania history, $100 million and $55 million, as well as countless other multimillion dollar judgments and settlements.

Continue reading "Our Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers Know What Swelling Is Normal During Pregnancy And What Swelling May Be Preeclampsia" »

On Friday, February 18, 2011 a story was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer noting that Delaware State Police were seeking a medical resident on charges of having unlawful sexual contact with six female hospital patients under the guise of giving them physical examinations. Last week our office was contacted by a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted while a patient in a hospital by a treating physician.

As an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Philadelphia who has litigated and resolved some landmark cases against physicians accused of sexual abuse, the ramifications to physicians accused of sexually assaulting can be catastrophic to both parties. Many states, including Pennsylvania, have legislation allowing for a civil cause of action for sexual abuse against a violating healthcare professional. Sex between a patient and psychotherapist or treating physician is something that should never occur and is unequivocally branded as wrong, unacceptable, and deplorable.

The legendary medical malpractice lawyers of The Beasley Firm together with the medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily have joined forces and are extraordinarily concerned when doctors, psychiatrists, and others in a position of power misuse their power against a person that they were supposed to be treating. No physician patient privilege exists in patient abuse, rape, and sexual assault cases. When a patient, particularly a woman, goes to a doctor, they have a reasonable expectation to believe that their safety, privacy, and dignity will be protected. Sexual assault by a medical and psychiatric professionals is an issue of major concern, and many of the victims trend into a spiraling downward mental dungeon requiring treatment by a skilled and knowledgeable professional.

If you have been treated by a physician, psychiatrist, or other healthcare professional and suffered harm such as a physical or emotional injury due to the professional’s breach of reasonable care, it is important that you contact an experienced and skilled medical malpractice or psychiatric malpractice attorney well versed in these areas to represent your legal interests so that you can recover compensatory damages. Since 1958, the legendary Beasley medical malpractice law firm has secured some of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as the United States and has been awarded over $2 billion. For a free, no obligation consultation, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. As always, we offer a no recovery, zero fee guarantee.

On February 17, 2011, Medtronic SynchroMed infusion pumps were recalled due to a design defect that led to refilling errors where doctors unknowingly missed the device and injected powerful drugs straight into patients bodies. That design defect led to hundreds of reported injuries from the Medtronic SynchroMed pump, including deaths.

In January, Medtronic, Inc. sent an “Urgent Medical Device Correction” letter to doctors, hospitals, and health care providers warning them that there was a problem with the pumps that allow a “pocket fill,” of medication that could cause serious injury or death due to drug overdose. In that letter, Medtronic indicated that there had been at least 351 reports of pocket fill problems. Due to the machine's design defect, eight people have died and 270 people required emergency care due to serious or life threatening injuries. Additionally, there were approximately 73 other incidents in which there were non-life threatening injuries or Medtronic did not know the outcome after the error.

Medtronic estimates that approximately 1 in every 10,000 SynchroMed drug refill attempts by doctors or health care professionals cause a pocket fill. However, the actual rate of occurrence could be much higher because many medical mistakes are not reported.

The Pennsylvania defective product and Medtronic Pump lawyers of Reiff & Bily together with the legendary Beasley Philadelphia product liability, wrongful death, and medical malpractice law firm has successfully represented the rights of injured consumers against some of the world's largest corporations and together have recovered awards on behalf of injured clients in excess of $2 billion dollars. If you or a loved one has sustained an injury and resulting damages as a result of a Medtronic Pump, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

On February 17, 2011, The FDA issued a warning that the drug Terbutaline, also known as brethine, Bricanyl, Brethaire, or Terbulin, that are given to mothers in preterm labor, can cause heart problems or even death.

Dr. Scott Monroe, M.D., who is the Director of the FDA’s Division of Reproductive and Urologic Products released a statement indicating that “Women should be aware that serious and sometimes fatal side effects have been reported after prolonged use of terbutaline in pregnant women.”

Terbutaline is a medication that is FDA-approved to help relax the breathing airways in patients with asthma, bronchitis, COPD, or emphysema. Terbutaline is also used to help stop premature labor or an over active uterus sometimes referred to as uterus hyperstimulation. However, there is no solid evidence that the use of Terbutaline during pregnancy improves the baby’s outcome.

According to the literature, there has been 16 maternal deaths associated with the use of Terbutaline, In addition, there has also been 12 documented cases of pregnant women who developed a myocardial infarction or heart attack, pulmonary edema, fast heart rates or tachycardia and cardiac arrhythmias or irregular heart beats after being given Terbutaline. These are just the documented cases of heart problems after a mother was given Terbutaline for premature or preterm labor. There could be many more cases that we just do not know about yet.

The Pennsylvania pharmaceutical lawyers and Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily together with the legendary Beasley Philadelphia product liability and wrongful death law firm has successfully represented the rights of injured consumers against some of the world’s largest drug companies and together have recovered awards on behalf of injured clients in excess of $2 billion dollars.

If you or a loved one developed heart problems as a result of a the drug Terbutaline, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

In recent weeks, a victim who had traveled across the pond from London to Philadelphia for cosmetic enhancement tragically died in a hotel room after having a buttock injection of silicone. Notably, it was the victim’s second trip to have an illegal cosmetic procedure for which she paid the sum of $1,800. Unfortunately, the situation surrounding the aspiring hip hop dancer who lost her life is not so uncommon. While this cosmetic procedure did not involve a physician, I find it quite curious that many salons, spas, and other storefronts are offering cosmetic enhancements and procedures without proper training or safeguards. Many times elective cosmetic procedures and treatments are performed by untrained and minimally regulated individuals without any worries of negative repercussions.

I was in Florida last weekend and as I walked around various neighborhoods, I saw storefronts and salons advertising laser hair removal, dream lifts, non-surgical face lifts, botox and dermal filler injections, laser procedures, body sculpting procedures, teeth brightening procedures, as well as many other items to chose from on the elective menu.

The question one must ask is who trained the person doing the procedures and what happens if and when something goes wrong. Many of the procedures are being done by minimally trained individuals or physicians looking to bolster declining incomes. Many times the people administering the treatment take a one day course and become practitioners in the field of cosmetic enhancement bolstered by “snake oil” type of advertising. This industry is minimally regulated and there seems to be a growing underground industry that will surely lead to catastrophic injuries and deaths as businesses and untrained individuals push the limits as to what procedures they will offer to an unsuspecting public unaware of risk. Cosmetic procedures if improperly done can lead to paralysis, strokes, and death. The qualifications necessary to administer botox or other injective therapies is minimal. The question you must ask yourself is what happens when the procedure goes wrong as was indicated recently in a Philadelphia hotel room.

