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Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Severe Preeclampsia Can Cause
Brain-Damage

Severe Preeclampsia Can Cause Brain-Damage
Severe Preeclampsia Can Cause Brain-Damage, Picture of Medical Equipment
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Severe Preeclampsia can cause brain-damage if left untreated. Once again, South Carolina is in the news for its “sky-high and preventable rate of pregnancies that end in death or serious, long-term medical consequences.” (TheState.com)

34-year-old Jodie Roberts entered the hospital on Monday, July 19, 2018 with excitement, knowing she would soon see her second son for the first time. She was aware that her pregnancy was risky, because of her age, and the fact that she was overweight. She also had diabetes and high blood pressure, according to a legal filing by the family’s attorney.

High Risk Obstetrics

Because of the risks, her doctors admitted her to Prisma Health’s high risk obstetrics department in Columbia.

When Roberts’ Aunt Becky Kelly visited her on Tuesday afternoon, she says she knew something was wrong. Jodie looked panicked, and was having trouble breathing. Jodie told her she had been complaining to staff and repeatedly asking for a C-section. Kelly says she went to talk to the nurse several times, and was told that Roberts’ doctor wanted her to deliver the baby naturally.

Preeclampsia Statistics

“Roberts was suffering from preeclampsia, a little known but dangerous condition that affects one in 25 pregnant women, according to an affidavit” from an OB/GYN who reviewed Roberts’ medical records.

Preeclampsia Defined

Preeclampsia is a complication that causes a pregnant woman’s blood pressure to spike, which can cause severe headaches, changes in vision, nausea or vomiting, impaired liver function, swelling of the hands and face, and shortness of breath.

If untreated, preeclampsia can lead to serious, even fatal complications for the baby and/or for the mother. Severe preeclampsia can even cause brain-damage. However, it is highly treatable if caught early.

Preeclampsia Treatment

Quick actions need to be taken, including administering magnesium and delivering the baby by C-section (once the pregnancy is far enough along).

Experts advise treating preeclampsia with anti-hypertension drugs and magnesium at 160/110, to prevent seizures.

Signs of Preeclampsia

The first sign of preeclampsia is usually a rise in blood pressure. Sometimes there are no other symptoms; therefore, it’s very important to monitor your blood pressure during pregnancy.

According to Roberts’ attorney, and the expert witness, Prisma Health waited far too long to take any action to treat her preeclampsia. At 8:46pm Tuesday, Roberts said she couldn’t breathe. Three hours later, she complained of pain and discomfort, even though she had already been given an epidural.

Roberts’ blood pressure of 200/150 was considered severe preeclampsia, which can cause brain-damage. Treatment was still delayed.

At 1:56am, Roberts went into cardiac arrest. Her breathing stopped, and her family says she didn’t breathe for about 20 minutes. Finally, at this point, doctors performed an emergency C-section.

Severe Preeclampsia Complications

Doctors were able to resuscitate Roberts, but she has been in a vegetative state ever since. The lawsuit says, “Jodie’s injuries were the direct and proximate result of multiple occurrences of gross negligence, including the hospital’s decision to continue to induce labor even as Roberts’ vital signs showed she was in extreme danger and distress.”

An affidavit by Dr. Samuel, who had reviewed the medical records said her caregivers:

  • “Failed to adequately treat her high blood pressure and preeclampsia from her admission until the emergency delivery 42 hours later
  • Waited too long to treat Roberts with magnesium…, and failed to evaluate Roberts’ oxygen deficiency for at least 24 hours during labor
  • Continued inducing labor even though Roberts’ vital signs showed she had severe high blood pressure and hypoxia”

Jodie Roberts can’t move, speak, or recognize her family. She can breathe on her own, and can open her eyes; but her family says they don’t know if she can actually see, hear, or understand what’s going on around her.

Roberts now has to have a caregiver around the clock to bathe her, change her colostomy bag, tube-feed her three times a day, and crush and administer 14 medications every day.

Her family is suing to pay for her medical expenses and therapy (to possibly trigger something that can help her at least partially recover). Her family says her long-term care could cost millions of dollars.

Roberts is not alone. Unfortunately, her case is just one of many that “illustrate a growing concern over America’s high and rising maternal mortality and morbidity rates.”

Maternal Death Rates

About 14 U.S. mothers for each 100,000 live births die each year due to pregnancy or delivery complications. Most high income countries have low maternal death rates, and those rates have declined over the last 25 years. In the United States however, the trend is opposite, with a 16.7% rate increase between 1990 and 2015.

South Carolina Maternal Death Rates

According to MUSC, the rates are even worse in South Carolina, at about 24 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Hopefully, help is on the way:

In August of 2019, the Joint Commission (founded in 1951 to improve healthcare for the public and accredits 80% of U.S. hospitals), announced it “has introduced two new standards, effective July 1, 2020, to address complications in the areas of maternal hemorrhage and severe hypertension/preeclampsia.”

In 2016, South Carolina lawmakers established the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee to investigate pregnancy-related deaths. This committee has found that 54% of pregnancy-related deaths in South Carolina are preventable with proper treatment.

Contact Preeclampsia Lawyer David L. Hood for a Free Medical Malpractice Consultation

If you or someone you care about has suffered because of medical negligence, please schedule your free consultation by calling the Law Offices of David L. Hood at (843) 491-6025 or filling out our brief online contact form.

We know how difficult it can be to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of a serious malpractice-related injury. At The Law Offices of David L. Hood, we work hard to make things simple for you. After a free case evaluation, if we believe we can help you and your family, Medical Malpractice Attorney David L. Hood, co-counsel, and our team of experts will vigorously pursue your case to get you the best result we can achieve. Let us put our years of experience to work for you!

