Zachar Law Blog

Arizona Medical Malpractice Law: Confronting Wrong Site Surgery

Wrong site surgery? You mean it happens that a doctor actually operates on a wrong part of a patient’s body? Really?

Yes, really. More than you know.

Arizona medical malpractice law provides redress for victims of wrong site surgery. Wrong site surgery involves a doctor or surgeon operating on a part of a patient’s body other than the intended and planned part. Wrong site surgery is a very disturbing factor related to the safety of patients. Wrong site surgery can be one of the most traumatic experiences a hospital patient can go through. It is almost inconceivable to comprehend how a physician can operate on the wrong part of the body, especially considering the amount of training and many years of medical school physicians undertake.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a wrong site surgery, it is important to understand Arizona medical malpractice law and to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney for guidance. An experienced attorney will be knowledgeable in Arizona medical malpractice law and know what options are available and which course of action to take to ensure you receive just compensation.

Any type of surgery performed by a doctor or surgeon can result in a wrong site surgery. Common types of wrong site surgeries include:

• Wrong organ removed
• Wrong limb amputated
• Surgery on the wrong vertebral level of the spine
• Surgery on the wrong side of the body
• Surgery on the correct site but wrong level
• Surgery on the wrong patient
• Other

Recent industry statistics show that wrong site surgery events account for 13% of reported medical mistakes. The causes for wrong site surgery include:

• Emergency surgery
• Unusual time pressures to start or complete a procedure
• Poor or rushed pre-surgical planning
• Failure to follow proper procedure
• Poor communication between patient, staff, and surgeon
• Multiple surgeons involved
• Multiple procedures performed at once
• Surgeons operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Wrong site surgeries have serious consequences for both the patient and the surgeon. The consequences of a wrong site surgery are often physical, emotional, and financial for the victim. For some, victims of wrong site surgery will suffer a lifetime of poor health or disability. Others may even die as a result of these errors. Even those who do not suffer significant physical harm might experience emotional and financial difficulties. Additionally, victims of wrong site surgery who later have the correct surgery performed face, once again, the risks of infection and other complications associated with surgery.

Under Arizona medical malpractice law, a surgeon is almost always held negligent with regard to wrong site surgery. Others to consider are the anesthesiologist, the nursing and surgical staff and the hospital itself for policy and procedural decisions. Arizona medical malpractice law provides victims of wrong site surgery a right to sue for medical malpractice.

These victims often are able to recover settlements and jury awards to help with their recovery.

Stay Safe For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day has more than double the number of home cooking fires than an average day according to the U.S. Fire Administration. In fact, each year more than 4,000 fires occur on Thanksgiving Day.

To help prevent home fires this Thanksgiving, the Red Cross suggests the following tips:

• Keep potholders and food wrappers at least three feet away from heat sources while cooking
• Wear tighter fitting clothing with shorter sleeves when cooking
• Make sure all stoves, ovens, and ranges have been turned off when you leave the kitchen
• Set timers to keep track of turkeys and other food items that require extended cooking times
• Turn handles of pots and pans on the stove inward to avoid accidents
• Follow all manufacturer guidelines regarding the appropriate use of appliances
• After guests leave, designate a responsible adult to walk around the home making sure that all candles and smoking materials are extinguished

Even with the best preparation and precautions, accidents can happen. Thanksgiving is high time for cooking related burns. Minor burns can be treated easily if you remember to save the butter for the rolls and not a burn. For a superficial burn, cool the area by running it under cold water until the heat eases and then loosely cover the burn with a sterile dressing.

Another danger that can interrupt a good turkey dinner is choking. The most common cause of choking is talking while eating. If you feel as if food may be caught in your throat, never leave the room, stay where others can see you and help if your airway becomes blocked.

To help someone who is choking, remember "FIVE-and-FIVE Can Keep Them Alive." First, ask the person if they are able to breathe and if you can help. Once you know the person is unable to cough, speak or breathe, have someone call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number, lean the person forward and give FIVE sharp back blows with the heel of your hand. If the obstruction isn't dislodged, give the person FIVE quick, upward abdominal thrusts. If you are alone, you can perform abdominal thrusts on yourself, just as you would on someone else. Thrusts can also be administered by pressing your abdomen firmly against an object such as the back of a chair.

Just because we get to take a break from dieting on Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean we can throw caution to the autumn winds. Remember these suggestions and have a happy and safe holiday.

