Good Samaritans and the Law: California Court Establishes Liability for Rescuers

Suppose you pass a man on the sidewalk who’s in the grips of a heart attack. With his last bit of energy he’s able to punch 911 into his cell phone and merely needs you to hit the ’send’ button. Can you be held liable for refusing? In first-year torts classes, many American law students are surprised to learn that, in this country, there’s no duty to rescue. But consider a corollary: Can you be held liable for a botched rescue attempt that leaves the person in worse shape? Or as torts profs may pose the question, what’s the duty of care for rescuers? Consider yesterday’s ruling by the California Supreme Court. In a divided opinion, the court ruled that Lisa Torti — a young woman who in good faith pulled a co-worker from a crashed vehicle after a night of Halloween revelry in 2004 — isn’t immune from civil liability because the care she rendered wasn’t medical. Torti allegedly worsened the injuries suffered by Alexandra Van Horn by yanking her “like a rag doll” from the wrecked car on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Van Horn was rendered a paraplegic in the accident. In 1980, the California legislature enacted the Health and Safety Code, which provides that “no person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency shall be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission.” But Justice Carlos R. Moreno, writing for the majority, ruled that lawmakers intended to shield “only those persons who in good faith render emergency medical care at the scene of a medical emergency.” In dissent, three of the seven justices said that by making a distinction between medical care and emergency response, the court was placing “an arbitrary and unreasonable limitation” on protections for those trying to help. The dissenters argued that the aim of the legislation was clearly “to encourage persons not to pass by those in need of emergency help, but to show compassion and render the necessary aid.”

Please click on the entire Wall Street Journal article below:

http://www.em-news.com/pt/re/emmednews/pdfhandler.00132981-200812000-00001.pdf;jsessionid=JQpC5P1BzM8wWbY0v1cftCt7JGVQQVydYG1rXyQnh1BZ1YxyJs32!-2112048807!181195629!8091!-1

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Man Sues Broward Sheriff’s Office Over Bite Inflicted by Police Dog

A Pompano Beach man bitten in the groin by a police dog after a Broward sheriff’s deputy mistook him for a wanted rapist last year has sued the Sheriff’s Office. An attorney for Juarez DaSilva, 25, filed the suit Dec. 9, seeking an unspecified amount in damages. The suit claims Bento, a police dog handled by Deputy Scott Bures, attacked DaSilva outside his Pompano Beach home in the 400 block of Northwest 40th Street on Aug. 27, 2007. Bures and his dog were part of a search for an accused rapist described as a black man in his early 20s wearing dark shorts and no shirt. DaSilva — who is Latin and has a dark complexion — was shirtless and wore dark shorts when the deputy approached him. According to Bures’ report, DaSilva walked toward him even though he was told to lie down. “At this time, the subject’s actions and failure to comply were heightening my belief that he was in fact the wanted suspect,” Bures wrote in his report. Bento lunged at DaSilva and bit him in the groin. When DaSilva tried to fight the dog off, Bures released the leash and Bento then bit DaSilva on his left forearm, according to the deputy’s report. DaSilva says the near-opposite happened: he stood still outside his home as the deputy walked toward him. He fell to the floor when Bento bit him, but didn’t fight back, according the dog bitel awsuit. Backup deputies handcuffed DaSilva, but released him when they found they had the wrong man. DaSilva, who works in construction, suffered injuries that have limited his ability to work.

Excerpt taken from a Sun Sentinel article.

