Robbins & Associates, PC

If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident, here are some mistakes to avoid. These types of issues can affect your ability to be reimbursed for lost wages, medical expenses and pain and suffering associated with your accident. These recommendations are for any type of accident, whether it involved a vehicle or a personal injury in which a third party was at fault.

Don’t wait to file a claim with your insurance company. Be sure you know how long you have to file a claim. This information should be outlined in your insurance policy.

Don’t wait to file a police report and get a copy of it. If you neglect to secure a copy of the report immediately, it could end up being transferred to another office which will then take months before you can obtain a copy.

Do not report anything but the basic facts of the accident to insurance adjustors for any insurance company, including your own. Many insurance companies are honest, but they are in the business of reducing settlement amounts. Sometimes they do not employ completely honest means to obtain damaging information against your case.

Do not embellish or speculate about any pain you are experiencing, but be honest with any medical care professionals you deal with when you are suffering. Your medical records are evidence that can be used for or against your case.

Do not wait to gather contact information or statements from any witnesses to your accident. Memories fade, people move and in some cases the witness may have decided they no longer care or want to be involved in your case.

Do not believe anyone who tells you that you don’t need to call a lawyer. More often than not, if someone is telling you this, they are afraid you may do just that. You have reason to be suspicious of them.

It is important that you act decisively in the first few days following your accident. You should retain an attorney who is knowledgeable and qualified to handle your case in your best interests. An attorney will deal with all of the people who will be attempting to speak with you and convince you to settle quickly, such as:

• Insurance investigators
• Law enforcement personnel
• Someone else’s attorneys
• Someone else’s insurance representatives

To protect yourself and your rights, please retain a qualified attorney immediately by contacting Robbins & Associates.

There are a variety of types of property ownership, each involving specific rules relating to ownership.

• Sole Ownership - The property is owned entirely by one person.
• Joint Tenancy - This type of property is owned by two or more people at the same time and each person owns an equal share. Often referred to as the four unities: Unity of time, title, interest and possession. When one tenant dies, that share is equally vested into the other tenant shares. This form of property ownership is not allowed in every state.
• Tenancy in the Entirety - This applies to some states which have a specific form of joint tenancy that relates to a husband and wife as the joint tenants. Each person owns half of the property, therefore neither can sell without the other’s consent.
• Tenants in Common - This form of tenancy refers to a property owned by two or more people at the same time. The interests in the property do not have to be equal between the tenants. When one of the tenants dies, that share is passed to whomever that person has named as heir(s).
• Community Property - Some states recognize community property. In these states, a special form of joint tenancy can be established. In this form, the husband and wife each own half of the property. Upon the death of one or the other, the decedent’s interest is passed on to whomever that person has named as heir. This is similar to tenants in common, but relates to husband and wife and, in some states and cases, common law partners.

All of these forms of property ownership relate to present and future interests. In other words, who owns it now and who will own it once that person dies. To learn more about property ownership and other real estate law issues, please contact Robbins & Associates today.

One of the most common types of medical malpractice lawsuits stems from a medical professional’s failure to properly diagnose cancer. The key to the success of the lawsuit is proving that the failure to diagnose soon enough resulted in further harm to the patient. If no further harm was caused by a delay in diagnosis, the case will fail.

The success of a malpractice case concerning a failure to diagnose cancer relies heavily on what stage the cancer was in when it was initially missed. For example, a lung cancer diagnosis that was delayed for less than six months will likely be difficult to prove as malpractice.

In cases where the physician failed to diagnose breast cancer, the major concern lies in whether or not there have been metastases into the lymph nodes and how many have been effected. A system for determining the stage of breast cancer the patient is in is determined by the number of lymph nodes involved and the size of the tumor(s).

Oncologists are able to trace the cancer growth rates back to the point in time when the negligent act occurred. Negligence factors differ depending on the type of cancer that was overlooked. Different types of cancers have different growth patterns, so some grow faster than others and are much more detrimental if missed at an earlier stage.

