Maryland Injury Lawyers Blog

If your business suffered losses as a result of the 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill, and your claim was submitted to the GCCF and they denied your claim, DON'T GIVE UP! The recent settlement between BP and the Plaintiff Steering Committee will allow many businesses that have not received compensation to finally be compensated for their losses. Whereas the GCCF found that many claimed business losses were not the result of the Gulf Oil Spill, the Court Supervised Settlement Process would likely find many of these previously denied Gulf Oil SPill claims compensable. That said, it is upon YOU---THE BUSINESS OWNER or individual who suffered losses to be sure that you apply to the new Court Supervised Settlement Process.

I am not suggesting that everyone who submits a claim will be paid. But I can tell you that there is a lot more flexibility under the new rules in terms of proving that a particular loss was the result of the spill than there was under the GCCF Rules. The documentation requirements and formulas used are a bit complicated and it is a very good idea to consult with a lawyer to be sure that your claim is properly documented and that the appropriate arguments for establishing legal causation are established. A lawyer can also be very helpful in evaluating your BP Claim to determine whether opting out of the global settlement is a viable option or not.

For more information about the Gulf Oil Spill Settlement with BP visit the Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester Webiste.

Our medical malpractice team is currently investigating claims of injuries suffered as a result of the da Vinci Surgical System. We believe that many patients suffering injuries and death as a result of surgeons using the da Vinci Surgical Robot without being properly trained on how to use the device. The cost of surgery using the Davinci system is typically over $1,000 more than traditional surgery.

Injuries caused by the da Vinci system include wrongful death, torn organs, ripped tendons, cartliage and organs.

The da Vinci system works via a remotely operated robot and it supposed to provide a less invasive surgery without as large an incision. Research has established taht a surgeon needs to perform over 100 surgery cases with the da Vinci Robot before being proficient in the use of this device.

The da Vinci robot is very expensive. It costs over $1 Million dollars, and in addition to that it costs a lot of money to maintain each year. With the high costs, hospitals are rushing doctors to perform da Vinci surgeries before they are trained and proficient on the device.

Research is surfacing that indicates that the risks of using hte da Vinci surgical system outweigh its benefits. The ACOG and Kaiser Insurance have openly been critical of the Da VInci system.

If you or a loved one has had surgery with the da Vinci system and suffered a torn artery or torn organ or other injuries, please contact the da Vinci Surgical System Lawyers at Goldberg, Finnegan & MEster, LLC at 888-213-8140.

If you or someone you know took the birth control pill Yaz, Yasmin or Oscella and suffered a blood clot, pulmonary embolism, stroke, heart attack or other serious injury, then you should contact us to discuss your legal rights at 888-213-8140. Bayer Pharmaceutical recently announced that it was settling a group of about 500 cases involving blood clots for $110 Million Dollars. This settlement was announced just as the FDA ordered Bayer to strengthen the warning about blood clots on its birth control pills. Bayer's contraceptives, Yaz/Yasmin/Oscella generated over $1.5 Billion in revenue in 2010. There are currently thousands of lawsuits filed in Federal Court in Illinois alleging that Yasmin caused blood clotting, heart attacks and other serious injuries to young women. The Food and Drug Administration has also indicated that at least 50 deaths are tied to Yaz/Yasmin/Oscella from just 2004-2008.

If you or someone that you care about has suffered a gastrointestinal bleed after taking Pradaxa call us at 888-213-8140. Pradaxa is often prescribed by cardiologists to treat Atrial Fibrillation. It was just approved by the FDA in October 2010. While Pradaxa has some benefits over Coumadin (also called Warfarin), there is evidence that it causes gastrointestinal bleeding at a higher rate--and GI bleeds can be fatal. If you are taking Pradaxa and have gastrointestinal problems--even stomach pains, you should call your doctor immediatley to discuss your concerns. While all anticoagulaents are known to cause bleeding, GI bleeds caused by Pradaxa cannot be treated with a Vitamin K Antidote as bleeds caused by Warfarin are treated. The safety and efficacy of Pradaxa was evaluted in a study called the RE-LY Study. This Pradaxa study invovled 18,000 patients followed for a median of two years and given 150 mg 2x daily of Pradaxa. This dosage was shown to be associated with lower rates of stroke and systemic embolism and a lower incidnece of intracranial hemhorrage. while these are significant advantages over Warfarin, unfortunately PRadaxa was associated with an increased rate of gastro intestinal bleeding. Pradaxa also has a significantly higher rate of adverse events involving GI events (e.g. dyspepsia and gastritis). While these adverse events may not seem like a big deal in and of themselves, the problem is that individuals with these gastrointestinal events are then 3-4 times more likely to develop gastrointestinal bleeding which is a life threatening condition that is difficult to treat. Particular care should be given in prescribing Pradaxa to older patinets, and patients with renal insufficiency. The Pradaxa label was recently changed in January 2012 to tell patients to contact their doctor if htey have GI side effects, but the patient instructions as of 2012 do not. Rather the patient instructions tell patients only to contact their doctor if the side effects bother them or do not go away. We are concerned that the dangers of PRadaxa are understated. Again, if you or someone you love suffers and injury after taking Pradaxa we would like to speak to you. Call us at 888-213-8140.

