Arnold & Stafford Legal Blog

What is the frequency rate of misdiagnosis incidents?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Misdiagnosis on Friday, May 22, 2020.

A misdiagnosis is a serious issue that delays treatment of a health problem, while possibly causing doctors to "treat" a condition that does not exist. This incorrect treatment, or a simple lack of treatment, can prove devastating for a patient. For instance, a misdiagnosis of skin cancer as a simple rash can allow a very treatable type of cancer to spread to other parts of the body, making treatment far harder and perhaps impossible.

Considering how detrimental this type of mistake is, doctors are expected to work hard to avoid it. This does not mean that they must be perfect in all cases, but that they seek to limit mistakes and offer high-level care to each patient. A misdiagnosis due to some type of negligence on the doctor's part creates a "never event" -- it's the type of care a patient should never get.

Members of the military face additional consequences for a DUI

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law on Thursday, May 21, 2020.

Police officers and prosecutors in Georgia are not shy about enforcing the state’s DUI laws. In fact, in 2019, there were nearly 20,000 DUI convictions in the Peach State. Accordingly, if you drive with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08%, you have some chance of a DUI arrest and prosecution.

Civilians face significant criminal and other consequences for drunk driving. While members of the military are vulnerable to the same consequences, they also face additional ones.

3 types of wrong-site surgery

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Surgical Errors on Monday, May 18, 2020.

Imagine that you go in for surgery on your left knee. You have been having problems with it for some time and you can often barely walk. You're excited to get it fixed. Everything seems fine before the surgery, and they put you under to do the procedure. Then you wake up, and you're horrified to discover that they operated on your right knee.

Someone made a mistake, and you're going to pay the price. Your knee may be damaged in a way that will never fully heal. You still need to have surgery on your left knee at a later date. You now had to endure all manner of pain and suffering that you never should have gone through.

Do you go to jail for marijuana?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Thursday, May 7, 2020.

All over the country, states have been loosening marijuana restrictions. Many let people use medical marijuana. Some have started allowing recreational use, following some of the same basic principles as alcohol sales -- age limits, no driving under the influence, etc. Still others technically do not allow marijuana use but have decriminalized it by making it similar to a traffic ticket.

If you have been watching these changes, do not make the mistake of thinking that this has also happened in Georgia. It has not. The laws here are still among the strictest in the nation. Marijuana is something you need to take very seriously, especially when visiting from another state where the same approach may not be used.

Man arrested for DUI and numerous other charges

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in DUI/DWI on Friday, May 1, 2020.

A man in Georgia is facing numerous charges, including DUI charges for driving while under the impairment of drugs, after what news reports have called a two-day crime spree.

Reports indicate that it all began when the man was driving a vehicle at night but without the headlights on. This is a simple and yet dangerous mistake, so police tried to stop the car. The man decided to run from the police, and they did not chase him. Instead, they just sent out a notice about what had happened so that other units could look for the car.

ER doctors often misdiagnose female heart attacks

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Misdiagnosis on Friday, April 24, 2020.

If you were asked about the main sign of a heart attack, would you say that it has to be pain in the chest? That's the first thing most people think of, and for men, it is true. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for women.

Rather than chest pain, women often experience:

Sweating
Dizziness
Lightheadedness
Vomiting
Nausea
Shortness of breath
Heartburn
Abdominal pain
Indigestion
Fatigue that goes beyond the norm
Upper back pain
Back discomfort
Shoulder pain or discomfort
Jaw pain
Neck pain

Is it illegal to borrow someone's medication?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

You want some painkillers, but you don't want to go through the hassle of going to the doctor to get a prescription. It's just a short-term issue and you really only plan to use them for a day or two. It doesn't seem worth it.

One of your friends tells you that they have some leftover medication from when they had surgery. They recovered well and didn't need it all, but they also did not throw it away. They offer to give it to you. Is that all right?

What to expect as a repeat DUI offender

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law on Monday, April 20, 2020.

You may not be aware of the severe consequences if you become a repeat DUI offender in the state of Georgia. If the court convicts you of a second or third DUI offense within five years of the first, fines and other penalties will increase significantly.

Doctors may not listen to their patients

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Misdiagnosis on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.

When you go to the doctor, do they really listen to you? Or do you feel like your opinion does not matter?

You'll find that this is one of the most common complaints that people have. Since it is their body, they feel like they are the foremost expert on how they feel and what is going on. However, they often feel like their concerns are dismissed, like doctors ignore what they say or that doctors actively put them in danger by doing things against their wishes -- like prescribing medications that they do not want to take.

Georgia man faces DUI charges

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in DUI/DWI on Friday, April 3, 2020.

A man from Georgia was recently pulled over and then arrested by the police in Vermont, and they allege that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

The man is 27 years old, and he was in St. Albans at the time of the traffic stop, driving down Fairfax Street near VT Route 104. This was around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 29. An officer who was operating out of the Vermont State Police Williston Barracks apparently observed "a moving violation." Reports do not say what the violation was. Regardless, it was enough for the officer to pull the vehicle over.