How Ordering Your Credit Report Can Help You in Bankruptcy

How Ordering Your Credit Report Can Help You in Bankruptcy

Our firm recommends that each of our clients filing for bankruptcy obtain a credit report for the reasons listed below. If you are married, we recommend obtaining credit reports for both you and your spouse. Not every creditor reports debts to a credit bureau, so your credit report will not list all debts. You should be sure to let your attorney know about all debts you are aware of.

You will receive a printed copy of the report in the mail for your review.

1. Obtaining the credit report helps us get accurate creditor names, addresses, types of debt, balances due, and account numbers.

2. Through your credit report, we may find creditors whom you have overlooked. For a debt to be discharged, it must be listed in your bankruptcy pleadings, so it’s important that we find out about all debts.

3. Credit reports can alert us to judgments against you.

4. Credit reports can alert us to liens against your property, and the need to seek lien avoidance under §522(f), thus helping you protect your property in some cases.

5. We may find out about co-signers to some of your debts, which are important to list in a bankruptcy.

6. If you are married, there may be surprising items on your credit report or your spouse’s, and the reports can help us determine whether you should file individually or jointly.

7. We may find out about debts created by a former spouse, who may have forged your signature to obtain credit.

8. Credit reports can alert us to mistakes on your credit record. The report will list the names and addresses of all three major credit bureaus whom you can contact to correct any mistakes or provide updated information.

9. Credit reports often contain the names and addresses of collection agencies representing creditors, and we can notify these collection agencies about the bankruptcy so that collection efforts stop.

10. If the IRS has a tax lien on your property, the credit report will alert us so that it can be dealt with properly.

11. Knowing what is on your credit report can help you get credit approval for important purchases after your debts are discharged.

Absolutely Free Credit Reports

AnnualCreditReport.com is the ONLY authorized source to get your free annual credit reports under federal law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you access to one free credit report every twelve months from each of the three nationwide reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion  . You can request your free report online, by phone or by mail. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com call 1-877-322-8228. No matter how you request your report, you have the option to request all three reports at once or to order one report at a time.

The New York Times reports that the Federal Trade Commission is concerned that some sites, like Experian owned FreeCreditReport.com, uses the offer of free credit reports to lure customers to pay a $14.95 monthly service that alerts subscribers to important changes in their credit status. The Times also reports that 9 million people are spending a total of $650 to $700 million annually on Experian's credit reporting services.

Unlike other "free" credit report services, AnnualCreditReport.com is entirely free for your credit reports. NO CREDIT CARD NEEDED! If you want your credit score, it is available for a modest extra charge.

Make sure that free means free.The FTC wants to ensure consumers aren't paying for credit reports that are available for free.

Law Offices of Jason L. McCoy
280 Talcottville Road
Second Floor
Vernon, CT 06066
Phone: (860) 872-7741
Fax: (860) 979-0064
Bk-Help@ctlawyer.biz

Articles about Jason Mccoy - Hartford Courant

Articles about Jason Mccoy - Hartford Courant: "Jason Mccoy"

The Trial of the Low Impact Rear End Collision: "Ten Common Myths" - Law Firm Bay Area Lawyers Network Attorneys San Francisco, California

The Trial of the Rear End Collision: "Ten Common Myths" - Law Firm Bay Area Lawyers Network Attorneys San Francisco, California: "The Trial of the Rear End Collision: “Ten Common Myths”"


By Albert G. Stoll, Jr.

The low property damage rear end collision may result in an injury your client will suffer the effects from for the rest of their life. A fair settlement offer is not to be expected. To get anywhere near fair compensation the case usually has to be tried to a verdict. This article sets forth the typical case scenario and then addresses “Ten Common Myths” about the nature and severity of the injury sometimes suffered in a low impact rear end collision. While reading this article, keep in mind, the lawyer may refer to and read from the articles I cite as medical authority during trial, within the parameters of evidence code section 802 and the discussion in Lugue v. McLean (1972) 8 Cal 3d 136, 148-149.

