Arkansas Injury Lawyer Blog

I recently read a story from California about a little girl who was forced to wait for treatment in an ER for over five hours. According to the story, the family's ordeal began on a Sunday morning in early December, when the normally rambunctious girl developed a fever and became lethargic.

When her symptoms persisted the next day the father took his little girl to the ER and he tried to get immediate care, but was rebuffed. After about five hours, according to the news account, he ambushed a nurse and demanded to see a doctor. The physician took blood samples that suggested the girl was in liver failure. She was taken by ambulance to the pediatric intensive care unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital. Doctors there had her flown to Stanford aboard a helicopter.

It turned out the girl was in septic shock from a Streptococcus A infection that invaded her blood, muscles and internal organs. According to the CDC early treatment can reduce death and disability from the disease. The Stanford doctors put the girl on life support and gave her medicine. They ultimately had to perform operations to amputate her lower legs and her left hand, which had been irreversibly damaged by a lack of oxygen.

This tragic case seemingly could have been avoided if the hospital personnel had taken the time to properly assess the little girl. Although a wait in the ER is expected in many cases, five hours is not reasonable. The hospital was either understaffed or the employees were not doing their job adequately. Either way, medical errors like this should be avoided. As an Arkansas lawyer who represents individuals and their families who are victims of medical negligence, I hope that Arkansas hospitals learn from this sotry and make sure it does not happen here.

A hit-and-run accident on U.S. Highway 62 East near Henderson sent three people to the hospital according to an Arkansas State Police press release. The injured driver was struck in the rear by another vehicle traveling in the same direction.The impact caused the Ford Mustang to leave the roadway and overturn. The vehicle which struck the Mustang then left the scene of the collision. The driver and two passengers were transported to Baxter Regional Medical Center.

Hopefully, the police find the driver and the vehicle that was at fault in this wreck. However, many times the Hit and Run driver can't be located and the injured victims are left wondering how their medical bills will be paid and how they may be reimbursed for lost time from work. Hopefully, this victim carried uninsured motorist coverage to handle this Hit and Run accident. It is important that all Arkansas drivers carry uninsured and under-insured insurance coverage on their cars. This insurance coverage will "kick in" when the other driver can't be located or who does not carry adequate insurance coverage to fully take care of the injuries and damages that were caused by the accident.

If you or a loved on has any questions about possible insurance coverage it is important that you contact and Arkansas personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to make sure your rights are fully protected.