Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

September 9, 2010

Dallas Wrongful Death Attorney 817-900-8439

Today I settled one of my trucking-car accident cases through mediation. Mediation for those of you who are not familiar with the process, is an alternative dispute resolution process that I frequently employ with good results. As a Dallas Wrongful Death Attorney, I use mediation as a settlement instrument in 80-90% of my personal injury cases.

Usually after the lawsuit is filed, initial discovery is shared and the first round of depositions have taken place, both sides of the dispute will have a good idea of the strength and weaknesses of their respective case. No one case is perfect on all counts.

That is when I usually approach the opposition and ask them to consider and participate in the mediation process. Today we had such a meeting, which was held at a neutral place, the office of the neutral attorney mediator. It is the job of the mediator to listen over a period of several hours to both sides of the conflict and urge both sides to come to a settlement.

Sometimes the mediation process fails and the case goes to trial, this usually happens when the parties are too far apart. That happened to me at the last mediation, 2 weeks ago on a dog bite case. We go to trial in October.

In the present mediation, my client had significant soft tissue injuries after she was rear ended by a 18 wheeler truck. She developed chronic pain and had to have significant medical therapy. The outcome could have been much worse, she could have died as a result of the accident. In this case both vehicles had become locked as a result of the accident and the truck driver did not realize that he was in an accident as he continued to drive. It came to his attention when another truck driver called him on the radio that he was pushing a car up the hill.

I am glad to report that the case settled for a confidential amount and the truck driver/company accepted liability.

September 4, 2010

Fort Worth Medical Malpractice Attorney 817-900-8439

by Dr. Shezad Malik

This weekend I am in a contemplative mood. I was thinking about one of the medical malpractice cases I am handling. As a Fort Worth Medical Malpractice Attorney and licensed medical doctor, I receive up to 100 telephone calls and email inquiries per month. After talking and carefully screening all of these possible inquiries, I end up selecting only 4-5 cases per year to litigate and to take to the next level.

This case concerns a middle aged woman who comes into a major North Texas hospital for treatment of a fractured hip. She is appropriately evaluated and scheduled for hip replacement under spinal anesthesia.

Then tragedy strikes, there is an accident during the administration of the anesthesia. My client stops breathing and has full cardiac arrest while in the OR. These events were not immediately recognized or treated by the attending anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist who were responsible for the care of the patient.

After much delay, the patient was resuscitated, but she had developed severe irreversible anoxic brain damage from the lack of oxygen.

The client lingered on in a profound vegetative state for 3 months and then ultimately died.

You would guess that the doctors and nurses would do the right thing and accept liability in this tragic medical malpractice case. You guessed right…they deny liability and we have a fight on our hands.

I have a very good friend, Spencer Aronfeld, Aronfeld Law Firm in Miami Florida who also handles wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. I told him about this case…he was shocked and dismayed. Then he regaled me with similar cases of his own.

Folks every day is a battle to get people justice in this world, please note we are doing it street by street, house by house and city by city. The work for justice never ends and Injustice never sleeps.

September 4, 2010

Dallas Fort Worth Slip and Fall Attorney 817-900-8439

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Folks I am a man of simple tastes. When I woke up this morning I sat down with a steaming cup of java and opened up my lap top. I looked out over the back yard, the temperature was cool for Texas (70 F) and the sky was a deep blue…

Is it great to have a contemplative 3 days with the Labor Day Weekend? A great weekend for shopping and getting out and about and then as a result, more slip and falls.

As Dallas Fort Worth Slip and Fall attorney, I review and screen many slip and fall and trip and fall accident/personal injury claims. That reminds me, we have a case currently against a large and well known grocery store. My client is a 75 year old sprightly woman in otherwise good health. She went to the store to do her shopping but did not get very far. She tripped up on the entrance on the floor mats which were not taped down as per the store’s policy and procedures.

Instead the mats were allowed to get buckled and frayed and my client tripped up, falling, breaking her hip and shoulder.

You know the rest of the story…the store will not do right by her, she had to retain an attorney and we are in litigation. She had a long hospital stay and extensive rehab and is now finally back on her feet.

