James E. Girards’s Answers

The information you have provided contains a number of red flags that I would ordinarily use to spur an investigation into a suspected wrongful death. First, you have a post-op death case resulting from a supposedly successful surgery. Second, you have what sounds like clear surgical complications that apparently were not addressed at all. Third, you have witnesses who were concerned enough to request a higher level of care, which requests were ignored. Fourth, you have abnormal blood work in...

The short answer is that Texas requires suit to be filed before the two-year anniversary of the negligence. This is not the date that the patient died, but the date that the negligence occurred. There are notice requirements, some of them very short, depending on the type of healthcare facility that is involved. Whether suit is feasible in your situation depends on a lot of factual data that your attorney and his consultants would need to examine closely. Do not hesitate to call if we can...

We do a lot of heart cases in Arkansas at my firm since we have an interventional cardiologist-lawyer on staff. From the information you have included it sounds like this is something that ought to be reviewed by an attorney. However, a lot more information is needed. First thing needed is the date of the original stenting procedure so that the deadline for filing a lawsuit can be determined. The second thing needed is a complete copy of the medical records including some special records...

Yes you can act as her representative now. And, you should for a number of reasons. The deadline for a lawsuit to be filed on her behalf has not expired yet. While you could wait longer to do so, as time passes memories fade and records get lost or they get put on microfilm and things start to get unnecessarily difficult to prove. Some would tell you that she has until her 18th birthday to file, but there is also some reason to think that should would only have until she is 12. The explanation...

Texas doesn't allow three separate pain and suffering lawsuits for the wrongful death of another. All wrongful death claimants are represented in one lawsuit. If separate lawsuits are filed they will be consolidated into one lawsuit - involuntarily if necessary. Filing separately will only cause a needless increase in expenses, confusion, and erode your lawyer's credibility. The $250k damages cap is a collective cap that applies to all claimants together - whether there is one suit or many....

The first thing to address is your child's needs. When some time has passed and you know whether there has been any damage done then that is the time to consult a lawyer. If your child has suffered damage as a result of lack of timely treatment consult a lawyer who is experienced in medical malpractice cases for investigation of the situation and what might be done about it. (405) 598-7825 or jim@girardslaw.com for questions or concerns. Www.girardslaw.com

Frequently pneumonia will not show up on X-ray in its acute phase. Although, the xrays may show something that needed to be addressed immediately. Either way, that doesn't get the hospital off the hook. The symptoms displayed and the lab test results will play a large role here. So, depending on what they show a case could be strong. That is a long way of saying that you really need to have a qualified attorney look at this before you really know with certainty. We work in Oklahoma frequently....

The issue of medication errors in hospitals is huge. Statistically, a hospital patient will suffer a medication error once every ten days. Unfortunately, oversedation with narcotics is common and a written protocol for managing that is required of each hospital. Narcan is the medication of choice for countering oversedation with narcotics and is a necessary part of such a protocol. Failure to properly and timely use Narcan can result in death of the patient. Having handled a number of...

Red flags should be going off when a doctor is waiving his arbitration clause. Arbitration clauses are considered by lawyers who do what we do to be bad for consumers like you. The doctor has without doubt gotten some good legal advice for himself. If he is waiving the arbitration clause it means someone he trusts has told him he is better off doing that, which should be interested as being bad for you. The question is "why?" and that is what you need a lawyer to figure out right away.

I'm saddened by your loss. I've done many methadone related death cases and can tell you it is a very dangerous drug that many physicians don't understand. Unlike other narcotics that get metabolized by the liver at a known rate, methadone accumulates over time in the bloodstream and has an unpredictable metabolic rate that varies from patient to patient. So, if one were to prescribe it as a regular narcotic the patient can get a surprisingly high blood level of methadone in just a couple of...