Continue reading "Just How Safe Is That Cosmetic Procedure And Is The Reward Of Enhanced Beauty Worth The Risk" »

A recent article in The Clinical Advisor highlighted the fact that medical errors cause up to 98,000 deaths and more than a million injuries a year in the United States. Factors leading to medical errors were noted to be overwork and sleep deprivation. As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney since 1979, I am well aware that all doctors are human and suffer from stress, burn out, and other human factors that often lead to self medication, drinking problems, and in fact, a recent study indicated that 1 in 16 U.S. surgeons even considered suicide which is 3 times higher than the national levels for the age group 55 to 64. A study indicated that there is a high degree of burn out and stress among America’s physicians, resulting in potentially serious consequences for both physicians and patients.

In the last few years, we have been involved in a number of medical malpractice cases involving a catastrophic injury or death where an investigation of the treating physicians revealed a drug addiction or alcohol problem and in one case a doctor who had signed off on a patient’s chart who wasn’t even present when the procedure was performed. A further investigation of the facts of that case disclosed that the surgeon was suffering from burn out and had an alcohol addiction problem.

A recent survey of physicians revealed that doctors who felt burned out or had made more medical errors than those who did not were more prone to suicidal thoughts. The study further went on to reveal that only 1/4 of troubled surgeons or physicians had sought professional help and that most said that they hadn’t done so out of fear that they would lose their medical license. In many cases we find that physicians chose to self-medicate and prescribe anti-depressants. As an attorney familiar with many of these situations, I have personally witnessed disastrous results leading to medical malpractice.

If you or a loved one has sustained a serious injury or wrongful death as a result of medical malpractice, the experienced medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily works together with the legendary Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers of The Beasley Firm who have been awarded over $2 billion dollars since 1958 with two of the largest medical malpractice settlements or verdicts in the United States. As always, we offer a free, no obligation consultation and offer a no recovery, zero fee guarantee. For more information, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

When parents give birth to a new baby, it is supposed to be one of the most joyous moments of life. Unfortunately, too many times infants suffer brain and birth injuries during the birth process that will significantly impact a child’s life forever. Recently our experienced birth injury and medical malpractice lawyers were consulted by the parents of a child who was born with a hypoxic brain injury which means in layman’s terms that she did not receive enough oxygen to her brain during the birthing process. Due to the resulting brain injury, the newborn child will most likely have an inability to become adequately educated and will therefore sustain impaired earning capacity and incur additional medical costs throughout her lifetime.

The Reiff & Bily law firm has now joined forces with the legendary Beasley medical malpractice law firm and have successfully represented mom’s and babies in unfortunate incidents such as the above mentioned that involved brain damage, cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, Erb’s palsy, fractures, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and we believe healthcare providers should be held accountable for their negligence. All of our child brain and birth injury and medical malpractice lawyers have been deemed as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and have received the highest ratings by Martindale Hubbell. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. Always remember our no recovery, zero fee guarantee.

As an experienced product liability lawyer for the last 30 years who has successfully taken on some of America’s major corporations, I am very much concerned personally and as a professional by the results of the investigations and consequences of many clients suffering problems as a result of defective DePuy hip implants. Generally a hip implant should last at least 15 years, but many of the DePuy ASR hip implant replacement devices have lasted less than 5 years with multiple complications including but not limited to pain and stiffness, metallic poisoning, metal shavings released in the blood stream and long and painful rehabilitation processes and often have medical complications not to mention monetary losses due to inability to function or work.

The experienced product liability and medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily together with the Beasley Law Firm have successfully represented the rights of injured consumers against major corporations and together have recovered awards on behalf of clients in excess of $2 billion dollars. Many of the clients that we are speaking to are angry, frustrated, and do not know what to do. Not surprisingly, many of the physicians who installed these devices are also concerned and not sure how to proceed. Our lawyers have gathered a group of leading physicians to review and investigate these cases to determine eligibility at no cost to our client for their ability to prosecute a claim against DePuy for resulting damages. It is important to contact a DePuy hip implant lawyer now as thousands have already begun the process by submitting information necessary for investigative review. Time may be of the essence.

If you or a loved one has sustained an injury and resulting damages as a result of a DePuy ASR hip implant, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

As an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer since 1979 who has witnessed almost everything that can go wrong in a hospital environment, I concur with many doctor and nurse friends of mine who simply state that hospitals are not the safest environments to be in. In fact, being hospitalized may actually contribute to a more serious ailment or death.

Recently a study published by the New York Times on November 24, 2010 found no real progress in hospital safety. The study concluded that efforts to make hospitals safer for patients are falling short. The study was conducted over a time period of 2000 to 2007 among 10 hospitals and found that harm to patients is common and that the number of incidents did not decrease over time. The most common problems noted were complications from procedures and drugs as well as hospital acquired infections. A landmark study in 1999 found that almost a 100,000 people die from medical mistakes in hospitals and more than 1 million sustain injuries while hospitalized in the United States. In a recent government study, 134,000 Medicare beneficiaries experienced “adverse events” during hospital stays. Recent statistics indicate that over 25% of people who enter a hospital will suffer an injury due to faulty medical care or mistakes. Although many of the problems may not be serious and are temporary and treatable, over 43% of them required extra time in the hospital for treatment or additional medical concern.

Recently I met with a woman whose young and perfectly healthy husband entered the hospital for a routine medical procedure and died a week later due to a botched simple procedure resulting in infection and equipment failure.

As a Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney, I do believe that those who commit malpractice or commit medical errors that were easily preventable should be held accountable for their actions and there should be consequences. Although we have heard much about tort reform, medical malpractice lawyers are the unsung heroes of society in that they police the system with full attention to the wrongdoers. With enough attention, sanctions can be imposed to ultimately lead to more stringent and careful medical care.

If you or a loved one has sustained catastrophic injury or wrongful death as a result of medical or hospital malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation. As always, if we decide to take your case you do not have to pay us a fee unless we win. Contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

Having back surgery is scary enough. In fact, it is the surgery that I most fear due to potential risks and complications. As a matter of fact as an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, I have seen some fairly complex, unfortunate, and preventable complications occur due to medical malpractice. Recently a colleague of mine went to a well known local physician for back surgery and woke up with post-operative visual loss (POVL). It was determined that the same was caused by the failure of anesthesiologists to monitor blood status and maintain blood pressure during a long spinal surgery.

Unfortunately, one can suffer changes in vision and sometimes total blindness after a major surgical procedure. In particular, multilevel surgery on the lumbar spine is known to be associated with visual loss. Although the incidents of POVL ranges from 0.05% to 4.5% in surgical cases, the common cause of POVL is a decrease in blood and oxygen to the optic nerve, known as ischemic optic neuropathy. A duty to maintain adequate blood circulation oxygenation during surgery falls on the anesthesiologist. Blindness from poor anesthesia administration or technique is one of the top patient safety concerns among anesthesiologists but is often not routinely discussed with patients before surgery. Typically during a multi-level spinal surgery, the patient is placed face down and in this position, the patient’s abdomen is pushed in putting pressure on the diaphragm and lungs, causing decreased ventilation.

