No!! Your medical malpractice case cannot be reopened once it’s settled. That’s why it is extremely important to get a fair settlement up front, because once the case is settled you lose all rights you might have had to recover additional money.

This typically arises after a doctor has committed malpractice, and the patient considers filing a lawsuit. The patient may decide not to contact an attorney, and instead will negotiate directly with the doctor’s malpractice insurer in order to obtain a settlement. The patient may believe that he or she is getting a fair settlement, but then a few months or a year down the road may run into additional medical problems. Because the settlement covers both past and future damages, the patient is out of luck.

That’s one reason it’s a great idea to contact a medical malpractice attorney if you’ve been injured by a medical professional’s negligence. Medical malpractice attorneys frequently get much higher settlements for clients than people who negotiate without an attorney. In addition, an attorney will be able to determine whether you can prove your injuries were caused by medical malpractice. Most attorneys will also advise you to wait until your medical treatment is over before settling a case.

Do you believe your healthcare professional committed medical malpractice? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, contact medical malpractice attorney Gabriel Assaad of the Assaad Law Firm at 202-741-9348 today.

Scientific advances the past few decades have brought Americans wonderful medications that can dramatically improve the lives of patients. However, mistakes in the prescription or administration of such medications have taken countless lives. Surprisingly, medication errors have been estimated to account for about one-quarter of all medical malpractice cases. Often, those medication errors turn out to be fatal.

There are many types of medication errors that can occur in the prescription, distribution, or administration of different types of drugs. These mistakes can be made by any medical professional, including doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, pharmacists or pharmacy technicians.

Some common types of medication errors include:

- The wrong dosage. A doctor may prescribe the wrong dosage, which could result in an underdose or an overdose. A nurse could fail to administer the correct dosage. Or, a pharmacist may fail to correctly fill or label the prescription, which could result in the wrong dose.

- Receiving the wrong drugs. Sometimes patients end up taking the wrong drugs. A doctor may write down the wrong drug. A nurse could administer the wrong drug. A pharmacist could accidentally grab the wrong drug when filling a prescription.

- Failing to mention side effects of a drug to patients. Many drugs come with serious side effects, which patients need to be warned about.

- Drug interactions. Sometimes, for patients on multiple medications, drugs interact with one another in dangerous ways. Doctors could forget to ask patients if they were already taking prescription drugs before prescribing more.

Have you or a loved one been a victim of a Washington, D.C. medication error in that resulted in injury or death? If so, you may have a potential claim against a health care professional. Contact Gabriel Assaad, Washington D.C. medical malpractice attorney, at the Assaad Law Firm today at 202-741-9348.

Anesthesia is a very serious part of any surgical procedure. It’s designed to keep you comfortable during painful medical procedures. However, because it’s powerful enough to block pain, it’s also powerful enough to alter your heart rate, breathing and blood flow. These powerful drugs require experts in their use who can carefully screen you before you receive them, administer them to you, and monitor you while you are using the drugs. If any mistakes are made because of malpractice, very serious injuries can occur.

There are many types of medical malpractice related to anesthesia. Some common types include failing to discover whether a patient is allergic to anesthesia, failure to inform patients of some things to do before receiving anesthesia, improper dosage, failing to monitor vital signs, failing to properly administer the anesthesia, and failing to respond correctly to anesthesia-related complications. Unfortunately, any of these mistakes can seriously harm you. Some complications that can occur as a result of anesthesia-related malpractice include brain damage, stroke, coma, heart attacks, or even death. In some tragic cases, patients may awake during surgery, becoming aware of the surgery but unable to move or speak.

If you are injured because of anesthesia-related malpractice, you could be facing extensive medical bills and physical problems. You may be unable to work as a result of the malpractice. If anesthesia-related malpractice occurs, you could seek compensation from anyone responsible, which may include the anesthesiologist, another doctor, the hospital, nurses, hospital administrators, or more. These parties have a duty to provide you with high standards of care. If they fail to do so, they may be responsible for your injuries.

If this has happened to you or a loved one, contact Washington D.C. medical malpractice attorney Gabriel Assaad of the Assaad Law Firm at 202-741-9348 to learn more about your legal rights.

No, you shouldn’t ever accept a check from either a negligent driver or his or her insurance company until you’ve consulted with an attorney. Although you may have medical bills piling up or you could be missing work because of an injury, don’t accept a check without getting approval from your attorney.