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Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Labor and Delivery Hospitals in South Carolina – How Do They Rate?

Labor and Delivery Hospitals
Labor and Delivery
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Labor and delivery hospitals in South Carolina do not rate well. Unfortunately, in a WalletHub list of “Best and Worst States to Have a Baby in 2022”, South Carolina has ranked one of the worst. SC also ranked near the bottom in the 2021 list (Best and Worst States to Have a Baby).

Where Does SC Rank for Labor and Delivery Hospitals?

In a list of all fifty states and the District of Columbia, South Carolina ranks 49th out of 51– only Mississippi and Alabama are worse. South Carolina’s labor and delivery hospitals also ranked 49th in 2021, which implies that there hasn’t been any improvement in this area. When ranking the states and the District of Columbia, WalletHub looked at four major categories:

  • Cost – SC ranked 46th
  • Health care – SC ranked 47th
  • Baby-friendliness – SC ranked 47th
  • Family-friendliness – SC ranked 49th

Each category has specific subcategories to make judgements more concrete, such as average cost of conventional-delivery charges, infant mortality rate, and child-care centers per capita. Each metric was scored 1 to 100, with number 100 providing the best care when it came to expectant mothers and newborn children. South Carolina scored consistently low in the four main categories.

Average Cost of Giving Birth

Childbirth can be very expensive, especially if there are any complications. The cost of having a child in a hospital also varies depending on whether the parent has insurance or not. In South Carolina, the average cost of labor and delivery without insurance is $17,684 as of 2020 (Cost of Giving Birth in US). However, the initial costs of having a baby aren’t the only things parents should worry about when it comes to raising a family. Access to healthcare, infant-care costs, and finding a pediatrician are also important to consider when choosing where to have a child.

Where Do Other Labor and Delivery Hospitals Rank?

South Carolina wasn’t the only southern state to do poorly on this list. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the US consists of 16 states, making it the largest region in the US (South Region). The 16 states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Of the 16 states in the southern region, only the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia were in the top half of the rankings.

The northeast region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This region had the best scores out of the remaining four regions in the US. All the states, with the exception of Pennsylvania were in the top 15. Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island were the top 3.

Fertility Rate

From 2010 to 2020, the fertility rate in South Carolina has gone from 62.8 percent to 55.9 percent– an almost 7 percent decrease (Fertility Rate in SC). If the population is to grow and for people to feel safe having children in this state, there must be improvements made in this area of the healthcare industry. If not, the birth rate may continue to dwindle, leading to a decline in population and other complications.

What are Common Birth Injuries?

Contact The Law Offices of David L. Hood for a Free Birth Trauma Consult

If you or someone you care about has suffered because of medical negligence, please schedule your free consultation by calling the Law Offices of David L. Hood at (843) 491-6025 or filling out our brief online contact form.

We know how difficult it can be to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of a serious birth injury. At The Law Offices of David L. Hood, we work hard to make things simple for you. After a free case evaluation, if we believe we can help you and your family, Birth Injury Lawyer David L. Hood, co-counsel, and our team of experts will vigorously pursue your case to get you the best result we can achieve. Let us put our years of experience to work for you!

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Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Prescription Errors in Pharmacy in South Carolina

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Prescription Errors in Pharmacy
Pills in the hand of a pharmacist

Most Common Medical Errors

Because pharmacists can get slammed with orders, prescription errors in pharmacy can occur. According to the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy, out of all the prescriptions filled in the US 1-5 percent of them involve some kind of error. According to the same report published by the University of Connecticut, prescription labels with incorrect directions are the most frequent type of errors. Giving the wrong dosage for a medicine is the second most common error pharmacists can make.

Pharmacy Statistics

Amounting to a whopping 300.86 billion US dollars in sales in the year 2020, the pharmacy and drugstore industry in the US is big business. From the huge chain drugstores like CVS and Walgreens, to medical clinics, grocery stores, hospitals and nursing homes, prescription drugs are everywhere.

In the US, there are 88,000 pharmacies spread across various facilities including independent or privately-owned ones. The industry has become so huge that it employs about 149,000 on-staff pharmacists. Out of these pharmacists, 6,000 are actively licensed to serve in South Carolina. Due to the growing number of prescriptions, pharmacies are very busy places, where around 25 prescriptions are filled every hour.

Pharmacist Gives Wrong Medication

Receiving an erroneous prescription for the wrong drug from a pharmacy can be extremely dangerous. In fact, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), prescription errors in pharmacy cause around 1.3 million injuries every year and cause at least one wrongful death every day.

Certain medications have similar names, or have spellings that are almost the same. It is very easy for a busy pharmacist to pick up the wrong medication, especially if they are arranged alphabetically. Also, sometimes pharmacists can be inattentive and reach for the wrong dose of the same medication.

Reasons for Medical Errors

Besides the two most common reasons we discussed earlier, prescription errors can occur in other instances as well. Dispensing medication can be a complex process; therefore the pharmacist can make an error at any point in the process. These errors can be made when the pharmacist refills or dispenses your prescription. In the vast majority of cases, these errors are accidental:

  • The first on this list is unclear communication between the pharmacy and the consumer. If the pharmacist is not paying close attention while dispensing your medication, they may miss out on important information.
  • Secondly, ambiguous names and directions written in hard-to-read handwriting can cause the pharmacist to make an error. For example, if the doctor has used abbreviations that the pharmacists can’t decipher, there is a chance they may give you the wrong medication.
  • While these two reasons are more accidental, the third reason may put the dispensary at fault entirely. If the pharmacy hires an unprofessional, uncertified employee that lacks the right knowledge and training, it could mean that they consciously had the prescription filled by someone who was not authorized by law to do so.

