Anoxia and Hypoxia in a Medical Malpractice Case
Robert Wolff
December 19, 2014
What is Hypoxia and Anoxia?
What is Hypoxia and Anoxia?
In a medical malpractice case in New York, after the injured victim’s lawyer has made his opening remarks, does the defense attorney necessarily have to give his opening remarks? The answer is no. The defense attorney need not provide his opening remarks after the plaintiff’s lawyer has done so.
New York residents might have heard that on Dec. 12, a Florida court ruled to uphold a suit of negligence against the Holmes Regional Medical Center for failing to remove a recalled drug and prescribing it to a patient. The hospital had appealed the negligence lawsuit, which was filed by the injured patient and his wife, but the request was denied by a panel of three judges from the 5th District Court of Appeals.
You hire a medical malpractice attorney based on his past results, and you firmly believe that this attorney could never lose your case at trial. However, this line of thinking on your part is quite flawed. Many lawyers tell potential clients that they have sterling results in the past, and even show them a list of cases that they had won, and huge settlements that they were able to obtain for their clients.
Here is a scenario where the doctor has failed to diagnose lung cancer in a timely manner. After filing a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff’s lawyer has a chance to question the doctor during a pre-trail question and answer session known as a deposition. The lawyer will try to focus on key areas by asking how the treatment would have been different if the lung cancer was diagnosed earlier in time.
There will be instances when your lawyer could voluntarily expose a key weakness in your medical malpractice case in his opening arguments. This may sound quite shocking to you, since you would have thought your lawyer will start building a strong foundation for your case right from the start. Willingly presenting a weakness to the jury in the opening arguments might not seem right.
In a medical malpractice case it is critical to explain to the jury, what were the expected standards of care in the treatment how were these standards violated, and why such violation made a difference? For instance, you may have consulted a doctor for some health issue, and after receiving treatment from the doctor, you end up with an injury rather than getting back on track and getting your health back. You would want to know, whether the doctor has violated the basic standards of care that caused you harm.
Premature separation of the placenta, also known as placental abruption occurs when the placenta either partially or fully separates from the uterus prior to the baby’s birth. There are few direct causes, and they include injury to the abdomen or a sudden loss of a large quantity of uterine fluid, such as occurs after the birth of the first twin in a multiple birth.
The doctor has operated on the wrong side of your body, and he refuses to acknowledge the extent of your injuries. Here it is quite clear to you that the doctor violated the basic standards of care, which has resulted in significant and permanent injuries to you. You believe that the moment you bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor, he and his attorney is going to accept total responsibility and will recognize the full extent of your injuries and damages.
In a medical malpractice trial, the plaintiff’s attorney has the opportunity of questioning and cross-examining the defense’s medical expert. However, he makes the critical mistake of asking, “Doctor tell us why?” This gives the doctor opportunity to provide an elaborate explanation.