We will keep you posted, dear readers of the progress in this case. The defendants have stated that they want to settle and mediate this case…

September 3, 2010

Fort Worth Car Accident Attorney

by Dr. Shezad Malik

There are thousands of car, truck and motor bike accidents through out the Dallas Fort Worth multiplex on an annual basis. Many people get severely injured, maimed for life or die as a result of the motor vehicle accident.

I got a call today from a potential client in San Antonio. She told me the sad story of the death of her son’s father from a car accident. Apparently the driver was under the influence of alcohol, and been charged with vehicular manslaughter. The driver is in jail awaiting sentencing.

I do not know all the details but in this particular instance at least 3 people have been affected, the woman, the son and the father…

September 3, 2010

Fort Worth Dog Bite Lawyer

by Dr. Shezad Malik

I like dogs but I would not describe myself as a dog person.

We have a client who while working for a dog grooming/boarding facility was bitten pretty severely by the owner’s pet dog. The owner of the establishment is a self professed dog lover. She has 6-7 dogs but she has to house this particular dog at her facility because he does not “play nice” with the other dogs. She has admitted that her dog is kennel, food and bone aggressive.

My client was attacked by this dog and she was mauled pretty bad, incurring medical bills in the range of $70,000 and required several operations to her elbow which had gotten infected from the deep dog bite. She has an 8 inch scar across her elbow.

We are trying to settle and mediate the case, if not we will proceed to trial. We do not think that liability is going to be an issue.

September 2, 2010

Another Louisiana Oil Rig on Fire After Explosion

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Thirteen workers jump to safety after an explosion on the offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The company, Mariner Energy, says the site’s seven active wells have been ‘shut in’ and are not leaking.

Another offshore oil facility caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico, sending 13 workers into the water to be rescued by boat, and sending enough petroleum into the water to create a mile-long by 100 foot wide sheen, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Read full story here.

September 2, 2010

Dallas Fort Worth Construction Sites Can Lead to Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries

by Dr. Shezad Malik

According to OSHA, 4,340 workers died on the job in 2009.

“With every one of these fatalities, the lives of a worker’s family members were shattered and forever changed. We can’t forget that fact.”

-Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor
Poorly Managed Construction Sites Are Dangerous.

Construction site injuries include:

* Falls
* Struck by falling object
* Struck by laterally moving object or equipment
* Impalement or penetrating injury
* Truck or other motor vehicle accident
* Electrocution
* Explosions
* Burns

September 2, 2010

We are the Dallas Fort Worth Texas Personal Injury Lawyers

by Dr. Shezad Malik

I am proud of our work this week. We just settled another car accident injury claim. My client was minding his own business, one night in Dallas. Somebody plowed into him and rear ended him. The folks who hit him were drunk and tried to run. They were caught by an off duty apartment security guard.

Come to find out they were high as a kite and ready to fly.

Luckily for my client he had minor soft tissue injuries, but he had pre-existing neck problems including cervical neck fusion. Obviously we were concerned that he may have had neck injuries. But after medical evaluation he was cleared of major injuries.

September 2, 2010

Texas Cites Local Energy Company in Fatal Blast

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Houston company failed to adequately mark the path of a buried 36-inch natural gas pipeline in Johnson County that was struck and exploded in June, killing one person, according to the Texas Railroad Commission.

Enterprise Products Operating Llc. violated several state regulations, the commission said in a report. Fines could be $10,000 per day per violation.

The explosion, which could be seen for miles, occurred June 7 when the carbon-steel pipeline was struck by an auger drilling a 48-inch-diameter hole to install high-wire electrical poles. The operator of the auger truck was killed. McClatchy Newspapers, Houston Chronicle 09/01/2010
Read Article: Houston Chronicle

September 1, 2010

Fort Worth Zocor Rhabdomyolysis Personal Injury Attorney

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In March, the FDA warned that Zocor users had an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis when taking the drug at high doses of 80 mg. While all statins carry some risk of the muscle injury, the FDA’s report was the first time a dose-specific connection had been made to a particular drug. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis from Zocor could include muscle cramps, tenderness, stiffness, pain or spasms. The illness is usually reported in patients over 65 years of age or those who have renal impairment or uncontrolled hypothyroidism.

Zocor (simvastatin) is a synthetic statin developed by Merck & Co., which is now available as a generic. Before patent protections expired in 2005, it was Merck’s best-selling drug and the second best selling cholesterol lowering drug in the world, bringing in $4.3 billion in 2005.