One other type of error that can be made is the pharmacist missing a drug interaction from a new prescription. If the pharmacist misses out on the other prescriptions that the consumer is taking, he can dispense a drug that has adverse interactions. For example, if the pharmacist gives a decongestant to someone who has high blood pressure, it can cause their blood pressure to go even higher.

How to Prevent Medication Errors in Pharmacies

Prevention is preferred over treatment; therefore it is wise to try to avoid prescription errors in pharmacy in the first place. This way you won’t have to file a claim or sue the pharmacy for any damages later on. The main thing you can do to avoid this is to check your prescriptions right after you receive them from the pharmacist. Instead of leaving the pharmacy right away, take your time to check the labels and directions on the bottles and ensure that this information matches the doctor’s prescription.

We learned previously that dispensing the wrong medication to a customer is the biggest pharmacy error. You may accidentally get someone else’s bag with the wrong dosage and/or directions. This is why it is important that you check everything before leaving the pharmacy.

Something else you can do is talk to the pharmacist, and ask any questions that you might have about the medicine. In case you didn’t know, you have the right to a patient-pharmacist counseling session. You can ask about any side effects, interactions and other critical information. Don’t be afraid to be your own advocate. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Prescription Errors in Pharmacy – How to Prevent

Sometimes a pharmacy error can still occur and may potentially cause very serious harm to the patients’ health or death. If the pharmacist or other pharmacy staff failed to provide you with the correct prescription and follow the guidelines established by law, then they may have committed pharmacy malpractice. Some things that may qualify as malpractice are:

  • Filing the wrong medicine,
  • Dispensing the wrong dosage of medicine,
  • Ignoring the requirement of warning you against the side effects and interactions the drug might have,
  • Prescribing a mix of medicines that shouldn’t be taken together,
  • Not taking into account the patient’s medical history and previous prescription use.

Since these errors can happen in various ways and at different points in the process, lawsuits that follow them are also complicated and require the expertise of a pharmacy malpractice lawyer.

This is why you should not make the mistake of taking matters in your hands; keep the prescription safe as evidence for future litigation and get an attorney on board. You need the help of a professional who is knowledgeable about the drug prescription process, medical malpractice and pharmacy malpractice.

If you are the victim of pharmacy malpractice, you might be entitled to receive compensation to recover damages. Since the entire process will require a detailed analysis of accepted standards for the pharmacy field, you will need to work with an attorney who understands the complex rules and regulations which govern pharmacies and pharmacists. Your attorney should have the resources, access to experts and expertise to investigate your case and find the best solution for you and your families’ suffering.

Video: Can I Sue My Pharmacy for Giving Me the Wrong Medication?

The Law Offices of David L. Hood – Prescription Error Lawyer

Pharmacist errors can cause serious health problems and even result in death for many innocent patients. However, if the matter is handled expertly, those responsible for the damages can be held accountable. The Law Offices of David L. Hood and his co-counsel have experience in handling medication errors. With an understanding of the system, they utilize their network of medical experts and pharmacists to figure out the cause of the mistake and obtain (if possible) an expert opinion so a claim can be filed against those at fault.

If you have suffered at the hand of someone else’s negligence and incompetence, let us do whatever it takes to help you and your family get justice. We will fight until you get the compensation that you deserve.

If you or a loved-one has been a victim of pharmacy malpractice in South Carolina contact us for a free initial consultation. If you choose us to fight for your claim, we will work with you on a contingent-fee basis. So, you won’t owe us a fee unless we get a recovery for you! You can call us now at (843) 491-6025 or contact us at any of our offices in South Carolina here.

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Medical Malpractice Lawyer

5 Common Lawsuit-Worthy Examples of Medical Malpractice

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Every day, people put their trust in healthcare providers when they seek medical attention. They have faith that medical professionals will provide them with the best care, attention, and advice for their situation. However, when that trust is betrayed, serious harm can result and leave the patient and their family searching for answers and relief. 

Understanding what medical malpractice is, common examples of medical malpractice, and whom you should contact for questions is extremely important if you or a loved one believes you have a medical malpractice claim.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice happens when healthcare providers depart from the reasonably accepted standards of care in for their field and cause an injury to a patient by engaging in negligent or reckless behavior. Medical malpractice lawsuits are relatively common in the South Carolina; however, simply experiencing a negative outcome after seeking medical attention does not mean your healthcare professional(s) committed medical malpractice.

To have a viable medical malpractice claim, the victim and their attorney typically must prove the following:

  • A violation of the standard of medical care occurred
  • The injury was caused by medical negligence
  • The injury resulted in significant monetary damages

If your medical claim meets these requirements, you may have a medical malpractice case. In addition, learning about common examples of medical malpractice is also helpful for determining if your claim is considered medical malpractice.

5 Common Examples of Medical Malpractice That May Warrant a Lawsuit

While medical malpractice consists of a small number of legal cases each year, certain medical errors are more common in medical malpractice cases, including:

#1: A Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis 

If a serious health condition is not diagnosed in a timely way or is misdiagnosed, treatment options may become less effective or even ineffective for the patient. In a medical malpractice situation, a treating doctor’s handling of a patient’s case would be compared to other doctors’ methods for diagnosing the patient’s condition. Or, an attorney may find that the treating physician took steps in the diagnosis process that aren’t standard and caused them to miss the real medical issue.

#2: Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia errors can result in brain damage, permanent injury, or death. An anesthesia error could be considered medical malpractice if an anesthesiologist fails to investigate a patient’s medical history or consider the medications the patient is on. Additionally, improper dosage, failure to monitor vitals, and defective equipment are other anesthesia errors that may be considered medical malpractice.

