Month: November 2016

LA Accident Times

Accidents happen every day; some are simply that — life’s accidents — but some are completely preventable and happen due to someone’s utter negligence. When the carelessness of someone else results in a personal injury of you or a loved one, it is an infuriating, scary and confusing time in your life. You know that someone did something wrong and should be held accountable, but fear of the unknown of the legal world or taking on the insurance company keeps you from speaking out.
Our attorneys at the  hope to alleviate some of the fear of the unknown through this blogging forum. We want this blog to serve as a stepping stone toward our readers finding confidence through knowledge. Regularly, we will post news stories regarding  personal injury cases and law, most likely focusing on the following popular types of cases:

The posts will mainly cover news based in Louisiana; however, when a national story is applicable to our state laws or opens up a widely important legal conversation, we will post those stories as well.
As a practice,  always encourages client involvement and feedback, and we know that that involvement increases the likelihood of success. Blogs in particular are meant to be open forums wherein the writers and readers share ideas, concerns, suggestions, etc. So please, feel free to post your thoughts on this blog, and we will do our best to accommodate you in a timely manner.
If you are involved in a personal injury case and have specific legal questions, do not wait to contact an experienced lawyer. We would be happy to compassionately listen to your case and provide you with the honest guidance you need to confidently move forward.
Thank you for your time and participation. We look forward to blogging with you!

Health Care Error Very Common

According to the digital marketing agency Market My Market, hospital patients anywhere in the world have about a 1 in 10 chance of being the victim of a health care error. And, from Portland to Katmandu, if you are that 1 out of 10 patients, you have about a 1 in 300 chance of dying from that medical mistake.
That seems extreme, but we know that, for example, the infection rate in hospitals has been on the rise. Worldwide, says WHO, hundreds of millions acquire infections in a health care setting every year. Most are preventable if health care workers observe basic hygiene guidelines, including washing their hands with soap and water before treating each patient.
Infection rates in developing and developed countries aren’t that far apart: 10 in 100 hospital patients in developing countries will acquire an infection during their stay, while 7 in 100 in developed countries will.
The differences between developed countries, though, is surprising: WHO’s data for the U.S. shows that 1.7 million infections and 100,000 deaths are related to hospital-acquired infections. In Europe, many more infections occur — 4.5 million — with a dramatically lower number of deaths (37,000).
WHO warns, too, that longer stays in intensive care put patients at even higher risk. In these cases, the infections are often borne by ventilators or urinary catheters that have not been properly sterilized. ICUs and neonatal units are the high risk departments in developing countries’ hospitals.
The agency, which is overseen by the United Nations, is not merely reporting on the issue, though. WHO developed a hospital safety checklist that is used in almost 100,000 hospitals around the globe. The checklist has proven its effectiveness: Hospitals that implement the tool have, on average, reduced surgery complications by 33 percent and cut their death rates by half.
A patient safety official with WHO believes that implementation of and adherence to the checklist could save half a million patients every year, while justice can be achieved by Florida personal injury law firms.