Trauma, no matter how mild, has the potential of aggravating or worsening any pre-existing degenerative disease of the spine. Often the defense medical expert will claim all symptoms of a back injury are due to a prior degenerative disc disease. This may be claimed in spite of the fact that either the patient was completely asymptomatic before the trauma or the symptoms worsened significantly immediately after a trauma.

Hypothetical Case: A forty two year old women, is seated in her car, at an intersection, getting ready to make a left hand turn when she is struck from the rear by a car going ten miles per hour. She has no pain at the scene, but thirty minutes after the collision she develops a headache and neck pain. There has been very minor damage to the rear of the women’s car.

Later in the day a family member takes the victim to the hospital where emergency room personnel examine her. She is x-rayed and the emergency room doctor tells her the x-rays are normal. They tell her she has suffered a sprain or strain of the soft tissue and they prescribe her pain medication. They tell her if the problem has not resolved within three to four days that she should consult her doctor.

Not only does the pain not go away after three or four days, it becomes worse, so she schedules a visit with her family physician. The family doctor tells her that she has a sprain, like a sprained ankle and that it will resolve after six to twelve weeks and that additional pain medication would be appropriate.

A month goes by and our friend has not gotten any better, in fact the symptoms are worse. She suffers from depression, anxiety, a difficult time sleeping, a listless attitude, along with regular headaches, neck, and arm pain. She gets no sympathy from her husband because the doctors have told her that the injury will resolve.

In frustration and somewhat in desperation she walks into your office. You wait for the symptoms to resolve over the next few months, but they do not. Eventually the family doctor refers her to a neurologist who orders and MRI. The findings on MRI are essentially negative except for multiple level degenerative disc disease and some narrowing in her vertebra. She is not a candidate for surgery. Ten months post collision our friend is still dealing with chronic pain and regular headaches. At this point, unless your client is prepared to accept a nominal settlement, start putting your trial notebook together because this case is going to trial. The defense attorney will rely on the following ten myths about low property damage rear end collisions to get you to settle the case for an inadequate or nominal amount of compensation.

Myth Number 1: Minor damage to the vehicle means inconsequential injury to the occupant. The biggest challenge for the advocate is to get the jury to understand that a big dent does not always mean injury nor does a small dent rule out any injury. Dr. Ian MacNab noted that the severity of an impact cannot predict the degree of injury of a person involved in a motor vehicle accident.[i] It is a well-known principle in the medical literature that “there is only a minimal association of a poor prognosis with the speed or severity of the collision and the extent of vehicle damage.”[ii]

Myth Number 2: The victim did not complain of pain at the scene of the accident, so if there was an injury, it must be slight. Delay in onset of symptoms is a common characteristic of a connective tissue injury. The delay in symptoms frequently reported by the patient is probably related to the gradual effusion and microscopic hemorrhage in the neck flexor muscles.[iii] There have been several studies that discuss delay in onset of symptoms following rear-end collisions. A 1995 study found that 21% of whiplash subjects did not appear to be injured at the scene of the collision.[iv] In 1993 a study reported 14% of people reported onset of symptoms 24 hours to one week post-accident.[v] The plaintiff’s lawyer should illicit evidence explaining the organic basis for delayed onset of pain from the appropriate medical expert.

Myth Number 3: With a high seat back or head restraint, it is impossible to get whiplash injury. When the impact occurs from the rear, the vehicle tends to lift in front, which lowers the seat 2-3 inches. This causes a “ramping” effect. The force of the collision, combined with the forward momentum, causes the occupant to “ride up” the seat back. As a result of this “ride up” or “ramping”, the head and neck may no longer be protected by the head restraint, which may now act as a fulcrum, increasing the forces on the person's neck.[vi] Further, head restraints are only effective when properly positioned. At a starting point of greater than two inches, the ability of the head restraint to protect against neck injury drops off sharply.[vii] If properly used, headrests can reduce the incidence of cervical acceleration deceleration injury by 10-17%.[viii] A head restraint that is positioned too low may increase the seriousness of the neck injury by acting as a fulcrum for the head.[ix] A study by the United States government found that only 25% of adjustable head restraints are properly positioned.[x] As soon as the case comes to your office, go take a picture of your client as she was seated during the collision, with an approximation of the head restraints position at the time of impact.

