Arnold & Stafford Legal Blog

Risk factors for military drug use

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Friday, March 22, 2019.

Like civilians, members of the armed forces sometimes get caught up in the use of illegal drugs or the abuse of prescription drugs. This can lead to arrests, legal charges and the end of a promising career.

Why does it happen? There are a few common risk factors that servicemembers can watch out for, including:

Those who were exposed to combat and seen active duty on any front.
Those who suffered injuries in the line of duty.
Those who served on multiple deployments over the course of their careers.

Can I make a breast augmentation medical malpractice claim?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Surgical Errors on Friday, March 15, 2019.

Going under the knife for the purpose of plastic surgery carries with it many of the same risks that other surgeries have. The fact that you choose to have an aesthetic surgery does not mean that you should be subject to any lower safety standards.

If you had a bad experience when having breast augmentation surgery in Georgia, the consequences of the surgery may have negatively affected your life. Your health may be suffering as a result of the implants, or you may be feeling self-conscious about the way that you look because a mistake was made. If you are suffering physically or emotionally after the surgery, you may be able to make a claim for malpractice against the surgeon in question. The following are some common issues that can lead to the patient making a claim.

What is the legal status of kratom in Georgia?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Thursday, March 7, 2019.

Some people may have never heard anything about kratom. It's a by-product of an ancient tree (Mitragyna speciosa) that's indigenous to Southeast Asia. Its leaves have psychotropic effects for users that, among other things, can lessen their pain.

Some hail its blessings as if it were a miracle drug. But there are plenty who see only the dark side of kratom and claim it killed their loved ones from overdoses every bit as deadly as legally-available opioid drugs.

5 times getting a second medical opinion makes sense

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law on Monday, March 4, 2019.

Like most of your friends in the Hinesville area, you have tremendous respect for medical professionals. After all, doctors go to school for years to understand how to diagnose and treat illnesses. Some even complete prestigious internships or fellowships. Still, doctors are not perfect.

Because you do not want to offend the physician, asking for a second opinion can be tough. Nonetheless, to ensure you receive appropriate care, you usually must advocate for yourself. If you fail to do so, you may have to deal with the health consequences of a misdiagnosis. Here are five times getting a second opinion usually makes sense.

Signs of a misdiagnosis of your condition

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Misdiagnosis on Friday, March 1, 2019.

Do you think that you were misdiagnosed by a Hinesville doctor? Do you think that your diagnosis should be more serious than it is? What if you were diagnosed, and the condition is actually less severe than originally thought? All of these issues with misdiagnosis happen all too often throughout the medical field. Here are the most common signs that you were misdiagnosed by a medical professional.

One of the most common signs of misdiagnosis is when your doctor fails to use all of the diagnostic tests available for your possible condition. This means that the doctor ran just one or two tests and based their diagnosis on the results of those tests instead of doing more extensive testing.

A pharmacy tech and medical assistant steal opioids in Hinesville

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Friday, February 22, 2019.

Several pharmacy workers in and around Savannah have been arrested and convicted for drug-related offenses in recent months. Many of them were arrested as part of law enforcement's efforts to round up those believed to be contributing to Georgia's ongoing problem with opioids.

In one case, a 19-year-old medical assistant from Hinesville, who had worked at a Bryan County pain clinic, was arrested. Police allege that she stole prescriptions from her employer for both Oxycodone and Percocet, both of which are opioids.

Does jail time actually address addiction?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Friday, February 15, 2019.

The penalty for many drug crimes is simple: Time behind bars. You may also have to pay fines. After you serve your sentence, you're free to return to normal life, though you may now have a permanent criminal record that will follow you wherever you go.

In short, drugs have been criminalized in the United States. People get arrested simply for possessing them, not to mention driving under the influence, selling drugs, transporting them across state lines or even making them in the first place.

Are you too drunk to drive?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in DUI/DWI on Thursday, February 7, 2019.

Anyone who has ever consumed an alcoholic beverage has probably asked him or herself this important question, "Am I too drunk to drive?"

With your safety in mind, if you have to ask this question, it's probably better that you don't get behind the wheel. This is the only surefire way to avoid an accident and/or DUI arrest.

Surgical errors: Things you need to know

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Surgical Errors on Thursday, January 31, 2019.

Any type of surgery, even one that is considered minor, will bring quite a bit of stress to your life. Not only do you have a medical issue that needs to be addressed, but you may also have some concerns about the procedure itself.

Even though surgical errors are uncommon when you take into consideration the number of procedures performed every day, mistakes can and do happen. Here are some of the most common types of surgical errors occurring in hospitals throughout the country:

Operating on the wrong body part
Performing the wrong procedure
Performing a procedure on the wrong patient
Leaving an object, such as a towel or sponge, inside of a patient

New to drug sentencing in Georgia?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law on Monday, January 28, 2019.

Drugs are flowing through Georgia from Mexican cartels. The Drug Enforcement Administration has identified at least five cartels, far more than in most areas. Georgia's location is a hub for port entrance and distribution, along with land-based methamphetamine labs scattered among upscale neighborhoods and alongside public schools.

Apart from the danger of drug sales on school campuses, chemical explosions are an ever-present risk for young people. The quantity of drugs transported throughout the state is a difficult temptation for many who unwittingly tangle themselves in a net of drug use and trafficking.