If you or a loved one have awakened from surgery with a visual deficiency or blindness, it is important to consult an experienced Pennsylvania malpractice attorney in order to fully investigate and protect your rights. It is important to investigate and obtain expert opinions from anesthesiologists or ophthalmologists in order to establish breach of standard of care, as well as causation. The defense will always try to argue that POVL is a rare, unpredictable, and unpreventable problem. Retaining an experienced medical malpractice attorney who has conducted a proper investigation both legally and medically would be a prudent step to take.

If you have sustained harm as a result of medical negligence, the experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily have been representing clients who have been injured by preventable medical errors for over 31 years with a successful track record. If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As one travels through life, he or she recognizes that nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood. The greatness of a doctor is not cancelled by one act or a single error. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you don’t respond with encores and take responsibility for your actions or inactions. As experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers, we have investigated and litigated many cases where a great doctor or friend of a client has made a serious medical error and has committed medical malpractice resulting in catastrophic consequences and unfortunately sometimes fatalities.

When a doctor makes a serious mistake and commits medical malpractice, there are generally life-altering consequences for the patient. Many times there is a cover-up of the true circumstances which leads to a medical disaster, and an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer must investigate and work with a team of experts to unravel the mysteries which conceal the truth. Our experience has shown us that with each serious medical malpractice claim, there is generally tremendous physical economic and emotional hardships faced by the victims that can often times be overwhelming.

At the Philadelphia medical malpractice firm of Reiff & Bily, we understand how a doctor’s mistake can impact your life and the loss of your dreams and hopes. We believe that all wrongdoers should be held accountable for the damages they have caused.

If you or a loved one has sustained an injury as the result of medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Although Philadelphia juries have a national reputation for being prone to award verdicts in favor of plaintiffs, statistics just released indicate that the majority of medical malpractice cases in Philadelphia that come to trial have been concluded in favor of defendants. In 2009, 77% or 34 medical malpractice verdicts were in favor of the defendants while 23% or 10 verdicts were in favor of the plaintiffs. The amount awarded to plaintiffs was down drastically in 2009 to a total of $13 million. Filings of medical malpractice cases are down as records indicate that only 113 medical malpractice cases have been filed so far this year with three cases disposed of. In 2009, there were 507 medical malpractice cases filed and there were 568 cases filed in 2008. Many experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers are utilizing the services of alternative dispute resolution which provides an opportunity for the parties to get together and resolve their differences in a court room setting. These services skew the results of many cases and may cause verdict statistics to inaccurately reflect the success of plaintiffs with medical malpractice cases.

The experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys Jeffrey Reiff and Raymond Bily who sit as Judge Pro Temp for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas are very well aware that a good case is still a good case and that very few good cases are tried to verdict. There is a good likelihood that an alternative dispute resolution will be able to amicably resolve these matters saving all of the parties expense and risk. It should be noted that the drop off in medical malpractice filings in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia began when the state supreme court instituted measures requiring medical malpractice cases be filed in the counties where the alleged malpractice cause of action arose and that cases be filed with a Certificate of Merit from a physician stating there is a reasonable probability that a medical malpractice defendant deviated from the accepted standard of care.

If you or a loved one is a victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys for a free no obligation consultation.

When patients go to doctors they normally entrust the doctor with quality medical care. On Monday, February 2, 2010, a Delaware Grand Jury returned an indictment against a prominent pediatrician accused of serial molestation in what could be one of the worst child sex abuse cases in the nation’s history. The 160 page indictment returned by a Sussex County Grand Jury charged Dr. Earl Bradley of Lewes, Delaware of 471 counts of sexual crimes against 103 children. As Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden was quoted as saying, “These were crimes committed against the most vulnerable among us - those without voices”. The charges against Dr. Bradley include rape, sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful sexual contact, continuous sexual abuse of a child, assault, and reckless endangerment.

As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer who has handled some of the most egregious and shocking cases of sexual assaults involving a physician, I am well acquainted with the physical and emotional consequences that can be suffered by the victims and their families as the result of such sexual abuse. The number of sexual assaults by physicians seems to be growing rapidly according to recent studies. Frequently this problem is noted in the field of psychiatry and an anonymous national survey indicated that roughly 10% of psychiatrists responded to having had sex with at least one patient.

Jury verdicts against physicians accused of sexual abuse are normally quite high. However, most often confidential settlements are entered into and many times the results of these claims are not accurately reported or available to the public. When a patient goes to a physician, they typically expect to be provided with a sense of care for their well being, trust, and security. Any physician who violates that trust and uses their position of authority to take advantage of a vulnerable patient should be prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law both civilly and criminally.

At the experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice law firm of Reiff & Bily, we have exhaustively handled similar cases and have carefully reviewed patient’s records to identify departures from the accepted professional protocols and have evaluated manipulative behavior utilized by healthcare professionals who take advantage of a patient. We not only demand financial damages, but we are prepared to deal with criminal authorities, licensing bureau, and work with prosecutors to make sure that those who commit such crimes are successfully prosecuted and isolated from the trusting public. When a trauma such as sexual abuse occurs, patients often retreat within themselves and such feelings of isolation and humiliation often prevent them from speaking out. Psychiatric counseling is often mandated. Sex abuse is never acceptable in life yet alone in any type of professional treatment. Almost always, sexual abuse results in serious psychological damage to the victim and many times the abuse can be so extreme that it results in suicide or commitment to a mental hospital. Many of these harms have been deemed to be permanent.

If you or a loved one has been sexually abused by a physician or other professional, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595.

Recently I reviewed a story attesting to horrific permanent vision problems after a Lasik procedure and it highlighted that many side effects continue to plague patients, prompting an FDA investigation. Unfortunately, I have my own sad tale to tell. Approximately 7 or 8 years ago, I went to a well known Lasik center in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and had decided to have Lasik surgery. I was extraordinarily nearsighted. I had problems after the first surgery so I was told to have a second revision Lasik surgery. After the second Lasik surgery, I could not see at all and literally felt I was going blind to the point where I sought immediate attention from a renowned academic ophthalmology expert and got on a plane and flew to a well known ophthalmologist and Professor of Corneal Medicine expert at Massachusetts Ear and Eye in Boston, MA.

