Wayne Grant Education

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Board Certified Medical Malpractice Attorney

Truck accidents: Did you know that federal regulations govern carrier’s responsibilities in hiring truck drivers? A trucking company that hires a driver that they should have recognized as incompetent at the time of application for employment can be held liable on a theory of ’negligent hiring’. Whether or not a trucking company was negligent in hiring or retaining a careless driver should be investigated in any serious case.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Board Certified Medical Malpractice Attorney

I am preparing this week for a mediation session for a case that we are handling in Seattle. Mediation is a way of attempting to resolve a case without going to court. In mediation, the parties and their lawyers all appear before a neutral mediator, usually an attorney and try to reach agreement.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Board Certified Medical Malpractice Attorney

It’s been crazy busy, both in the office and at home. Things have calmed down. In the office today, I am working on a tragic case involving malpractice following a routine surgery to repair a broken arm bone in a 4 year old. The arm was wrapped way too tightly after surgery, causing a lack of blood flow that resulted in the death of muscle and nerves. His arm could not be saved and had to be amputated.

This blog is a summary of the VLOG (Video Blog) located in the Wayne Grant video library titled “Can I Afford a Lawyer?” http://www.waynegrant.com/video-library.html.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Board Certified Medical Malpractice Attorney

I’ve often been asked the question “can I afford a lawyer?” In a case involving serious issues, such as a medical malpractice case or a case involving permanent life-long injury, people are often intimidated by the prospect of hiring a lawyer. Knowing that these cases obviously can take years, which entails hundreds, if not thousands of hours. Paying a lawyer on an hourly basis to take on such a case is prohibative for most people. The answer to the question “can I afford a lawyer?” is YES!

At my law office, we take these cases on a contingent fee basis. We screen and evaluate carefully, and we don’t accept all of the cases that we are approached with. If the case has merit, and if the case justifies pursuit, then we will handle it on a contingent fee basis; that is, the attorney fee is figured as a percentage of the recovery, and is paid at the time of the recovery. If there is no recovery, there is no attorney fee. In addition, we do not charge for an initial consultation. If we decide that your case has merit and justifies pursuit, we will partner with you, and take on the risks of handling your case. We will put in our time, our effort and our resources in an effort to try to successfully conclude your case; and bring you not only closure, but adequate compensation for future injury.

The Law Offices of Wayne Grant is joining with federal, state and local highway safety, law enforcement and motorcycle organizations in proclaiming May as “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month”. By increasing safe riding and cooperation between all road users and motorcyclists, we can reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on our nation’s highways.

As the weather improves, more and more motorcycle riders are hitting the roads throughout the country. The goal of this campaign is to remind motorists and other road users to look out for and “share the road” with motorcycle riders. Motorcycle riders are reminded to follow the rules of the road, wear safety helmets and other protective gear that will increase their visibility, and never ride impaired by alcohol or drugs.

The NHTSA wants motorists to understand that:

• Motorcycles are vehicles with the same rights and privileges as any motor vehicles on the roadway.
• Riders need to make themselves visible, and draw attention to themselves even if other drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians may not be actively looking.
• Nearly half of all motorcycle crashes involve another motor vehicle. In approximately 40 percent of those crashes, the other vehicles were turning left while the motorcycles were going straight, passing or overtaking the vehicles.
• Motorcyclists should never ride while distracted.

Helmets save lives –

• All DOT-compliant motorcycle helmets sold in the United States meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,829 motorcyclists in 2008. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 823 lives could have been saved.

Motorcyclist Conspicuity

• Wear brightly colored protective gear and a DOT-compliant helmet. Red, yellow, orange and white are highly visible and help a rider stand out.
• Strategically use your lane position to see and be seen.
• Use reflective tape and stickers to make you more visible to other motorists.
• Use turn signals for every turn or lane change, even if you think no one will see them.
• Combine hand signals and turn signals to draw more attention to yourself.

Motorists and Other Road Users “Share the Road” Checklist
Motorists and other road users should:

• Expect to see motorcycles at any time, and search aggressively for them.
• Motorists and bicyclists should check their mirrors and blind spots before merging or changing lanes, especially in heavy traffic. Pedestrians should stop and look left-right-left for traffic before they step off the curb. A motorcycle can easily be hidden behind a car or truck.

The education and exposure to bicyclists and safety programs makes for a safer environment for both bikers and motorists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is promoting the month of May as Bike Safety Month. The League of American Bicyclists is the official sponsor of this campaign, which will run the entire Month May.

The Law Offices of Wayne Grant supports programs that spread messages of safe bicycling and increases awareness among motorists and bicyclists alike.

Bicycle Accidents Facts:

Bicycle wrongful deaths accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities, and cyclists made up 2 percent of all the people injured in auto accidents during the year.

In 2002, 662 riders were killed in bicycle accidents and an additional 48,000 were injured in bike accidents. During that year, bicycle riders accounted for 12 percent of all nonmotorist traffic deaths.

More than 47,000 riders have died in auto accidents in the United States since 1932.

These statistics are from the National Center of Statistics and Analysis. However, a person only needs to speak with an experienced cyclist to understand the risks faced by a bicycle involved in an auto accident.