The problem is, often when you accept a check it’s considered a settlement from the driver or the insurance company. Therefore, you could be prohibited from getting any additional money for the accident. For example, perhaps you were in a serious car accident and incurred $20,000 in medical expenses and $5,000 in lost wages. If the insurance company offers you a $10,000 check, it may be tempting to take it and sue them for the difference later. But that’s not how it works. Usually, as part of receiving the check you will sign a release that gives up your right to recover later.

If you are injured in a car accident, it’s best to consult with an attorney. Most attorneys will encourage you to wait to accept a check until you have finished your medical treatment and have been released from the doctor’s care, so that you will know exactly what you need to cover your medical bills.

Typically, insurance adjusters will throw money at accident victims in order to settle the claim for the lowest possible amount. Insurance adjusters may also try to discourage you from consulting with an attorney. If this occurs, you should ignore the adjuster’s advice, don’t take the check, and consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible, in order to insure that you are receiving a fair amount of compensation and that your rights are protected.

If you have been injured in an accident in the Washington, D.C. area, contact personal injury attorney Gabriel Assaad of the Assaad Law Firm. He will help you understand the process of a personal injury claim. Call him today at 202-741-9348 to learn more.

Injured automobile accident victims who are injured because of the negligence of another party have legal rights. If the victim was injured by another driver, he or she could have a legal claim against that driver. If the accident was caused by a mechanical problem with the automobile itself, the victim could have a potential claim against the automobile manufacturer or dealer.

A lot of accident victims who have these potential claims choose not to hire a personal injury attorney. Unfortunately, many people view personal injury attorneys negatively. Many view personal injury attorneys as taking large sums of money from away from injured accident victims.

However, this is a false view of the way an accident crash lawsuit works. It’s often very difficult to win a fair amount of compensation for a claim relating to a car crash. Insurance companies, automobile dealerships and manufacturers have experienced attorneys working on their behalf. If an attorney is not hired on behalf of the accident victim, it can be almost impossible for the victim to win a fair sum of money to compensate him for his injuries.

Although it is true that personal injury attorneys can be awarded large fees in some cases, if that attorney chose to take the case on a contingency basis, the attorney would win nothing unless he or she got an award for the client. Automobile accident cases can take a huge amount of time and money to win, and attorneys do work hard to earn their fees.

Have you been injured in a car accident? Are you considering representing yourself in a legal case involving the accident? If so, I urge you to contact an experienced personal injury attorney before making a final decision. If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, call Gabriel Assaad, Washington, D.C. automobile accident attorney at 202-741-9348.

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, SUVs were notorious for rolling over in an accident, often seriously injuring or killing the occupants. In 1999 alone, 10,000 people in the U.S. were killed in SUV rollover accidents. The SUV’s design, which was tall and narrow, made it susceptible to rollovers.

Fortunately, technology changes have made SUVs safer than ordinary cars. According to studies, someone driving a 2009 model car is almost twice as likely to die in a rollover accident as someone driving a 2009 model SUV. New technology, primarily electronic stability control, has been the biggest factor in reducing the death rates for SUV occupants. Electronic stability control is a computer system that helps drivers keep control over the SUV on slick roads and during abrupt maneuvers. Electronic stability control is now available on all SUVs sold in the United States. In addition, more stable designs have decreased death rates from SUV rollovers.

Today, SUVs have some of the lowest death rates due to crashes and are considered safer than large cars – only minivans are considered safer in a crash. However, keep in mind that if you have an older SUV without the safety features the newer SUVs have, you could still be at risk during a crash. That’s why it’s particularly important to always wear your seat belt and don’t speed.

If you have been injured in an SUV rollover in the Washington D.C. area, contact personal injury attorney Gabriel Assaad at the Assaad Law Firm. He has significant experience in dealing with automobile crashes and fighting for compensation for those who are injured. Call him today at 202-741-9348.

In order to succeed in a medical malpractice case, a plaintiff must show the doctor or other health care professional was negligent in providing medical care, that negligence was a cause of injuries, and that damages occurred as a result. Generally, there are no guarantees that a surgery will be successful. Your body may not have responded the way it was expected during surgery, or there may have been unanticipated complications that resulted in the surgery being less than successful.

However, sometimes surgeries are not successful because of doctor or hospital malpractice. It’s been estimated that hundreds of thousands of people die in the United States alone each year because of negligence by health care providers.