The doctor agreed to see me and abruptly canceled his scheduled vacation plans and told me that I needed emergency surgery. I was in danger of losing my eyesight. He further informed me that I was never a proper candidate for Lasik surgery. I required two emergency surgeries and began a weekly commute back and forth from Philadelphia to Boston and sought a corneal retinal specialist to monitor my care in Philadelphia at Wills Eye Hospital. I became very well acquainted with the risks of Lasik surgery and also came to learn that there are many patients receiving the surgery that are not proper candidates for the procedure to begin with. In fact, many of the doctors are putting profits over patient safety.

Continue reading "A Lasik Surgery Nightmare - Personal Injury Lawyer Victim Speaks Out" »

According to news reports, a Frankford man died while waiting to see a doctor in a Philadelphia hospital emergency room. The experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily send their hearts and prayers to the family of Joaquin Rivera, age 63, who went into distress according to records at 10:56 p.m. He was struggling to breathe, brought his hand to his chest, and then fell still in his seat only to have his watch stolen 39 minutes later by one of the other emergency room occupants. Approximately 50 minutes after Mr. Rivera stopped moving, hospital personnel noticed that he appeared to be dead a witness in the waiting room told the police. According to news reports, Mr. Rivera came to the hospital emergency room complaining of symptoms and pains in his arm and when he appeared to be dying had his hands over his chest which would indicate that he was having chest pains. The family of Mr. Rivera would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer as it appears that hospital personnel did not act in accordance with emergency standards of procedure and care for someone who comes into the hospital with such symptomology. This case should be fully investigated by the State Department of Health, the hospital, police department and a medical malpractice lawyer who is well versed in this area of the law. According to news sources, a similar event happened in November 2007 when a woman also complaining of chest pains and had received an abnormal EKG also died in the emergency room’s waiting area.

From my own personal standpoint, I just visited a well known local hospital emergency room with my father who was gravely ill and was astounded by how crowded and understaffed the same was. Had I not been forceful or insistent for rapid and proper care on behalf of my parent, a tragic outcome most likely would have occurred.

Hospital emergency room malpractice and errors are all too frequent occurrences. Over 250,000 people die each year from emergency room errors in the U.S. This tragic and unfortunate situation illustrates that malpractice in an emergency room often leads to tragic and fatal results. Delays in treatment or care can result in serious and permanent injuries or fatalities. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or death due to hospital emergency room negligence, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.

The other day while watching The Today Show early in the morning, I heard a prominent Republican stalwart calling for legislation reform in order to terminate the healthcare crisis. Lately, as the Democrats and Republicans engage in healthcare debate, town hall meetings are filled with politicians and lobbyists adhering to an emotional script of talking points that are totally unrelated to the reality of the situation.

In a column in the Orlando Sentinel on September 6th, Scott Maxwell lavished strong praise on the United States legal system specifically on its provisions in which “a single man wronged by powerful interests could seek justice from a panel of his peers” or “a woman who lost her child and is worried that another woman might lose hers,” can bypass the bureaucrats and turn directly to their fellow Americans for help. Yet now after two hundred years, we have people trying to undo the system and block the roadways to the court. All in the name of health reform. A careful review of the facts indicates that reform would do little to actually help the common man and that these same individuals standing on their soapboxes and screaming in town halls would be limiting their own rights.

Curiously enough this experienced medical malpractice and catastrophic injury lawyer has seen the hardest core court reform advocates turn to the courts for redress when in fact a serious or catastrophic injury has occurred to them or members of their families.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer who cut his teeth as a criminal lawyer, I have been watching the media circus surrounding Michael Jackson’s death with a certain amount of curiosity. Last week on CNN, the breaking news was that Michael Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide when in fact the unsealed court documents indicated that Michael Jackson had lethal levels of the drug Propofol in his system. It seems that the investigation is being centered on a single doctor who prescribed and administered the medicine. We haven’t heard much about the pharmacist who prescribed the drugs which are indicated for use in an operating room under controlled conditions and not in a non-surgical scenario only to be administered in special and controlled circumstances.

Certainly, it would seem to this experienced malpractice lawyer that if the doctor knew or should have known that he was wrongly prescribing and administering Propofol then in fact he would be a likely target for criminal as well as civil prosecution.

Continue reading "Civil and Criminal Ramifications of Michael Jackson’s Death: Malpractice, Homicide or Both?" »

Medical malpractice verdicts and settlements are “a drop in the bucket” in the scheme of healthcare cost containment. In the last few weeks, the bankruptcy of Chrysler and GM compromised the safety of the American public by providing legal loopholes in the bankruptcy plan that will shield Chrysler and GM from being held accountable for defective products that are ticking time bombs for families.

On June 15th, President Obama again vowed to remove the protection of the courts by telling an American Medical Association meeting in Chicago that his efforts to cut healthcare costs and increase coverage could not succeed without freeing doctors from the fear of lawsuits. The President stated that making U.S. healthcare more efficient will be harder if “doctors feel like they are constantly looking over their shoulder for fear of lawsuits.” While the medical community and the insurance community have consistently stated that malpractice awards and settlements are driving costs through the ceiling and making the system inefficient, Health Point, the largest malpractice insurer, has indicated that medical malpractice is “not a major driver of spending trends in recent years.” Studies indicate that medical malpractice reform would not have a huge impact on healthcare costs.

Continue reading "United States Spends $2.3 Trillion Dollars Annually On Healthcare" »

The experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily salute Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s signing House Bill 84 which prohibits healthcare providers from seeking reimbursement for a serious preventable medical error often called “never events.” According to sources, approximately 140 patients who experienced an adverse medical event that might be both serious and preventable die each year in Pennsylvania hospitals. The total charge of the hospital stays in which these deaths occur amounts to approximately $21.8 million dollars and approximately 3,500 patients a year survive an adverse event for which charges are an additional $316,000,000 a year.

In January 2008 The Department of Public Welfare implemented a policy to prohibit hospitals to bill Medicaid for 27 “never events” such as operating on the wrong patient, medication errors that result in death or disability, and bad blood transfusions.

Continue reading "Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Applauds Pennsylvania Governor’s Signing Healthcare Bill Prohibiting Healthcare Providers Seeking Reimbursement For A Serious Preventable Medical Error" »

The Pennsylvania Superior Court in a 6 to 3 majority decision stated that there is no reason to differentiate between general practitioners and a psychiatrist when rendering psychological care. The court ruled that both doctors maintain the same degree of trust. The doctor in the case before the Court prescribed psychiatric medicine, namely anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, and engaged in a sexual relationship with his patient while treating that patient for anxiety, depression or other psychological issues. The treating physician should not exhibit behavior leading to an extra-marital affair. The opinion stated “because of a patient’s often inferior knowledge about medicine and related conditions, a health care professional often has a position of superiority over his client.” As such, it is very common that the patient is in a vulnerable position and as a result, puts a high degree of trust and confidence in his/her doctor. In a prominent case that gained national attention many years ago, the experienced medical malpractice lawyers of the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily successfully recovered in excess of $1.4 million dollars for a client who was sexually assaulted by her treating psychiatrist.