This blog is a summary of the VLOG (Video Blog) located in the Wayne Grant video library titled “How to Avoid Being Medically Misdiagnosed”. http://www.waynegrant.com/video-library.html.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Attorney

Each year more than 100,000 deaths occur as a result of medical errors. A big part of that problem is medical misdiagnosis. How can you try to avoid being misdiagnosed? Here are a few tips:

1. Write it all down. When you go to the doctor, you’re often asked to give your medical history. Your medical history is your health story. It is usually what prompts you to seek out medical care or treatment. Before you ever get to the doctor, particularly if your history is somewhat complicated, write it out. Know exactly what information you are going to disclose.
2. Be specific. The more specific you can be, the better off you will be, because your doctor will be able to make an informed decision when trying to arrive at the correct diagnosis.
   • For example, if you have pain, be specific when you describe the pain. Is it local or generalized? Is it severe? Is it mild? Is it moderate? Talk about the timing of your pain. Is it intermittent or is it constant? Are there modifiers? Are there things that make your pain worse or better? (i.e. changes in position. Time of day)
3. Give your full history. If you have had any testing, you should know when your tests were performed, what tests were performed and what the test results were. Preferably, you should get copies of your test results, particularly if you’re going to see a new doctor.
4. Tell your ‘in-depth’ history to the doctor. Usually when you visit the doctor, you will initially speak to a nurse, medical assistant or physician assistant. Don’t assume that person will be able to relay all of the information that you provided to them to the doctor. First, they may not be able to write it all down. You may have spoken to quickly for them. Secondly, they are not as qualified as the medical doctor to recognize the significance of a particular aspect of your history. Do your best to relay your in-depth history to the doctor, rather than to the person you see at the beginning of the visit.

Note: If you do these few things, you’ll go a long way towards lessening your chances of being misdiagnosed.

This blog is a summary of the VLOG (Video Blog) located in the Wayne Grant video library titled “What Happens When the Media Fails to Protect Confidential Sources”. http://www.waynegrant.com/video-library.html.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Media Violations Attorney

Let me tell you a little story. I represented a career federal air marshal, who became aware of practices and procedures by the government that he believed posed a threat of danger to the flying public. He agreed to specifically speak out and be interviewed on a national news broadcast, because he thought that shedding some light on these practices and procedures might result in some change. And, it did.

In time, those practices and policies were eliminated, but what happened when the media company breached its promise to protect his identity? Well… he was fired! A twenty-year career went down the drain, and along with it, he suffered financial harm. He was unemployed for a period of time, and then ultimately was unable to get a comparable job in his field, as you might expect.

This note is about an instance where a media company breaches a promise of confidentiality. This particular situation involves a case where the media company agreed to protect the identity of a confidential source, and failed to do so. Why would someone speak out as a confidential source on a media story, usually because that person, by virtue of his or her position, becomes aware of conduct, practices, or procedures that are wrong and may endanger the public.

When a media company breaches a promise to protect a confidential source, they are responsible for all the harm that may result, as they well should be. They are getting a news-worthy story; a story that sells. Whether it is about public corruption, or dangers posed to the public, the people who speak out under those circumstances are heroes. They are not speaking out because they want fame or notoriety, to the contrary they want confidentiality, they want anonymity. Confidential sources are usually speaking out in the interest of public safety. Thus, their safety must come first, and the promises to safeguard their identity must be enforced.

This blog is a summary of the VLOG (Video Blog) located in the Wayne Grant video library titled “Why I Handle Cases for Free… Sometimes” http://www.waynegrant.com/video-library.html.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Attorney

Every year I take on one or two cases without charging any attorney fee. That’s right no attorney fee at all! Why do I do that? Let me tell you the story of 4-year-old Brianna. Brianna came to my office with her parents and she was absolutely gorgeous. I noticed that she had scarring on her forehead. I found out that Brianna had suffered seizures and was sent to the hospital in order to have a 24-hour EEG test. In essence, what they do is they take a headband and place it on the forehead, which has electrodes underneath it, and they monitor the brainwaves for 24-hour period.

When the patient returns to the hospital, they download this information and try to get to the bottom of things. When this procedure was done on Brianna and they removed the headband she had open wounds. She suffered serious open wounds and a result of the mis-application of the electrode headband. She has had scar revision surgery will have permanent scarring as a result, and will probably have future surgeries.

Many lawyers are reluctant to get involved in a case like this because although is appears to be clear cut, a case like this could drag on for years and the expenses associated with handling it in terms of paying expert witnesses and other costs, can be incredibly significant. I decided to not let that stand in my way, and I agreed to represent little Brianna without charge. I am proud to say that we are on the way to a successful resolution of her case.

This blog is a summary of the VLOG (Video Blog) located in the Wayne Grant video library titled “What is the Best Way to Choose a Lawyer?”. http://www.waynegrant.com/video-library.html.

Wayne Grant – GA Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Attorney

What is the best way to choose a lawyer? In a serious case, such as a death case resulting from medical malpractice or automobile negligence, often time family members feel pressured to act quickly and they forget some of the basics. The worst that you can do in this scenario is rush into a relationship with a lawyer that may not be a good fit for you.

There are two key factors that I think anyone in that situation should look at.

The first factor is, experience; make sure that the lawyer that you hire has experience in the very area in which you need representation. That sounds basic but it’s important. You wouldn’t hire a cardiac surgeon who’d never done surgery before to do your particular surgery. Well this is important, too. You have to take into consideration that you may be addressing, for example in a death case, life long economic needs.

The second factor to consider is comfort level; you’ve got to be comfortable with a lawyer that you hire, ultimately, because this is not a short term relationship. A serious case could take a year or years until conclusion, and so you’ve got to have a gut instinct, a trust or chemistry with this lawyer. If you don’t have trust and chemistry, don’t hire that lawyer! Use your instincts. If you take into consideration these two crucial factors in deciding who to hire to represent you or your family, you’ll be much better off.