Before receiving treatment from a health professional, a patient is entitled to receive full disclosure and information about the proposed treatment including risk factors and side effects and the potential to achieve the same or a similar result using an alternative procedure. A patient must positively consent to treatment on the basis of 'informed consent' failing which a healthcare practitioner will be liable to pay compensation for medical malpractice in the event of a predictable adverse event which causes personal injury. If the patient has been fully informed of risk and consent was properly given then the medical professional may not be liable to pay compensation in the event of a known risk factor causing personal injury provided that the treatment was not carried out negligently. Use the contact form on the profiles to connect with a Sacramento County, California attorney for legal advice. The Shortcut URL To This Section Is: MALPRACTICE QUESTIONNAIRE: Complete one for each suit and attach the necessary documentation. (If not applicable, write N/A on the form sign, date, and return with application). Author, Is the Big Firms' Free Pass Gone?, Texas Lawyer, p. 30, April 22, 1996. I have read about many dental malpractice lawsuits and wrongdoings. I think that this has been very beneficial to me as a dental student and a future dentist. Many people have to suffer through some sort of injury or other problem at the hands of incompetent medical care, and they deserve to have some restitution. As is typical in these kinds of cases, your main opponent in your medical malpractice suit will be a doctor's insurance organization, with all its attendant resources and power. Because the insurance companies are quite keen to avoid any payments at all, you must be prepared to throw everything you have at these people. If you want to win your case, you're going to need a lot of assistance. For most people, this means that you need to hire a great medical malpractice attorney. The rest of this post will give you things to consider. Check out medical malpractice attorney company page , for more info. malpractice lawyers. malpractice attorney las vegas nv:law offices Mr. Watson had been a patient at the medical center about five years before, and everything was terrific, he said. This time was different. Thank you for your time and service. I am very much delighted to inform you that I was very happy with your service and the compensation amount you made me to get for me. I am very much happy with amount I have received and great job done by CSO Legal. Thank you for being with me all this time. Thank you for your great services again. Lawyer Services Irvine CA. Many of the firms who seek to represent you in dental malpractice cases either refer these cases to other attorneys or spend much of their time with general negligence litigation and non-dental malpractice matters. Moreover, due to their lack of familiarity with dental malpractice litigation, many attorneys who seek dental malpractice lawsuits will not represent a client in what they consider to be a small case, and may miss an opportunity to recover damages for dental patients. Medical malpractice and dental malpractice are not the same. Our firm benefits you, because we have acquired an understanding of the basic principles and concepts of dentistry, through our continual prosecution of dental malpractice lawsuits, large and small. We have learned that most law firms, even those who claim to limit their practices to dental malpractice litigation, will not represent injured dental patients in small cases. Most of the time, we will. Pedestrian accident successful claim Monday - Friday 8:30 am ' 5:30 pm Saturday - Sunday Closed The report or any minority report of the medical review panel shall be admissible as evidence in any action subsequently brought by the claimant in a court of law, but such report shall not be conclusive and either party shall have the right to call any member of the medical review panel as a witness. If called, the witness shall be required to appear and testify. In order to help you more quickly, please fill out the form below and click submit or call us at: I am unable to sleep. My jaw locks up and I am unable to eat. Professional negligence claims may not arise from every mistake made by a professional (e.g. solicitor, accountant, architect). The test to be applied is whether the mistake is one which no reasonably competent professional should have made and whether it has caused the client any financial disadvantage. This is a chapter from Herring & Goold, eds, Landmark Cases in Medical Law (Hart, 2015) (forthcoming). It compares two judgments, from the House of Lords and from the Australian High Court, reaching opposite results where negligent... more But there are circumstances when the medical malpractice lawyers at Pocrass & De Los Reyes may be able to challenge the agreement. So contact us, and we can give you your legal options. California Wrongful Death Attorney
