Archive for the ‘Injury’ Category

Victims of Tennessee Motorcycle accidents, car accidents, or tractor trailer accidents can do themselves a favor, especially if they need a knee or hip replacement… Pick a hospital that specializes in doing hip and knee replacements.

A recent study done by the University of Iowa found that hospitals with a higher degree of orthopedic specialization had better outcomes for patients who had hip and knee replacements.

In hospitals with more orthopedic procedures, there were fewer complications and more importantly, the mortality rate was much lower. In fact, the rate of death during the first 90 days after surgery was twice as high in the hospitals that had lower rates of orthopedic procedures.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a knee or hip injury in a Nashville motorcycle accident, car accident, or tractor trailer accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved. Contact us before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster!

Leg fractures from Tennessee motorcycle accidents are fairly common. The big bone in the lower leg, the tibia, is often involved. Surgeons are familiar with these kinds of leg fractures and can readily repair them and the technique goes back to WW II.

Since WW II, long pieces of stainless steel rod (”nails”) have been inserted inside the broken tibia (and other bones) to help stabilize it, and they work. The problem is that even when they work, the patient may be a long way from being 100%.

Without the use of nails, there is a risk that the fractured bone will not form a union or be properly aligned. When that happens the victim of a Tennessee motorcycle accident may be in for a long recovery and permanent impairment.  Of course victims of Tennessee car accidents and Tennessee tractor-trailer accidents can experience these kinds of injuries as well.

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee motorcycle accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

When someone is in car wreck in Tennessee or elsewhere, they may have stitches for the very first time in their life. For major wounds, doctors sometime choose to use staples – and they have had good reason to do so – until now.

Victims of Tennessee car accidents or Tennessee Motorcycle accidents may have wounds that need to be surgically closed. If the choice is between stitches and staples, what should you tell your doctor?

Recent research published in the British Medical Journal found that patients with staples instead of stitches were three to four times more likely to develop a wound infection. The research was looking at patients with orthopedic surgery (knees and hips), but it is worth asking your doctor about – especially if you have a Tennessee car accident and are having surgery for the first time.

So, the old school way may be the best.

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Nashville car accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Nashville personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

People who have a Tennessee auto accident, motorcycle accident, or tractor trailer accident may experience a serious knee injury.

ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgery is a common, serious procedure for knee injuries that occur in Tennessee due to auto accidents and other trauma.

Research however shows that recovery from ACL injury is more difficult for certain groups. Young people and women seem to be more susceptible to re-injury and additional surgery after having ACL reconstruction according to Orthopedics Today.

The alternative? Young patients and women should be careful during their rehabilitation, and hold off on a return to athletic activities that could cause re-injury.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in Nashville Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Nashville  Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved. Contact us before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster!

Auto accidents, especially when speed is involved, can cause serious orthopedic injuries and fractures. Comminuted fractures are serious injuries to a bone where the bone is crushed,  splintered, or broken into three or more pieces. Comminuted fractures can be complicated to repair, and can be very painful. The site around the fracture will frequently be swollen and weight bearing will be painful or impossible. . Repair of a comminuted surgery may require a combination of pins, plates,  and screws. When our clients have experienced a comminuted fracture, we contact their physician early and closely track their recovery and rehabilitation. We have represented dozens of people with these kinds of injuries and know that early action is critical in order to make a fair settlement.

Auto accidents can cause fractures to the legs and arms when there are significant forces or the car rolls over. When people have seriously broken bones, orthopedic surgeons perform a procedure that shows up on a surgical note as “ORIF”. We often see victims of serious car and truck accidents who have had this procedure, but victims of motorcycle accidents are probably most at risk for this kind of serious injury. This procedure may be done when there is a fracture to the hip, ankle, wrist, the  femur, or either of the bones in the lower leg (the tibia and fibula).  To repair the fracture, the doctor surgically “opens” the area where the bone(s) is broken and then realigns the bone(s) so they are back in their natural position. This part of the procedure is called the “Open Reduction”.  The next step is for the surgeon to use the appropriate plates, rods, pins, nails, and screws to mend the broken bone together until it heals. This is the “internal fixation”. The surgeon than stitches close the opening, and hopefully the fracture will mend. There is a risk of blood clots, infection, and the failure of the broken bone to heal or fuse. When someone has an ORIF procedure, they have had a serious injury involving tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost work, and permanent impairment. The best that can happen is the regain the use of the injured arm, leg, etc. They will never be the same person. Our clients who have had ORIF procedures count on us to know understand their injuries and be able to ask their doctors the right questions. That’s our job. For a medical paper that reviews ORIF procedure and has x-rays of what the joints look like afterwards, click here.

We all think we know what local intersections and roads are the most dangerous, but most of the time our guesses are incomplete. Car accidents in Nashville happen all times of the day and night when we wouldn’t necessarily know about them, even when they are close to where we live or work. There is a website I came across that provides graphic digital information about dangerous accident scenes in Nashville, in Tennessee and throughout the U.S.A.  Safe Road Maps is fun to look at, and includes “hot spots” that you can identify by zip code. Detail views will tell you about any accidents or fatalities in an area, and the results will surprise you. If you are planning a trip, even a short drive in the country, a review of the road will give you some advanced idea where accidents and fatalities have happened in the past. Unfortunately, most of us have to drive the same routes to and from work every day. It’s those times that we are most at risk for being in a car accident or wreck in Nashville, in Tennessee, or anywhere else.

Doctors have to rely on what we as patients tell them in making good decisions about our medical care. What we can accomplish as attorneys representing injured people  in Nashville and in Tennessee can be limited by what the medical records say. Here are three simple things you should be prepared to do.

1.   Too often we are unprepared to be the kind of patient that allows the doctor to be his or her best. Doctors need information, accurate information, about how you are feeling, responding to medication or drugs, etc. This does not mean that you give the doctor a bunch of printed or handwritten notes! This means you take notes and review them so you can answer questions and ask questions intelligently. For example, when the doctor asks about pain “Oh I am in constant pain” is a lousy answer. Give the doctor specifics of when, where, and how the pain feels. All pain is not the same. Some is burning, some is aching, some is sharp, some is throbbing, some is worse in the evening, some is worse when sitting, etc. Get the picture?

2.   Don’t exaggerate your symptoms or problems. The doctor may have seen 10 people that day who are worse off than you are, you are more likely to get his/her sympathy by stating the facts about what you are able to do (with specifics).

3.   Make sure the doctor knows your priority is getting back to work/normal. Some doctors will be suspicious of someone who doesn’t get better as quickly as is common. When that happens they may unfairly suspect you are not as bad off as you have told them. Make sure the doctor knows that you want to get back to work, get off your medications, and get your life back as soon as possible. Asking the doctor whether there is anything else you can do to speed your recovery is a good start. Asking about reducing your medications is also a fair and good question that puts you in a good light.

Finally, if you have a case and you are concerned about your relationship with your doctor, call us or email us. We’d like to help.