If you believe that your doctor acted improperly by engaging in illicit sexual behavior or an extramarital affair while you were being treated for a psychological problem, anxiety, depression, or marital discord, you would be well advised to seek the advice of an experienced medical malpractice attorney. For a free no obligation consultation, please contact one of our experienced medical malpractice attorneys at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

According to sources and news reports, the Philadelphia V.A. Medical Center gave incorrect radiation doses to 92 veterans treating for prostate cancer during a six year period at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia. The incorrect cancer treatment cases involve brachytherapy which involves implantation of radioactive seeds used to kill cancer cells. Most of the veterans received significantly less of the prescribed dose while others received excessive radiation to nearby tissues and organs causing catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. The New York Times characterized the Center as “a rogue cancer unit “.

The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that treatment errors occurred in 92 out of 114 cases. The Philadelphia V.A. Medical Center has taken all steps to prevent the terrible incidents of medical malpractice from occurring again.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to the unfortunate victims of medical malpractice and negligence that occurred at the Philadelphia V.A. Medical Center. The victims and their families would be well informed to seek the services of an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to investigate and evaluate their claims.

Reiff & Bily are experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers who offer a no-obligation, free consultation concerning victims rights and potential remedies. Please feel free to call us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

On June 16, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration told the manufacturers of one of the country’s most popular cold medications, Zicam, to stop selling its nasal spray and swabs. In the last 10 years, approximately 130 consumers have filed complaints stating that they permanently lost their sense of smell after using Zicam.

The manufacturers of Zicam, Matrixx Initiatives, has suspended shipments of the products and they claim that the warning is not supported by scientific evidence and is asking the FDA for review. According to the New York Times, the company paid $12 million dollars to settle 340 lawsuits from Zicam users who claim that their product destroyed their sense of smell in 2006 and hundreds more lawsuits have been filed.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the company will be required to receive FDA approval if it wants to market the products in the future. The L.A. Times also reported that the company may have received 800 reports “of anosmia... associated with the use of the products from doctors and consumers, but has failed to report such reports to the FDA.

If you or a loved one has been using Zicam and have experienced any medical problems or have lost your sense of smell, you would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced medical malpractice or products liability lawyer to evaluate your condition and explore your legal options. Reiff & Bily are experienced product liability lawyers who are committed to promoting consumer safety. For a free no obligation consultation, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Americans For Insurance Reform (AIR) has released 14 new fact sheets concerning medical malpractice and tort issues that may be part of discussions by Congress and the Administration in developing national health care proposals. According to a press release filed, the “fact sheets” together support the view that the legal rights of injured patients should be preserved and that any weakening of those rights will unfairly burden medical malpractice victims. Joanne Doroshow, AIR co-founder and Executive Director of The Center for Justice & Democracy stated “provision of health care should never be compromised or accomplished by taking away the right to trial by jury for someone legitimately injured, or by reducing the accountability of any hospital or provider that endangers patients. The fact sheets are titled as follows:

1. The Insurance Industry’s Investment Practices - Not the Legal System - Cause High
Malpractice Insurance Costs;
2. Costs of the Current Medical Malpractice System Are Much Lower than People Think;
3. The Defensive Medicine Myth;
4. Health Courts Are Unconstitutional;
5. Health Courts and Other Alternative Systems Are Intolerably Fair to Injured Patients;
6. The Significant Costs of Alternative Systems;
7. The Problem of Medical Malpractice and the Amount of Malpractice Itself;
8. Far from Being “Broken”, The Current Medical Malpractice System Works Well.
9. Litigation Improves Patient Safety and Establishes Responsibility for Errors.
10. Fear of Litigation Is Not Why Doctors Fail to Report Errors or Communicate with
Their Patients.
11. Juries Versus Cost Savings Is an Unacceptable Trade Off;
12. Eliminating Juries Means Fewer Cases Will Settle;
13. Lowering Insurance Costs for Doctors Requires Insurance Industry Reform;
14. Critical patient safety resolution will remove or sanction the small number of
bad doctors committing malpractice.

Continue reading "Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyers At Reiff & Bily Note A New Study Reveals That Decrease And Elimination Of Medical Malpractice Claims Will Result In Negligible Healthcare Saving While Increasing Errors And Costs" »

According to a report released by the administrative office of Pennsylvania court system, there was a 54% decrease in filing medical malpractice claims in Philadelphia in 2008. The abrupt decline in medical malpractice cases throughout Pennsylvania first occurred in 2003 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted procedural changes to reduce malpractice cases. Now all medical malpractice cases must be filed in the county where medical treatment occurred and must be certified by a medical expert. An attorney must obtain a certificate of merit from a medical professional to establish that the case fell below medical standards before bringing a lawsuit to court.

The experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily still maintain that egregious medical malpractice cases can still be tried or settled with much success. An experienced medical malpractice attorney should determine at the outset whether or not liability is clear and damages are serious enough to warrant successful prosecution. Surprisingly, although the medical community has argued about excessive insurance rates, and despite a decline in the number of cases filed, Pennsylvania still remains one of the most costly states in the country to secure medical malpractice insurance for a physician. Doctors have long protested that high premiums for medical malpractice insurance will reduce the amount of business and limit plaintiff’s access to care. This lawyer is of the opinion that much of the medical malpractice “crisis” was based on selective misinformation and scare tactics utilized by the insurance industry who still continue to profit when physicians pay significant premiums unrelated to the realities of the situation.

Continue reading "The Amount of Medical Malpractice Claims Filed In Pennsylvania And Philadelphia Drops Noticeably - Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Weighs In" »

The Philadelphia personal injury and insurance claim lawyers at Reiff & Bily call your attention to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Ace American Insurance Company v. Underwriters at Lloyds and Companies which upheld the importance of enforcing the plain and clear meaning of insurance contract language.

In the case at hand, Ace purchased a claims made and reported policy with Lloyds and the terms specifically stated that Ace must file a report or it must report a claim as soon as practicable and in no event no later than 90 days after the expiration date of the policy. The insurance company denied payment claiming that Ace failed to timely comply with the errors and omissions policy’s specific notice of claim requirements. Ace argued that the insurance company could not be denied a claim based upon late notice unless it could show harm or prejudice.

Claims made insurance policies provide an insurer a clear and certain cutoff date for coverage. In return, the insured typically pays a lower premium. Based on actual data, a claims made policy can be as much as 32% cheaper than an occurrence policy premium according to public records.