The Court of Appeals agreed with the family that certain industry standards in the treatment of chest pain emergency visits should be admitted for the jury's consideration and would have sent the case back for a new trial. The Republican majority of the Supreme Court reversed that decision earlier this year and held that none of the various medical standards cited by the family should be admitted in evidence. This week, the Court of Appeals put the case to bed permanently, ruling that the trial court did not err in allowing the Defendants' experts to testify despite the inadequacy of their attorneys' interrogatory answers. The Court held that since the Court limited the witnesses' testimony to the general tenor of a letter sent by defense counsel describing their testimony, the family had suffered no prejudice. South Carolina: $150,000 Verdict. Plaintiff experiences severe pain after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and is treated with narcotic pain killers during an overnight hospital stay. After being admitted to the emergency room, a CT scan shows fluid in the abdomen. It is discovered that the plaintiff's bile duct and hepatic duct are lacerated. Physicians place two stents to drain the fluid and plaintiff undergoes repair surgery six weeks later. Plaintiff alleges that defendant physician negligently cut the common bile and hepatic ducts. Plaintiff also suffers from ongoing eating difficulties and diarrhea because of the injuries. Defendant alleges that there is no evidence of a bile duct injury from the surgery but does not offer an explanation for the injury. Defendant disputes the plaintiff's continuing symptoms and contends that plaintiff's symptoms can occur after a normal cholecystectomy. Plaintiff's medical malpractice action asks for $119,000 in past medical expenses, $6,000 in lost wages, and damages for pain and suffering. The jury awards plaintiff $150,000 and the hospital settles for $100,000. Throughout his career John Alton has fought against some of the largest insurance companies and medical care providers in the country - including State Farm, Westfield, Allstate, Nationwide, Travelers, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OhioHealth, ProAssurance and The Ohio State University Medical Center. He has been successful in holding them accountable for injuries and death that have occurred because of the actions of their insureds or physicians. 2. exactly how the defendant dentist's conduct fell short of meeting that standard in the plaintiff's case. Kim Trefry, the Dental Board's enforcement chief, said the board only posts notices of civil malpractice judgments reported to us after adjudication or arbitration. That does not include settlements reached outside of court. After testimony by a dental expert and a legal expert, the Court found for Mr. C. and awarded treble damages pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A. Upon the filing of a motion for attorney fees, the defendant paid the full damages, interest, costs and attorney fees. Medical Malpractice / Failure to Follow Heparin Protocol after Surgery - DVT, Death from Pulmonary Embolus - Verdict How do you feel about young, inexperienced drivers texting and driving? The CDC estimates that many teens engage... days ago Man suffers crushed foot at paper manufacturer. The VA likes to say they're accountable. I don' t believe the word even exists in the VA dictionary, said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Florida, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Lawyer Services Irvine CA
Because of this dental negligence, the root canal treatment failed and left Mrs A in ongoing and severe pain. Help About Blog Mobile Apps Privacy Policy Terms of Use Contact Us Popular Items Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ Upholding patients' rights in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan On January 30, plaintiff's friends arranged an appointment with Russell Simpson, M.D., a private internist, who testified that plaintiff had one of the worse cases of edema that he'd seen. II 308. Dr. Simpson treated the edema with intravenous diuresis in the hospital; after three days plaintiff was discharged in stable physical and psychiatric condition. Medical Transcription, Insurance Claims Processing, Forms processing, Data Processing and Data Entry, CAD & GIS map digitization services. Outsourcing BPO company. Unless the parties have agreed to submit the claim to binding arbitration, they must attend an in-person mandatory mediation session, within 120 days after the suit is filed (unless the period is extended by mutual agreement). The court must also require a settlement conference at least three weeks before trial (Fla. Stat. Ann. paragraph 766.108). If you or a family member has been injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice, Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky is committed to obtaining all the results you need and deserve. To learn how we can help, contact our medical malpractice attorneys today. Accordingly, it is ordered that the government's motion to dismiss be granted. Roselli Law Office, We are centrally located at the Roselli Building in the heart of Fort Lauderdale. Detroit Medical Malpractice Lawyers
She calls up the patient's medical record on the computer at her desk and scrolls through lab reports, doctors' notes, X-rays and EKGs, thinking out loud with the medical resident, who is at the man's bedside. Mary Bohannon is filing suit against Illinois resident James Howie for legal malpractice, alleging she was forced to pursue litigation against her sisters who wrongfully became trustees of her father's estate as a result of Howie's negligence. Price: $10 The Dental Board staff will assist you in determining if your complaint can be handled by the Board. If the Board cannot handle your complaint, the staff may refer you to another agency or organization for assistance. Under the law, if a surgeon negligently performed an operation which caused the death of his patient two years later, the most that could be recovered for the estate and for all family members entitled to recover for non-economic damages is $962,000. Compare that to other forms of personal injuryif the doctor hit someone with his car while running a red light, and that person died from his injuries two years later, the maximum amount of non-economic damages would be $2,075,000. Big difference. How much is my professional negligence claim worth? Law Firm For Dental Negligence Irvine California 92710 Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law