#3: Surgery Errors

Surgeons and attending nurses may commit surgery errors that warrant a medical malpractice claim. Surgeons sometimes puncture internal organs, leave surgical instruments inside a person’s body, or operate on the wrong body part altogether, while a nurse might be negligent in giving postoperative care and causing complications, including serious injury or death.

#4: Childbirth Injuries

This type of medical malpractice committed by a physician or obstetrician can happen during pregnancy or childbirth. Two primary kinds of negligence may occur concerning fetal and childbirth injuries:

  • Negligent prenatal care. Examples include a healthcare provider failing to diagnose a mother’s medical condition, detect birth defects, identify an abnormal position, or diagnose a serious or contagious disease that could harm the mother’s fetus.
  • Negligence during childbirth. Common medical errors include a doctor failing to anticipate certain birth complications, respond to signs of fetal disease, order a cesarean section in time or when one is necessary. Misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor are also common.

#5: Medication Errors and Pharmacy Malpractice

An estimated 1 million medication errors occur each year, contributing to 7,000 deaths in the United States. Patients may be harmed by medication errors in many ways, including when a doctor prescribes the wrong medication or prescribes medication for a misdiagnosed condition. Most often, a medication error happens when an incorrect dosage is prescribed, whether due to a bad prescription, a pharmacy error, or even a drug manufacturing defect.

RELATED: What Happens When the Pharmacy Gives You the Wrong Medication?

Contact the Law Offices of David L. Hood for a Free Medical Malpractice Consultation

If you or someone you care about has suffered because of medical negligence, please schedule your free consultation by calling the Law Offices of David L. Hood at (843) 491-6025 or filling out our brief online contact form.

We know how difficult it can be to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of a serious malpractice-related injury. At The Law Offices of David L. Hood, we work hard to make things simple for you. After a free case evaluation, Medical Malpractice Attorney David L. Hood, co-counsel, and our team of experts will vigorously pursue your case to get you the best result we can achieve. Let us put years of experience to work for you!

*Clients are not liable for any expenses, unless there is a recovery in their case; however, if there is a recovery in their case, clients will be liable for expenses. Attorney’s fees are based on a percentage of the recovery, which will be computed before deducting expenses.

References

Bal, B. Sonny. (2008, November 26). An introduction to medical malpractice in the United States. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2628513/

Binder, L. (2013, September 3). The shocking truth about medication errors. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahbinder/2013/09/03/the-shocking-truth-about-medication-errors/#3e82274e10ab

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.

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Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If You Get Hurt on the Job in
South Carolina, Act Quickly

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If you get hurt on the job: A worker holding an injured worker up, with a wheelbarrow in front of them.
If you get hurt on the job: A worker holding an injured worker up, with a wheelbarrow in front of them.

If you get hurt on the job, you’ve probably got a lot on your mind. How will you pay your bills and afford day-to-day necessities? Is your career in jeopardy? What should you do next?

While there’s a lot to sort out after an on-the-job injury, it’s important to not let the stress and anxiety overwhelm you and keep you from taking action. We have seen too many cases where injured workers wait too long to get their workers’ compensation claim started and then miss out on benefits they deserve.

You need to act quickly if you want to have a chance at receiving compensation for your medical bills and lost wages by filing a workers’ compensation claim.

In this article, we’ll explore why time is of the essence when it comes to on-the-job injuries. We will also discuss what you can do to make sure time doesn’t run out on your workers’ compensation claim.

If You Get Hurt on the Job, You Have a Duty to Notify Your Employer 

The first and most important thing you need to do if you get hurt on the job is notify your employer about the injury as soon as possible. After an injury, you have a responsibility to tell your employer about it immediately (or within the soonest reasonable time frame if you’re unable to notify them right away). In particular, South Carolina law states that an employee must report any injury to their employer within 90 days.

How long do you have to report workers’ comp?

Failing to tell your employer about the incident and your injuries could lead to denial of your workers’ compensation claim and the loss of any benefits that you might have been entitled to.

How Long Do I Have to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

If you’re not already familiar, workers’ compensation is a state-sponsored system that pays monetary benefits to workers who suffer injuries or become disabled during the course of their employment. Injured employees in South Carolina can apply to receive workers’ compensation benefits by filing a claim with the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC). Here’s a link to form 50 (workplace injury claim).

This short explanation makes it sound a lot easier than it really is to apply for and receive workers’ compensation benefits. But it should at least give you an idea of what the workers’ compensation system is all about.

Additionally, every state sets a specific window of time that injured workers have from the date of their injury to file a workers’ compensation claim. Once that time limit (the “statute of limitations”) expires, the employee loses any chance to receive compensation for their injuries by filing a claim.

In South Carolina, employees have two years to file a workers’ compensation claim before the statute of limitations expires. While this might sound like a lot of time, it’s important to remember that the paperwork involved with filing a claim is complex. It also takes time to gather the necessary information in order to fill out that paperwork in the first place.

All of this means that waiting until the last minute to pursue a claim is not a good idea.

How an Attorney Can Help With Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

In general, you should contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible after suffering an on-the-job injury. An attorney should be able to investigate your potential claim, gather the necessary information, help you fill out the complicated paperwork in a timely fashion, and advise you about the statute of limitations and any other factors that may affect your claim.

RELATED: The “Final Offer”: A Common Insurance Company Bluff

Even if it seems like your employer’s insurance company plans to do the right thing and take care of you without a dispute after you are injured at work, it’s still a wise decision to talk with an attorney about your situation.

In some cases, the insurance company will at first pay for your medical treatment, leading you to think your medical bills are covered. However, unless the insurance company has paid total temporary disability in your case, they can still deny your claim and refuse to pay for your treatment — even after they’ve initially agreed to pay. We’ve encountered many clients who had the rug pulled out from under them in this way. It came as an unpleasant shock when they received bills for medical treatment they thought had already been paid.

