From: CareMeridian, Las Vegas Nursing Home.

The brain is a complex and vital organ that shapes who we are. It allows us to understand questions and solve intricate problems, it produces our emotions while crafting our personality, and it helps us to live on both a biological and spiritual level. If it should experience damage than the essence of who we are could be lost forever. This is why traumatic brain injuries can cause grave damage to the life of its victim. 

According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a traumatic brain injury (also known as TBI) is an affliction that 1.4 million Americans sustain each year, 50,000 of which don't survive. While TBI's have differing levels of severity (ranging from mild to severe), they are usually acquired from a simple injury to the head and/or neck. Falls are the leading cause accounting for 28% of TBI's, while motor vehicle accidents account for 20%. However, motor vehicle accidents have a higher frequency when it comes to TBI hospitalizations, which studies have shown effect over 280,000 people each year. The causes of the injury are wide in variety and can occur from open or closed head injuries to deceleration injuries (also known as a diffuse axonal injuries), but its complexities delve much deeper. 

A traumatic brain injury can have life-altering effects on a victim's emotional and physical well-being, but can also do severe damage to the physical nature of the brain. The injury may require years, if not decades, of special care and rehabilitation from care facilities like CareMeridian, Las Vegas Nursing Home. The impairments from a brain injury can affect speech, vision, coordination, the short term and long term memory, and may even result in mood swings and behavioral changes in personality. Considering that every brain injury is different, rehabilitation depends on the individual case and injury; yet, prevention is possible. 

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On January 21, 2010, the day that U. S. Regulators  warned that Meridia (sibutramine) shouldn't be given to patients with a history of heart problems, their counterparts in Europe said the popular diet drug should be banned. The European Medicines Agency said that sibutramine - sold in Europe under several names, including Reductil, Reduxade and Zelium - should be pulled from the market because of associated risks of stroke and heart attack.

    The call for a European ban came after a study of 10,000 patients suggested it put them at a higher risk for heart disease. The study, Sibutramine Cardiovascular Morbidity/Mortality Outcomes in Overweight or Obese Subjects at Risk of a Cardiovascular Event (SCOUT), was begun in 2002, and involved patients who were 55 years of age or older, overweight or obese, and had a history of heart disease or type 2 diabetes plus one additional cardiovascular risk factor. Patients who recently had a heart attack or stroke, or had poorly controlled congestive heart failure were not included in the study.

    Preliminary data from SCOUT showed that cardiovascular events were reported in 11.4% of patients using Meridia compared to 10% of patients using a placebo. According to the FDA Early Communication issued in November, this difference was higher than expected, suggesting that Meridia is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk in the study population.

    Based on the SCOUT findings, the European Medicines Agency found that "the risks of these medicines are greater than their benefits." Its decision will now get passed to the European Commission for review.

    The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that because of the SCOUT findings, Abbott Laboratories had agreed to add a new contraindication to the Meridia label that it not be used in patients with a history of heart disease, including:

• History of coronary artery disease (e.g., heart attack, angina)
• History of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• History of heart arrhythmias
• History of congestive heart failure
• History of peripheral arterial disease
• Uncontrolled hypertension (e.g., > 145/90 mmHg)

    Meridia is a drug that is typically prescribed  to patients with a history of obesity or being overweight.  This particular patient population is at a greater risk of cardiovascular events. If you or a family member has suffered a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular event while on Meridia, please call an attorney with McGowan, Hood and Felder today at 877-327-3800 (toll free).  We offer all potential clients a  free consultation to assist them in determining their legal rights.  Call us today to determine your rights in regard to Meridia.

McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC has represented numerous clients in regard to personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against people causing injury to a person on a motorcycle. These situations have led to catastrophic injuries for persons who were riding on the motor cycle, including drivers and passengers.

Every year, the number of bikers seriously injured or killed in motorcycle accidents increases. This tragic fact is due in large part to the inattention of other motorists to motorcycles on the roadway and the disregard of the rights and safety of bikers. As the saying goes, "Look twice and save a life." Our firm has handled and successfully resolved cases involving motorcycle accidents.

Because motorcycles are not enclosed like cars or trucks, most accidents result in the driver being thrown from the cycle. Common motorcycle injuries include spinal cord injuries, broken bones, brain damage, paralysis and even death. Individuals injured in motorcycle, scooter or moped accidents need serious legal representation. Our law firm is committed to providing clients with sound and aggressive legal representation.

The attorneys at McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC frequently consult medical, engineering and liability experts to build our cases. The types of experts frequently used in a motorcycle accident case include an accident reconstruction expert, human factors expert and bio-mechanical expert. These cases can be expensive to prosecute and our firm is dedicated to ensuring that each motorcycle accident case at our firm receives the proper experts and legal representation.