Injury Claim Specialists Injury Lawyers UK, No Win No Fee Nothing. Our Dallas and Little Rock medical malpractice lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means that we only get paid if you do. We will review your case free of charge. If we proceed with your case, our fee will be taken from the money we recover for you. If you do not recover damages, we do not get paid. Every dental malpractice case is different, and as your Portland, Oregon dental malpractice attorney, Mark understands that your case is unique and will give you the personalized attention that you are due. However, because there can be time limitations on when you can file a dental malpractice lawsuit, it is extremely important for you to arrange a consultation with Mark as soon as possible so that you do not forfeit any opportunity to pursue any benefits you may have coming to you. When you need someone who can expertly apply the specifics of Oregon dental malpractice law to your situation, you want the expertise and ability of Mark J. Leeds in your corner. John Doe, another special education student who had a history of disciplinary and behavioral problems, including sexually inappropriate conduct, sexually assaulted Ms. Jones on multiple occasions. Although teachers knew Jones had been battered and may have known she was sexually assaulted, they only informed Jones' mother of the non-sexual battery. Jones began exhibiting self-destructive and suicidal behavior, left school, and entered a psychiatric hospital.
Cumberland School of Law, Samford University I'm not saying that he didn't screw you over. The things he had you wait for (surgery, a board complaint, full recovery) are things you didn't need to wait for. Him saying that his friend accepted your case when he actually may have just made a referral that the other lawyer hadn't accepted at all was unacceptable. Unfortunately, none of that did any permanent damage to your case. A lawyer could still have taken it and worked it up in time to file after this lawyer dropped you. It's not like he left you just a few days or even a few weeks. The fact that no lawyer was actually willing to take your case doesn't retroactively make him dropping you legal malpractice. Read a News Story we have published about this type of birth injury claim. Medical Malpractice Law Firms in Maryland (295) In many claims for medical negligence compensation, your current medical situation and future prospects may be improved by appropriate medical treatment including surgery, physiotherapy, counselling or care (given at the earliest opportunity, rather than waiting until the claim has been settled). We have arrangements with providers of medical and other rehabilitation services to get you back on your feet as soon as possible. 6065 Roswell Rd NE, Atlanta, GA - (404) 255-3282 No FEE Unless You Are Compensated DENVER (AP) _ Lillian Castillo says she knew it was trouble when her supervisor told her U.S. marshals would stop by about two overdue $5 parking tickets. If you have been a recently been a victim of medical or dental malpractice, contact Kaufman, Nichols & Kaufman to schedule a free consultation. Negligence law is mainly governed by case law and the subsequent decisions by the courts. The fact that negligence law is mostly case law means it can sometimes be difficult to understand and to apply to situations. This has then lead to a number of developments with regards to the law of negligence that the courts have dealt with.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of dental malpractice, we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible to discuss your case with you in a free initial consultation with one of our Chicago dental malpractice attorneys. Please call 312-386-7683 or e-mail us While some dental malpractice claims may fail to lead to a settlement or successful verdict, the filing alone can act as a serious lesson to the dentist, curbing any future negligent behavior. If you believe your dentist committed malpractice, you should immediately consult with a Salt Lake City lawyer who handles dental malpractice cases. The lawyer can evaluate the circumstances of the dental care in question and determine if you are legally entitled to compensation. Seeking legal advice is the best way to protect your legal rights. (c) Awards of damages against a public authority exercising a public function would have an impact upon the resources available to the authority to perform its duties, both in terms of the damages and costs, and in terms of the resources required to investigate and defend spurious claims. Best Practices in Legal Ethics Compliance The successful candidate will be handling his or her own medical negligence caseload, have experience of high value claims and be able to demonstrate excellent client care skills. We invite you to join A New Era in Your Ceramic Restoration. We have come to realize that form follows function, and so we focus our attention on balancing predictability in occlusion with esthetics. This philosophy will provide you with incredibly natural looking restorations, and require minimal intra-oral adjustments. Occlusion will be placed where it should be and load the tooth for function and longevity. If you live in Warrington or the surrounding areas, Mark Reynolds Solicitors professional advice and expertise is situated so that you have legal advice on your doorstep. To find out more about how our Clinical and Medical Negligence claims Solicitors can help you with your case, Feel free to call Mark Reynolds solicitors based in Warrington on 01925 418004 or start your personal injury claim online through our contact page and we'll call you. Occupations Code paragraph160.001 et seq. Medical peer review in Texas and $300,000, nationwide.