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Florida Supreme Court Strikes Down Parental Waivers of Liability for Children

Have you ever signed one of those releases promising that you won’t sue, so that your kid could take part in an activity? Well, the Florida Supreme Court just ruled that they are not valid for commercial purposes — go-cart races, all-terrain-vehicle courses and that kind of thing. The practical result is that these Florida businesses can now be sued if kids get hurt. They’ll either have to make sure they have good insurance, make sure they don’t have accidents, stop allowing kids or go out of business. Just to be clear: This ruling doesn’t deal with the waivers that parents sign for nonprofit activities such as school and church groups, Boy and Girl Scouts and so forth. But critics are worried that even for those groups, the line between “commercial” and “nonprofit” will be blurred, and will lead to more lawsuits.  Is a school field trip to an attraction that charges admission “commercial”? What if the kids get there on charter buses? What if a Scout troop goes to Disney World?  “Every county in Florida is going to be affected to some degree,” predicts a lawyer for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

The case of Kirton vs. Fields was born on May 10, 2003, at a motorsports park in South Florida. A father allowed his 14-year-old son to ride an all-terrain vehicle, which landed on top of him during a jump and killed him. The personal representative of the boy’s estate sued the park. The trial court ruled that the father had willingly signed the waiver and ruled for the racetrack. An appeals court reversed the ruling. The case went to the Supreme Court. The vote in the court’s Dec. 11 ruling was 4-1. The majority found that a child has his or her own lifetime interest, personal and property rights that a parent cannot simply fork over to a business. “It cannot be presumed,” the opinion said, “that a parent who has decided to voluntarily risk a minor child’s physical well-being is acting in the child’s best interest.” The lone dissenter was Justice Charles T. Wells, who said the court was making up a legal standard that ought to be up to the Legislature.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Tampa Bay.com article:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/article944609.ece

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Weak Oversight Lets Bad Hospitals Stay Open

In March 2004, Sharon Yacketta walked into University Hospital here for an operation to help control her incontinence. But her doctor, Robert S. Lai, botched the procedure, causing urine to leak into her abdomen. A month later, Dr. Lai and a second surgeon perforated her colon during a follow-up operation at University. Four years and 20 operations later, Ms. Yacketta has lost most of her colon and is still incontinent. “They messed my life up,” Ms. Yacketta said of her surgeons. “I hope those doctors rot.”  Dr. Lai, who has left University and now practices outside Chicago, acknowledged that he and his surgical team had accidentally injured Ms. Yacketta but said he had not been negligent. Mistakes happen even at good hospitals, of course. But evidence shows that University, which is owned by the State University of New York system, is not a good hospital. In fact, in late 2006 a state commission recommended that it be scaled back and merged with another hospital. The state’s inability to follow through on that plan for University provides a stark example of how hard it can be — not just in New York, but around the nation — to close or shrink hospitals, even when there is evidence they are providing costly and below-average care. Certainly the evidence against University Hospital was strong. In 2006, patients at University were three times as likely to develop infections stemming from hospitals as were patients at the average New York hospital. HealthGrades, a company that rates hospitals using data from Medicare, ranks University among the least safe hospitals in the United States — although the hospital’s executives strongly dispute that assertion. University, meanwhile, is expensive to run. Yet, today, University remains under state ownership. And far from shrinking, University is expanding.

Please click on the link below to read the complete New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/business/08hospital.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1228857078-a4pT+5EiPo92sBSRqZeLng

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Learn More About Your Doctor’s Medical Malpractice History Online

More than a decade ago, Massachusetts became the first state to mandate its medical board to post physician profiles online. With the click of a mouse, patients could find a physician’s hospital affiliations, hospital and medical board disciplinary actions, medical malpractice payments and other data. The Massachusetts board, like others across the nation, had long collected much of the information, which was available to those who called or wrote. But the state’s idea to display physician data on an easily accessible Web site was novel in 1996. Many physicians were skeptical in the beginning, resulting in a heated debate of how to post information that was useful to the public and fair to doctors. Today, 65 of 70 boards in the United States put physician profiles online, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards. But what is included in those profiles varies. Most states post licensure status and disciplinary history on the Web sites they’ve created. The more detailed sites, though, include items such as medical malpractice information and criminal convictions, with only 16 and 17 boards, respectively, posting that information. It makes online physician profiles an evolving arena, especially as consumers continue to demand more and more about doctors.