Continue reading "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Renders Important Decision Upholding Denial Of Coverage For Late Notice" »

On Monday, May 3, 2009 the Atlanta Journal Constitution featured an article noting that medical mistakes create unhappy realities. In the article, the following mistakes were highlighted: A surgical team at Northside Hospital was supposed to remove one of the patient’s breasts; however, performed a double mastectomy because of a mistake. At an Atlanta medical center, a surgeon drilled on the wrong side of a patient’s head before discovering the error. It also noted that at several Georgia Hospital’s doctors circumcised the wrong baby and doctors mistakenly operated on the wrong hand, knee, hip, leg and other body parts.

At the Philadelphia medical malpractice law firm of Reiff & Bily, we have noted that despite protocols and initiatives by a number of medical groups, we receive many calls to investigate and prosecute claims for wrong site surgeries, surgical sponges left inside individuals, as well as removal of body parts that were not intended to be removed. We have seen many cases where the doctor simply admits to the patient that he made an error but in many cases we see medical “cover-ups”. How often these incidences occur in hospitals in Pennsylvania and hospitals throughout the country is a well kept secret.

Last year there were 76 reports of wrong site incidences filed with statewide watchdogs in Pennsylvania. To the credit of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and as a result of the efforts of trial lawyers, an organization was formed focusing, collecting, analyzing and informing the public about patient safety issues. They suggested that patients take an active role to prevent medical errors and some tips to protect yourself are as follows:

1. Talk with doctors - Make sure you, your doctor and surgeon agree on what is to be done.

2. Read paperwork - When signing consent forms and working with schedulers make sure that they all have the correct information about the surgery, including which side is to be operated on.

Continue reading "Doctors Make Mistakes Increasingly Resulting In Unhappy Reality For Patients" »

It is not uncommon for the experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily to receive inquiries from victims of medical and hospital errors ranging from infection to leaving surgical instruments inside a patient which were easily preventable medical errors if proper checks and balances were followed. Worse yet, hospitals and doctors continue to bill and charge patients for the cost of treating these medical mistakes.

Presently, a bill has cleared the New Jersey State Senate and has been forwarded to the assembly which would prevent hospitals from charging anyone for serious medical errors. This legislation would also require states to make public individual hospital errors while currently hospitals are only required to report preventable life-threatening mistakes and the state only releases total numbers and not for individual hospitals. Under the current bill, the state would have to publish how often certain errors occur at each hospital. While the field of medicine is never without mistakes, it is important to increase transparency and require hospitals and physicians to assume the costs of preventable errors. According to statistics, 98,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical mistakes, which is almost 2,000 people per week.

Continue reading "Who Pays For Preventable Medical Errors" »

Nursing home abuse and elder abuse is simply inexcusable. The Philadelphia nursing home abuse law firm of Reiff & Bily recognizes that nursing home and assisted living residents are some of the most vulnerable and defenseless victims of personal injuries.

On May 4, 2009 Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak announced the introduction of the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act which would prevent those with criminal histories from working in long-term care settings by creating a comprehensive nationwide system of background checks. The legislation would expand a highly successful three year pilot program which would prevent more than 7,000 applicants with a history of substantiated abuse or a violent criminal record from working with and preying upon elders and individuals with disabilities in long term care settings. The Bill calls for states to establish coordinated systems that include checks against abuse and neglect registries and a State Police check which facilities can utilize on a voluntary basis. The measure also adds a Federal component to the background process by screening applicants against the FBI’s nation database of criminal history records. Apparently, thousands of individuals with a history of substantiated abuse or criminal record are hired every year to work closely with exposed and defenseless seniors within our nation’s nursing homes and other long term care facilities.

Statistics indicate that currently over 91% of all nursing homes and assisted living facilities are improperly staffed and the situation continues to worsen with the devastation of the economy. Most abuse cases are not reported and statistics reveal that the source of abuse often comes from improperly screened care givers. We anticipate and trust that Congressman Sestak’s proposed legislation will go to great lengths to reduce this alarming statistic and increased frequency of nursing home neglect.

At the Philadelphia nursing home abuse law firm of Reiff & Bily, we have successfully handled thousands of cases since 1979 recovering in excess of $150,000,000 for our clients. We believe that nursing homes and assisted living facilities must be held accountable for the poor treatment of our loved ones in their golden years. We have considerable personal experience with these matters and will work with you and our experienced team of experts and investigators to represent your rights. Call today for a free consultation with a nursing home or elder abuse and neglect lawyer to evaluate your nursing home negligence case at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As many of you may or may not be aware, on May 1, 2009 the Food and Drug Administration advised people to immediately stop using the dietary supplement Hydroxycut which is linked to serious liver injuries and death. In its warning, the FDA identified 23 reports of Hydroxycut causing liver damage. The maker of Hydroxycut has also agreed to recall all Hydroxycut products. FDA recall notice.

Hydroxycut products are manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences Inc. of Ontario, Canada and distributed in the U.S. by Iovate Health Sciences USA near Buffalo, NY and is used by people trying to lose weight, as well as by bodybuilders looking to tone muscles. Because Hydroxycut is a dietary supplement it can be purchased in most grocery stores, health food stores and pharmacies. Hydroxycut products are heavily used as reports indicate that there were 9 million units sold in the United States in the last year.

We are investigating all Hydroxycut claims and reviewing cases where there has been liver failure, liver transplant or death from liver failure. Please feel free to contact the Reiff & Bily with any questions or concerns at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

The Philadelphia catastrophic personal injury law firm of Reiff & Bily is pleased to announce that Andrew A. Solomon has recently joined our firm. Mr. Solomon has extensive experience representing plaintiffs in complex medical/professional negligence, products liability, civil rights and complex personal injury matters throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1976. His practice has associated him with Marshall Bernstein, Esquire, Lawrence Evans Grant, Esquire, Thomas B. Rutter, Esquire, Andrew E. DiPiero, Esquire, John Dodig, Past President of The Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Solomon has tried numerous complex personal injury cases to significant verdict.

A recent study by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions has indicated that diagnostic misadventures represent a much larger source of preventable health problems and deaths than many of the more popular targets. If fact, David Newman-Toker, M.D., Ph.D. and Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D. reported that misdiagnosis accounts for an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 deaths per year and that legal claims for diagnostic errors defined as diagnoses that are missed, wrong or delayed are nearly twice as common as claims for medication errors. (news article)

Placing the focus on reducing diagnostic errors will emphasize the reduction of larger "system" failures that affect medical practices overall. What this means is that increased focus will move away from the model that chastises the malpractice for individual physicians to one that focuses on improving the medical system as a whole which should in the long run improve diagnostic accuracy, as well as the cost effectiveness of care.

The Philadelphia medical malpractice law firm of Reiff & Bily believe that a systematic approach and solutions adopted by hospitals and doctors requiring physicians to follow a procedural check list that emphasizes proper diagnosis will result in a decrease of catastrophic injuries and deaths.