 

Apple recalls iPods over safety fears

Apple have recalled the first-generation iPod nano over fears its battery may catch fire.

Want a brand new iPod nano for free? Apple has them on offer if you are one of the millions of people who bought a first-generation iPod nano between September 2005 and December 2006 – and, crucially, if you can still find it.

Apple has issued a recall on the first-generation iPod nano, the device which pushed the digital music player's sales into the stratosphere at the end of 2005, over fears that the battery could catch fire.

The recall amounts to a free replacement offer which could cost the company millions of pounds – depending on how many people still have the ageing products in their possession.

The company is offering a replacement scheme for the devices, which will now be between five and six years old. The recall affects the slimline iPod nano model sold between September 2005, when it was first introduced, and December 2006.

During that period, Apple sold just over 60m iPods in total, according to the company's official figures, although it is not clear how many of those were the nano model. During the same period, the company was also selling its second-generation iPod shuffle and the "classic" iPod with a hard drive. Apple declined to say how many iPod nanos are affected, but added that no other devices are included in the recall.

Owners of the first-generation iPod nano will be able to get them replaced for free with a current model once they have provided their model to Apple, either through a store or via a courier.

Apple says the problem "has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages." Owners are recommended to stop using the device and get the free replacement.

The iPod nano's introduction in September 2005 by Steve Jobs saw sales of the company's music player rise sharply. During its first quarter, iPod sales increased from 8.7m in the third quarter of the year to more than 14m, and they never fell below 8m in any succeeding quarter until the second quarter of this year as the category fell out of favour with buyers in favour of the iPhone and iPad.

The nano recall is one of a number of device recalls over battery issues that Apple and other companies including Sony and Dell have had to make in recent years. Normally the problem has related to laptop batteries: Sony, which provides lithium-ion batteries for a number of manufacturers, issued a recall in 2008 which affected Toshiba, HP and Dell laptops.

If you are injured because of a battery fire, do you have a claim?  The answer is, yes. 

This is called a “product liability” claim.  These are difficult cases, and often involve many potential parties (Apple, who made the battery, who made the components that went in to the battery, who sold the battery, who distributed the battery, etc…

If there are injuries, seek the advice of an experience, products liability attorney at your earliest convenience.  Make sure you save the device too!

Additional Resources

For more information on this and other topics, please be sure to visit us online at http://www.ZacharAssociates.com. Or you may also visit our blog at http://www.ZacharLawBlog.com

Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawyer

Phoenix Child Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Construction Accident Lawyer

Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter!

Personal Injury Facts: 5 Top Toy Recalls Of All Time

With the rare exception, you can generally rest assured the toys you buy for your kids today are safe, but that hasn't always been the case.

Safety standards were much lower a decade or two ago, and almost non-existent before then. Today recalls capture the headlines, but dangerous toys are nothing new.

Take for example the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab. What sounds like a top-secret military project was in reality a short-lived toy from the early 1950s -- and an expensive toy at that ($50 at the time, or more than $300 in today's dollars).

The toy was the most elaborate atomic energy educational set ever produced, containing actual uranium ore. Say what you will about current safety standards, but you can be pretty sure not many of today's toys are radioactive.

But, due to its time, that toy never faced recall.

 

No. 5: Aqua Dots

One of the hottest toys in the months before Christmas in 2007, Aqua Dots would prove to also be one of the most dangerous.

The toy consisted of small, colorful beads that could be arranged in multidimensional designs and then sprayed with water to fuse them in place. A great, fun craft for the whole family, right?

One problem: The beads in this Chinese-made craft set contained a chemical that, when ingested, metabolized into the notorious "date rape" drug gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB.) The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that two children who had inadvertently swallowed the beads became comatose for hours and one child was hospitalized for five days.

The toy's manufacturer recalled 4.2 million units and suspended Aqua Dots from the market in November 2007.

(Oops.  Overlooked the harmful affects of ingestion.  Will remember that next time.)

 

No. 4: Easy-Bake Oven

Even the classics can hit a rough patch. Consider the Easy-Bake Oven, more than 25 million of which have been sold since it was introduced in the 1960s.

The toy oven is such a go-to plaything that it was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006. That same year, Hasbro introduced a front-loading version resembling a kitchen range.

