Taylor, Warren & Weidner, P.A. | Pensacola, Florida

In Memory of Kim Feil

Amy Dyson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:04:40 +0000

Friends, family and loved ones will be gathering to celebrate the life of Kim Feil who left us unexpectedly on Monday. Kim left behind many who loved her including her 9 year old daughter Jordan Pollock and her fiancé Keith Weidner.

A visitation will be held on Friday, March 12, 2010 at Faith Chapel South located at 100 Beverly Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32505. Family visitation will occur from 5-6 p.m. and public visitation will take place from 6-8 p.m.

Funeral services will commence at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at St. Michael’s Church located at 19 North Palafox Street, Pensacola, FL 32502 .

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to a trust established for Jordan Pollock. Donations should be forwarded to Taylor, Warren & Weidner, P.A., 1823 North Ninth Avenue, Pensacola, FL 32503.

For additional information, please contact our office at 850-438-4899.

6 Secrets to Getting the Right Diagnosis

Amy Dyson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:46:46 +0000

Most people, at one time or another, have received an incorrect diagnosis or seen a doctor who’s been stumped by their symptoms. Jerome Groopman, professor of medicine at Harvard University, relays 6 secrets that he applies on the examining room table. To read more of Deborah Kotz’ 2009 article in US News and World Report, follow this link: http://www.usnews.com/health/articles/2009/09/02/6-secrets-to-getting-the-right-medical-diagnosis.html

Patient Power: Making Sure Your Doctor Really Hears You

Amy Dyson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:10:43 +0000

In her 2006 New York Times article, Deborah Franklin asks the question: how can you negotiate anything- when standing barefoot in a paper gown under the fluorescent lights at a hospital or medical clinic? Franklin weighs in with medical sociologists to get advice for patients on how to best get the information they need from their medical providers.

Patient Safety Awareness Week: March 7-13, 2010

Amy Dyson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:34:08 +0000

Patient Safety Awareness Week is a national education and awareness campaign for improving patient safety. This week on our site, look for news articles and tips from our attorneys on how to protect yourself by becoming more involved in your own healthcare.

You can find more information about how your organization can participate in Patient Safety Awareness Week at the following link: http://www.npsf.org/

What do your medical records say about you?

Keith Weidner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:13:19 +0000

Like many people, you may assume that you know what information is contained within your medical records—even though you’ve never seen them. Each time you visit your doctor, you see the nurse write down your weight, blood pressure, and medications. Initially, you may also have to fill out forms about the reason for your visit and your medical history. You see the doctor writing things down in your chart, but what exactly? Is the doctor noting your complaints of neck pain, your difficulty sleeping, your recent weight loss, or that pesky mole on your arm that itches constantly? Don’t count on it. The truth is that we pay more attention to our sales receipts than to our medical records. While being charged for items you didn’t purchase won’t kill you, not knowing what your medical records say about you just might.

I represent people who have been physically injured by the carelessness of others. I have reviewed thousands of pages of medical records for hundreds of clients. A common theme that I have observed while reviewing medical records on behalf of these clients is that medical records contain mistakes and don’t always reflect my client’s real problems.

There are many reasons why we do not review our own medical records. Frankly, some of us have never thought of it. Generally, we trust our medical providers to keep up with our health information and assume that we wouldn’t understand the terminology or test results in our records anyway. We may worry that requesting a copy of our records will be insulting or viewed as a challenge to our doctor’s medical authority and knowledge. Or we are just scared to learn about our own health and prefer to practice avoidance behaviors. Almost all of us think that if we don’t hear from our doctors, then there are no problems—the “no news is good news” assumption.

“No news” does not always mean good news. Medical records can contain information that you need to know, but your doctors have failed to tell you. For example, if your doctor sends you to a specialist for an examination or to a lab or imaging center for tests, these entities report back to your doctor with a fax or a letter. The specialist, the lab, and the imaging center send your results and their findings to your doctor, but not to you.

I have firsthand knowledge of doctors receiving reports of findings and forgetting to let their patients know about these results. I know of a gentleman who went to his doctor concerned about the color of a spot on his skin. The doctor performed a biopsy of the spot and sent it to the lab for testing. The lab test came back positive for skin cancer, melanoma in fact, a very deadly form of skin cancer. Fortunately, the cancer was caught very early. Unfortunately, in this case, the doctor neglected to notify his patient. His error was the result of a filing mistake in his office. The lab results were discovered in the chart after the patient passed away from the ravaging effects of the melanoma. While this makes for a very viable medical malpractice claim, I can assure you that the family would much rather have him back. I’m sure your loved ones fell the same way about you.

In another example, a man complaining of shortness of breathe, was referred by his doctor to have an exercise stress test performed. The cardiologist who performed the test discovered that the man had very serious coronary artery disease. Coronary arteries directly supply blood to the heart. The cardiologist faxed his findings to the man’s doctor along with his recommendation that the man required immediate medical attention. The fax didn’t make it to the man’s medical chart for a week or two. Sadly, he died before the doctor took any action on the cardiologist’s fax. Needless to say, the doctor was very upset and remorseful for what happened with his patient.

Medical records are sometimes just plain wrong. I represented a woman for injuries she sustained after hurting herself on a business property. In reviewing my client’s medical records, I was shocked to discover that her doctor had labeled her as a malingerer and a drug seeker. A malinger is one who exaggerates or fakes medical injury for gain, monetary or otherwise. After bringing this to the attention of my client, I contacted the doctor about these allegations. Come to find out, my client’s name was similar to that of another patient and the wrong information ended up in my client’s chart instead of the patient’s who had the drug problem. The doctor was apologetic and quickly agreed to fix this error. However, had this record not been corrected, it could have had a drastic impact on my client’s claim for injuries.