He said he had been put into a medically-induced coma and he was laying there, Amanda told WRTV-TV And this dentist needs to be stopped. Are you ready to take action? Our profile's contact form is simple to use and makes it easy to connect with a Chicago, Illinois lawyer and seek legal advice. A Northern Ireland nurse has been struck off for failing to investigate allegations of abuse affecting five residents at a Country Antrim nursing home. Nurse Katherine McCall was employed as nursing... Read more Find CPD is a database of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses in the UK You can claim for the cost of any replacement treatment you have to take to rectify the problems that the dentist's negligence has caused you. You can also claim for any other expenses that you have accrued due to the dentist's negligence, such as loss of earnings. Medical malpractice arises when patients are hurt because of a doctor or other medical professional's mistreatment or negligent actions. Perhaps a health care provider failed to provide treatment consistent with acceptable medical practices. Or maybe your illness was misdiagnosed, and your health worsened as a result. Yes. In recent times, the legal system has seen a significant increase in the amount of lawsuits being brought against the clergy and the churches they represent. While a majority of these malpractice suits have involved sexual impropriety with minors, clergy malpractice can occur whenever a clergy violates a duty he has to one of the church's members. malpractice insurance for attorneys in california.Secretly, it is Because doctors and their insurance companies are not limited in what they spend on their lawyers, this creates an unbalanced playing field that favors doctors. Victims with legitimate malpractice claims suffer as a result. Good lawyers just find more lucrative cases. Disclaimer: The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.
When a mistake by a health care provider causes an injury or death to a patient, the patient or their family may be able to seek damages. The surgeon owed you a duty of care An Ohio Super Lawyer and a Best Lawyer in America are rated by other lawyers. During surgery, the operating team must exercise extreme caution to avoid damaging the numerous nerves throughout the body. Either because of an error in administering the anesthesia, failure to reposition the patient during surgery, or direct damage to a nerve, the patient could be left with permanent complications. The clicking sound she had been hearing was bone grinding against bone in her eyelid. Dental Malpractice Attorney Irvine California 92710 Every day, patients throughout New York State place their lives in the hands of physicians, surgeons, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, and other medical professionals. When these patients' trust is broken through medical negligence or medical malfeasance, the ramifications are great. Medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States and results in hundreds of thousands of injuries each year. The New York State medical malpractice attorneys at Tully Rinckey PLLC are dedicated to bring justice for those harmed by medical mistakes. Find Specific Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyers Medical Compensation For You, Medical Malpractice Lawyers UK : Simple circumstances can be performed and dusted in a 12 months generally. Medical bills with other medical services or practitioners to treat the condition brought on by the hospital's neglect, injuries attributable to the hospital or di... If you believe you have a medical negligence matter then please complete you free legal enquiry form on the left, or click here Being that I was the only next of kin that was of age it was my duty to see that my father passed in dignity. I only kept him on life support for four days. It was never his wish to stay on life support. Having to be responsible for his life and death at that age is not easy. His final diagnosis was multiple strokes caused by a clog in the back of his neck. The mini strokes had started when he had originally brought himself in before he suffered a major stroke when he stumbled into my mother's garage.