Please click on the link below to read the complete American Medical News article:

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/12/08/prsa1208.htm

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

As Hospital Infections Spread, So Do Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

A new type of medical malpractice lawsuit is on the rise — claims based on hospital infections. Several recent verdicts and settlements illustrate this trend. Several recent verdicts and settlements illustrate this trend. Hospital attorneys say that while hospitals can implement protocols and policies in an attempt to prevent infections, they ‘can’t prevent every spread.’

Please click on the link below to read the complete The Daily Record article:

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=9163&type=UTTM

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Florida’s Emergency Rooms Rank 30th in Nation

The good news is that Florida’s emergency rooms are ready for a disaster. The bad news is that they are overburdened and understaffed to handle everyday emergencies, according to report released today by the American College of Emergency Physicians. As a result, Florida ranks 30th in ER care in the latest national ranking by the physician group. “Florida’s emergency care environment is a dichotomy, blessed with considerable strengths but also beset with glaring weaknesses” the report said. On the positive side, Florida hospitals have improved their ability to respond to natural disasters largely because of experience with hurricanes that hit the state in 2004 and 2005, said Dr. Mylissa Graber, president-elect of the Florida College of Emergency Physicians and an ER physician at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach. However, of the biggest challenges facing Florida ERs is the lack of medical specialists, such as neurologists, willing to handle emergencies – an issue Palm Beach County hospitals have struggled with for more than five years.

Please click on the link below to read the complete News Press article:

http://www.news-press.com/article/20081209/NEWS01/81209068/1075

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Too Many Errors – Expert Panel Seeks Changes in Training of Medical Residents

A national panel of medical experts proposed significant and costly changes for training new doctors in the nation’s hospitals, recommending mandatory sleep breaks and more structured shift changes to reduce the risk of fatigue-related errors. The experts’ report, issued by the Institute of Medicine on Tuesday, focused on the grueling training of medical residents, the recent medical school graduates who care for patients under the supervision of a fully licensed physician. The medical residency, which aims to educate doctors by immersing them in a particular specialty and all aspects of patient care, is characterized by heavy workloads, 80-hour workweeks and sleep deprivation. But while popular television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” glamorize residency training as a gratifying rite of passage for doctors, the worry is that the huge workload imposed on residents poses a risk to patient safety. The long hours of often unsupervised residents were found to have contributed to the 1984 death of 18-year-old Libby Zion in New York City, a finding that eventually led to a series of changes, including limiting residents to an 80-hour workweek and 30-hour shifts. But the expert panel said those reforms were not enough. Caps on work hours are often not enforced, and many residents still do not get enough sleep, putting doctors and patients at risk for fatigue-related mistakes. While the new recommendations do not reduce overall working hours for residents, the report says no resident should work longer than a 16-hour shift, which should be followed by a mandatory five-hour nap period. The committee also called for better supervision of the doctors-in-training; prohibitions against moonlighting, or working extra jobs; mandatory days off each month; and assigning chores like drawing blood to other hospital workers so residents have more time for patient care.

Please click on the link below to read the complete New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/health/03doctors.html?_r=1&ref=health

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Florida Law Targets Sport Bike Riders Who Create Havoc On The Highway

They weave through traffic on South Florida’s highways sometimes at speeds approaching 180 mph, sleek, aerodynamic motorcycles that sometimes pop wheelies as they vanish into the distance with a high-pitched whine. Connie and James Chesney know first hand about the danger posed by some riders of these sport bikes. While driving north on Interstate 95 after a concert last May, several of the bikes traveling in a fast-moving pack slammed into the Singer Island couple’s sedan. The impact sent their 2007 Toyota spinning near Commercial Boulevard. “We hit the concrete barrier and then we got hit by the second bike. It was one right after another, bam, bam, bam, like bombs going off. Never in my life have I experienced anything so horrifying,” Connie Chesney said. When it was over, a 31-year-old rider was dead and another critically injured.

Such tragedies have clouded the reputation of riders of these sport bikes, which some have nicknamed “crotch rockets.” The accidents also led to a state law that took effect Oct. 1 levying fines of $1,000 and up for motorcyclists and drivers caught going 50 mph over the speed limit. “We have created a new threshhold for excessive speed,” said state Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, who drafted the speeding law after he and his wife almost had an accident with sport bikes. A review of five years of motorcycle fatalities in Broward and Palm Beach counties shows a steady increase in deaths. Although a breakdown of the type of bike involved in each crash was not available from the state, police say the increasing popularity of sport bikes, coupled with young, inexperienced riders, is behind the rise.

Excerpt taken from a Sun Sentinel article.

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Teaching Your Child to Avoid Dog Bites

Dog bites are often the result of negligent owners but if a dog attacks your child, what can you do to stop it?

Please click on the link below to access The Humane Society of the United States’ website for advice on children avoiding dog bites and attacks:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/dog_care/stay_dog_bite_free/teaching_your_child_to_avoid_dog_bites.html

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Hospitals Face a New Epidemic: Bedsores

The number of hospital patients with bedsores has risen dramatically over a 14-year period, leading to longer, more expensive hospital stays, according to a new government report. Some 503,300 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals in 2006 suffered from a bedsore that developed either before or during their stay. That figure was 281,300 in 1993, representing an increase of 78.9 percent, the report by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found. By contrast, overall hospital admissions increased by just 15 percent between 1993 and 2006. Most of the inpatients who had bedsores were ages 65 and older, and the cost of their care was borne largely by government health plans, primarily Medicare, according to the report. Although the report did not explain why bedsores had become so much more frequent, an official with the American Hospital Association speculated that the increase may be due to rising numbers of very frail, elderly patients arriving in hospitals.

Please click on the link below to read the complete New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/health/08bedsores.html?_r=1

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

IKEA Agrees to $500,000 Settlement Over Slow Recall of Outdoor Candles in 2006

Home furnishing company IKEA agreed to pay a $500,000 fine for being slow to report defective outdoor candles, the government said. In May 2006, IKEA recalled 133,000 packages of outdoor candles in the United States. The company had received at least 32 reports of problems with these candles worldwide, including 12 reports of injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said IKEA did not promptly report the problems, as the law requires. The candles were available at IKEA stores around the country between February 2001 and July 2005.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Star Tribune article:

http://www.startribune.com/nation/34959454.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUF

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Rise in C-sections Concerns Some Experts; Early Births, Health Problems Linked

Kelly Parsons was in her eighth month of pregnancy when her water broke and doctors, concerned about her severe high blood pressure, prepared to deliver her baby by Caesarean section. Lying in her hospital bed, she kept thinking her baby wasn’t ready to be born. “I knew it wasn’t good,” said the 30-year-old Louisville woman. Indeed, while he’s doing well at 5 years old, Parsons’ son Jackson was born underweight, suffered breathing problems and jaundice and spent two weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit. Such serious and costly medical problems are not unusual for the growing number of babies born relatively late in pregnancy, but before the 37 to 42 weeks considered full-term. And a growing number of doctors and health advocates — including the March of Dimes at a recent “prematurity summit” in Louisville — are linking this to a new factor: a jump in C-sections. The rate of C-sections reached a record in 2005 — the most recent year for which data are available — 30.3 percent of all births in the United States, up 46 percent from 1996. Kentucky’s rate, 33.9 percent, was sixth-highest in the nation. Pre-term births, meanwhile, have risen more than 30 percent in two decades nationally, and today comprise about one in seven births in Kentucky and Indiana. Most of those are “late pre-term,” defined as 34 to 36 weeks in the womb. Some medical experts and women’s health advocates say late pre-term births could be reduced by bringing down the number of C-sections done before 39 weeks for reasons such as mothers’ requests or doctors’ schedules. The March of Dimes is asking hospitals to voluntarily review all such C-sections. “There are many of us doing elective Caesareans,” said Dr. Iffath Abbasi Hoskins, of New York, vice president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Often, it is for the health of the mother or baby. … (But) some of it is the patients saying: ‘I’m done. Get me delivered.’ “