The new version -- like many of the cakes cooked by the toy -- was apparently half-baked, as almost instantly reports of injuries started coming in. The model tended to trap children's hands and fingers in the oven's opening, inflicting second- and third-degree burns to unsuspecting would-be gourmet chefs.

In the end, 77 reports of burns were received, including one 5-year-old girl who required a partial finger amputation. Hasbro ended up recalling 985,000 of the front-loading ovens in February 2007.

 

No. 3: Battlestar Galactica Missile Launcher

Wow, cool!  A “missile launcher”!  How bad can this be?

Despite lasting for less than a year, the original "Battlestar Galactica" wasted no time in selling out to the toy gods.

The sci-fi TV series debuted in September 1978, with Mattel soon after launching a line of toys inspired by the show. Faster than you can say merchandising, kids were begging their parents for the Viper, the Cylon Raider, the Scarab and the Stellar Probe.

But as quick as it began, the fun just as quickly came to an end.  The ships came with tiny spring-loaded missiles and any parent can tell you that small children and small toy pieces just don't mix.

In 1979, a child reportedly died after choking on one of the missiles, prompting Mattel to recall all "Battlestar Galactica" models and suspend production of the toy. The original show met the same fate in the spring of that same year.

 

 

No. 2: Mini hammocks

Would you buy something called a "death cocoon" and leave your child to play with it in the backyard?  Probably not.

But that's just one of the nicknames earned by mini hammocks that grew popular in the '80s and '90s. The nylon hammocks sold for about $4 a piece and were made by several different companies, including the regrettably named "Hang Ten" model produced by EZ Sales.

The hammocks lacked spreader bars at either end, allowing them to close around kids who lay in them. Really, if you're a manufacturer of children's hammocks, it's hard to imagine a bigger design flaw.

Between 1984 and 1995, 12 children died by asphyxiation after becoming tangled in the hammocks. The CPSC also received a report of a 7-year-old who suffered permanent brain damage after a near-strangulation.

All together, the 13 companies that made the hammocks ended up suspending sales and recalling 3 million of them in August 1996.

 

No. 1: Jarts/Lawn Darts

As mom was fond of saying, it's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye ... or gets a flying projectile lodged in the skull.

Many an adult who came out the other end of the rough-and-tumble world of 1970s and 1980s toys in one piece will recall childhood days spent hurling Jarts or some other version of lawn darts around the backyard.

And while there was an actual point -- pun intended -- to the game, it invariably devolved into the pure chaos of flinging the heavy, metal projectiles with plastic fins as high as possible just to see where they came down

Really, it's not so much a surprise that lawn darts were responsible for at least 6,700 injuries and four deaths before they were banned in 1988, but rather that more kids, and adults for that matter, weren't hurt or killed by the once popular yard game.

 

Horseshoes anyone?

 

Additional Resources

For more information on this and other topics, please be sure to visit us online at http://www.ZacharAssociates.com. Or you may also visit our blog at http://www.ZacharLawBlog.com

Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawyer

Phoenix Child Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Construction Accident Lawyer

Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter!

 

Toyota recalls 550,000 cars for steering issue

TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide -- mostly in the United States -- for problems that could make it hard to steer.  The recall affects 447,000 vehicles in North America, as well as 38,000 in Japan and another 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, said Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. In Europe some 14,000 vehicles are being recalled along with 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan.

Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, said Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, he said. (Oh yeah—like they would admit it even if there were injuries)  Toyota's reputation has taken a hit over the last two years due to a string of huge recalls that have ballooned to 14 million vehicles over that time, including millions recalled last year for acceleration problems. It faces damage lawsuits and lingering doubts in the U.S. about whether it had been transparent enough about the recall woes.

Japan's largest automaker has been trying to communicate better with customers and empower regional operations outside Japan to make safety decisions.  The news comes a day after Toyota said its July-September profit slid 18.5 percent to 80.4 billion yen ($1 billion) on plunging sales caused by parts shortages from the tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan.  It now faces such uncertainties from flooding in Thailand, where it has many suppliers and three assembly plants, that it declined to release an earnings forecast for the full year through March.

The latest recall is due to the possibility that the outer ring of the engine's crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning signal to light up, the company's U.S. sales unit said in a press release. If the problem isn't corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley, making it suddenly more difficult to turn the steering wheel.

