Posts by Christopher Nace
Jury Awards $502 Million Verdict in J&J Defective Hip Implant Lawsuit
In March 2016 a federal jury in Dallas awarded $502 million to five plaintiffs who claimed that they suffered severe injuries from defective hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopedics, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. According to a story in The Dallas Morning News, after 37 days of testimony and five days of…
Read MoreNew Study Links Traumatic Brain Injury and Increased Risk of Suicide
Whether you suffer a traumatic brain injury from playing sports, a violent attack or a car crash, a concussion can have a devastating impact on those who survive them. A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that head injuries cause more damage than previously thought and carry far more significant long-term…
Read MoreMedStar’s Medical Meltdown
MedStar Health is continuing to recover after a malicious rasomware virus attack on Monday, March 28, 2016, stormed their servers, leaving many patients unable to receive treatment and medication. Many patients received a message indicating that their appointments needed to be rescheduled due to the facility’s inability to access records online or check their emails. A MedStar official stated that the incident had…
Read MoreDC Metro Accident Injury Lawsuits
The DC Metro system, or the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is a public transit system that is funded by the governments of Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. The third largest transit system in the U.S. includes the Metrorail system of rapid transit trains that travel on and below ground, and the Metrobus system.…
Read MoreCommon Reasons Doctors are Sued for Medical Malpractice
Physicians receive years of training and they devote years to the study and practice of medicine because they understand that human error, when it takes place in a medical setting, can mean the difference between life and death. Every doctor is aware of the lasting consequences of their actions and inaction in the life of…
Read MoreBicycle and Pedestrian Safety on the Roadways
Bicyclists and pedestrians must share the road with motor vehicles that weigh thousands of pounds, and can kill them in an instant in the event of a collision. All of us are pedestrians at some point, but when we get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, we must be mindful to keep an eye…
Read MoreAttorney Barry J. Nace Speaks to Legal Community about the Role of Medical Experts
On February 17, 2016, attorney Barry J. Nace was invited to speak before an influential gathering of about 35 judges and lawyers, including several from the States attorneys’ offices. The subject of his talk was the role of expert witnesses – namely, that a judge can only focus their inquiry on the methodology utilized by…
Read MoreE. Coli Outbreak Linked to Chipotle Restaurants Has Expanded to Maryland
There has been an outbreak of e coli infections linked to Chipotle restaurants that began in Washington and Oregon in October and November. There have been 52 cases reported in nine states now including the state of Maryland. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli 026 infection…
Read MoreIs Your New Year’s Resolution Putting Your Life in Danger?
The most common New Year’s resolutions always involve health: this will be the year we eat better, exercise more, and quit our bad habits. For many people, the overall goal is to lose weight – thus explaining the increase in gym memberships each January – and some people choose to take weight loss supplements to…
Read MoreRare but Often Deadly Rollover Vehicle Crashes
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that rollovers are rare but deadly because they account for less than 3 percent of motor vehicle crashes, but they account for more than a third of passenger vehicle occupant deaths. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2013 there were 21,132 fatalities in…
Read MoreIs Your Hospital Hiding its Medical Malpractice Data from You?
