Memphis Injury Lawyer Blog

The days are past when the search for medical information requires a trip to the local hospital or doctor's office. A wealth of exhaustive information is now available via the World Wide Web or through digital means. Tennessee Vital Records.

Medical Records are now maintained in a variety of different formats. Of course, there is the hard copy which most health care providers still maintain. However, with the advent of digital technology and the internet, new forms of medical records have come to the fore. There are a variety of different software programs which are used by health care providers to archive medical records. Some hospitals use images which are either digitally created or digitally scanned to a server where the images can be viewed and, if necessary, printed or downloaded. Some health care providers are uploading medical records to secure internet sites where the images stored can likewise be viewed and printed, should the necessity arise. However, there are other digital utilities which can be utilized for a physician to catalog his records. Both pocket PC’s and PDA’s have the ability to store patient information and allow for the physician to enter new or different information at the point when services are rendered.

An additional consideration is the utilization of X-rays, CT scans, MRI films and PET scans in digital formal. Some medical records custodians are now able to deliver copies of these various images via the internet or on CD. While the medical community is investing huge sums of money in developing these technologies, most medical records are still maintained on hard copy. When one searches for medical records, there are several different types of medical records which can be overlooked.

The following is intended as a non-exclusive check-list of various medical records, which can be accessed and used for settlement, trial or in an administrative context:

Government Records
Veterans Administration
Health Insurance Claim Records
Health or Life Insurance Physicals
Disability Insurance Records
Federal Aviation Administration
Department of Transportation
Law Enforcement Qualification Examinations
United States Military Records
Private Hospitals & Doctor's Offices
Fitness for Duty or Return to Work Examinations
Pre-Employment Physical Examinations
Third-Party Claims Administrations
Divorce and Child Custody Cases
Genetic Counseling
Dental Examinations
Worker's Compensation Settlement Documents
Home Health Care Records
Ambulatory Surgery Records
Prior Claims and Discovery

One commonly ignored element of complete medical records are diagnostic studies themselves. If a CAT scan has been performed or any other form of tomography used, there exists either a visual representation or a video of the procedure. This is especially true in arthroscopic procedures where a video tape is created at the time of the procedure. This can have an excellent impact on a fact finder for something as minor as the arthroscope of a knee.

There are many methods by which counsel can assure that the records are complete. There are several different software applications which exist solely for the purpose of making a medical records chronology and identifying any gaps which may exist. However, the tried and true method is to prepare what amounts to a spreadsheet that analyzes the dates that services were performed and the bills for those dates of services. These programs can also tracks referrals to and from health care providers.

It must remembered that in order to reach a fair and just result, the injuries, and the permanency of those injuries, must be established. Speculation or guessing is not allowed. Therefore, in order to protect that which you value most, one must work hard to acquire this all important data in a form which can be verified and admitted into evidence.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car And Personal Injuries

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Trial lawyers joke that a person who represents herself or himself have a fool for a client. Still, this system of justice is fraught with danger and complexities. Terms such as marital fraction; separate property or negative marital estate have meanings that are not readily apparent to the lay person. Property Division Law.
In addition to these issues, clients are justifiably wary of being pinned down to admissions on these subjects because they do not have a well informed appreciation concerning the impact of these decisions. Often, even after multiple explanations of the applicable law from an experienced family lawyer, the average client knows less about the subject matter than before the explanation began.

I have had the experience of actually giving a well educated, business savvy client the printed law to read and afterwards still being met with a blank stare. this is not surprising. Volumes have been written about communication between lawyer and client.Suffice it to say that no matter the efforts of a caring lawyer, things are usually still somewhat cloudy to the non-lawyer.

These problems are compounded still further when one party is, by choice or chance, not represented by counsel. This is perfectly illustrated by the recent case of Caldwell vs. Caldwell. The parties were married for twenty four years before the decision was handed down in their case. While their assets were not extensive, they did have 117 acres of land and some other assets. Prior to the trial Ms. Caldwell through her attorney filed with the Court a listing of the parties assets setting forth her opinion of the values. Mr. Caldwell never made such a filing nor did he inform either the trial Court nor the appellate Court as to his opinions of valuation nor where his wife erred in her opinions.

The result was both predictable and unfortunate. Mr.Caldwell was unsuccessful in his attempt to get a more equitable division. The Court said that it is the duty of a party to file the proper papers with the Court and similarly for a party to follow the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Court. Also, the Court stated that Mr.Caldwell failed in his duty to tell the trial Court what he thought the proper values were or to object to his wife's valuation. In the absence of such an objection in the trial Court, the issue is waived and may not be first asserted on appeal.

The moral of this story is that in order to protect that which you value the most, a litigant must do what the Rules require to protect his own future.

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Divorce, Support And Custody

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Personal Injury in a Tent

Many people are injured in stores, auditoriums, restaurants and the like. Often times the cause of the personal injury results from a "slip and fall". However, many people are hurt in unusual ways. Regardless of the cause, for an owner or occupier of a building to be held liable for the negligent injury of a visitor, certain things must be proven.

An owner must either remove or warn against any hidden dangerous condition on the premises which the owner knows about or should have known about by exercising reasonable care. In other words, an owner is not an insuror against an accident or an injury that is caused by a condition of his or her premises. So, if an owner is not aware of a concealed danger that results from ordinary wear and tear of house then the owner can not (all things being equal) be held responsible. To illustrate this point, let's look at an extreme example.

Gail and Larry Allen, were injured while attending the Saturn Automotive Homecoming on June 25, 1994. In a violent thunderstorm, the Allens took refuge in a tent displaying various Saturn automobiles. They subsequently took cover in one of the automobiles. The tent collapsed due to an accumulation of water on top of the tent, which caused a tent pole to hit the passenger's side of the automobile. The Allens were both injured as a result of the incident.Allen vs. Saturn Corp.

There was no proof that Saturn knew or should have known that there was any defect in the tent. In fact, the Allens never showed that there was any defect nor what the defect was. The Allens argued that because the tent collapsed in a thunderstorm, Saturn violated a duty of care to them. The Allens, in essence, wanted the Court to hold Saturn liable simply because there was an injury.

So, by failing to show what the defect in the tent was, if any, and what notice Saturn had of the defect, the Allens did not show (carry the burden of proof) that Saturn violated a duty of care (negligence) to them. In any injury case, the injured party (the Plaintiff) must show that the party at fault (the Defendant) owed him a duty of care; that this duty of care was violated; that this violation was the cause of the incident; and that the incident was the direct cause of any injuries that the Plaintiff suffered. If any one of these elements is not proven, the the injured person can not recover from the owner or occupier of a building. For these reasons, anyone who is hurt in an accident must have the matter carefully investigated and analyzed by an experienced civil trial lawyer. Without this professional approach, you can't protect what matters most after you are hurt: your future,

Posted by William M. Monroe | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Premises Injuries

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