In the United States, the automaker is recalling 283,200 Toyota brand cars, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, the 2004 Avalon and the 2006 Highlander HV. Its recall of 137,000 Lexus vehicles includes the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330 and 2006 RX400h.  Those affected elsewhere include certain models of the Alphard, Highlander, Highlander hybrid and some Lexus models, Corbett said.

The recall notification process varies from country to country.
In the U.S., Toyota will mail owners a notification to make an appointment with an authorized dealer to have their car inspected once replacement parts have been produced in sufficient quantities.  If needed, parts will be replaced for no charge, the company's American sales unit said. Notifications will be mailed starting in January.

            WHAT HAPPENS IF PRIOR TO, DURING OR POST RECALL THE RECOGNIZED DEFECT RESULTS IN INJURIES TO SOMEONE?  DOES IT MATTER IF IT IS THE DRIVER, PASSENGER OR AN OTHERWISE INNOCENT PERSON ON THE ROADWAY?

            ANSWER:  TOYOTA HAS LEGAL LIABILITY.  PERIOD.  IT WOULD MAKE NO DIFFERENCE WHAT STATUS THE INJURED PERSON HELD IN RELATION TO A “PRODUCT DEFECT” THAT RESULTED IN INJURY TO THEM. 

            Let’s hope, from it’s prior reputation for ‘not necessarily doing the right thing’, that Toyota is ahead of the curve on this one. 

Additional Resources

For more information on this and other topics, please be sure to visit us online at http://www.ZacharAssociates.com. Or you may also visit our blog at http://www.ZacharLawBlog.com

Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawyer

Phoenix Child Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Construction Accident Lawyer

Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter!

Video: Always Wear Your Seatbelt

 

According to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 83 percent of motor vehicle occupants in the United States wear seat belts.

The remaining 17 percent who do not are continually putting their own and others' lives in danger.

    Considerations

• Regardless of how much truth there is to it, a person's confidence in the quality and safety of his driving does not justify foregoing seat belt use. A seat belt is the most effective method that drivers and occupants alike can use to protect themselves from the errors and poor decision making of others, including driving under the influence, driving in a tired state or failing to notice important indicators such as traffic lights.
• During collisions, a car may stop in a fraction of a second, whereas the speed at which the passengers are moving remains unchanged until they are stopped by impact (steering wheel, seat in front of them, windshield, etc…). In the case of a car traveling at 30 miles per hour, this type of impact is equivalent to the impact the passenger would feel if he fell three stories. Seat belts help to distribute the collision forces across the passenger's pelvis and chest--areas that most effectively withstand collision forces.
• One of the causes of automobile-related injury and death to children is being crushed by adults who not are wearing a belt. In fact, the collision between passengers, who can be thrown at each other during a car accident, accounts for one out of every four injuries sustained by passengers. In addition, approximately 80 percent of child deaths resulting from motor accidents could be prevented if children are properly restrained by seat belts, and, for those children who survive an accident, but suffer head trauma (epilepsy, brain damage or permanent disfigurement), these catastrophic injuries are also largely preventable by seat belt use.
• Some drivers and car passengers feel that not all situations require the use of seat belts. They fall into the trap of thinking that wearing seat belts is only necessary when driving at nighttime, at high speeds or during bad weather. However, a large number of automobile-related deaths take place during dry or sunny weather, within a 25 mile radius of a person's work or home, and when driving at relatively low speeds.

No one can predict when an accident might occur.  Oftentimes, collisions occur without notice or any warning whatsoever. You cannot protect what you don’t see---unless you take advance preparations to protect yourself.  While in a motor vehicle, there is no better protect than putting on your seat belt. 

Also, many people think that if you get hurt in a collision due to the fault of another, then “no big deal”---- they will pay for all of your injuries and damages.  Not true.  Under AZ law, if you sustain personal injuries that are later determined could have been prevented if you had been wearing your seat belt, a judge will instruct a jury that they can find you partially at fault for your own injuries, and may decline to award you money for any medical expenses or pain and suffering related to those injuries. 

You have a responsibility to wear your seat belt.  If you are a driver, this legal responsibility also extends to all minors in the car. 

Do the right thing every time:  Buckle up.  

Additional Resources

For more information on this and other topics, please be sure to visit us online at http://www.ZacharAssociates.com. Or you may also visit our blog at http://www.ZacharLawBlog.com

Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Wrongful Death Lawyer

Phoenix Child Injury Lawyer

Phoenix Construction Accident Lawyer

Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter!