Month: April 2010

Surgical burn injuries can cause significant physical and emotional pain for patients. This kind of medical malpractice is easily preventable.

There are a number of injuries that a patient can sustain as a result of medical malpractice of negligence. While infections and anesthesia errors are more common, burn injuries also pose a significant threat to patients and can have serious repercussions. Third degree burns cause permanent damage to the victim and can result in permanent disability or even death.

Burn injuries during surgery can result from a variety of different sources, such as: chemical burns, electrical burns and radiation burns caused by electric surgical tools, chemical solutions lasers, and warming devices. New medical technologies and practices, such as the use of lasers to cauterize tissue and delivering enriched oxygen to patients under anesthesia, also increase the chance for surgical fires.

Operating rooms are especially dangerous and pose threats to patients due to the presence of high-tech electrosurgical tools and an oxygen-rich atmosphere that creates a highly combustible mix. If surgeons or other operating room attendants do not keep these electrosurgical devices away from the oxygen being given to the patient, accidents are likely to occur and negligence should be suspected. Surgical burns also occur frequently because many hospital employees are not made aware of all burn hazards, or they have not received the proper amount of training in fire prevention and control.

These types of events are easily preventable if the proper protocol is followed by doctors, nurses and other attendants. When surgeons make mistakes that involve fire, the outcome can be devastating for patients and their families. While there are risks associated with having any kind of surgery, surgical burn injuries are the direct cause of a doctor’s mistake.

Surgical burns can have a devastating affect on a patient’s life, as they can lead to permanent disfigurement that can cause significant emotional and psychological damage. A burn victim will likely need ongoing medical care, rehabilitation and counseling. Medical malpractice cases involving surgical burns require the help of an experienced personal injury attorney.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

Starting a new business with a partner can be a difficult task, as it requires cooperation and compromise from both parties. If business partners do not outline their rights and responsibilities in a written partnership agreement, they will likely be unable to settle conflicts when they arise in the workplace. Also, small misunderstandings may erupt into major disputes that will be detrimental to the business venture. A partnership agreement will help solve these problems before they start and will give business owners the opportunity to structure relationships between partners in the way that best suits their business.

Partnership agreements can establish the shares of profits and losses each partner will take, the responsibilities of each partner, what will happen to the business if a partner decided to leave, and other guidelines for business procedures. While there are a number of potential elements, rules and procedures partnership agreements can establish, it is important that they establish clauses that outline: authority, decision making, and withdrawal.

It is important that partners outline how much authority each member has in the partnership. Without an agreement that says otherwise, any partner can bind the partnership without obtaining the consent of any of the other partners. However, if a partnership agreement is established, the partners can make it necessary to obtain all the others’ consent before binding the partnership.

Decision making in a business partnership can be a difficult task, and setting up a clause in the partnership agreement that focuses on how to handle decision making will make it easier for partners to work together. The agreement would lay out whether or not a unanimous decision was required for all business decisions or whether individual partners were allowed to make decisions on their own.

Not all business partnerships will last, and a partnership agreement should outline a method for dealing with the withdrawal of one of the business partners. The partnership agreement could outline a reasonable buyout scheme or establish another method of dealing with the loss of a partner.

There are a vast number of issues to consider before partners open the doors for their Atlanta business. Partners shouldn’t wait for a conflict to arise before outlining rules and procedures, and should look to a business law attorney to help formulate this important document.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

Bus accidents can often cause severe injuries to passengers. Victims of bus accidents are often left with lasting physical and emotional damage.

Getting around in Atlanta can be a difficult task, and many residents rely on public transportation to get them to where they’re going. While buses serve as a convenient means of transportation for Atlanta residents, these carriers can be highly dangerous. Due to the large number of buses and motor coaches on the road these days, bus accidents are becoming increasingly more common in major cities. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there are at least three hundred fatal bus crashes each year in the United States.

Bus accidents have the ability to cause excessive damage because of their large size and weight. In addition, buses don’t have seat belts or the other various safety mechanisms present in smaller vehicles, so those who are involved in bus accidents often sustain severe injuries that require the injured party to participate in extensive physical therapy. Unfortunately, accidents in vehicles of this size can also result in death and this can cause significant emotional and financial grief for families.

Bus related accidents and deaths are often the result of: driver negligence or recklessness, dangerous roadways, weather conditions, defective automotive products, inadequate security, and improper bus maintenance. Many people are unaware that under Georgia law, common carriers such as bus companies actually owe their passengers the duty to exercise extraordinary care in the operation of the bus or airplane. This duty is a higher legal duty than is normally owed to others, such as pedestrians or those in other vehicles. In spite of this higher level of duty, some bus drivers do not always drive responsibly, and other are not provided with adequate training by their employer. As a result, innocent people are put at risk.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a bus accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney who specializes in bus accidents. A personal injury attorney can help you navigate the complex governmental immunity laws that govern most buses.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Personal injuries can result from nursing home abuse and neglect. Recognizing this abuse and knowing your rights can help to protect you and your loved ones.

Long-term health care facilities, such as nursing homes, are means to provide loved ones with long-term assisted living that is highly respectful of their dignity. Too often misconduct by nursing homes and their staff members leads to the abuse, neglect or even death of patients. Most of these patients who suffer at the hands of nursing homes are elderly or are those who are severely disabled.

Nursing home abuse can take many different forms. If a nursing home patient is neglected, abused, or threatened, he or she may suffer physically as well as emotionally. This kind of abuse may result in bedsores, broken bones, or even premature death. Injuries that result from neglect are more subtle and are often harder to see. These include insufficient food and water, insufficient bathing opportunities, failure to change the resident’s underclothes in a timely manner, failure to supply adequate bathing supplies, failure to properly assist the resident who needs help bathing, eating, walking, etc, and verbal abuse.

Georgia law works to protect patients in long-term health care facilities from any such neglect or abuse. The state’s Patient Bill of Rights guarantees those who reside in a long-term health care facility the following:

• the right to receive adequate and appropriate care, treatment and services

• the right to choose among different forms of treatment

• the right to refuse treatment

• the right to request a different doctor

• the right to participate in the care and treatment plan suggested for you or your loved one

• the right to privacy

• the right to only be restrained in extremely limited circumstances

Georgia’s Patient Bill of Rights was enacted to ensure that each person living in a long-term health care facility was respected and treated with dignity. Due to the vulnerable nature of nursing home residents, Georgia law also allows family members to sue for damages on behalf of their loved ones.

If you believe that one of your loved ones has suffered injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect, you should consult with a personal injury attorney who can help to assess the strength of your claim.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.