Working with an attorney who will deal with the insurance company and handle all the important details of your case is one way to avoid being surprised by an insurance company tactic like this. Even more importantly, it’s a way to keep your case on track and allow you to focus on your recovery instead of having to deal with the stress and hard work that comes with trying to handle a workers’ compensation claim alone.

David L. Hood: South Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyer -Advocating for You if You Get Hurt on the Job

To learn more about your rights if you get hurt on the job, and to receive the care and attention your workers’ compensation case deserves, contact The Law Offices of David L. Hood. Your South Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyer has years of experience representing injured workers. We handle all cases on a contingent fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win your case or negotiate a successful settlement.* Call our offices at (843) 491-6025 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation with us today.

*Clients are not liable for any expenses, unless there is a recovery in their case; however, if there is a recovery in their case, clients will be liable for expenses. Attorney’s fees are based on a percentage of the recovery, which will be computed before deducting expenses.

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.

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Wrongful Death Attorney

How Common are Alligator Attacks in South Carolina?

How Common are Alligator Attacks in South Carolina? Alligator’s head coming out of the water.
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The danger of alligators

Alligator attacks have not been very common in South Carolina, but are becoming more so, due to human growth into their habitats and the growing alligator population.

The phrase “see you later, alligator” is certainly a fun way to say goodbye. In reality, however, alligators are very dangerous animals. While they are common enough in the southeast with a population of five million, they should be treated with respect and avoided. Adult alligators live, on average, 30-50 years and can be anywhere from 10 to 15 feet long. The larger an alligator grows, the more territorial and solitary it will become. Smaller alligators are more tolerant of each other’s presence, so it isn’t uncommon to find several small alligators occupying the same space (Defenders of Wildlife).

Their mating season is from mid-April until June. During these months, alligators can be more aggressive to each other and to humans. The laying and hatching of eggs occurs in August, and the mother will stay with and defend the hatchlings for up to a year (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources).

How to avoid alligator injuries

Though most attacks occur in water, alligators can also sprint short distances on land to attack prey. It is important if you are attacked, nor to let the alligator drag you back into the water, since they are much more dangerous there. Most injuries are done through an alligator’s bite, but they also do a “death roll” by biting a limb of an animal or human and spinning quickly to tear it off. In this scenario, the best thing to do is to grab onto the alligator and spin with it. You can also fight back by repeatedly hitting the nose of the alligator and gouging out its eyes. If running from an alligator, it is important to know that they can climb chain link fences and are able to jump up to six feet high –  in and out of water (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources).

There are two different types of alligator attacks: provoked and unprovoked. An unprovoked attack is when an alligator makes first contact with a human, and a provoked attack is when a human is actively trying to make contact with an alligator or disturbs it in some way. It is rare for an alligator to attack unprovoked.

How common are alligator attacks in South Carolina?

“According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), there have been 23 non-fatal encounters between people and alligators, as well as three alligator-related fatalities, between 1976 and 2020” (The State). However, there has been an additional death caused by an alligator attack since that statistic was published.

How to deal with an alligator attack

Recent Attacks

On June 24, 2022, a 75-year-old man, Michael Burstein, was killed in Myrtle Beach by an alligator who lunged at him and pulled him into a retention pond. Alligators were a common sight in this neighborhood, but the attack was unexpected. It was determined by the SCDNR that the alligator was to be killed on site by professionals. Additional details have not yet been released by the Horry County police, so it is unclear whether this attack may have been unprovoked.

This attack is the first fatality caused by alligators since the death of Cynthia Covert on Kiawah Island. She was at a friend’s house when she tried to pet an alligator that was in the pond behind the home. Though her friend did try to pull her from the alligator’s grasp, Cynthia was unfortunately pulled below the water’s surface and drowned (The New York Times). In this case, her death could have been avoided if proper precautions were taken.

Though alligator attacks are rare, they are becoming more frequent due to human growth into their habitats and the growing alligator population. In fact, South Carolina has over 100,000 alligators and they’re now classified as threatened instead of endangered.  Now, South Carolina has an alligator hunting season each Fall. About 1,000 licenses are issued each year, but only a few hundred of the normally elusive creatures are taken.

Reduce the Threat of Attack

For most of us, it is important to give these creatures a wide berth. If possible, avoid walking close to the edges of bodies of water where they could live. Listen out for warning signs like bellowing, splashing, and hissing when trying to avoid them. Don’t swim in areas where there are alligators; keep your pets out of their waters and never feed an alligator. Most alligator attacks are provoked, so following these simple steps can reduce the threat of attack. Be safe out there!

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in South Carolina

Contact The Law Offices of David L. Hood for a Free Wrongful Death Consultation

We all know you can’t sue a gator. However, if someone you care about has died due to someone else’s negligence, please schedule your free consultation by calling The Law Offices of David L. Hood at (843) 491-6025 or filling out our brief online contact form.

We know how difficult it can be to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of a wrongful death. At The Law Offices of David L. Hood, we work hard to make things simple for you. After a free case evaluation, if we believe we can help you and your family, Wrongful Death Attorney David L. Hood, co-counsel, and our team of experts will vigorously pursue your case to get you the best result we can achieve. Let us put our years of experience to work for you!

*Clients are not liable for any expenses, unless there is a recovery in their case; however, if there is a recovery in their case, clients will be liable for expenses. Attorney’s fees are based on a percentage of the recovery, which will be computed before deducting expenses.

