All Topics

• Muscle Cream Overdose Causes Teen Athlete's Death

  Ken Margolin | June 13, 2007 3:45 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  You've probably heard by now, of the sad case of Arielle Newman, the 17 year old track star, who died from using too much muscle cream. You know the products - the wintergreen scented balms with labels and ads claiming to transform the weekend athlete, into Michael Jordan in his prime. Most of these products contain the drug, methyl salicylate. Apparently, the young woman put adhesive pads over...

• Nursing Home Neglect Settlement

  Ken Margolin | June 07, 2007 2:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A significant settlement in a disturbing case of nursing home neglect, was reported in this week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. A generally healthy, active, older women (exact age unspecified in the report), entered the nursing home for rehabilitation after a compression fracture. Darvocet, which the woman was taking for pain, has a known side effect for many people, of constipation. Despite...

• Preventing Drowning Deaths

  Ken Margolin | June 04, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  You may have read the sad story last week, of the two toddlers who left their house, wandered down to a nearby pool, and drowned while their babysitter slept. The purpose of this blog is not to speculate on blame in that tragedy. It reminds us that summer season is here and with it, comes too many drowning deaths that could have been prevented. As was illustrated by the death of the two little...

• Mediation of Personal Injury Cases

  Ken Margolin | May 31, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Clients often ask me if "my case will have to go to court?" By that question, they mean, will it have to be tried before a jury, or will it settle "out of court." Most clients, even those who appreciate that they could get significantly more money with a verdict than through settlement, prefer the surety of a settlement over the high stakes gamble of a big score vs. nothing. Sometimes a case...

• Blog with Care

  Ken Margolin | May 31, 2007 1:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A great front page article in today's Boston Globe, told of a doctor on trial for medical malpractice, who used his blog site to comment on the ongoing trial. The doctor's blog name was "flea." The case against him was serious, alleging that his negligent failure to diagnose diabetes, resulted in the death of a 12 year old girl, from diabetic shock. The free-blogging doctor had been commenting...

• Incidence of Nursing Home Abuse

  Ken Margolin | May 30, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Identifying just how much abuse occurs in nursing homes, is difficult. Victims are often unwilling or unable to speak up. Perpetrators may be nursing home staff, who have ongoing contact with the victim, and whose presence alone, may be intimidating. Nursing home assaults can be committed by a resident, when staff supervision is inadequate, lackadaisacal, or uncaring. It is almost certain,...

• Dropped Clues Lead to Medical Malpractice and Patient Death

  Ken Margolin | May 23, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A doctor can no more afford to ignore clues provided by his patient, than a homicide detective can fail to dust the crime scene for fingerprints. The best internists would undoubtedly make great detectives. When the body provides clues that something is not working properly, the doctor must follow the clues until he diagnoses the cause of the troubling symptom. In fairness to physicians, the...

• Caesaren Section Issues

  Ken Margolin | May 21, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Caesaren sections, commonly termed "C-sections," have been around for centuries. There are reports of C-sections being performed as early as the 13th century. Early C-sections were performed to remove babies from the wombs of mothers who had died during childbirth. Modern Caesaren sections, of course, are a great life-saver for mothers as well as babies. As with all advances in medicine,...

• Fire Danger in General Electric Dishwashers

  Ken Margolin | May 16, 2007 5:50 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), with the cooperation of General Electric, has issued a recall for washing machines manufactured by the company. The washing machines are sold under various brand names, including, G.E., Eterna, GE Profile, GE Monogram, Hotpoint, and Sears-Kenmore. The CPSC has received a dozen reports of fires causing property damage, emanating from...

• Expert Testimony in Personal Injury Cases

  Ken Margolin | May 16, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Most every serious personal injury case, will have at least one expert witness testifying for the plaintiff - if only a physician, explaining the extent of the plaintiff's injuries. Medical malpractice plaintiffs must have an expert to testify to the defendant's deviation from acceptable standards of medical care. Expert testimony gets really interesting, when the cause of an event is in...