Medical Attorney Blog

Loving Conversations: One Family’s Story About the Importance of Advance Healthcare Planning follows a fictional family through the difficult process of making healthcare decisions for a loved one who did not make healthcare plans in advance. Each dramatization is followed by a didactic session where health lawyers answer some common questions about advance directives. This video was produced by the American Health Lawyers Association, as part of its public education mission.

The video is organized into seven segments. This chapter addresses some common questions about living wills and medical powers of attorney and the benefits and drawbacks of each advance directive type.

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Technorati Tags: advance directives, advance planning, AHLA, care, elder law, end of life, Estate, health, health law, health lawyer, healthcare, living will, Loving Conversations, medical, planning, power of attorney, trust

I haven’t been able to find one, if you know of more than one, that would be terrific!

Most med mal attorneys will practice state wide. I suggest you try doing a search on targetlaw for Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer. Link below….

The elder chooses a trusted person to make his/her medical decisions.

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Technorati Tags: aging, attorney, caregiver, elder, legal, medical, POW, senior

http://www.wdolaw.com 866-930-2497 Williams, Love, O’Leary & Powers, P.C. represents people with serious injuries due to defective drugs and medical devices. Contact the firm today for representation.

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Technorati Tags: attorney, dangerous, Defective, device, drugs, lawyer, Leary, love, medical, Oregon, pain, Portland, Powers, Williams

I’m having surgery soon and my Dr instructed me to have a POA ‘just in case’. So I called my lawyer and he said I need a living will. I wasn’t sure if they were the same thing or not. Thanks for all the answers!

I know what your getting at, and yes. Its just not really called Power of Attorney. A living will gives the person named the right to make medical decisions, in certain situations, if you are incapacitated. Although most scenarios are covered under the living will, on whether you want to be kept alive or not.
Power of Attorney is handing over all legal rights, letting that person act as you.

*** Yea they are two different things that get filled out at once. It must be a risky surgery. I hope the best for you. Living will is for medical decisions. PoA is for you to give a trusted friend or family member rights and access to all of your assets. But can be set up in such away where you would have had to pass away first. Just helps get past red tape and saves your family thousands having to have a lawyer do the leg work.

Since l984, my firm has worked with countless numbers of “auto accident injury” clients. Most people who have become clients of mine have initially been bewildered because of the complexity involved. My hope is to clear up some of the terms in order to make this area more understandable to the average person.

First of all, when someone is injured they potentially become a “plaintiff”. A plaintiff is someone who has sustained “damages” as a result of the “negligence” of another individual. The person who caused the damages is called the “defendant”. Negligence in its simplest terms is a concept by which someone’s careless actions harm someone else. Most of the concepts in negligence look at an individual’s actions from the standpoint of a “reasonable person”. Someone’s actions have to be “foreseeable” to be considered negligent. A defendant has to be able to appreciate that their conduct could cause harm to someone else. In an “automobile accident injury claim”, the defendant can be careless or “negligent” in a number of ways. Our court system provides “jury instructions” which describe various types of “negligent” actions. For example, it is normally considered negligent for someone to strike the rear of another driver’s vehicle. If a case goes to trial, a jury will be instructed on the law and the instructions will explain this to the jury. On the other hand, a defendant can argue that the other driver came to a “sudden unexpected stop”. This can also be considered negligence. Where both drivers share in the fault, this is called “comparative negligence” or “comparative fault”. If a driver, for example, is found to be 50% at fault, then he will only have to compensate the other driver for 50% of the driver’s damages.

Each driver is required to carry “liability insurance”. When a defendant is careless and injures another person, then damages will be paid to the other person from the defendant’s “liability policy”. If the person causing the damage is not insured, then a plaintiff can recover their personal injury damages out of their own “uninsured motorist policy”. On the other hand, if the other driver has insurance, but it is inadequate, then a plaintiff may look to their own policy for something that is called “underinsured motorist coverage”. This provides for additional damages which can be recovered over and above the amount of the “policy limits” of other driver’s policy. The uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages do not cover damages to the plaintiff’s car. This would be covered by the plaintiff’s “collision coverage”. When someone buys collision coverage, they choose the amount of their “deductible”, which is the amount which has to be paid out of the plaintiff’s pocket when a car is damaged.

In some circumstances, the defendant may be disputing the case. Oftentimes, a plaintiff will have their car repaired by going through their own collision policy. Under these circumstances, the plaintiff’s insurance company will attempt to go through “insurance arbitration” and will try to collect and return the deductible to the plaintiff.