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Personal Injury Attorney TBI

Golf Cart Injuries on the Rise

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Golf Injuries on the Rise
A man driving a golf cart in the middle of traffic

Golf Cart Injuries Have Increased

Golf cart injuries have increased over the last fourteen years due to the increased use of golf carts, their increased power and speed, their design, and little regulation. “The zippy means of transportation – no longer limited to golf courses – carries “considerable risk of injury and morbidity” to drivers and passengers of all ages…” (SafetyandHealthMagazine.com)

When Was the Golf Cart Invented?

The golf cart was invented in 1932 “to afford unwell, older, or handicapped golfers the ability to travel the course while simultaneously reducing the burden of carrying equipment and to speed progression of play.” (ScienceDirect.com)

Today, golf carts are a popular mode of transportation off the golf course as well, especially in retirement communities, beach communities, college campuses and residential neighborhoods.

Injury Statistics

In a National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NIESS) study, spanning the years 2007 to 2017, over 156,000 people were treated in emergency rooms in the United States due to golf cart-related injuries. Over that 11-year period, “the number of golf cart-related injuries increased by approximately 14.7%…from an estimated 14,599 cases…in 2007, to an estimated 16,752 cases…in 2017…” (ScienceDirect.com)

Golf Cart Death Statistics in South Carolina

In the Palmetto State, in just the last few years, there have been several golf cart deaths:

  • 2017, a man fell out of a golf cart on Folly Beach, hit his head on the pavement, and died.
  • 2019, a Greenville County woman crashed a golf cart, resulting in a heart attack and death.
  • July of 2020, Melanie Popjes was a passenger in a golf cart on Fripp Island. She was holding her infant daughter in her lap. Popjes fell off the golf cart, with the baby cradled in her arms. The infant was safe, because Mrs. Popjes had prevented her daughter from hitting the pavement. Unfortunately, Mrs. Popjes lost her life.

Melanie Popjes mother, Dian McDermott, is calling for stricter enforcement of current golf cart regulations, and for further regulation, including a seat belt requirement and a requirement for car seats for children under a certain age and weight. (PostandCourier.com)

Golf Cart Regulations in South Carolina

Do you know the current golf cart regulations in South Carolina?

To read the regulations, see Section 56-2-105 of the South Carolina Code of Laws (Golf cart permit and the operation of a golf cart).

“Despite the high rate of injuries, there have been no meaningful changes in golf cart design or legislation to reduce the overall burden of these injuries.” (ScienceDirect.com) So, for now it’s left up to us, golf-cart drivers and passengers, to keep ourselves and others safe.

Safety Tips

These Golf Cart Safety Tips can help:

  • Keep arms and legs in vehicle at all times.
  • Always use seat belts. If not installed, have them installed.
  • Abide by all normal traffic rules.
  • Do not drive when under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
  • Know and use hand signals.
  • Drive defensively.
  • Do not drive in extreme weather.
  • Perform safety checks at least twice a year. Golf carts need maintenance just like your car or truck.
  • Have headlights and taillights installed.
  • Don’t let inexperienced drivers drive.
  • Avoid carrying too much weight. Carry only the number of people the golf cart is designed to seat.
  • Check your surroundings, being aware of blind spots.
  • Yield to pedestrians.
  • Avoid driving on bumpy or uneven terrains.

(GolfCarts.org)

For more golf cart safety tips:

50 Golf Cart Safety Tips (Everything To Know To Stay Safe)

The Law Offices of David L. Hood – Golf Cart Accident Lawyer in South Carolina

If you or a loved one has been injured in a golf cart-related accident due to someone else’s negligence, let the legal team at The Law Offices of David L. Hood help you navigate the situation professionally. We have years of experience in helping people involved in serious accidents figure out the legal requirements and details needed to move forward after a catastrophic injury. After gathering all the necessary information, we will pour our efforts into building your case to get a fair settlement or take it to trial.

Our team and co-counsel has years of experience representing accident victims and their families throughout South Carolina. Having a passion to help, we offer a free initial consultation where we provide candid legal advice on what options you may have. If you choose to work with us, we promise a contingent-fee based case, where you don’t pay unless we get a recovery in your case.

You can find our contact information on the page here and schedule your free consultation session.

Other online resources used in writing this article:

https://www.postandcourier.com/columnists/parenting-has-golf-carting-with-kids-gotten-out-of-hand-in-charleston-and-mount-pleasant/article_18b8baba-e5d4-11e9-8020-8b8db111b19e.html

Golf Cart Accidents on the Rise – STILL
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Categories
Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Rampant Medical Neglect in South Carolina Prisons

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The South Carolina Constitution requires that “the state must provide for the health and welfare of all incarcerated men and women.”(Greenvilleonline.com) However, according to at least 83 medical malpractice suits pending as of December, 2018, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) is not meeting the most basic health care needs of its inmates. There are an additional 78 wrongful death or personal injury lawsuits that cite inadequate medical care in the state’s prisons.

“Collectively, the cases – along with interviews with more than 60 former and current inmates conducted by The State – offer an alarming picture of a prison system in crisis, leaving inmates broken, discarded, and in some cases, dead, due to incompetence or negligence.”

Here are just a few examples of this negligence, which has been going on for years:

Julius Allen Munn says he became blind, because SCDC refused to buy his test strips (which cost 10 cents each) that were needed to check his blood sugar, since he is diabetic. He volunteered to buy them himself, but that wasn’t allowed either.

Because of botched dental work that was done in a SC prison, S.S., another inmate had to be shocked back to life twice in an ambulance, on the way to the hospital, after lying in his cell begging for help for five days.

C.C. says he has a severely broken jaw, and has waited over a year for prison officials to fix it.

P,H. filed a lawsuit in 2016, claiming he had cancerous growths that were pushed aside for four years.

In more severe cases, death has occurred due to SCDC’s negligence:

In 2012, 24-year-old Sinetra Johnson was serving time at Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institute in Columbia. She was pregnant with twins. In her 26th week of pregnancy, she began having intense pain, and knew something wasn’t right. She went to the prison’s medical station to be checked.

A nurse checked her vital signs, and told her she was fine, and to go on to work at the facility’s clothing plant. She was not sent to an OB/GYN, and no vaginal exam was done.

After work, she again went to the nurse, with the same results.

This being her first pregnancy, Johnson wasn’t sure what to expect. She awoke in extreme pain at 11:15 p.m. She ran to the restroom, and one of the twins (Karmin) was born in the toilet, fully formed, but still in the amniotic sack.

Other inmates tried to get the attention of the guards, and were ignored; so they found a wheelchair, put Johnson in it, and rushed her off to the medical station. Some other inmates were trying to save baby Karmin, but guards ordered them to stay away. By the time the guards finally did something, it was too late. Baby Karmin was dead.

Thankfully, the nurse called an ambulance for Ms. Johnson, and the other baby was delivered in the ambulance.

An autopsy on Karmin revealed that she could have survived if someone had manually ruptured the amniotic sack.

SCDC Officials have denied many of Ms. Johnson’s allegations in response to the lawsuit.

Another wrongful death suit has been filed by the family of Alan Fields, who committed suicide by hanging at Leiber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, SC in November, 2018. The lawsuit argues “gross negligence by his doctors and other prison staff contributed to Fields taking his own life.”(abcnews4.com)

Fields was serving a 30-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter. He had a long history of “hallucinations, severe delusions, and psychosis that were often worsened by manic-depressive episodes,” and had been diagnosed multiple times with schizophrenia and other psychotic and mood disorders.

In the prior year and a half, Fields had tried to commit suicide by hanging or self-injury ten times, according to the lawsuit.

Three of Fields’ five doctors while in prison felt he was malingering (exaggerating or faking symptoms). According to the National Institutes of Health, “the convergence of the multiple symptoms can make the schizoaffective disorders difficult to diagnose.” In March of 2018, one of his doctors, Dr. Judd actually said he did not have a mental illness, and reduced his schizophrenia medicine.

In October of 2018, Fields talked about suicide, including how he was going to go about doing it. “He even scored 10 out of 10 on a suicide intent scale test, attorneys say.” Once again, another doctor, Dr. Griswold accused him of malingering.

In 2017, Fields was placed on a forced medicine regimen, because he was pretending to swallow his medicine, and would later spit it out. That regimen ended as soon as Fields became more stable. In the last three months of his life, Fields took it upon himself to stop taking all his medicines. “The lawsuit slams medical staff for not doing its due diligence to ensure Fields was actually taking his medicine.”

According to the lawsuit, “Mr. Fields’ suicide on November 28, 2018 was foreseeable, preventable, and a direct result of SCDC and the above referenced medical/mental health providers’ failure to properly classify, monitor, and treat his severe mental illness while incarcerated.”

As of 2018, 58% of South Carolina’s inmates suffered from some medical condition. Only 11 physicians and 221 nurses work in the SC prison system, which houses roughly 19,000 inmates. There are 21 prisons in the SCDC system, which means there is not even a doctor for each facility. Bryan Stirling, Director of SCDC says the department contracts with temporary agencies, employing two additional doctors and 74 more nurses to help with the shortage.

Other solutions are in the works, including a partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina, which provides digital doctor visits in five prisons. The department also transports prisoners to see outside doctors.

Stirling says his top priority is to hire more staff, “but that is proving challenging.” The SC House has recently denied a budget request for additional medical staff.

CONTACT THE LAW OFFICES OF DAVID L. HOOD FOR A FREE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CONSULTATION

If you or someone you care about has sustained a catastrophic illness, or death in a South Carolina prison because of medical negligence, please schedule your free consultation by calling the Law Offices of David L. Hood at (843) 491-6025 or filling out our brief online contact form.

We know how difficult it can be to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of a serious malpractice-related injury. At The Law Offices of David L. Hood, we work hard to make things simple for you. After a free case evaluation, if we believe we can help you and your family, Medical Malpractice Attorney David L. Hood, co-counsel, and our team of experts will vigorously pursue your case to get you the best result we can achieve. Let us put our years of experience to work for you.

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Categories
Personal Injury

“Final Offer”: A Common Insurance Company Bluff

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If an insurance adjuster tells you that he or she will be unable to make any further offers, they may be bluffing, especially if it’s still early in your personal injury case. After learning a little about the way insurance companies and personal injury claims work, you’ll see that insurance companies often have very little to gain from following through on such a bluff.

Seeing Through Insurance Company Tactics

First, the value of your personal injury claim is not time-sensitive. A $30,000 case will still be worth $30,000 a week from now, a month from now, and even a year from now. Your case value is based on your total medical expenses and on the evidence you have that the insured person is liable for your injury. Both of these factors are very unlikely to diminish over time — your medical bills may increase, if anything, and properly documented and preserved evidence is not going to just disappear.

Furthermore, if your claim does proceed to trial, the insurance company could lose more money than if they simply paid you a fair value for your claim since a lawsuit will require the insurance company to pay a team of lawyers. Not only that, but insurance adjusters are often weighed down by heavy caseloads, and if an insurance adjuster devotes too much time to your individual case (which they almost certainly will if it turns into litigation), this can reflect poorly on the adjuster when his or her superiors evaluate their performance.

RELATED: These 6 Tips Can Help You After a Car Accident

If an insurance company tries to use the “final offer” tactic on you, then you and your attorney should compare how much a lawsuit will cost you with how much a lawsuit will cost them. If it becomes very clear that the insurance company is bluffing, your attorney might want to remind them just how much a lawsuit will cost. Or, the personal injury attorney can counter-bluff and threaten to withdraw all demands and file suit.

Need Help Dealing with an Insurance Company After Being Injured in South Carolina? Contact David L. Hood

Don’t let unscrupulous insurance adjusters bully or intimidate you. If you’ve been injured and you want to seek compensation by filing a personal injury claim, you may benefit from having an experienced and knowledgeable advocate on your side. Call South Carolina personal injury lawyer David L. Hood today for a free consultation.

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.

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Categories
Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Staff Shortages Can Lead
to Pharmacy Malpractice

Pharmacy window with sign that reads, “Pharmacy Closes at 3:00pm today due to staffing issues. Thank you, Management.” Staff Shortages Can Lead to Pharmacy Malpractice
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In the last couple of years, Covid has caused the workload in pharmacies to rise dramatically, but staffing levels have actually decreased during this same time period. This combination can lead to deadly consequences of pharmacy malpractice.

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians alike have been overworked and understaffed due to the Covid pandemic. On top of their regular jobs of filling prescriptions and counseling customers, they have been forced to juggle “administering Covid-19 vaccines and tests, more phone calls and handing out masks.” (NYTimes.com)

Pharmacy customers have had longer wait-times on the phone to get their prescriptions filled. This causes customers to be angry and take it out on pharmacy staff resulting in even more stress for pharmacists and technicians.

All of this has caused pharmacy staff to have to work longer hours, and be much more stressed out in their jobs. Many pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have left their jobs because they just could not deal with it anymore. Of course, this just causes the problem to get that much worse.

“Large retail pharmacy chains have tried to respond, with some reducing store hours, increasing starting wages, offering more breaks and giving out bonuses to retain employees. But customers have felt the impact, with some experiencing disruptions in vaccine appointments, longer lines to pick up prescriptions and frustration over securing masks and at-home virus tests.” (NYTimes.com)

Pharmacists

Recently, PBS News Hour interviewed (to hear those, click here) some pharmacists on how they are struggling “to keep up with a spike in demand for their services”:

Ryan Albano (who has been a pharmacist for 17 years) said, “If you had a doctor working on a loved one or a family member performing surgery, would you want the phone ringing in the background while the doctor is providing surgery to your loved one? You want that doctor having questions thrown at them, having the drive-through being rung, having emails pop up at you, having customers waving at you?”

Jennifer Morrow (worked as a pharmacy manager up until December 2021) said, “I felt like I was an octopus pulled in eight different directions. And one of them is having to give vaccines. Now, I’m even concerned that I might give the wrong vaccine at the wrong time.” (PBSNewsHour.com) 

Pharmacy Technicians

“Pharmacies can’t run without technicians, who do the lion’s share of work behind the counter, from counting pills to taking phone calls and ringing patients up.” This job takes a lot of training, but does not require a college degree. Many states do require pharmacy technicians to have a certificate (which they earn after a certain amount of training).

Technicians usually get paid very meager salaries for the job they do. Some pharmacies have recently increased staring salaries for technicians, to hopefully entice more people into the field to help with the shortage. (NBCNews.com)

Heidi Strehl worked in Rite Aid as a pharmacy technician for over 16 years. She said she loved her job and her customers, and always thought she would work in that job until retirement age. In October she “abruptly quit, walking out in the middle of a shift.” She said, “…in recent years the workload and stress had increased to unsustainable levels while staffing and pay failed to keep up.”

Many other technicians have recently done the same: saying they’re having to do too much for too little pay, “increasing the possibility that they will fill prescriptions improperly.” This has caused a major staff shortage, which means the pharmacists are overloaded with more work than they can possibly handle. This has led to huge waits for prescriptions, decreased pharmacy hours “and some prescription errors and vaccination mix-ups – like children receiving an adult Covid-19 vaccine instead of a flu shot – in a business sector in which delays and mistakes can have serious health consequences.” (NBCNews.com)

How to protect yourself and your loved ones from pharmacy errors:

  • Check to be sure your name, the correct medication name and correct strength are on the bottle.
  • If you have taken the prescription before, look at the pills to be sure they look the same. If they look different, ask the pharmacist to check your prescription to be sure it is correct.
  • If you have any questions about whether your prescription has been filled correctly, or about how or when to take the medication, do not take the medication until you have talked to the pharmacist.

(MiamiHerald.com)

Mistakes can be reported to state pharmacy boards. For South Carolina patients, that would be the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy.

Prescription monitoring is also available in SC:

https://scdhec.gov/healthcare-quality/drug-control-register-verify/prescription-monitoring

Video: What Do You Do if The Pharmacist Makes a Fatal Mistake?

THE LAW OFFICES OF DAVID L. HOOD – REPRESENTING PHARMACY MALPRACTICE VICTIMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Prescription malpractice can cause serious health problems and even result in death for many innocent patients. However, if the matter is handled expertly, those responsible for the damages can be held accountable. The Law Offices of David L. Hood and his co-counsel have experience in handling pharmacy malpractice cases. With an understanding of the system, they utilize their network of medical experts and pharmacists to figure out the cause of the mistake and obtain (if possible) an expert opinion so a claim can be filed against those at fault.

If you have suffered at the hand of someone else’s negligence and incompetence, let The Law Offices of David L. Hood do whatever it takes to help you and your family get justice. Let us fight until you get the compensation that you deserve.

If you or a loved-one has been a victim of pharmacy malpractice in South Carolina, contact us for a free initial consultation. If you choose us to handle your claim, we will work with you on a contingent-fee basis, meaning, you won’t owe us a fee unless we get a recovery for you! You can call us now at (843) 491-6025 or contact us at any of our offices in South Carolina here.

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For more information: https://hoodlawoffices.com/blog/pharmacists-overworked-and-understaffed/