What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical Malpractice is, “bad, wrong, or injudicious treatment of a patient, professionally and in respect to the particular disease or injury, resulting. in injury, unnecessary suffering, or death to the patient, and proceeding from ignorance, carelessness, want of proper professional skill, disregard of established rules or principles, neglect, or a malicious or criminal intent .” (Black’s Law Dictionary 1111. 4th Ed. Rev. 1968). Like general malpractice, it refers to negligence in a professional setting. However, it is limited to healthcare providers, such as a doctor or hospital.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the applicable standard of care, intentionally or unintentionally, and harms a patient. Cases such as Napier v. Greenzweig show that medical malpractice can be as blatant as ignoring understood rules, or it can be a mistake like a severe surgical error or a misdiagnosis. Medical malpractice is considered to be a serious issue, and healthcare providers found liable for malpractice often pay extensive damages. Occasionally, a doctor may lose their license to practice medicine if malpractice is severe enough or repeated.
Fully understanding cases of medical malpractice often involves some level of medical knowledge. Because of this, it is difficult to prove medical malpractice in court, and expert witnesses are typically needed to testify about a healthcare provider’s negligence.
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Pennsylvania Drunk Drivers Target of Police Crackdown
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is once again getting the message out to Americans to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Pennsylvania State Police and law enforcement agencies across the country are joining in the latest campaign, that runs through Labor Day, in an effort to get impaired drivers off roads.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2010 State Motor Vehicle Fatalities statistics, there were 10,228 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities nationwide in 2010. Pennsylvania saw 433 alcohol-related highway deaths in 2010. These deaths represented 24 percent of the 1,324 fatal accidents in the state that year. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reports preliminary data shows there were 428 alcohol-related accident fatalities and approximately 11,700 alcohol-related crashes statewide in 2011.
In a ceremony in Berks County where officials unveiled a memorial for victims of DUI accidents, Trooper Ethan Brownback said, […]
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Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer Warns that Higher Unemployment Could Mean Fewer Insured Drivers
Scranton, PA, August 18, 2012 — An uptick in the number of people in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre who are out of work could heighten the risk for those behind the wheel, says Pennsylvania car accident attorney Caroline Munley.
This summer, the unemployment rate for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area broke the nine percent mark for the first time since September 2011, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune. That was a full percentage point above the national average and two points above the rate for Pennsylvania as a whole.
“Unfortunately, when people lose their jobs, one thing they may do to cut costs is to cancel or reduce their car insurance,” said Munley, managing partner of the nationally recognized Pennsylvania personal injury firm of Munley Law, which has its headquarters in Scranton and offices across the state.
The law firm represents car accident victims in Pennsylvania and across the Northeast in matters that often involve car insurance issues. […]
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Pennsylvania Politician Critically Injured in Head-On Crash
Pennsylvania’s Republican candidate for the 112th District is in critical condition after a collision Monday morning. Raymond Nearhood swerved to avoid a pickup truck that had run out of gas and was stopped on the highway in front of him, according to the Times-Tribune. His car swerved into oncoming traffic crashing head-on into another vehicle. Nearhood and all three occupants from the other vehicle were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
The vehicles were traveling on Casey Highway near Scranton, PA when Nearhood’s Toyota Camry slammed into an oncoming Cadillac CTS carrying an 8-year-old girl and two women. The driver and the front-seat passenger of the Cadillac both had to be cut out of the vehicle. The girl was in the back seat of the car and was safely pulled from the vehicle by other motorists. Police report that Nearhood was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. […]
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Tire Blowout Injures Seven in Pennsylvania Car Accident
A two-vehicle crash last week on the Northeast Extension of the turnpike in Moosic, PA, resulted in injuries to seven people and left traffic tied up for more than an hour. A woman was driving in the left northbound lane of Interstate 476 near mile marker 119, when the car’s rear driver’s side tire blew out, according to news reports.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and it traveled into the right lane where it struck the rear of a minivan carrying seven occupants. The minivan rolled onto the passenger side and came to rest on a concrete barrier. Police cited tire failure as the cause of the accident, and no charges were filed in the accident.
TireSafety.com, a website dedicated to educating the public about proper tire maintenance sponsored by Bridgestone, reports that under inflation is the leading cause of tire failure. […]
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Triple Fatal Accident Serves as a Reminder to Pennsylvania Drivers of the Dangers of Drowsy Driving
An early morning accident on Saturday left three people dead and two others seriously injured after the driver apparently fell asleep behind the wheel. The single-car crash occurred around 2:15 a.m. on I-81 north near Butler Township after the car traveled across the grass median and slammed into the concrete bridge support beam.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that drowsy driving accidents cause more than 100,000 crashes a year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and approximately 1,550 deaths. However, the NHTSA believes these numbers are actually much higher due to underreported drowsy driving accidents.
One of the leading causes of drowsy driving is shift work. With irregular hours, long shifts, and disrupted sleep patterns, the NHTSA reports shift workers run a particularly high risk of drowsy driving crashes.
However, anyone that is sleep deprived is a danger on the highway. […]
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