Helmet Use And Effectiveness

South Carolina as a state does not require the use of a helmet when riding a motor cycle. The use of the helmet is a safety mechanism but many riders enjoy the freedom of riding without a helmet. Whether the rider is using a helmet or nor may foretell of the type of injuries that the driver or passenger on a motorcycle may incur.

The National Highway Traffic and safety Administration (“NHTSA”) estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,316 motorcyclists in 2004. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 671 lives could have been saved. Helmets are estimated to be 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists. This means for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved had all 100 worn a helmet.

All motorcycle helmets sold in the United States are required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218, the performance standard which establishes the minimum level of protection helmets must afford each user. In 2004, 20 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico required helmet use by all motorcycle operators and passengers. In another 27 States, only persons under a specific age, usually 18 were required to wear helmets. Three States had no laws requiring helmet use.

Types of injuries

* Head injury - affects the face, skull, and/or brain. These injuries are much more likely to result from motorcycle crashes than car accidents. Head injury often occurs when the motorcyclist is thrown from the bike, and their head collides with a solid object (e.g., pavement). It is especially prevalent when the rider is not wearing a helmet. A Traumatic Brain Injury has the potential to permanently hinder your motor skill functions.

* Broken bones and internal injury - usually affects arms and legs, but essentially no bone is safe in a crash. Groin injuries caused by the sudden stoppage of the motorcycle colliding with a car or another stationary object. Fractures may need months to heal and could even result in permanent disability if the victim is young enough that their growth plates have yet to fuse together. Internal injuries or organ damage may not be evident until a physician conducts a thorough examination. These can be fatal if they are ignored.

* Spinal cord injury and paralysis - damage to the vertebrae and connecting tissue that limits or completely restricts mobility depending on the location and extent of the damage. Paraplegia means the victim has loss of movement below the waist, while quadriplegia is from the neck down.

The attorneys at our firm work closely with referring attorneys to bring a case to successful resolution. The attorneys in our firm who practice in the motorcycle injury arena are constantly updating their education and ability to litigate these types of cases. S. Randall Hood of McGowan, Hood & Felder has helped litigate many catastrophic injury cases. S. Randall Hood is available for consultation by email at rhood@mcgowanhood.com or telephone (Toll free 1-877-327-3800).

Please visit our website at mcgowanhood.com for comprehensive information on motorcycle accidents.

Very truly yours,

McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC
S. Randall Hood, 1539 Healthcare Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29732

McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC has handled numerous actions involving Laparoscopic Cholecystectomies in South Carolina and North Carolina.

While “lap chole’s” are not part of the everyday lexicon, the procedure is very common and is simply the surgical removal of the gallbladder. The procedure can be done either laproscopically, where the surgeon makes several small incisions in the abdomen to allow the insertion of surgical instruments and a small video camera, or with an “open procedure” which is major abdominal surgery in which the surgeon removes the gallbladder through a 10 to 18 cm (4- to 7-inch) incision and requiring at least an overnight stay in the hospital.

One of the more common types of injuries resulting from a lap chole is when the surgeon mistakenly identifies the common bile duct for the cystic duct. In order for a surgeon to remove the diseased gallbladder normally he will clip the cystic duct and simply remove the gallbladder. However, before he can remove this organ he must first properly identify the different structures of the biliary tree. A surgeon will do this by removing connective tissue and other types of scarring around the area know as the Triangle of Calot. When sufficient tissue is removed an actual triangle will appear bound by the liver, cystic duct and the common hepatic duct.

When this triangle appears proper identification of the biliary tree is almost without fail. This dissection, however, usually takes about an hour to perform and some surgeons “think” they have identified the cystic duct but are mistaken. A common mistake occurs when the surgeon clips and transects what they believe to be the cystic duct when in fact they mistakenly clip and transect the common bile duct (aka common hepatic duct). It has been my experience that “short cut” mistakes often happen during procedures that are performed late in the day or after the surgeon has already performed a number of other procedures.

When the common bile duct is transected (cut) it cannot simply be sewn back together. Normally transfer to a skilled organ transplant surgeon is required to perform what is known as an hepaticojejunostomy, which is when the small bowel (jejunum) is cut and then connected to the liver (hepatic).

While the common bile duct is improperly transected in only about .4% of cases, there are almost 500,000 of these procedures performed each year in the United States. This number makes it likely that an attorney will see at least one of these cases during his or her career.
Has there been malpractice?

The issue in these cases is not so much if it was negligence to transect the common bile duct, but rather was the surgeon negligent in not positively identifying the cystic duct before he clipped anything. A surgeon should keep cutting away/dissecting until the Triangle of Calot can be positively identified. Clips are then placed on the cystic duct and it is transected. For a number of reasons mentioned above, surgeons will mistake the common bile duct for the cystic duct and proceed to clip and transect it.

