Oklahoma Injury Lawyer Blog

Wrong-sided surgeries are some of the most obvious and preventable medical errors.  The exact incidence and prevalence of wrong-side surgeries unknown, as much of the data is obtained voluntarily by physicians or hospitals.  But what is known is that wrong-side, wrong-site and wrong-patient surgeries are continuing to occur in hospitals nationwide.

Last week thousands of Oklahomans were notified of their potential exposure to HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C from dental procedures performed at Dr. W. Scott Harrington's oral surgery practice.  Preliminary investigations by the state and county inspectors revealed unsterilized dental instruments among the list of Dr. Harrington's violations.

A hospital may be liable for the acts of an independent contractor physician based on the ostensible agency (apparent agency) doctrine.  Although the physician may be an independent contractor as to the hospital, the physician may be an agent of the hospital with respect to the patient.  This theory is premised on public policy considerations that hospitals are often seen as complete-care institutions that have compelled social reliance; however hospitals also contract with physicians who practice in their facilities in such a way to avoid liability if and when a physician is negligent. 

One Wednesday, March 27, volunteers for the Lawyers Against Hunger foundation help Oklahoma families in need by handing out hams for the Easter holiday.  You see, trial lawyers maybe aren't so bad after all.  

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) is frequently overlooked when determining what type of insurance coverage to purchase for motor vehicles.  With many Oklahoma drivers either having no auto insurance or an insufficient liability limits, UM/UIM coverage has proven to be valuable way to protect yourself from financial harship when involved in a motor vehicle accident.

After the tragedy in Connecticut, gun control regulation is once again in the spotlight and lawmakers are urged to make the revisions to make regulations that actually make sense.

Medical error is still one of the leading causes of death in the United States.  Despite advances in medicine and having the best health care system in the world, far too many innocent people die every year due to medical malpractice, medical neglect and error in this country.  Steps must be made not only to lower the costs of health care in this country but also to improve safety in health care delivery and reduce medical error and deaths and injuries which result from medical malpractice and medical mistakes. 

As the First Regular Session of Oklahoma's 54th Legislature begins this week, lawmakers have proposed a multitude of bills concerning highly-debated issues.   While only a small percentage of bills are actually approved by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by the Governor, the Republican majority in both Houses is going to be a vital component for the GOP's increasingly conservative political agenda.

In Oklahoma, no negligence or intent is required for legal liability to the victims of dog bites.  We are a statutory strict liability state when it comes to dog attacks, which means dogs don't get "one free bite" in Oklahoma and dog owners are fully responsible all injuries caused by their dogs.  Our dog bite laws clearly state that:

The  owner of any dog shall be liable for damages to the full amount of any damages sustained when his dog, without provocation, bites or injures any person while such person is in or on a place where he has a lawful right to be. 

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and health officials have linked New England Compounding Center as the distributor of the steroids contaminated with fungal meningitis that has caused 29 deaths and infected hundreds nationwide.  Products liability lawsuits have already been filed against the distributor and claims against other healthcare providers linked to the contaminated product are to be expected.