Continue reading "Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Notes That The New Focus Of Patient Safety Experts Is On Diagnostic Errors" »

Often times, surgical operations are bloody procedures. They involve the use of hundreds of instruments and dozens of surgical sponges which are gauze-like pads used for sopping up blood. Each time the doctor asks for a surgical sponge, a nurse is to count them aloud before handing them over, which is a standard way of keeping track of equipment to make sure no sponge is left behind.

Prior to closing the patient, at least one other count or exchange takes place between the surgical nurse and the surgeon. The Chief Surgeon is the "captain of the ship" and has a duty to make sure no instrument or sponge is left inside the patient. Otherwise an x-ray will have to be taken to detect one or more of the reflective strips on each sponge or the surgeon will have to go inside an open cavity, pushing organs around to hunt for lost instruments.

In one of the cases handled by the expert Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily, an unwanted souvenir of a surgical procedure was left inside a patient's body causing catastrophic injuries. For more than a year, our client walked around unaware of a surgical sponge that she carried inside of her body while she spiked fevers and had numerous infections and returned to her doctor complaining of the same. The client had to be hospitalized repeatedly until the client almost died from her uncertain cause of infection and injury.

Continue reading "Noted Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Case Receives National Attention and Sparks Controversy: No Sponge Left Behind" »

Many of you, including myself, have had the occasion to visit the hospital during the holiday season. What you normally observe is that many doctors and staff are on vacation and temporaries are brought in who may or may not be familiar with the normal routine of the hospital. Martine Ehrenclou M.A. has written a book entitled Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved Ones Out Of the Hospital Alive that I highly recommend. This very worthwhile book highlights issues that the Philadelphia medical malpractice law firm of Reiff & Bily have known, researched, and litigated for all too long a time.

When your loved one is in the hospital, your natural instinct may be to surrender control to the hospital staff or doctors because you believe that they know what they are doing. For the most part they do; however, we must recognize that no matter how skilled and committed these individuals are to your or your loved one’s case, they are overloaded and sometimes short staffed as is the situation over the holiday period.

Continue reading "You May Not Be As Safe As You Think If You Go To A Hospital During The Holiday Season" »

The most expensive healthcare system in the world per capita is also the most dysfunctional. The United States maintains the most expensive health system in the world per capita. According to recent studies the US lags behind many other countries on many health statistics. Surprisingly, infant mortality in the United States is more than twice as high in Japan, Norway and Sweden and worse than in Poland and Hungary. According to the Center for Disease Control, 1.7 million Americans will acquire an infection while in the hospital and nearly 100,000 of these individuals will die from the infection. Interestingly enough, between 50,000 and 100,000 patients will die each year from preventable medical errors. Health consumers are no different than retail consumers and they suffer from the tragic effects of preventable medical errors. In fact, when a health provider or hospital makes a mistake, many end up paying for it for the rest of their life. In what other business does one charge you or seek money from you for a condition acquired by their own negligence? Typically, when one acquires a disease while in the hospital, the hospital will charge for the hospital acquired conditions. These conditions may include articles left in the body after surgery, blood infections, urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, etc. At the Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Law Firm of Reiff & Bily, we believe that hospitals and doctors should be held accountable for preventable medical errors or the mistakes they make, just like anybody else.

Continue reading "The Most Expensive Healthcare System in the World is also the Most Dysfunctional" »

As a Pennsylvania insurance claims attorney, with a 30 year history of representing catastrophically injured plaintiffs and disputes against insurance carriers solely on a contingent fee basis (we don’t get paid until we win), obviously the financial concerns of the insurance companies and their ability to pay claims is on the front burner in our law firm. In the past few weeks, AIG has been front and center in the headlines. This was followed by an incident with Conseco which was written about in my blog of October 13, 2008.

On October 1, 2008, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid emerged from a luncheon on Capitol Hill and after speaking briefly to reporters about the financial crisis, mentioned that another insurance company was in danger of following AIG into failure. He mentioned “one of the individuals in the caucus today talked about a major insurance company, with a name that everyone knows, that’s on the verge of going bankrupt.” The Senator stopped short of identifying the insurance company. However, the stock market acting in a nervous fashion revealed that shares of Prudential, Hartford Financial Services and MetLife decreased in value on the following days and have been struggling to recover. The rumor mill continues to circulate rumors and facts, non-facts and supposed facts about various individual companies, solvency of insurance companies, and general doom and gloom predictions. Shares of stock in insurance companies fluctuated wildly on the New York Stock Exchange. Prudential Financial warned last week that it would miss third quarter forecasts due to a series of hefty charges on negative results of investments. MetLife recently raised an additional $2 billion dollars in capital by selling 75 million shares at a discount, while Hartford Insurance Company received a $2.5 billion capital injection from German financial services company, Allianz. To make matters worse, many insureds can no longer afford rising rates.

Continue reading "SPECULATING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF INSURANCE COMPANIES OTHER THAN AIG IN PENNSYLVANIA AND HOW IT AFFECTS CLAIMANTS" »

The dictionary defines "hope" as the belief in a positive outcome relating to the events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair; wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance, believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence leading to the contrary.

The term "false hope" refers to hope highly based on fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.

At the law firm of Reiff & Bily, our lawyers understand and respect the value of hope. It is our job to communicate the plaintiffs dreams and hopes to the insurance companies and ultimately to the juries who hear our cases. It is our job to prove that what the plaintiff is capable of doing or was capable of doing prior to an incident and identify the compensation necessary for the plaintiff to recognize the fulfillment of his dreams and goals. The lawyers of Reiff & Bily are not afraid to ask the insurance companies or juries to fully compensate plaintiffs for the loss of their dreams and hopes.

Hope was personified in Greek mythology as "Elpis". When Pandora opened Pandora's box, she let out all of the evils except one known as hope.

In law, damages refer to the money awarded to a claimant, also known as a plaintiff, following a successful claim in a civil action. Damages in personal injury or tort affairs are generally awarded to place the plaintiff in a position that he or she would not have been in had the tort or action not have taken place which put the person in the situation. Compensatory damages compensates the plaintiff for pain and suffering and loss of amenities and losses of hope. Examples of this include physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, disfigurement, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity, loss of life's pleasures, frustration, humiliation, degradation, and a non-inclusive list of other factors. This is not easily quantifiable and depends on the individual circumstances. We refer to it as, what is the value of hope? What is the value of the loss of a plaintiff’s loss of dreams and hopes that he had prior to the incident? We seek to recover full compensatory damages generally to place the plaintiff in a position in which he would have been had the offense or tort not taken place.

Continue reading "My Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney Reinforced the Value of Hope" »

The high cost of litigation is ever increasing and these hired guns are out of control. Are they worth the money?