Breast Implant Litigation, Law Journal Seminars-Press, 1992 and 1993 Q. And did you do anything to evaluate that at that time? Different states assess informed consent differently when it comes to the risks that must be disclosed and discussed. Most states apply one of two tests, asking either: Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker In an attempt to identify solutions for mitigating the phenomenon of defensive medicine and rationalizing the system, article 3, paragraph 1, of the so-called Balduzzi Decree specifically regulates the criminal liability of physicians. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the new regulatory boundaries of medical negligence. After discussing the case-law developments on guidelines, the paper shall focus on the role that such guidelines - which are explicitly valued in the applicable regulatory provisions - may play in determining the Tatbestand. On the other hand, this paper shall focus also on the subjective measure of negligence. As a matter of fact, what needs to be established is whether or not mild negligence may apply and consequently whether the latter may be understood as a legal exemption from any charge of negligence. The interpretation offered by the author is aimed at emphasizing the objective and subjective identification of the liability judgment. The purpose is to redesign the physician's criminal liability in the light of truly negligence-based terms, i.e. in full compliance with the principle of individuality of criminal liability pursuant to article 27, 1st paragraph, of the Italian Constitution. I generally credit Dr. Wachter's testimony, and find that Felicia's economic damages should be in the higher range indicated by Dr. Wachter. I employ a maintenance percentage of 45%, however. I therefore award $1,774,288 to Camille DeJesus for Felicia's economic damages. Darlene McCue of Bristol, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, was killed on Sunday when her bicycle was hit by a Yorkville man who was driving a pickup truck. Her daughter, age 25, was also injured in the accident and remains in fair condition at Rush-Copley Hospital. The pickup truck was driving east on Kennedy Road when it struck the two cyclists who were travelling in the same direction. These restrictions do not apply to expert testimony provided by defendants, or to the employees of defendants. Malpractice Payouts to U.S. Veterans Reach 12-Year High - Businessweek Christopher Ellison went to a veterans medical center in Philadelphia to get eight teeth extracted in 2007. What should have been a routine dentist visit left him permanently incapacitated. The $17.5 million Ellison and his family received in a malpractice judgment against the Department of Veterans Affairs was the largest against the agency in a dozen years and one of more than 400 payments the U.S. government made last year to resolve VA malpractice claims, according to agency records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The total cost came to $91.7 million, also the highest sum in at least 12 years. The cases against the VA have included missed diagnoses, delayed treatment and procedures performed on wrong body parts. U.S. lawmakers and veterans' advocates say they reflect deep flaws in the agency's health-care system even as the department tends to more former troops, including those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rapid rise in malpractice judgments against VA mirrors the emerging pattern of preventable veteran deaths and other patient safety issues at VA hospitals, Representative Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House veterans committee, said in an e-mailed statement. What's missing from the equation is not money or manpower it's accountability. 'Not Warned' Miller's committee held a hearing in Pittsburgh today to probe lapses that include a Legionnaires' disease outbreak at a VA hospital that killed at least five veterans and also led to malpractice claims. The VA's inspector general is conducting a criminal investigation into the outbreak, which involved bacteria in the hospital system's water, Robert Petzel, the department's undersecretary for health, said during the hearing. Family members of veterans who died after being exposed to the bacteria said the VA didn't immediately let relatives know there was a potential health problem. For sixteen days my father was allowed to shower and drink the water without any warning, said Robert Nicklas, whose father, William, a Navy veteran, died last year after the Pittsburgh VA outbreak. Why were we not warned? More Patients More veterans are taking advantage of VA medical care, including those requiring more complex treatment. As many as 1.2 million additional soldiers are due to become veterans in the next four years. Some of the soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering post-traumatic stress disorder while others are living with injuries that would have been fatal in World War II or the Vietnam War. The age of recent veterans may be a contributing factor in the rise of claims payments, said W. Robb Graham, an attorney in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, who has represented former troops filing claims against the agency. Younger claimants tend to get larger malpractice payouts, often tied to how long victims will suffer, he said. The median age range of veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington was 25 to 34 years old, according to a 2011 Labor Department study. That's compared to veterans who served during the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam eras, whose median age range was 65 and older, the study said. Higher Payments If the VA cuts off the wrong leg of a veteran who is 70 years old and his life expectancy is 75, he's entitled to five years of damages, Graham said in a phone interview. If they cut off the wrong leg of a veteran who is 25, you're now dealing with someone who is entitled to 50 years of damages. The department