Please click on the link below to read the complete Courier Journal article:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081130/NEWS01/811300463/1008

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Delay in Cancer Treatment Is Found to Raise Recurrence

One in five breast cancer patients ages 65 and older postponed radiation therapy or did not complete the full radiation regimen after breast-conserving surgery, and the lapses in care took a significant toll on their health, a new study reports. Researchers and physicians at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York reviewed the medical records of nearly 8,000 patients with Stage 1 breast cancer. Those who waited eight weeks before beginning radiation therapy were 1.4 times as likely to have had a recurrence or to develop a new breast tumor, the researchers found. Patients who delayed radiation for 12 weeks or longer were four times as likely to have suffered a recurrence. The study was published in the journal Cancer. A truncated course of radiation therapy — defined as less than three weeks, instead of the usual regimen of five to seven — increased the risk of succumbing to cancer by 32 percent, the researchers reported. Delayed and incomplete radiation treatment did not as adversely affect patients with a precancerous condition called ductal carcinoma in situ, the study said. “One of the big problems is that care has to be coordinated to avoid these kinds of delays and lack of completion, especially for patients from a lower socioeconomic status,” said Dr. Heather Taffet Gold, assistant professor of public health at the college and lead author of the study.

Please click on the link below to read the complete New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/health/02cancer.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=health&adxnnlx=1228743287-c8qJXG4u55PS5N7nMkzbcA

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Florida: Justices Hear Blood Bank Death Suit: Medical Malpractice or General Liability

A lawyer for the parents of a 7-year-old boy who died after contracting West Nile virus from a transfusion of tainted blood asked the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday to restore an $8 million jury verdict against a blood bank. The case, though, has wider implications. The justices have been asked to decide whether all blood banks are covered by Florida’s medical malpractice statutes, which include special procedures and limits on damages and attorney fees, rather than general negligence laws. While lawyers argued the case, a local blood bank’s mobile unit was parked across the street at the Capitol, where a blood drive was coincidentally being held. The American Red Cross and two national blood bank associations are participating in the case through a written “friend-of-the-court” argument that sided with the defendant, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers Inc. The justices will rule at a later date. The 1st District Court of Appeal overturned the negligence verdict in the death of Chase Fitchner. It ruled the boy’s estate should have filed a notice to LifeSouth before suing as required for a medical malpractice claim. The parents’ lawyer, Dean LeBoeuf argued the appellate ruling violates his clients’ right of access to the courts, saying it would be impossible to comply with the malpractice requirements. That’s because they couldn’t obtain records on the donor they’d need to file a preliminary notice because of patient confidentiality laws, he said. The Florida Supreme Court in 1992 ruled blood banks are not covered by malpractice laws because they do not provide treatment or care to recipients. The Legislature, though, amended the law to include blood banks in its definition of health care providers, argued LifeSouth’s lawyer, Robert Biasotti.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Bradenton Herald article:

http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/1076754.html

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Avoiding Dog Bites – What to Do . . .

Dog bites are often the result of negligent owners. Potential victims can only try to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But if a pit bull leaps over a fence and attacks your small dog, what can you do to stop it? Without a firearm or a break stick, yourself and your pet may be seriously injured.