Myth Number 4: The injury is a simple strain or sprain and will heal in six to twelve weeks. In every case the plaintiff’s attorney must be prepared to face the defense doctor who gets on the stand and says, “If there was any injury, the plaintiff should have healed in a few weeks.” This idea is flat wrong. There have been 32 clinical studies of motor vehicle accident whiplash victims from six months to fifteen years, post accident. These studies reveal an average 43% of the victims had long-term persistent symptoms.[xi]

Myth Number 5: Permanent injuries from a whiplash-associated disorder are very rare. During injury, hemorrhage within the capsular ligaments gives rise to swelling of the nerves and eventually adhesions between the dural sleeve and the nerve root, these factors give rise to symptoms that may be prolonged for months or even years after the injury.[xii] The somatosensory system normally serves the valuable function of alerting the individual to actual or potential tissue damage. However, following peripheral tissue or nerve injury, a pathological state sometimes develops in which there is a reduction in pain threshold (allodynia), an increased response to brief stimulation (persistent pain) and a spread of pain and hyperalgesia (abnormally increased pain sense) to uninjured tissue. The most distressing feature of these pathological processes is that they persist long after healing of the damaged peripheral tissue.[xiii]

Myth Number 6: Since there are no objective abnormalities, the victim has no permanent injury. The defense will insinuate that a negative x-ray finding indicates no injury was sustained. Before your treating doctor gets on the stand make sure they are prepared to discuss the significance of “normal” x-ray findings. X-rays can be misleading as to the patient’s condition.[xiv] Simply put, x-rays don’t show soft tissue injury.[xv] A recent study using double anesthetic block technique revealed the posterior zygapophysial joints were primary pain generators in chronic neck pain patients who had suffered whiplash.[xvi] Autopsy studies show that the lesions causing the chronic pain in the zygapophysial joints are not visible on x-ray.[xvii]

Myth Number 7: The victim is trying to get a big settlement for a minor injury. Once compensated, the symptoms and pain will go away. In 1991 Pennie and Agambar found no significant correlation in the recovery between litigated and non-litigated cases of whiplash.[xviii] Again in 1993 Parmar and Raymakers reported studying 100 patients for eight years after injury. Only four cases improved soon after settlement.[xix]

Myth Number 8: The plaintiff had a preexisting degenerative disc disease. All medical problems are due to that preexisting condition and are totally unrelated to the collision. First, pre-existing degenerative changes in the cervical spine, no matter how slight, do appear to affect the prognosis adversely.[xx] The vulnerability of the cervical discs to rupture increases as degeneration, annular fissuring, and nucleus pulposus desiccation progress, resulting in a situation in which a trivial trauma may cause disc rupture.[xxi] In as much as these changes (normal degeneration) occur slowly over a period of time, the nerve roots may have an opportunity to adjust somewhat to their narrowed canals. The nerve roots may be able to tolerate such encroachment forces until an insult or apparent trivial trauma is imposed upon them.[xxii]

Myth Number 9: Men and women are equally at risk to suffer whiplash injury in a rear impact collision. The late whiplash syndrome is common in women, especially in the 21 to 40 years’ distribution.[xxiii] It is well reported that persistent neck pain is more common in women by a ratio of 70:30.[xxiv] Further, the incidence of recovery from symptoms is significantly higher in men than in women.[xxv][xxvi]

Myth Number 10: A whiplash injury does not affect a person’s lower back. Injury to the thoracic and lumbar spine can also occur in rear-end motor vehicle collisions. Three separate studies, in 1955, 1975, and 1991 found low back pain in 34% to 42% of whiplash victims.[xxvii] [xxviii] [xxix]




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[i] MacNab I: Acceleration Injuries of the Cervical Spine. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 1964; 46A(8):1797-1799.

[ii] Evans, Randolph, M.D.: Some Observations on Whiplash Injuries. The Neurology of Trauma. Neurologic Clinics, Vol. 10, No. 4:975-997.

[iii] Cailliet, Rene: Neck and Arm Pain, 3rd Ed., F.A. Davis Co., 1991, at page 88.

[iv] Quebec Task Force on Whiplash - Associated Disorders, Spine, Vol. 20, No. 8S, April 15, 1995.