The costs associated with personal injury lawsuits are quite significant and rising every day. Many state that the overhead costs of malpractice and product liability lawyer litigation are exorbitant. Many Americans hear that lawsuits are rampant and frivolous, clogging the courts and depriving taxpayers of their funds. On the other hand, honest plaintiff attorneys maintain that they are the policemen of society and that frivolous lawsuits are an exception. Obviously, an experienced personal injury or product liability lawyer would have to be crazy to take a meritless claim which would result in a huge expenditure if the same attorney is working on a contingent fee basis.

The purpose of the tort system is to fairly compensate victims and make them whole by virtue of compensatory damages. Obviously, there are some lawyers who will take just about any case that walks into the door and hope that writing a few threatening letters or taking minimal action will scare their opponents into a quick and “easy A” settlement These are the types of lawyers the educated consumer should avoid. It is important, however, when seeking a lawyer to represent your interests, to remember that you get one bite at the apple and your lawyer should be qualified, insured, in good standing with the bar association, interested in your claim, screened for suitability and experience handling legal matters such as yours. The lawyers at the Pennsylvania personal injury firm of Reiff & Bily have 30 years experience handling thousands of carefully screened car accident, medical malpractice and defective products cases. They will carefully screen your case, investigate comprehensively and decide if it is worthwhile to pursue without wasting your time or their resources - as a result of such careful screening. They only accept approximately 30-40 percent of the clients that contact them. These distinguished Pennsylvania car accident attorneys have recovered in excess of 150 million dollars for their clients solely on a contingent basis.

Continue reading "Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney Weighs in on Expert Witnesses" »

Cosmetic surgery often presents risks that the normal consumer or patient is unaware of. In a world where beauty is overly emphasized, cosmetic surgery is far too often the answer many unaware consumers seek to resolve a problem that might not exist in the first place. Cosmetic surgery is normally marketed as a safe procedure, but if done incorrectly the consequences can be dire. All surgeries have hidden risks. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily have been researching and handling botched cosmetic surgery claims since 1979.

Cosmetic surgery has become more common over recent years as a quick panacea for self-improvement. Statistics show that there were nearly 11.7 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2007, as reported by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Surgical procedures accounted for nearly 18% of the total procedures with non-surgical procedures making up 82% of the total. Surgical procedures include liposuction, breast augmentation or reduction, eyelid surgery, and abdominoplasty (tummy-tuck). Non-surgical procedures include BOTOX, hyaluronic acid, and laser hair removal. For more surgical statistics please see.

Continue reading "Cosmetic Surgery – Is The Price Of Vanity and Beauty Worth The Risk Of Serious Injury Or Death?" »

New technology can be a wonderful thing. Scientific and technological breakthroughs have had a major impact on the medical field and how surgeries are performed. LASIK surgery is a corrective surgery for people who want to regain better sight without the use of glasses or contacts. LASIK surgery can be very helpful, but if done improperly it can cause permanent damage and even blindness. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily have been researching and handling numerous medical malpractice cases since 1979.

LASIK or “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis” surgery involves using a laser to cut a small flap in the eye's cornea to allow for reshaping of the corneal tissue with another laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. LASIK is not a new surgery, but it has not been around long enough for it to be a problem-free surgery. Long-term effects are still unknown and there are still risks to having the surgery done.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have received 140 reports of LASIK-related problems between 1998 and 2006 as reported by NEWSInferno. Although the FDA is reviewing complaints from LASIK patients, many have suffered from a variety of issues including blurred vision and dry eyes.

Continue reading "LASIK Surgery – Your Sight Could Be Permanently Damaged" »

Medical doctors are supposed to be the expert in their field of medicine. It is always possible that those experts are not nearly as qualified as they should be. Many of these professionals often turn out to be better marketers than practitioners. Medical misdiagnosis, especially missed cancer diagnosis, will likely lead to a missed cure and often results in untimely death. The key to proper treatment is to catch problems early, and missing it prevents proper treatment. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily have been researching and handling numerous misdiagnosis cases since 1979.

Medical misdiagnosis can occur from a failure to properly identify lumps, failure to order proper scans, failure to properly evaluate or handle test results or scans, failure to follow up on results or refer to a specialist for further testing, failure to order a biopsy, misclassifying the type of tumor, or mistaking a cancerous tumor as being benign (non-cancerous) or a non-cancerous tumor as being malignant (cancerous). When a patient complains about certain symptoms, it is possible that their doctor will ignore the complaint due to previous medical history (such as a history of a certain type of pain). Ignoring complaints could lead to a misdiagnosis since the doctor is quick to dismiss complaints and actually ignores the symptoms. Misdiagnosis and professional negligence can cause delayed treatment that can greatly impact the chances of survival and the quality of life of the patient.

Continue reading "Was My Medical Condition Diagnosed By A Marketing “Expert” Or A Doctor?" »

Nursing homes are meant to be a safe place where the elderly are taken care of by professionals who care and will treat your family members with respect. Staff members of the facility are presumed to abide to strict codes of conduct. However, that is not always the case. Some residents of nursing homes are subject to physical abuse, mental abuse, and neglect. The Pennsylvania nursing home lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily have been researching and handling thousands of nursing home abuse and neglect cases since 1979.

CBS news reported that a congressional report in 2001 says 5,283 U.S. nursing homes, nearly one-third, have been cited for abuse. The report says more than 40%, or 3,800 abuse violations, were only reported after formal complaints from residents, their families or community advocates. Over 1,000 homes were cited for more than one abuse violation in a two-year period, 305 homes were cited for three or more abuse violations, and 192 nursing homes were cited for five or more abuse violations.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence – Safe or Sorry?" »

Often times, surgical operations are bloody procedures. They involve the use of hundreds of instruments and dozens of surgical sponges which are gauze-like pads used for sopping up blood. Each time the doctor asks for a surgical sponge, a nurse is to count them aloud before handing them over, which is a standard way of keeping track of equipment to make sure no sponge is left behind.

Prior to closing the patient, at least one other count or exchange takes place between the surgical nurse and the surgeon. The Chief Surgeon is the "captain of the ship" and has a duty to make sure no instrument or sponge is left inside the patient or an x-ray will have to be taken to detect one or more of the reflective strips on each sponge or to actually go inside an open cavity, pushing organs around to hunt for lost instruments.

In one of the cases handled by the expert medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily, an unwanted souvenir of a surgical procedure was left inside a patient's body causing abscesses and infections ending catastrophically. It appeared in excess of one year, our client walked around unaware of a surgical sponge that she carried inside of her body while she spiked fevers and had numerous infections and returned to her doctor complaining of the same. The client had to be hospitalized repeatedly until the client almost died from her uncertain cause of infection and injury.

Continue reading " Noted Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Case Receives National Attention and Sparks Contorversy: No Sponge Left Behind" »