It looks like Michigan may become the 31st state in the Union without a mandatory motorcycle helmet law for all riders. Michigan passed one of the first laws requiring helmets back in the 1967, repealed it in 1968, and reenacted it in 1969. A recent bill overturning that law just passed the state legislature, and is awaiting signature by the Governor.

The Michigan bill, if enacted, would require helmets only by riders over 21-years-old, and requires motorcycle riders to have $20,000 in no-fault PIP insurance (which would pay for up to $20,000 of the driver's medical bills following an accident).

There are competing concerns: One the one hand, some motorcyclists want the freedom "to ride with the wind in one's hair." On the other hand, proponents of mandatory helmets want to protect people who aren't going to protect themselves, and don't want to have to pay for people who are injured in motorcycle accidents and become burdens on taxpayers.

Some people believe that this is just another example of the government getting its mitts into things that it should leave alone. On the whole, those people believe that if a motorcyclist chooses to ride without a helmet, the only person who could be hurt is the rider.

The reality is, like mandatory seatbelts, motorcycle helmets save lives and often prevent devastating injuries. Before long, guess who is paying the bill for motorcycle riders who are injured without helmets? You and me. What about the family members who depended on the motorcyclists job? If they have to receive public benefits, who has to pay that bill? You and me. Not to mention that a needless death or injury is, quite frankly, needless and often preventable.

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning anticipates that repealing the mandatory helmet law will result in 30 more deaths and 127 more incapacitating injuries every year.

In Tennessee, where the legislature also considered a repeal of the mandatory motorcycle helmet law this year, Vanderbilt University Medical Center's doctors had something to say: don't do it. They expect that a repeal would result in an additional $1.3 million per year for health care in trauma centers alone. That doesn't include the additional medical care required--sometimes the lifetime of medical care required.

So, you can see which end of the debate we are on. We don't like excessive government, either. But this is legislation of common sense, and it protects more that it hurts. We support these rules, and we're glad that our states have them.

All motorcycle riders in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia are required to wear helmets. This could change--there is momentum in other states to remove that common-sense restriction. If these bills ever come to our state legislatures, we will be at the front of the line to stand up for safety.

For More Information

• Michigan Radio: Michigan helmet law repeal, bad idea?
• Summary of helmet laws in the United States
• American Journal of Public Health: Paternalism & Its Discontents: Motorcycle Helmet Laws, Libertarian Values, and Public Health
• Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
• Virginia Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
• District of Columbia Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

The big push on distracted driving right now is obviously cell phones and text messages. There probably hasn't been a bigger distracted driving danger to motorists since the advent of the drive-thru.

Whether you are a worker who missed lunch is and is rushing to his next meeting with a hamburger in your lap; a parent of two toddlers trying to keep them in control while steering your car, or a teen or professional trying to send a quick text while driving at 55 mph, we have all been distracted drivers. Hopefully we've been lucky until today. But after today, we should count on more than luck.

Sign A Pledge
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. This is the time to make a promise to ourselves and our families. We will not drive distracted. We will stop text messaging while in the car. We will only use a hands-free phone device while driving (and, if you want to promise to not use the phone at all while driving, so much the better!). At a minimum, we will comply with our state's laws on cell phone use (click here to find out what Maryland's laws are). If you want a little boost, sign a petition. There are a million of them online, including one by Oprah (over 423,300 signatures!).

Don't stop at the pledge. The next time you are at a red light, watch the drivers next to you, and the drivers passing in front of you. When I count, there is an average of 22% who are illegally using their cell phones. Clearly, a law prohibiting specific types of cell phone use is not enough. We must make change by social pressure. As kids, informed by our teachers of the dangers of driving without seatbelts, we pestered our parents. Our parents now wear seatbelts. If it's true that most automobile accidents happen within a few miles of home, the lives we save could be our own.