Back in March, we discussed medical malpractice confidentiality agreements: laws and regulations around the country that looked to protect healthcare professionals when something went “awry” during a procedure. The in August, we looked into research that analyzed the importance of doctors “recognizing and properly disclosing the errors they make, [and] offering an apology and explanation…
Read MoreRaise Your Hand if You Prefer Your Surgeon to be Exhausted
In 2011, a mandate was passed that doctors could no longer work 30 hour shifts. This was based in part by a study that claimed that “Interns working the traditional 30-hour shifts made 36 percent more serious medical errors,” as reported in the New York Times. Banning long shifts makes practical sense; when you are…
Read MoreBad for Mama Means Bad for Baby: Untreated Infections Can Lead to Neonatal Brain Damage
When you are pregnant, your entire world changes in a lot of ways. You will be told to avoid certain foods, to take prenatal vitamins, to avoid drinking or smoking: the usual roundup. You may also be told to avoid certain kinds of medications, because they could have a harmful effect on the baby. For…
Read MoreBeing Exposed to Anesthesia Could Cause Children to Develop Learning Disabilities
Sometimes when a child is born with a birth defect or a cognitive impairment, there seems to be no reason why. Other times, that child might have been the victim of medical negligence, or exposed to a substance which permanently altered their body chemistry or their brain. Discovering the “whys” is often one of the…
Read MoreFiling a Wrongful Death Claim
Wrongful death claims can make people feel uncomfortable because they think it will look as though they are trying to profit off the death of a loved one. The truth is, a wrongful death claim is a necessary and legal claim designed to help the families left behind. For example: if your spouse is the…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice: The Dangers of Misdiagnosed Meningitis
The misdiagnosis of diseases is far more common in the United States than you might imagine. According to a new study in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety, approximately 12 million adults who seek outpatient medical care end up being misdiagnosed. The journal also reports that in about half of those cases, the misdiagnosis could…
Read MoreThe DC. Metro’s Platforms Are a Menace
When you live and work in Washington, D.C., you get a lot of use out of the Metro. Because it is so convenient to use the Metro a lot more people are taking the train than ever before. This has led to serious overcrowding on the platforms – an annoyance for many people, but a…
Read MoreToo High a Cost: How the Criminal Justice System Fails the Mentally Ill
The Washington Post ran a story recently about a man named Jamycheal Mitchell. He was incarcerated for stealing $5.05 worth of snacks from a 7-11 in Virginia. Because he suffered from schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, a judge ordered that Jamycheal be placed in a state run psychiatric hospital – “but like an increasing number of…
Read MoreFacing Legal Troubles? There Are Plenty of Apps for That.
There are applications for almost everything we do: finding a restaurant, grabbing a cab, buying theatre tickets. But did you know there are more than 20 different apps that can help you with legal questions? The American Bar Association Journal reports that applications like CitizenshipWorks and the New York-based Stop & Frisk Watch are “putting…
Read MoreE. Coli Outbreak Linked to Chipotle Restaurants Has Expanded to Maryland
There has been an outbreak of e coli infections linked to Chipotle restaurants that began in Washington and Oregon in October and November. There have been 52 cases reported in nine states now including the state of Maryland. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli 026 infection…
Read MoreSpreading Good Cheer: Firefighter Receives Full Face Transplant and a New Look on Life
There are so many stories of catastrophic injuries sustained by people going under the knife. When something good happens, we think it is important that we share it with you, especially at this time of the year. Patrick Hardison was a volunteer firefighter. In 2001, he was hit by the weight of falling ceiling while…
Read MoreChristopher T. Nace Named a 2015 Top Lawyer in the D.C. Metro Region by Washingtonian Magazine!
Paulson & Nace, PLLC is pleased to announce that attorney Christopher T. Nace has been selected to Washingtonian Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers. The Washingtonian combs through the more than 80,000 attorneys in the Washington, D.C. region to uncover the best of the best and shares this list with their readers. Nominees are solicited from…
Read MoreThe Dangers of Opioid Painkillers Likely Outweigh the Risks
Opioids, or narcotic pain medication, is the strongest pain killer available. Doctors typically prescribe opioids for the most severe pain that cannot be helped by other pain relief medications. The problem with these powerful medications is that they are dangerous because of the risk of death by overdose, or addiction and other side-effects. Opioids work…
Read MoreMotor Vehicle Accidents Caused by Failure to Yield Right of Way
Yielding the right of way to other drivers is one of the hallmarks of responsible driving behavior. Anyone who has been driving for any length of time has seen that driver who just pulls out into the intersection or speeds up when entering the Beltway, causing other cars to slam on their brakes to avoid…
Read MoreMedication Errors Take Place in 50 Percent of Surgeries
A new study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to measure the medical mistakes made in the perioperative period has raised some eyebrows. As it turns out, the most common errors in surgical procedures are not related to the physical procedure itself, but to medication. “Incorrect dosages being administered, symptoms indicated by a patient’s vital…
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