The logic can be quite simple when presented in the proper light. If a surgeon positively identifies the cystic duct (which makes up one of the three sides of the Triangle of Calot) then the surgeon should never mistakenly cut the common bile duct. The common defenses are 1) there were so many physical abnormalities (the biliary tree has more differentiation than any other section of the human body), 2) there was too much scar tissue, 3) there was too much bleeding, etc., that the surgeon could not make a positive identification.

These above defenses can be overcome since a surgeon should always revert from laparoscopic to an open procedure when one of the problems above occurs. An “open procedure” provides a surgeon with a much improved field of vision when complications arise. If the injury to the common bile duct occurred during an open procedure, the case may have a stronger defense possibility.

The attorneys at our firm work closely with referring attorneys to bring a case to successful resolution. The attorneys in our firm who litigate Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy cases are constantly updating their education and ability to litigate these types of cases. Robert V. Phillips of McGowan, Hood & Felder has helped to litigate many cases that involve laparoscopic cholecystectomy claims. Robert Phillips is available for consultation by email at rphillips@mcgowanhood.com or telephone (Toll free 1-877-327-3800).

Please visit our website at mcgowanhood.com for comprehensive information on Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Very truly yours,

McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC Robert V. Phillips, 1539 Healthcare Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29732

McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC has handled numerous actions involving Parental Liability in South Carolina.  This type of action can take the form of suing a child, a parent, a guardian or any combination of these people.

It's the middle of the night, and you wake up to the sound of someone pelting your new car with eggs.  You recognize the assailants as some of the kids in the neighborhood.  Your paint job is now ruined, and even though the car is insured, you're out your $500.00 deductible.  Or, your child comes in dazed and confused, bleeding as a result of a rock thrown by one of his ‘friends.'  Of course, you rush him to the doctor for treatment, and await the bills.  Surely, you think, the parents of these children can be held responsible to pay for the damages caused by their children.  However, many people who have watched one of the daytime courtroom shows have learned that parents are "not an insurer that [their] child will not harm another."

Instead, the law typically holds children legally responsible for their own conduct, which in many instances will leave the victim without any way to collect on a judgment under the scenarios above, since most children don't have a great deal of money.  There are exceptions to this rule, to be sure, such as if the parent was negligent in supervising the child, or negligent in providing a dangerous object to a child.  However, those situations are often difficult to prove.

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McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC has handled numerous actions involving mass torts in South Carolina and outside the state. Mass torts are a type of action where a large number of people have been injured through the conduct of one or more companies or people.  An example of these types of cases are drugs which are recalled by the food and drug administration to medical devices that are found to cause severe injury to tainted food products which are placed into the stream of commerce.  There are multiple areas in which people are exposed to dangerous products by a mass tort.

Attorneys with McGowan, Hood and Felder, LLC have represented clients involving a number of prescription medications, medical devices and food products.  Below is a list of drugs or medical products that have either been recalled, had a black box warning attached to the product or had other information which may indicate the drug can cause injury. We currently have clients we are representing against the manufacturers of these products or are investigating the possibility of litigating claims against the manufacturers of these products.

Avandia - This is a pharmaceutical drug generally prescribed for the treatment of diabetes. Literature from a researcher in Canada in May 2007 found an association with the ingestion of this drug and increased chance of a heart attack (and other conditions as well).  In November 2007, the FDA required the manufacturer of Avandia to issue warnings of the potential increase in heart attacks that could be caused by taking this drug.  If you have a client who had a heart attack while on this medication, please call us today.

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McGowan, Hood, and Felder, LLC is one of the most experienced medical malpractice law firms in the Southeast. Medical Malpractice can come in almost any form from missed test results, to ignorant physicians, to nurses who do not follow doctor’s orders.

After handling so many cases, we can put most malpractice into three categories;

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McGowan, Hood, and Felder, LLC has represented numerous clients in regard to personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against physicians and hospitals alleging that the medical practitioners failed to heed warning signs occurring during an impending birth. These situations have led to catastrophic injuries for infants and their families who trusted their medical professional.

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McGowan, Hood, and Felder, LLC has handled numerous actions in the federal courts, both here in the District of South Carolina and outside the state. The cases have ranged from catastrophic injury (trucking accidents, products liability, etc.) to complex anti-trust class actions.

Federal court in South Carolina has several advantages: a single judge who will get to know your case, rapid resolution of motions and other issues, and more certainty in trial scheduling. On the other hand, there are a number of pitfalls that can trip up even experienced trial attorneys.

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McGowan, Hood, and Felder, LLC has represented numerous clients in regard to personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against nursing home and assisted living care facilities alleging that the entities failed to prevent bedsores or failed to properly treat them once present. These failures have led to painful injuries and death.

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