Author: Steve Terry

We cannot even imagine your pain right now, but we do care and want to help. At TSR Injury Law, we are committed to helping families that have suffered preventable birth injuries win the compensation they deserve. Contact our Minnesota Cephalohematoma Attorney at 612-TSR-TIME or submit our free consultation form.

What Is a Cephalohematoma?

All bones, including the skull, have a tough covering called the periosteum. When the skull experiences sufficient force, blood vessels that nourish the periosteum can be torn. This causes a small pool of blood to form between the skull and the skin covering it. This is known as a cephalohematoma.

Causes and Consequences of Cephalohematoma

A cephalohematoma is almost always the result of a birth injury. It can happen any time the infant’s skull is placed under pressure during birth. The most common causes include:

• Difficult births
• The use of forceps during childbirth
• Vacuum extractions

This injury causes a small, soft lump to form on the baby’s head. It usually resolves on its own within a few weeks or months. However, there are certain complications associated with cephalohematoma, such as:

• An increased risk of jaundice within the first few days
• A cyst formed over a skull fracture, which can be confused with cephalohematoma
• Possible trauma to the brain beneath the cephalohematoma

If your child experiences health complications following this injury, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. An experienced Minnesota cephalohematoma attorney can inform you of your rights and guide you through the legal process.

Contact a Minneapolis Cephalohematoma Attorney

Childbirth is stressful enough without any medical complications. If your infant has suffered a preventable birth injury, call TSR Injury Law at (612) TSR-TIME, or submit our contact form.

A woman’s live-in boyfriend has been charged with inflicting neck and head injuries that resulted in the death of a 22-month-old little girl.

The mother told authorities that the defendant wanted her to stand by him through the criminal proceedings, but she said she had also been physically abused by him.

Dilworth, Minnesota resident Raul Perez, 24, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the August 31 incident that caused the death of Ariel Reyes.

It was not long after Ariel’s death that her mother told authorities that she had experienced several months of physical abuse at the hands of Perez, according to the criminal complaint. She said the abuse included him beating her and lifting her from the floor by her hair. She says that Perez also burned her with a lighter.

When being questioned by the police, Perez denied striking or shaking Ariel and said that he had never harmed any of his three sons, according to the complaint.

The criminal complaint says that on August 29, just before noon, paramedics responded to a call to go to the home in Ada, Minnesota where they saw Perez trying to revive Ariel through mouth-to-mouth. She did not respond and died 48 hours later at a hospital in Fargo. It was then that the medical examiner found head and other injuries.

When the incident allegedly occurred, Perez was watching the little girl and her 5-year-old brother while their mother went to the grocery store and stopped at a gas station.

After paying for gas, the mother saw Perez running down the street, holding the 5-year-old and saying that Ariel was not breathing and that an ambulance was on its way.

A doctor noted that there were many injuries to the little girl, including forehead, jaw, shoulder, and thigh bruises. There was also bruising at the base of her spine and she was diagnosed with a number of brain injuries, including bleeding in her eye.

At the hospital, the mother said that Perez said he did not want to go to prison because that would mean he would have to leave his three boys. This is when he allegedly asked her to not turn her back on him.

Perez told police that Ariel had said something to him that made no sense, so he picked her up to get her to stand up and she fell to the floor motionless, which is when he then tried resuscitating her.

If you are the parent of a child that has suffered a serious personal injury, help is available. Contact a Minneapolis personal injury attorney from TSR Injury Law for a free, no obligation consultation. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

Recovering from an injury can be costly in every sense of the word. Treatment for physical and sometimes psychological damage is usually expensive. A serious personal injury can cause you to miss work or even to lose your job. In addition, the emotional drain of all this stress and adversity can take a real toll on your quality of life. TSR Injury Law hopes the following ideas help you determine whether to call a Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyer. In order to file a personal injury lawsuit:

• you must have a legitimate problem
• you should assess the situation and if it cannot be satisfactorily resolved any other way, it is a good idea to pursue a lawsuit
• if someone’s negligence or error is costing you in hospital expenses and lost wages
• if the insurance company is giving you the run around

If you feel you have grounds for a lawsuit, do not wait too long to contact a personal injury lawyer because details can be forgotten, evidence can be lost or compromised, and the statute of limitations may run out.

You will need an experienced and dedicated Minneapolis personal injury lawyer to review your case, offer advice, and argue for your rights in court. The laws surrounding legal responsibility and personal injury can be very complex. It takes a skilled Minnesota personal injury lawyer to navigate the legal language and argue persuasively in court.

The birth of a baby should be a joyous time. We are sorry that your joy has been shattered by an infection due to negligence on the part of the birthing facility. To talk to an attorney about a newborn infection due to negligence, contact TSR Injury Law, at (612) TSR-TIME or submit our free consultation form. We want to help you through this difficult situation.

One of the first rules of maintaining a hospital is to keep every room and piece of equipment sterile. This is especially true in maternity wards. Newborn infants are more vulnerable to serious illnesses than adults or even older babies. Every well-informed new mother is aware of this risk, and should be able to trust her hospital to provide an adequately clean environment.

Infections to Look Out For

Some of the most common and dangerous infections among newborns include:

• Group B Streptococcal Disease (GBS): Bacteria that can be spread from the mother to the child, or from one infant to another. Can cause pneumonia, septic blood, or meningitis.
• E. Coli: While harmless strains of this bacteria live in everyone, other strains can be deadly. An infant exposed to E. coli can develop severe diarrhea, fever, and even kidney failure.
• Listeriosis: A disease caused by bacteria that is primarily found in newborns and people with compromised immune systems. If left untreated, it can damage the nervous system, heart, and brain.
• Neonatal Sepsis: An invasive bacterial infection of the blood that premature babies are susceptible to because of their underdeveloped immune systems. If untreated can lead to death.