Distracted Driving Statistics (courtesy EndDDD.org)

• 80% of collisions are caused at least in part by distracted driving
• Cell phone use is the cause of 18% of distracted driving deaths
• Drivers who talk on a cell phone are four times as likely to be involved in a crash
• Drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash
• The Department of Transportation estimates that, in 2009, there were at least 5,474 deaths and 448,000 injuries involving distracted driving

For More Information

• AutoWeek.com: List of good links to websites about distracted driving. See their phenomenal advertisements, too.
• Are car voice controls dangerous?
• Maryland Laws on Distracted Driving
• Virginia Distracted Drivers Will Likely Be Required to Give Up Texting
• Poll on types of distracted driving

Most private health insurance companies (as well as state and federal benefits, like medical assistance and Medicare) have an agreement with their insureds: We'll pay medical costs related to your Maryland auto accident, but if you get paid in a lawsuit or settlement, then you have to pay us back. This is called subrogation.

It makes sense, and here's why. Maryland has what's known as the collateral source rule. This is a rule about evidence. It says that if I receive the value of services or goods to compensate me for an accident, I can still recoup the value of the services or goods from the negligent driver.

The Maryland Civil Pattern Jury Instructions state the collateral source rule as it is usually read at trial:

In arriving at the amount of damages to be awarded for past and future medical expenses and past loss of earnings, you may not reduce the amount of your award because you believe or infer that the plaintiff has received or will receive reimbursement for or payment of proven medical expenses or lost earnings from persons or entities other than the defendant, such as, for example, sick leave paid by the plaintiff's employer or medical expenses paid by plaintiff's health insurer.

Here are some examples:

• Example One: Maryland car accident. I go to the hospital, and incur $2,500 in medical bills. My health insurance company, pursuant to their agreement with the hospital, pays $2,000, and the hospital writes of the remainder pursuant to their agreement with my health insurance company. I file a lawsuit against the negligent driver, I am allowed to claim the full $2,500 in medical expenses. The negligent driver cannot tell the jury that I did not actually spend $2,500 in medical expenses.
• Example Two: Maryland car accident. I go to the hospital, and incur $2,500 in medical bills. Because I timely paid my premiums, my automobile insurance policy pays the hospital $2,500 through my Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance. That brings my medical expenses down to zero. At trial, I can still ask for the full value of those medical expenses, and the jury may award me $2,500 for my medical expenses, even though I did not make any out-of-pocket payments.
• Example Three: Maryland car accident. I need a leg surgery, valued at $15,000. My brother happens to be orthopedic doctor. He does the surgery for free. At trial, I can still ask for the full value of the medical expenses, and the jury may award me $15,000 for the surgery, even though it did not cost me a penny.

Not all states have the collateral source rule, but it is a good idea for the following reasons:

• Windfall: The negligent driver should not "win the lottery" and avoid paying for the results of his negligent simply because my medical treatment is somehow taken care of. As between the negligent driver and me, the negligent driver should bear the burden of paying for medical expenses caused by the accident.
• Insurance Premiums: If my medical care is paid for by PIP or by my health insurance, it is not really free to me. I pay a premium to carry that insurance, and the negligent driver should have to pay for the medical care.
• Attorneys' Fees: In the American style of lawsuits, each party usually pays his or her own attorneys' fees. This means that in most civil cases like auto accidents, if the injured person gets paid back 100% the value of his claim (medical bills that he had to pay, lost wages, etc...), he is not really "made whole." That is because he probably had to pay a lawyer to recover what was owed to him. He probably paid his lawyer between one-third and 40% of the settlement or verdict. Because of the collateral source, the victim is a little closer to being made whole--the victim gets paid for some amounts that he may not have actually made payments for.

Many automobile insurance companies take advantage of victims who have not hired an attorney--they won't tell victims about the collateral source rule (truthfully, some insurance adjusters don't even know about the rule), and will try to convince victims that they can only recover for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, like co-pays and maybe deductibles. Victims who settle for those amounts are not getting the full value of their claims.

Back to health insurance: because most health insurance companies require victims (who get money in a settlement or verdict) to pay them back for medical expenses, it is fair for the victims to be able to recover the value of those medical expenses from the negligent driver.

One good reason to hire an attorney for an auto accident case is that the attorney will usually be able to negotiate with your health insurance company. The goal is to twofold: (1) to make sure that the insurance company's lien doesn't include medical treatment that was unrelated to the accident; and (2) to reduce the insurance company's lien by at least one-third. The reduction in the lien also makes sense--the victim had to pay an attorney to get his money; it doesn't make sense for the health insurance company to get his money without the same "cost."

Contact Us
If you have questions about how much you must pay your health insurance company after a Maryland, Virginia or D.C. automobile accident, call our attorneys at Goldberg, Finnegan and Mester at 1.888.213.8140, or contact us online for a free consultation.

For More Information

• More on PIP and other Maryland car insurance
• PIP in Bicycle Injury Accidents
• Medical Treatment after a Maryland Automobile Accident