[v] Robinson DD and Cassar-Pullicino VN: Acute neck sprain after road traffic accident: a long term clinical and radiological review. Injury (1993) 24(2), p 79-82

[vi] Baker, Douglas: The Permanency of Whiplash, by Doug Baker, Integrity Seminars, Inc., P.O. Box 995, Eagle, Idaho 83616, phone (208) 377 8849 (excellent resource).

[vii] Mertz HJ Jr., Patrick LM: Investigation of the kinematics and kinetics of whiplash. In: Proceedings, 11th Stapp Car Crash Conference, SAE 670919, Detroit MI, Society of Automotive Engineers, 1967.

[viii] Otremski I, Marsh JL, Wilde BR: Soft tissue cervical spine injuries in motor vehicle accidents: Injury (1989), 20, 349-351.

[ix] Olney DB, Marsden AK: The effect of head restraints and seat belts on the incidence of neck injury in car accidents. Injury (1986), 17, 365-367.

[x] Kahane CJ, Evaluation of Head Restraints: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 202, NHTSA DOT HS 806 108, 1982.

[xi] Nordhoff L: Motor Vehicle Collision Injury for the 1990’s Doctor \ Attorney, Automotive Injury Research Institute, 1994.

[xii] Seletz E: “Whiplash Injuries of the Cervical Spine and Their Clinical Seaquelae, Am J of Pain Mang, Jan. 1994.

[xiii] Coderre TJ, Katz J et al: Contribution of central neuroplasticity to pathological pain: review of clinical and experimental evidence. PAIN: 52 (1993) 259285.

[xiv] Kenna C, Murtagh J: Whiplash, Australian Family Physician, Vol. 16, No. 6, June 1987.

[xv] Schaefer D, Flanders A, Northrup B, Doan H, Osterholm J: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Acute Cervical Spine Trauma. Correlation With Severity of Neurologic Injury. Spine, 1989: 14(10): 1090-1095.

[xvi] Barnsley L, Lord SM, Wallis BJ and Bogduk N, The prevalence of chronic cervical zygapophysial join pain after whiplash. Spine 1995; 20:20-26.

[xvii] Taylor JR, Finch P; Acute Injury of the Neck: Anatomical and Pathological Basis of Pain. Annal Acad Med, March 1993, 22:187-192.

[xviii] Pennie B and Agamber L: Patterns of injury and recovery in whiplash. Injury: Brit J of Accd Surg, 1991, Vol. 22(1), p 57-59.

[xix] Parmar HV and Raymakers R: Neck injuries from rear impact road traffic accidents: prognosis in persons seeking compensation. Injury (1993) 24, (2), 75-78.

[xx] Norris SH, Watt I: The Prognosis of Neck Injuries Resulting From Rear-End Vehicle Collisions. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery British Volume. Nov. 1983, Vol. 65-B, No. 5 :608-611, at page 611,
[xxi] Moskovich R, Neck Pain in the Elderly: Common Causes and Management, Geriatrics, 43(4): 65-50, 1988.

[xxii] Jackson, R.: The Cervical Syndrome, Fourth Edition; 1977

[xxiii] Balla JI: The Late Whiplash Syndrome. Aust NZ J Surg 50:610-614, 1980.

[xxiv] Evans, supra.

[xxv] Hohl M: Soft Tissue Injuries of the Neck in Automobile Accidents. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 1974; 56A(8): 1675-1681.

[xxvi] Schutt CH, Dohan FC: Neck Injury to Women in Auto Accidents. A metropolitan plague. JAMA. December 16, 1968, Vol. 206, No. 12. Pages 2689-2692.

[xxvii] Braff MM, Rosner S: Symptomatology and treatment of injuries to the neck. NY State J Med 55:237-242, 1955.

[xxviii] Hohl M, Soft Tissue Injuries of the Neck, Clin Ortho and Rel Res, 109:22-29, 1975.

[xxix] Watkinson A, Gargan MF, and Bannister GC: Prognostic Factors in Soft Tissue Injuries of the Cervical Spine. Injury: Br J Accid Sur. Vol 22(4), 307-309, 1991.