When performing surgery, surgeons are required to use the same degree of skill and care that a surgeon of a similar type of specialty would use under the circumstances. If the surgeon fails to follow medical standards and provides substandard care, malpractice occurs. Whether your surgery was performed on an emergency or an elective basis can make a difference in your treatment – if the surgery occurred because of a medical emergency that arose, your treatment will be different than a surgery that has been planned for months.

It’s important for a qualified medical malpractice attorney to meet with you to discuss whether you may have a medical malpractice case. A qualified attorney can review your records and consult with experts to determine whether your surgery outcome was the result of poor treatment or not.

If you believe you have been the victim of medical malpractice, and you’re in the Washington D.C. area, contact medical malpractice attorney Gabriel Assaad of Assaad Law at 202-741-9378 to learn more about your legal options.

Although state law requires drivers to maintain only a certain minimum amount of liability insurance, which covers damages to other vehicles, many drivers choose to get “full coverage”, which will also pay for your own damages you cause. Full coverage policies also typically cover damages from fire, theft, or weather-related events. Many automobile owners mistakenly believe that if they have full coverage automobile insurance they will not have to pay any amount if they are involved in a car accident. This is not always true.

If you choose to purchase full coverage automobile insurance, you should closely examine the policy to find out what the limit is that will be paid out for each accident, and what happens if an accident you cause exceeds that limit. You also will be responsible for your deductible, which can vary greatly depending on the policy. Also, in most full coverage policies, when a vehicle is a total loss, the insurance company will only pay out the current market value of the car. If you or another driver happens to owe more on the car than its current market value, you will be responsible for making up the difference, which in some cases can be significant.

There are also other expenses vehicle owners incur that will not be covered by full coverage, such as normal wear and tear and expenses related to failing to properly maintain a vehicle. Full coverage insurance may also not pay for the theft of some items from your vehicle, such as stereo systems, GPS units, radar detectors, DVD players, and more. Examine your policy to determine which items are insured if you are concerned about that.

Have you been involved in an accident in the Washington, D.C. area? If so, contact Assaad Law at 202-741-9348. You may be able to recover from the other driver for your medical expenses, damage to your vehicle, and more. Call us today for a free consultation.

Insurance companies frequently send insurance adjusters to the homes of accident victims. The insurance adjuster’s goal is to minimize the amount of accident victims’ claims as quickly as possible, so that the company can have more profits. Often, insurance adjusters are rewarded by their employers for settling claims quickly and with as small a payout as possible. Therefore, don’t believe that when an adjuster comes to your house they are looking to make things easy for you and to settle your claim fairly.

Instead, insurance adjusters come to your home as quickly as possible after your accident, while you are at your weakest. They may appear to be eager to help and will inquire about your medical treatment. This is usually not done out of concern – instead they want to settle your claim before you consult an attorney or a doctor.

However, keep in mind that by law you have a set period of time to bring your claim, so you shouldn’t allow yourself to be pressured into accepting a quick settlement. Take your time and consult your attorney and your doctor before accepting any payment or signing anything from the insurance company. Once you have settled, the claim is over, and no matter how bad your injuries become, you won’t be allowed to get any more money from the insurance company.

Have you been injured in the Washington D.C. area? Is the other party’s insurance company asking for you to settle? If so, contact Washington D.C. personal injury attorney Gabriel Assaad at 202-741-9348. He will help you work with the insurance adjusters to reach a fair settlement.

Dog bites are a big problem in America. According to the CDC, about 4 ½ million people are bitten by dogs every year. Almost 20 percent of those who are bitten require medical treatment. Children are especially at risk – the rate of injuries related to dog bites is highest for children between the ages of 5 and 9.

However, dog bites can be prevented. Responsible pet owners should carefully choose their dog, spay or neuter the dog, keep their dog secured on their property, properly train and socialize their dog, and seek the advice of a veterinarian if a dog develops aggressive tendencies.

Unfortunately, many dog owners fail to take steps to prevent their dogs from biting. Dog owners, regardless of breed, can and should be held responsible when dog bites occur. Typically, home owner’s insurance will pay for claims resulting from a dog bite.

If you have been bitten or attacked by a dog, you need to protect your rights right away. First, seek medical attention and follow through on all later medical treatments. Get the name and address of the dog’s owner, as well as information about the dog. Write down the names of witnesses and if possible, take a statement from them as soon as possible after the bite. Take pictures of the injuries.

It’s important to contact a personal injury attorney if you are ever bitten by a dog. If you have been bitten by a dog in the Washington D.C. area, call Gabriel Assaad, Washington D.C. dog bite attorney today at 202-741-9348.