Most dangerous situations

• Inserting yourself into a dogfight
• Leaving a toddler or child alone with a dog
• Approaching a chained dog, especially if it is male and unaltered
• Encountering a group of dogs on the loose. Like the human “mob” mentality, normally obedient dogs often become violent when part of a pack
• Approaching a vehicle with a dog inside (or in the bed of a truck)

Always remember

• Do not pet a dog without first letting him see you
• Do not lean your face close to a dog
• Do not tease a dog, especially if it is chained
• Do not startle a sleeping dog
• Do not bother a dog that is eating
• Do not disturb a dog that is caring for puppies
• Do not turn your back on a dog and run away

Please click on the link below to access The Humane Society of the United States’ website for advice on avoiding dog bites and attacks:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/dog_care/stay_dog_bite_free/avoiding_dog_bites.html

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Study Shows Jury Awards Climbing in Medical Liability Cases

Medical malpractice cases posted some of the highest average jury awards in the nation in 2005 compared with other types of civil cases, according to an October report by the U.S. Dept. of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. The study also showed that average damages in medical liability trials more than doubled from 1992 to 2005, while average awards for all civil cases declined 40%. During the same period, the overall number of civil trials, including medical liability cases, dropped by more than half. The study looked at trends in civil trial litigation in the nation’s 75 most populous counties.

Please click on the link below to read the complete American Medical News article:

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/12/01/prbf1201.htm#1

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Plaintiffs Win More Than Half of State Court Civil Trials

Plaintiffs won in more than half of state court civil trials in 2005 and were more likely to get a favorable verdict in bench than jury trials, according to a new U.S. Department of Justice report. Plaintiffs won in 56 percent of all general civil trial cases. Judges ruled in their favor in 68 percent of the cases, while juries favored the plaintiffs 54 percent of the time. The report was released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the U.S. Department of Justice. The study is the first nationally representative measure of general civil bench and jury trials in state courts. The report found that plaintiffs were awarded an estimated $6 billion in compensatory and punitive damages, with the final median damage award of $28,000. More than 14 percent of plaintiff winners were awarded damages of more than $250,000, while about 4 percent got more than $1 million. State courts handled nearly 27,000 civil cases through bench or jury trials. Sixty-one percent of them involved a tort claim, and the most common tort claim involved motor vehicle accidents.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Law.com article:

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425637983

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Frequency of Dog Bite Injuries in the United States

Dog bites occur every 75 seconds in the United States. Each day, over 1,000 citizens need emergency care to treat these bites. The following studies examine injury occurrence and the breeds most likely to bite. In 2001, the Center for Disease and Control published a study that examines the frequency of US dog bite injuries treated by emergency care facilities.

• In 1994, the most recent year for which published data are available, an estimated 4.7 million dog bites occurred in the United States and approximately 799,700 persons required medical care.
• Of an estimated 333,700 patients treated for dog bites in emergency departments in 1994, approximately 6,000 were hospitalized.
• In 2001, an estimated 368,245 persons were treated in US emergency rooms for nonfatal dog bite-related injuries.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Dogbites.org article:

http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-statistics.htm

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Which Dogs Bite? A Case-Control Study of Risk Factors

The city of Denver did a study that focused on the type of dog most likely to commit a dog bite. Pit bulls were not included in the report. In the city of Denver pit bulls are banned.

Study highlights

• Biters are 6.2 times as likely to be male than female
• Biters are 2.6 times as likely to be intact than neutered
• Biters are 2.8 times as likely to be chained as unchained
• Biters were significantly more likely to be German Shepherd or Chow Chow, male and unneutered, 50lbs and above and under 5 years of age
• Biters were significantly more likely to reside in a house with one or more children and more likely to be chained while in the yard
• Children aged 12 and younger were the victims in 51% of all cases; the median age of all bite victims was 12 years (range 1-83 years)
• 64% of bite victims were male
• 76% of the bites were recorded as minor and 24% as severe
• 50% of bites occurred on the sidewalk, street, alley or playground; 30% in the owner’s yard; 14% in the owner’s house and 4% in the victim’s yard

Please click on the link below to read the complete Dogbites.org article:

http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-study-whichdogsbite.htm

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