Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

The saddest personal injury cases we see in our serious injury law practice often times involves those who have suffered traumatic brain injury resulting from an automobile, tractor-trailer collision or some other traumatic event, with these tragedies being seriously compounded by the unavailability of insurance. While there has been some media attention on the number of uninsured individuals in this country who have no available health insurance coverage, the impact of this problem is not really seen or appreciated until one is confronted with overwhelming medical needs and there is a complete lack of medical coverage available to meet those needs.

One case we are currently handling involves a Hispanic gentleman who suffered permanent and irreparable brain damage. He was taken by life flight to the hospital where he was stabilized. Once he was stabilized, however, the hospital that had been treating him free of charge (because he had no health insurance) discharged him. After discharge, he no longer has the ability to seek appropriate medical treatment because he has no health insurance coverage and being from another country does not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. His medical needs are overwhelming and yet he has no access to medical care in the richest country in the world.

This individual’s problem is no different in many ways from American citizens who are the victims of traumatic brain injury and do not have health insurance coverage. Oftentimes, the individuals involved may or may not qualify for Medicaid or other assistance. It takes years to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. In the meantime, after the traumatic brain injury has incurred and the patient is stabilized, the necessary ancillary services to a recovery, such as rehabilitation services, vocational and physical therapy and others are typically completely unavailable to the uninsured because they are not affordable and there is no way to get such treatment.

In these very tragic and sad cases, many times the only possibility of recovery for the injured individual is litigation against the party responsible for the traumatic event. While such cases can result in a financial settlement several years after the event, due to the cost and delay of litigation, nonetheless, sometimes its too little and too late for those who are in need of immediate medical care to address their injuries and insure a recovery.

The American Medical Association needs to take a hard look at whether it is doing enough to make medical care available to those who cannot afford it. While there are many clinics and other local, state and federal government facilities, those who have been seriously injured many times do not have access to the type of care that he needs. We even see this with our returning veterans from Iraq, much less the uninsured. This problem is a national problem and needs to be addressed at the local, state and federal level.

Posted by Finch McCranie, LLP | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury

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Federal regulators are sounding a warning about dangers associated with the use of insulin pumps by children and teenagers. Insulin pumps are used by tens of thousands of young people worldwide with Type 1 diabetes.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning parents to be vigilant in watching their children's use of the pumps. They are not advising against using the pumps, but suggested further study to address safety concerns in teens and even younger children who use the popular pumps.

Researchers found that in the last ten years there have been 13 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries connected with the pumps. Some of these were the result malfunctioning pumps, but at other times, teenagers were careless or took risks..

The researchers found that some teenagers were not instructed how to use the pumps correctly, dropped them or didn't take good care of them.
The insulin pumps are popular because they allow young people to live more normal lives. They account for $1.3 billion in annual sales around the world, and demand is growing.The pumps are used for those with Type 1 diabetes, which accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of all diabetes cases and used to be called "juvenile diabetes." The more common form is Type 2, which is often linked to obesity and more often affects adults.

Insulin pumps are the size of a cell phone and worn on a belt or pocket. They send insulin into the body through a plastic tube with a small tip that inserts under the skin and is taped in place. They cost about $6,000 and supplies run $250 a month. Most health insurers cover much of the cost.

Posted by Finch McCranie, LLP | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Liability

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MRSA is a staph becteria which has been in the news in recent years as serious problems have been reported in hospitals and other health care facilities. Staph bacteria, even those that aren't resistant to antibiotics, have long caused serious infections.

In the 1960s, the first reports surfaced of staph infections that had stopped responding to the antibiotic methicillin. Over the decades, those strains have spread, and the germs have developed resistance to other drugs, largely in hospitals where they infect patients weakened by disease or made vulnerable through surgical wounds and catheters.

MRSA still poses the greatest threat in hospitals, where strains are usually genetically different and, because of antibiotic use, more difficult to kill than those circulating out in the community. About 85 percent of life-threatening, invasive MRSA infections involve people who have been hospitalized, lived in a nursing home or been treated in some other health care facility.

During the 1980s, doctors began finding cases of MRSA in people who hadn't spent time in health care settings. Unlike the strains found in hospitals, MRSA in the community tended to cause skin infections — pus-filled pimples and boils.

Community MRSA still responds to a wider range of antibiotics, and it is unusual for community infections to become life-threatening. However, a study reported last year that more life-threatening community infections occur than previously thought.

The study, estimated MRSA infections in health care facilities and the community killed nearly 19,000 Americans in 2005. Another 94,000 had life-threatening infections.

However, the study found that 85% of life-threatening MRSA infections involved people who have been infected while hospitalized or living in a nursing home. Only about 15 percent happened in the community.
People 65 and older are most likely to suffer invasive MRSA infections of all types, the study found. Black people had invasive MRSA at nearly twice the rate of whites.

The important thing to remember is that those who seek help from a doctor usually are successfully treated. One should not ignore these problems.

Posted by Finch McCranie, LLP | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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Victims of the wrongful death of their loved ones testified this week before Congress concerning adulterated supplies of Heparin. One of the largest suppliers of this drug, which is used in kidney dialysis and various other surgeries to prevent dangerous blood clots, is Baxter International, Inc. Not only did the victims of families who have been damaged by this product testify before Congress, representatives from Baxter were also subpoenaed by the Energy and Commerce Committee which is reviewing the Food and Drug Administration’s response to this scandal.

While the evidence is still unclear, it appears that the Heparin product manufactured by Baxter International, Inc. was derived from factories in China that had not been properly audited and inspected. There is also evidence that a particular sulfate product used in the manufacture of Heparin was deliberately substituted because it was less expensive to use than a safer sulfate ingredient. Regardless of the final results of Congress’ investigation, it was clear from victim testimony that the lack of oversight by Baxter relative to the activities of its foreign operations has lead to a tremendous amount of suffering for the victims’ families.

To date, 81 people have died from using contaminated Heparin. One gentleman who testified before Congress not only lost his wife but also his son who were undergoing kidney dialysis in Ohio. This man’s wife and son died within one month of each other. Thus, the wrongful deaths caused by this dangerous product clearly are deserving of congressional scrutiny so that other unwitting victims of products imported from abroad will be spared similar fates.

We have written before on this blog about dangerous products that harm the American public. This seems to be yet another example of where the U. S. Food and Drug Administration has failed the American public in failing to insure that medical supplies are safe for public use and consumption. Not only may Baxter International have failed the American public, the government itself in its oversight role, may have also contributed to these tragedies. Even though Baxter, which had supplied about half of the U. S. Heparin market recalled most of its products in February of this year, the fact remains that 81 deaths have occurred and tremendous suffering which could have been avoided has been experienced as a result of the failure of proper oversight for these dangerous products.

Posted by Finch McCranie, LLP | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Dangerous Drugs , Products Liability , Torts , Wrongful Death

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