[xxx] Barnsley L: Cervical Flexion-Extension / Whiplash Injuries, Spine: State of the Art Reviews, Sept. 1993.

[xxxi] Sturzenegger MD, Giuseppe MA, Radanov BP: Presenting symptoms and signs after whiplash injury; The influence of accident mechanisms. Neurology 1994; 44:688-693.

[xxxii] Nordhoff L: Motor Vehicle Collision Injuries: Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Management. Aspen Publications, 1996, Gaithersburg, Maryland.


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Bankruptcy Lawyer Connecticut

Bankruptcy Lawyer Connecticut.com


Attorney Jason L McCoy, Member
Practice Areas:
Bankruptcy; Business Law; Criminal Law; Litigation; Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury; Products Liability; Real Estate
Firm:
Law Offices of Jason L McCoy, LLC
Location: Vernon, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury CT 06105, Phone: 860-872-7741Fax: 860-979-0064, email: info@ctlawyer.biz
bankruptcy debt debt management connecticut lawyer

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

What is Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is often referred to as a “liquidation” bankruptcy because a bankruptcy trustee can liquidate (sell) a filer’s non-exempt assets to cover part of the outstanding bills they owe.

But don’t panic–most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filers get to keep all of their property because most filers don’t have any non-exempt assets, and thus there’s no actual liquidation.

If you’re thinking about filing bankruptcy, call my office to talk about bankruptcy today.

Connecticut Bankruptcy Exemptions
The following information provides a simple introduction to Connecticut Chapter 7 exemptions.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy exemptions in the state include:

Homestead: Real property up to $75,000 for each owner.

Vehicles: Up to $3,500 for an automobile.

Personal Property:

•Necessary apparel, bedding, foodstuffs, household furniture and appliances, wedding and engagement rings, and hearing aids are all 100 percent exempt.
•Necessary tools, books, instruments, farm animals and livestock feed are 100 percent exempt

Connecticut Chapter 7 bankruptcy exemptions can be quite specific and can even get confusing.

bankruptcy debt debt management

Verdict for Connecticut State Trooper Underinsured Motorist

Jury Gives Trooper $527K For Neck Injuries
Officer needed spinal surgery, internal hardware after crash

By THOMAS B. SCHEFFEY

March 9, 2009

Darren Perillo v. Eric Jacobs, State of Connecticut Dept. of Public Safety: A Connecticut state trooper was awarded more than $527,000 after an accident that left him with a badly injured neck.

Trooper Darren Perillo was driving on Route 1 in East Haven, when another motorist pulled onto the road and, Perillo contended, cut in front of his cruiser. The impact crushed the front of the cruiser, and caused injuries that were difficult to quickly diagnose.

After a few weeks of recuperation from the April 2006 collision, Perillo returned to light duty work, and even went back to playing softball. By August, his teammates were criticizing him for not being able to hit a ball out of the infield. Perillo’s lawyer, Jason McCoy of Vernon, said: “After one of the games he was having difficulty holding his sports bag over his head. He couldn’t really do it with his right arm.”

The first neurosurgeon he saw diagnosed him with nerve impingement which could be treated with physical therapy.Perillo sought a second opinion from Dr. Gary M. Bloomgarden, of Woodbridge, who ordered an MRI scan, which showed a herniated disc. In February 2007, Perillo began joint injections of anesthetics, which eased his pain but did not eliminate the problem.

The next step was a big one. Spinal surgery was recommended, which required removal of a disc, going in from the front. “They cut your throat, move your esophagus to the side, they take out the disc,” said McCoy. “Then they put in a piece of plastic, and screw a piece side of metal from one vertebrae to another vertebrae.” Perillo required 20 weeks to recover from the surgery, and began physical therapy to regain arm and chest strength. Demonstrative Aid by High Impact Graphics.

McCoy explained that arrest subjects often ride in the passenger seat, and the trooper’s right arm is not only his “weapon hand,” it’s also closest to the person being transported.

Having full use of his right arm was important, McCoy said. The driver of the other vehicle in the accident had a $20,000 insurance policy, which was tendered in full. At that point, the state of Connecticut became the liability defendant for the underinsured portion of the claim. Perillo had $1 million in coverage under the state’s self-insured uninsured motorist policy.