When there is “property damage” to a plaintiff’s car, the car may be repairable, or it may be “totaled”. A car is “totaled” when it would simply cost more to repair the car than what the car is worth. When a car is totaled, the insurance company owes what is known as the “market value” of the car. This is the amount that the car could have been sold for in the open market prior to the collision. The insurance company will often retain the totaled vehicle which is called “salvage” since they are purchasing the totaled car. They will then sell the working parts to a junkyard or parts dealer. If the plaintiff chooses to keep the car, the he will receive the value of the car, minus the” salvage value”

With regard to a plaintiff’s injuries there are several types of damages. The first type of damage would be classified as “financial damages” or “economic damages”. These are the amount of out-of-pocket expenses sustained by the plaintiff. Lawyers and insurance adjusters sometimes refer to these as “special damages” or “specials”. Financial damages would include payment for medical bills and lost wages. The second kind of damages would be “pain and suffering damages”. I like to think of pain and suffering as being divided into three categories. First, there is past pain and suffering which takes into consideration the pain and discomfort immediately of the plaintiff following the accident. There is also present pain and suffering which is what a person is living with on a daily basis. Finally, sometimes injuries do not heal completely. The third category, then, would be damages for “future pain and suffering”. This would include “permanent disability” which would limit someone’s ability to function. For example, if a plaintiff has injured their right hand and they will permanently have a loss of grip strength, then a jury may consider this in awarding damages. On the financial side, if a plaintiff is unable to work in their normal full capacity, there may be “future economic damages”. A jury can take into account that if plaintiff will be losing income in the future because they either can’t work, or they can’t earn as much as they were previously earning.

In any event, this is my humble attempt to clear up some of the terminology which is used in car accident cases. Of course, how damages will be computed will ultimately be based upon where a case could end up going to trial if it cannot be settled. Some juries are much more generous in awarding damages for and other juries are known for being more stingy. A plaintiff lawyer’s goal in “settlement negotiations” is to get as much or more for his client than what he would likely receive from a jury. If the case is to go to trial, then the goal is to receive the highest possible verdict for his client.

The contents of this article are intended for educational use only in order to provide readers general information and a basic understanding of the law. If you are seeking legal advice, please consult a licensed professional attorney in your state. The information in this article should not be substituted for experienced legal advice.

Jeff Swaney
http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/st-louis-personal-injury-attorney-discusses-auto-accident-injury-claims-751457.html

http://www.stephanpeskin.com

New York Personal Injury Lawyers

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Our dedicated New York injury attorneys and staff are attentive to your individual needs and understand the nature of your case. While the atmosphere in our offices may be informal and comfortable, do not let this fool you. We aggressively pursue cases, whether they are being settled out of court or are being litigated in court.

Contact the New York City personal injury lawyers at Tolmage, Peskin, Harris & Falick to discuss your case. We offer a free initial consultation so you can have your case assessed by principal attorney Stephan Peskin. Get in touch with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week to be reassured that your case is in good hands.

Whether you have suffered in an auto/car accident or need an experienced wrongful death lawyer, we can provide the experience, strategy and commitment that yield results.

Statement of Commitment to Our Clients

As New York personal injury attorneys, we work to make sure that the average citizen can get a fair shake in the courtroom even when taking on the most powerful interests. This is more important than ever because today, the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, big oil companies and other large corporations dominate our political process. So in cases where corporations act irresponsibly by producing unsafe products, by polluting our environment, or by swindling their employees to pad their profits, the last resort for Americans to hold them accountable is in our courts.

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Call us toll-free at 877.298.3201 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced New York City personal injury lawyer.

For your convenience, we offer home and hospital visits. Our New York personal injury lawyers and staff can provide you with the immediate attention you need to secure your rights and claims. Call today.

The New York City (NYC) personal injury law firm of Tolmage, Peskin, Harris & Falick represents clients in all five boroughs of New York (NY): Manhattan/New York County, Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn/Kings County and the Bronx, as well as Suffolk County, Nassau County/Long Island, Westchester County, Rockland County, Harlem and throughout the State of New York.

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Technorati Tags: New York, new york accident, new york attorneys, new york city, new york injury, new york injury attorney, new york injury lawyer, new york lawyers, new york personal injury, ny, nyc, personal injury lawyer

Original Story:
http://www.wbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=12715146

NC Attorney General’s Office investigates more than 700 dumped medical records found in Charlotte.

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Technorati Tags: Bahati Mutisya, Ben Spangler, Investigation, Matt Houser, medical records, NC Attorney General, Sidney Nuzzi

Meme Warfare’s response to Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley’s plan to shut down and prosecute all medical marijuana dispensaries in the county. After you watch this video, please contact the District Attorney, City Attorney and LA City Council to tell them what you want for your community — regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, or street dealers, gangs and cartels controlling Southern California’s medical marijuana trade?

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Technorati Tags: Baca, california, Cannabis, cartels, city attorney, city council, Cooley, dispensaries, District Attorney, Los Angeles, marijuana, Medical Marijuana, Proposition 215, regulation, SB 420, tax and regulate, Trutanich

My husband’s brother is currently in the hospital and suffering with hallucinations and a foggy memory (due to effects of an unhealthy liver). The brother’s next of kin would be his mother but his mother is also elderly and speaks only Spanish.

Therefore, my husband is the ONLY one capable of representing him. How can my husband be signed as his brother’s agent when the brother is already hallucinating and unable to represent himself?
Is it possible to do without having to hire a lawyer? I don’t think his mom has current Power of Attorney for the brother – I don’t think anyone has it.

Hire lawyer, go to court and be declared the administrator of the brothers affairs.