has 152 hospitals and about 19,000 doctors. Last year, the VA tended to 5.6 million veterans, a 32 percent increase from fiscal 2002, according to agency data. It's the largest health-care system in the U.S., and they do an incredible amount of good work, said Jerry Manar, deputy director of national veterans service at the Kansas City, Missouri-based Veterans of Foreign Wars. However, there are so many more things they could do in terms of oversight that they don't appear to be doing now. As a consequence, sometimes you wind up with poor results that were avoidable. The department is deeply committed to providing the quality care and benefits our nation's veterans have earned and deserve, Gina Jackson, a VA spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. If employee misconduct or failure to meet performance standards is found to have been a factor, VA will take appropriate corrective action immediately. Taxpayers' Bill The 2012 malpractice payments stemmed from both court judgments and administration settlements. The payouts, made by the U.S. Treasury's Judgment Fund, rose 28 percent last year from about $72 million in 2011, the VA records showed. Taxpayers have spent at least $700 million to resolve claims filed against the veterans agency since 2001, according to the data. Many valid VA malpractice claims never get paid, said attorney Graham, who served as a judge advocate general in the Navy in the 1980s. Some are rejected because paperwork isn't filed properly, he said. My strong belief is a lot of lawyers don't know how to sue the VA, he said. Some law firms aren't interested in representing people suing the federal government because of laws that limit attorney fees to 25 percent of malpractice awards, Graham said. 'An Alarming Pattern' In a May letter, Representative Miller asked President Barack Obama to help address an alarming pattern of serious and significant patient care issues at VA medical facilities. The House panel is reviewing the Legionnaires' outbreak in Pennsylvania, and the department's handling of two overdose deaths and two suicides at an Atlanta veterans hospital. Also under scrutiny are poor sterilization procedures and possible patient exposure to infectious diseases such as HIV at VA locations. We are not here as part of a witch-hunt, to make VA look bad or to score political points, Miller said during the hearing. We simply want to ensure that veterans across the country are receiving the care and benefits they have earned. The agency isn't holding employees, especially executives, accountable for preventable deaths, Miller said. Department officials also gave bonuses to doctors even if they practiced without a license or left residents unsupervised during surgery, according to a Government Accountability Office report last month. VA Bonuses The recipients of $150 million in bonuses to VA health-care providers in fiscal 2011 included a radiologist unable to read a mammogram and an emergency-room doctor who refused to see patients, the report found. Miller has said the VA employees should be punished not rewarded for their incompetence. The number of malpractice claims filed with the VA has remained at 1,544 for the past two years, said Jackson, the agency spokeswoman. The leveling off came after a 33 percent spike in cases to 1,670 between 2010 and 2005, according to an October 2011 GAO report. The VA's malpractice payment rates may be similar to national levels, said Anupam B. Jena, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ellison's Case Less than 25 percent of the claims filed against the veterans agency result in payment, according to the VA. About 20 percent of malpractice claims filed with the largest insurer of physicians between 1991 and 2005 resulted in a payment, according to a 2011 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said Jena, who worked on the report. Last year's noticeable increase in medical malpractice payments was partly due to an exceptionally large $17.5 million court judgment, Jackson said in an e-mail. Such payments are highly variable from year to year, she said. That record judgment went to Ellison, who was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2001. He was a 49-year-old electronics technician from Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, in 2007 when he visited the dentist to have eight teeth extracted because of tooth decay and gum disease. During the procedure at a VA facility in Philadelphia, Ellison's blood pressure dropped several times to unusually low levels, his attorney, Shanin Specter, a partner at Kline & Specter P.C., a law firm in the city, said during a 2011 trial. 'Catastrophic' Stroke Ellison wasn't sent to the emergency room, and the dentist continued with the extractions, said Specter, son of Arlen Specter, the former senator from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican for more than 28 years and became a Democrat during his last 20 months in office. Arlen Specter died last year. Ellison had a catastrophic stroke while driving his car shortly after leaving the dentist office, Specter said. The government argued that the veteran's existing health problems caused the stroke, not the care he received at the VA. Ellison had a history of smoking, diabetes, hypertension and many other stroke risk factors, Thomas Johnson, an assistant U.S. attorney, said during the 2011 trial in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. After the stroke, Ellison was left with limited vocabulary, severe and pervasive deficits in all mental abilities, and negative personality changes, according to court documents. He wound up being totally incapacitated, requiring 24-hour-a-day care, Specter said. This is about as devastating an injury as a person can have, and that's what the award reflects. To contact the reporter on this story: Kathleen Miller in Washington at Kmiller01@ To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stepha The Law Firm Has Received The Following Accolades