The trooper had collected $30,000 in workers’ compensation payments from the state. Early in the case, the state contended that it should not have to pay those, alleging that Perillo was driving too fast or following too closely.

McCoy, in pretrial negotiations, made a demand for $370,000. The state, defended by Ronald D. Williams Jr., of Williams, Cooney & Sheehy in Trumbull, offered $200,000 before trial.

Good Defense McCoy, of the McCoy Law Firm in Vernon, is also the town’s mayor. He was politic in his comments about Williams’ defense work. “The defense attorney did a pretty good job with the issue of speeding, contending it was our guy’s fault and that he wasn’t hurt,” said
McCoy. But the defense case was hurt by an investigation by the state police which found that Perillo was not speeding, and even though it was a rear-end collision, he was not at fault.

Also, McCoy maintains, the defense was not helped by the testimony of one of its witnesses. Orthopedic surgeon Andrew N. Bazos did a review of Perillo’s medical records but never examined him. “Dr. Andrew Bezos said it wasn’t a herniation, and that no reasonable
person would say the surgery was related to the accident. The trooper had, the year before, some chiropractic [work done]. It was maintenance stuff, from sitting in his car too long. That was a big deal with the defense. The defendants’ expert said the MRI didn’t look
like a herniation,” jason mccoy'>McCoy said.

But, according to comments from the jury after the trial, Bezos was unconvincing because his testimony was so absolute about gray medical areas, McCoy said. In answers to other questions, such as whether he had ever met Perillo before, Bezos equivocated, which also did not help him with jurors, McCoy said.

Williams argued that Perillo’s back pain was pre-existing, and noted that he had been treating with a chiropractor for 22 visits six months before the crash.

“The big issue was whether the herniated disc, for which Trooper Perillo underwent the fusion, was related to the accident,” Williams said. “He was treated by a chiropractor for about three months. He tried to minimize it. The records were destroyed in a flood. He said the neck pain [requiring the chiropractic sessions] spontaneously came on.”

After a three-day trial before New Haven Superior Court Judge John F. Cronan, the jury returned a $555,505 verdict for Perillo on Feb. 2. It was reduced by about $28,000 on a finding of 5 percent negligence on Perillo’s part. His economic damages were about $115,500. Pain and suffering damages were $440,000.

The litigants are currently disputing whether $190,000 in past payouts to Perillo should be subtracted from the verdict, or from his $1 million state uninsured motorist policy.

Of the $440,000 in noneconomic damages, Williams said: “It’s hard to say whether that’s high or not. He has a lot of metal hardware on his spine, so that’s worth some money.”

The trooper made a good impression at trial, Williams noted: “He was a nice guy, I’ll say that. I gave him a hearty handshake and a hug when he won. I’m a good sport.”•

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Vernon Attorney | Attorney in Vernon, CT | Fave Video Yellow Pages

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Products Liability News

Food Contamination

Food-borne illness is fairly common in the United States. The main cause of food-borne illness is the improper handling of food, which allows it to become contaminated by bacteria, parasites, fungi or viruses. This can happen when the food is being manufactured or packaged. It can also occur at a restaurant where the food is being prepared and served. Under products liability law, a consumer who is injured as a result of eating contaminated food can take legal action to recover money damages for any injuries.

Recalls and Warnings

Recent headlines in the news tell us that an Idaho company recalled beef chili for undeclared allergens, an Illinois firm recalled deli meat and cheese trays because of possible Listeria contamination, and a Massachusetts company recalled meatballs which might contain pieces of hard plastic. A Minnesota company voluntarily recalled granola bars and cereals because they might be contaminated with Salmonella, a potentially fatal bacteria. A recall is a voluntary action by a manufacturer or distributor removing a particular product from the public because it might cause health problems. In New York, sulfite-allergic consumers and persons with asthma were warned to avoid eating a certain brand of vegetables due to the presence of undeclared sulfites in the product which could trigger an allergic reaction.

Government Agencies

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees food safety. Companies are required to sell food that is safe and properly labeled. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service lists recalls on contaminated, adulterated or misbranded food products. If you have complaints about meat, poultry and egg products, you can contact the USDA. For complaints about food products that do not contain meat, poultry, or eggs, you can contact the FDA. If you became ill after eating at a restaurant, contact your local health department.