If you or someone you love believes that they have a case for medical malpractice in a failure to diagnose cancer, please contact Robbins & Associates today for information on your rights.

The use of medical abbreviations all too often leads to medication mistakes that result in patient harm. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) have begun a national campaign to educate medical professionals in the use of proper medical terms to avoid misuse by consumers. The campaign is attempting to promote safe practices in the communication of medical information in order to reduce the amount of mistakes resulting in patient injury.

The FDA is recommending that healthcare professionals consider changing the way medical abbreviations are used. It is important to discern between medical abbreviations that leave room for error and those that are clearly meant for only one type of medication.

The FDA has proposed that a new format be implemented in the labeling of prescription drugs in order to reduce the number of medical errors in prescribing medications. It is estimated that this type of medical error is responsible for approximately 98,000 deaths in the United States each year. The FDA’s proposal will make medical information available in readable, consistent and clear format.

The package insert, which is referred to as the prescription drug product labeling, is the primary means for drug information to be communicated to practitioners. The FDA reviews and approves product labeling proposed by manufacturers through this insert. Many practitioners find the labeling to be complex, lengthy and difficult to use. The result is that crucial information is overlooked or missed, causing medical errors and ineffective treatments to take place.

New labeling will offer highlights to the most important information on the label and an easier reference to the most used information contained therein. It also would provide the location of more detailed information elsewhere on the label. The intent of the proposed changes in product labeling is to increase the effectiveness of medical treatments and decrease the incidence of medical errors.

If you or someone you know has suffered as a result of medical labeling errors, please contact Robbins & Associates today to find out what your rights are.

Qui tam is an action brought against someone attempting to commit fraud against the government by someone who has direct and material information about the case. These actions have been in use since the early thirteenth century in England.

The False Claims Act of 1863 was designed to give relators a reason to come forward. The private citizen filing the lawsuit on behalf of the government is known as the relator or plaintiff in the case and is entitled to receive a portion of the awarded amount should the government’s case be won.

In a qui tam case, the private citizen has information showing that the defendant named in the case knowingly committed fraud against the U.S. The relator does not need to have been directly harmed by the actions of the defendant. The information supplied by the relator cannot be a part of public knowledge.

Qui tam allows a private citizen to file a lawsuit on behalf of the United States Government that charges fraud against government contractors or others who attempt to collect funds for work or services not supplied. Some qui tam actions have involved such contractors and government agencies as:

• Defense contractors
• Health and Human Services
• Environmental Energy
• Education
• NASA
• Agriculture and Transportation

For more information about qui tam and what role the private citizen plays, please contact the law offices of Robbins & Associates.

Knee replacement surgery is the most popular form of replacement surgery performed in the United States. The current form of this surgery has been around since the 1970’s and has been performed on millions of patients. Approximately 200,000-300,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year.

As a patient and the recipient of a new knee implant, you should do your own research along with questioning your physician as to which knee replacement products are reliable and have a good history of quality and longevity.

There have been many cases of patients having detrimental problems due to defective knee implants. Knee implant manufacturer Smith & Nephew voluntarily recalled two types of its knee implant products. The first was the Oxinium Genesis II and the second was the Profix II implants.

The new forms of implants worked better and more efficiently than the cobalt and titanium knee replacements used in the past. By reducing the amount of resistance and rubbing between replacement components that surround tissue areas, the newer replacements were more comfortable and caused less long term discomfort for the recipients.

These cementless knee implants were recalled because they did not bond properly to the bone. Many patients that received these implants had to undergo revision surgeries and risk suffering:

• Infection
• Joint damage
• Tissue damage
• Muscle damage
• Swelling and inflammation
• More rehabilitation

If you or someone you love has undergone knee replacement surgery and are concerned that you may have received a faulty implant, please contact the law offices of Robbins & Associates today for advice.

Whether it’s fighting for compensation for someone who is injured, ensuring the legal rights of workers or defending a criminal charge, Robbins & Associates has helped thousands of people in Atlanta and throughout Georgia have their day in court.