All Topics

• Nursing Home Falls

  Ken Margolin | February 21, 2007 11:50 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Anyone who has seen an elderly loved one living in a nursing home, may think that falls are an inevitable part of aging with frailty. That perception is inaccurate. While some nursing home falls may be inevitable, many can be prevented. Doing everything feasible to prevent falls is a primary obligation for nursing homes. Falls can begin a downward spiral leading to complete dependence or death....

• Chiropractic Malpractice

  Ken Margolin | February 17, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Chiropractors can seem to work miracles at times for patients with ailing backs. Some people swear by them and I don't doubt their ability to help in appropriate cases. There have been, however, some cases of horrific chiropractic malpractice, resulting in severe injury, even paralysis or death. While chiropractors are trained in the mechanics of the body, they are not medical doctors. As is the...

• Treadmill Injuries

  Ken Margolin | February 16, 2007 11:58 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Surveys of health club owners and managers reveal that the single most dangerous piece of equipment is the treadmill. It makes sense. Treadmills are powerful machines with moving parts, that can seem to have minds of their own. While most treadmill injuries are minor, such as strains and sprains, some can and have been serious, even catastrophic. In one case, an Indiana jury awarded $9 million...

• Falling Down Stairs

  Ken Margolin | February 15, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Falling down a flight of stairs or even a few steps can cause serious injuries. Broken bones, head injury, and other trauma can result. In determining whether a stair injury case should result in a lawsuit, a number of factors need to be determined in addition to the severity of the injury. Stair injury cases are a form of premises liability litigation. Stair design is one factor to be analyzed....

• Winter Driving Accidents

  Ken Margolin | February 14, 2007 1:15 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  While the northeast of the country experiences nasty winter weather, from 2 feet of snow to frozen precipitation, it's a good time to remember the added responsibility on anyone who drives in the winter. Most serious highway accidents in winter conditions are the direct result of driver negligence. The most frequent cause of fatal car crashes in winter is the same as other times of year - speed;...

• Working to Lower Medication Errors - Credit Where it is Due

  Ken Margolin | February 13, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Michael Leonard, MD, is an anesthesiologist who has written on the subject of medication error reduction. Readers who have followed my blogs may know that the anesthesiology profession was a leader amongst physicians and hospital professionals in analyzing the causes of medication errors and other medical mistakes. The doctors who studied the problem, such as Lucien Leape, MD, and others,...

• Failure to Diagnose on Time

  Ken Margolin | February 12, 2007 2:50 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Doctors who are named defendants in medical malpractice cases based on failure to make timely diagnoses, often complain that the plaintiff's lawyer had the benefit of hindsight that they lacked. A review of cases of late diagnosis, however, shows that the real culprit was often a lack of curiosity by the physician. The best doctors are medical detectives and like the best detectives, they will...

• Railroad Worker Injury Cases

  Ken Margolin | February 09, 2007 3:45 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A colleague called me recently with questions about the rights of a railroad employee who suffers injury or death as the result of railroad negligence. The answer lies in a special statute, known as the Federal Employers Liability Act ("FELA"). FELA covers all claims resulting from the injuries or deaths of railroad workers in the course of their employment if the railroad was engaged in...

• Big Box Store Head Injury Hazard Continues

  Ken Margolin | February 05, 2007 12:15 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  One of the earliest blogs I wrote on InjuryBoard, entitled "Shop till you're Dropped," pointed out the hazards in big box hardware and home goods stores, from falling overhead objects. Here is a news flash - based on my one store survey this past weekend, nothing has changed. I went to this cavernous home supplies store - you would all recognized its name - to purchase some rug pads. As I...

• Parking Garage Crimes

  Ken Margolin | February 02, 2007 3:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A United States Department of Justice survey lists parking garages as the second most likely site of non-violent crimes and the third most likely location of violent crimes (as of 1999). The problem seems especially pronounced in college settings and in urban areas. Floors of unattended vehicles with plenty of places to escape or hide, a general lack of good lighting or consistent security...