Food Contamination Lawsuits

Food-borne illness does not show up immediately, making it difficult for a consumer to identify the food that caused the illness. It is sometimes difficult to show that a contaminated food came from a particular company. Many processed foods contain several ingredients from different sources. Also, physical evidence of contamination is usually not available because the food has been eaten or thrown away before a consumer becomes ill. Liability for food-borne illness varies with the type of food product and the pathogen involved in causing the illness. Most consumers who suffer food-borne illnesses experience relatively mild symptoms and do not incur significant medical expenses or miss much work. More serious food-borne illnesses can result in higher medical costs and lost productivity



Medical Malpractice News

Informed Consent

Patients have a right to choose whether to obtain medical treatment and what type of treatment to undergo. The principle of "informed consent" requires that medical practitioners provide conscious patients with information as to all the potential benefits, risks, and alternatives involved in any medical procedure or course of treatment and must obtain the patient's consent before commencing treatment. For a patient's consent to be valid the patient has to be competent to give the consent and the consent must be voluntary.

Thus, informed consent is defined as a process by which a fully informed patient can make choices about his or her healthcare. In general, informed consent should include the following:
the nature and purpose of the proposed treatment or procedure
the patient's diagnosis, if there is one
the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment or procedure
the alternatives to the proposed treatment or procedure
the risks and benefits of the alternatives to the proposed treatment or procedure

Many states have statutes or regulations outlining what is required for informed consent as well as what types of procedures require that informed consent be obtained. Not all medical situations require that informed consent be obtained. For example, the taking of a patient's blood pressure or the taking of a temperature would not require the healthcare practitioner to obtain informed consent. Invasive procedures such as surgery and anesthesia almost always require informed consent for the conscious patient.

The failure to obtain a patient's informed consent could result in a lawsuit. For example, a physician could be liable if one of the risks of the medical procedure occurred and the physician failed to inform the patient of the possibility of the risk occurring. Likewise, if a physician failed to inform a patient of the risks of not going forward with a particular treatment or procedure, the physician could be liable if the patient suffers injury as a result of the nonaction. Lawsuits for failure to obtain informed consent can either take the form of a malpractice action or an action for battery. A battery occurs when there is an unwanted touching. Thus, a medical procedure that was not authorized can be deemed a battery. A plaintiff in an informed consent suit must show that the healthcare provider unreasonably failed to obtain informed consent and that a reasonable patient in plaintiff's position would or would not have chosen the treatment had the information been provided. For a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff would also have to show damages.

A patient's presence in the emergency room or intensive care unit does not imply informed consent to all procedures. Informed consent must still be obtained if the patient is conscious and competent. If a patient is incompetent and/or unconscious, a legal guardian may be appointed to make healthcare decisions and give informed consent. Parents can in most instances give informed consent for their children. In emergency situations where the life of the patient is at risk, informed consent can be implied if the patient is unconscious or there is not enough time to obtain informed consent.

The fact that a patient has given his or her informed consent to a medical procedure does not, however, mean that the patient has given up the right to sue for malpractice. The fact that a patient has given consent to the procedure does not mean that the patient consented to a procedure performed improperly or negligently.

McCoy Law Firm
280 Talcottville Road,
Vernon, Connecticut 06066
Servicing Vernon, Hartford, Waterbury and New Haven

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$2.1 Million Settlement For Victim In Car Crash

$2.1 Million Settlement For Victim In Car Crash

A local woman seriously injured in a car accident on Route 6 in 2004 received a $2.1 million settlement recently, her lawyer said. The Victim was disabled by the accident, which occurred Oct. 19, 2004, near Burnap Brook Road in Andover. A car traveling in the opposite direction crossed the center line and collided head-on with a car the Victim's was a passenger in, the Victim's lawyer, Jason McCoy of Vernon, said. No one died in the accident. The Victim, 56, a widow with two children, suffered numerous broken bones in her left arm and leg. The injuries have limited the amount of time the Victim can stand, sit and walk without pain, he said.