Also, medical records may not contain the information you have provided to your doctors. Too often my clients have been surprised at what ended up in their medical chart versus what they said to their doctors at an office appointment. A client told me that she went to her doctor about her headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain and knee pain. She saw the doctor taking notes, and said that they also talked about the weather, what so-and-so person is doing these days, the restaurant that just opened up downtown and so forth. When my client obtained the office note, her doctor had simply stated “the patient is here today complaining of knee pain”.

This example of incomplete information in a medical record creates a problem for a patient seeking recovery for injuries to her neck and shoulder from a rear-end vehicle collision. The problem arises because insurance companies will argue that the absence of a complaint in a medical record means that the patient was not having any problems with that body part. Due to the doctor’s incomplete charting, she has no medical proof that she complained of neck and shoulder pain on that date and makes it further difficult to relate those injuries to the automobile accident itself.

Discrepancies in your medical records can be harmful. From the extreme examples of losing an opportunity to fight cancer and heart disease to the disastrous impact that misinformation or missing information can have on your injury claim. So what should you do?

You have the right to access your medical records, so request them from your doctors. Contact your doctor and ask what the procedure is for you to receive copies of your chart. Your doctor can charge you for these records, but the state of Florida limits the amount that you can be charged per page. If your doctor refuses to provide your records, contact the Florida Department of Health and ask to file a complaint.

Obtaining your medical records will allow you to catch misinformation and mistakes, plus you will be able to determine whether your doctor is really listening to your complaints. Reviewing your records will allow you to identify what specialists have discovered about your health and what treatment they have recommended. At the very least, you will signify to your doctors that you are an informed and proactive patient who values what their records say about you.

The Life You Save…

Amy Dyson — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:38:39 +0000

Patrick Malone, a leading medical malpractice attorney and patient safety advocate has authored a book titled The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care and Avoiding the Worst. Malone writes, “Before I became a lawyer, I spent a decade as a journalist covering both the best and the worst of the American medical system. In both careers, I’ve learned how to find the best medical care and avoid the worst. I’ve learned that you don’t have to have a degree in medicine to understand enough to make smart medical choices. I’ve learned that you do need common sense, curiosity, and persistence.”

The Life You Save has earned five star ratings on Amazon and is available for purchase at $15.95 per copy at most book retailers. To read an excerpt visit: http://liveyousave.com/excerpt.html

Pensacola Police Revises Policy

Amy Dyson — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:19:10 +0000

On December 8, 2009, the Pensacola Police Department (PPD) announced that it had changed its “police chase” policy as a result of the death of 17 year old Victor Steen. The change prohibits officers, in a police car, from chasing vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians through heavily populated areas like apartment complexes and parking lots . This change in policy comes after the PPD’s October revision to its taser policy, also a result of Steen’s death. Officer Jerald Ard fatally injured Victor Steen on October 3, 2009 when Steen, on bicycle, fell into the path of Ard’s cruiser. Officer Ard also fired a Taser from the window of his car while in pursuit of Steen. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement continues to investigate Steen’s death and Officer Ard’s professional conduct.

Job Losses Send Disability Claims Soaring

Stephanie Taylor — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:15:05 +0000

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), new claims for disability benefits rose nearly 17 percent nationwide in 2009 and disability filings are projected to rise another 10 percent in 2010, to 3.3 million claims. Michael Astrue , commissioner of SSA, acknowledges that “the biggest problems are states that have a combination of two things: One the economy is very bad; and two, the state has embraced furloughs.” Astrue further cited California, Wisconsin, and Ohio as three of the states where the SSA is struggling to keep up. A good amount of the new disability claims are filed by workers whose employers are no longer able to make accommodations for disabling conditions. Because these long standing employees often need physical assistance to perform their jobs, or require excessive absences due to health conditions, employers are choosing to retain employees who can offer more productivity and reduce the bottom line. How SSA will consider claimants who until recently were able to work despite their impairing conditions, remains to be seen.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34381782/ns/us_news-the_elkhart_project/sp-tx

Police Officers Indicted for Obstruction in Race Related Beating

Keith Weidner — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:43:42 +0000

Six months after a Schuylkill County Pennsylvania jury acquitted two teens of aggravated assault and murder in the date of Luis Ramirez, three officers were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice in the investigation of Ramirez’ death. Ramirez, a Mexican immigrant, was beaten into a coma during a street brawl in Shenandoah in July 2008. Shenandoah Police Chief Matthew Nestor, Lt. William Moyer, and Officer Jason Hayes allegedly failed to “memorialize or record” statements made by the teens involved in the beating death, and “wrote false and misleading reports that intentionally omitted information about the true nature of the assault and the investigation.” Moyer faces additional charges of witness and evidence tampering and making false statements to the FBI. Each officer could face 20 years in prison on each of the obstruction charges and additional 5 years on conspiring to obstruct justice. Moyer could face another 5 years if convicted of making false statements to the FBI.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/15/hate.crime/index.html

December 5th Jingle Bell 5K for Autism

Admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:45:39 +0000

TWW was proud to sponsor the Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk for Autism on December 5, 2009. Kudos to TWW staff members Mallory Krump and Rebekah Christie for braving the coldest morning of the year to support this worthy cause. The 5K had more than 50 participants and prizes were given to the first place finishers in each age division. All participants received a T-shirt and backpack filled with goodies. Proceeds from the Jingle Bell 5K benefited Capstone Academy, an affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Florida. To learn more about Capstone Academy and the United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Florida, visit: http://www.ucp.org/ucp_local.cfm/58