South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

In Coral Cables Circuit Court, Vera Delgado is suing South Miami Hospital for Florida injuries to a minor after her son was circumcised against the family’s wishes. Delgado’s son, Mario Viera, is now several weeks old. In the family he was born to it is a tradition that males remain uncircumcised.

Delgado says that she told doctors several times that she did not want her son circumcised. However, eight days after Mario’s birth, the procedure was performed on him. Delgado was not present at the time.

In her South Miami negligence complaint, Delgado is claiming that her son was the victim of battery and negligence. Delgado says that the hospital never obtained her consent to perform the procedure. Delgado has also filed a criminal battery report with South Miami police.

Since the incident, South Miami Hospital officials have released a statement admitting that Mario’s circumcision was a mistake that occurred because the consent form was misread. Delgado, however, says she never signed a consent form.

Delgado says that on August 2 she noticed a vial that had been placed next to her son. A nurse told her that the medication was Tylenol to alleviate the pain from the circumcision. The hospital says that it notified Mario’s family as soon as the medical error was discovered.

Delgado’s Miami injury lawyer, however, says that admitting the mistake is not enough. He contends that the baby, who was in intensive care because of an infection at the time the circumcision was performed, faced an unnecessary risk by being forced to undergo a procedure that was not wanted or needed.

Miami Injuries to a Minor
If your son or daughter was injured because of another party’s reckless or careless actions, you may have grounds for filing a Florida injuries to a minor case on his/her behalf. In the case of medical-related injury cases, a physicians must obtain informed consent before performing any procedure. They also must provide a certain standard of care. Failure to obtain consent or medical errors made that cause injuries, illness, or death, can be grounds for a Miami medical malpractice case.

Newborn mistakenly circumcised; family to sue hospital, AP/NDTV, September 15, 2010

Lawsuit Filed Over Unauthorized Circumcision, CBS4, September 13, 2010

Woman sues South Miami Hospital where infant son accidentally circumcised, Miami Herald/TCPalm, September 16, 2010

Related Web Resources:
South Miami Hospital

Circumcision, KidsHealth

The state is investigating a possible case of Florida nursing home negligence involving a 76-year-old patient who had maggots in his eye socket. The man, John Stumpp, had lost an eye to cancer and was suffering from an infection.

The maggots were discovered when he sought treatment at a Veterans Administration facility. The VA has filed a report with the Florida Department of Children & Families’ Adult Protective Services.

Gainesville Health Care Center, which has ownership ties to Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County, is the assisted living facility that was in charge of Stumpp’s nursing care. One of a number of Florida nursing homes that state regulators have given a one-star rating, which is the lowest ranking possible and places it in the lower 20% of nursing homes in its region, by November 2009 the Agency for Health Care Administration had flagged 39 violations at the assisted living facility over the two previous years.

Just last month, AHCA paid an unannounced visit to the Gainesville nursing home and cited it for failing to tell a doctor about problems that nursing home workers experienced when attempting to following instructions regarding the changing one patient’s bandages. Also, a bottle of liquid bleach had been left on a patient’s dresser and there was an elevator that needed cleaning and repairs.

Florida Nursing Home Neglect
Inadequate nursing care is a form of Miami nursing home neglect and can cause infections, deterioration of health, and Florida wrongful death. Nursing home workers are supposed to follow the instructions issued to make sure that each resident gets the care that he or she needs. Any changes in a patient’s health must be reported to his/her physician and family members.

Some Signs of Possible Ft. Lauderdale Nursing Home Neglect:
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Bedsores
• Maggots
• Inadequate hygiene
• Poor grooming
• Wounds that are not treated regularly
• Recurring health issues
• A dirty environment
• Spoiled bed sheets that are left unchanged

Maggots found in eye socket of man in nursing home with Palm Beach County ties, Sun-Sentinel/Palm Beach Post, September 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Information, Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration

Florida Nursing Home Guide

Florida Department of Children & Families

Continue reading " Florida Nursing Home Neglect?: Maggots Found in 76-Year-Old Patient at Assisted Living Facility with Palm Beach County Ties " »

An 8-Year-old West Palm Beach school boy died this afternoon in a Greenacres, Florida truck accident. The Palm Beach County bicycle accident happened as Elian Rojas and his father were going home from school.

According to police, Elian, who was riding his bike, and his dad were on the sidewalk on Jog Road and getting ready to cross 13th Road South when a delivery truck hit him. As of Wednesday afternoon, it was not known whether the trucker is facing criminal charges. Investigators are trying to determine exactly what happened.

Our West Palm Beach personal injury law firm wants to remind you that if you or your loved one was seriously injured in a South Florida car accident, you must explore your legal options as soon as possible. Although Florida requires that all motorists carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, some injuries are so serious and costly that you will need to file a Palm Beach injury lawsuit against the responsible motorist and any other liable parties. Also, the opportunity for your Palm Beach injury lawyer’s team to examine vehicle and road damage while the evidence is still fresh, as well as talk to witnesses while the accounts are still vivid in their minds, can prove invaluable to your case.

In a state where year round people tend to spend time outdoors walking, biking, skating, skateboarding, or running, South Florida pedestrian and bicycle accidents are all too common occurrences. Just this past Tuesday, a Boca Raton pedestrian accident claimed the life of 54-year-old Roberta Tenenbaum when she was struck by 2005 GMC Yukon as she crossed Lyons Road. She died at the Boca Raton car accident site. An investigation into what happened is under way.

Boy, 8, struck and killed by truck in Greenacres, Sun-Sentinel, September 8, 2010

Woman, 54, killed crossing road in suburban Boca Raton Tuesday night, Palm Beach Post, September 8, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Florida Department of Transportation

Bicycling and Skating Safety Fact Sheet, SafeKids.Org

Car Accidents with Pedestrians, Nolo

Katie's Kids Learning Center in Delray Beach will temporarily close down beginning Monday. The day care center lost over $200,000 in state funds following the death of Haile Brockington on August 5. The 2 ½-year-old girl died from hypothermia after a van driver accidentally left her strapped to her car seat in the pickup van for several hours on a day when the temperature at one point went above 90 degrees. Officials are continuing to investigate the tragic accident.

Meantime, Brockington’s family is suing daycare center owners Barbara Dilthey and Kathryn Muhammad and driver Amanda Inman for Palm Beach County wrongful death. Inman, who is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, is accused of failing to unstrap Haile from her car seat and not making sure she got out of the van when the kids were dropped off at the day care center. It wasn’t until around 4pm when the van arrived to take the kids’ home that one of the students discovered Haile still in her seat.

In their Delray Beach wrongful death complaint, Brockington’s parents contend that Katie's Kids failed to provide a van helper or another employee to assist the driver and neglected to properly train its employees. They also claim that this was not the first time that children had been forgotten at the center or on the bus and that there have been times in the past when van drivers signed or forged Haile’s mom’s signature on transportation logs.

Palm Beach Wrongful Death
If your son or daughter while under the care or supervision of another party, such as a school, day care center, summer camp, community center, recreational facility, a club, a person, or another entity, you may have grounds for a Palm Beach, Florida wrongful death lawsuit.

In Florida, you have two years from the date of death to submit your Palm Beach County wrongful death complaint. It is important that you begin exploring your legal options as soon as possible.

Katie's Kids, without money or kids, to shut down Monday, The Palm Beach Post, September 3, 2010

Haile Brockington's family files wrongful death lawsuit, WPTV, August 13, 2010

Coalition Pulls Funding From Katie's Kids Learning Center, WPBF, August 19, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Read the Wrongful Death Lawsuit (PDF)

Katie's Kids Learning Center, Palm Beach County Health Department