The early stages of almost any infection are similar in newborns: fever, listlessness, fussy, less vigorous sucking, and loss of appetite. If your infant begins showing these symptoms, contact a doctor immediately. If your child has suffered from a preventable infection, contact a Minnesota Newborn Infection Attorney.

Need Some Legal Help?

Our Minneapolis medical malpractice attorneys are skilled, aggressive litigators with years of experience. Our partners have been named Minnesota Super Lawyers many times. Call (612) TSR-TIME or submit our contact form.

TSR Injury Law is a leading personal injury law firm with extensive experience with meniscus tear injuries. We recently settled a case with multiple injuries, including a knee injury, for 1.7 million dollars.

The knee is the largest joint in the body and critical to good mobility. If you have sustained a meniscus tear in an accident that was not your fault, you need legal representation to prove future damages and maximize your compensation. Call (612) TSR-TIME or submit our free consultation form. Call today. We want to help.

About the Knee Joint and Meniscus

The knee is comprised of 3 bones: the femur, tibia, and patella. The meniscus are rubbery, wedge-shaped cushions between the femur and tibia. They are anchored to the tibia with coronary ligaments. The meniscus help to distribute weight across the knee joint and improve the stability of the joint. Meniscal tears are one of the most common knee injuries.

The most central part of the meniscus is avascular, no direct blood supply. Without oxygen and nutrients supplied by the blood, healing cannot take place. If the tear is in this area, healing will tend to be incomplete. It will most likely require surgery to trim the torn portion of meniscus.

One of the most common causes of a meniscus tear is due to traumatic injury. In a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or slip and fall accident a meniscus tear occurs when the knee joint is bent and then twisted. It is very common for a meniscus tear to occur along with an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL).

Meniscus Tear Symptoms

Pain and swelling are the primary symptoms of a meniscus tear. Other common complaints are:

• knee joint locking
• tenderness when pressing on the meniscus
• popping or clicking within the knee
• limited motion due to the torn cartilage interfering with the joint mechanism of the knee

Diagnosing and Treatment of Meniscus Tears

X-rays and MRIs are the most frequently used tests in diagnosing meniscus tears. An x-ray does not show the meniscus, but can be used to determine if there is evidence of damage to the knee joint. The MRI is the most beneficial test because it can create better images of the soft tissues. It can actually show the meniscus, including any tears or damage.

Treatment of meniscal tears depends on several factors, because not all meniscus tears require surgery. The type of tear you have, your age, activity level, and any related injuries will factor into the doctor’s recommendation for your treatment plan.

Arthroscopic surgery may be necessary. Knee arthroscopy is a very commonly performed surgery. The surgery involves cutting 3 small slits; one for a miniature camera, the other two for miniature surgical instruments. The meniscal tear will either be sutured, trimmed, or removed. A meniscal transplant is another possibility.

Meniscus Tear Risks and Recovery

There are risks with every surgery. The greatest risks with knee arthroscopy are:

• nerve damage
• infection
• bleeding
• reaction to anesthetic

Following surgery, the doctor may put your knee in a cast or brace to limit movement. Once the knee is healed, rehabilitation exercises will be prescribed. Regular exercise is necessary to restore the knee’s range of motion and strength.

The LASIK Procedure

LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. It is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, using an excimer laser. A mechanical blade is used to cut a flap in the cornea, leaving a hinge on one side of the cornea. The flap is folded back revealing the midsection of the cornea. Pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the corneal cells and the flap is replaced.

Risks and Limitations

Even with the most skilled surgeons you can experience complications and serious consequences, including:

• Malfunction of a device or other error, such as cutting a flap of cornea all the way through instead of making a hinge during LASIK surgery, may lead to discontinuation of the procedure or irreversible damage to the eye.
• Some complications after surgery are:
  • migration of the flap
  • inflammation or infection
  • may not work and may require another procedure
  • intensive treatment with drops
  • may still need reading glasses
  • visual symptoms (glare, halos, starbursts, etc.)
  • unable to drive at night
  • contrast sensitivity (unable to see in dim light)
  • temporary loss of vision
  • irreversible blindness

According to the FDA, 700,000 LASIK surgeries are performed in the United States each year. 35,000 of the patients are dissatisfied with the outcome and 7,000 people suffer severe complications — including extremely uncomfortable eye dryness, intense eye pain, or varying degrees of blindness. Some patients have even become depressed from the constant pain and committed suicide. Two years after surgery one patient described the pain as “debilitating and unremitting”.

Injured? Need Legal Advice?

Knowing who to contact after a serious injury can be a very difficult process for injury victims. At TSR Injury Law, our Minneapolis medical malpractice attorneys are legal professionals with extensive experience with malpractice cases. We will answer your questions, deal with the doctors and insurance companies, handle all of the paperwork, and file your claim. To speak to a lawyer, call (612) TSR-TIME or submit our contact form and a member from our legal team will be in contact with you shortly.

TSR Injury Law – Free Consultation. Ph: (612) TSR-TIME.

Minnesota Statute §346.16:

Running at large; defined; prohibited; triple damages

The herding of any animal of the species of cattle, horse, ass, mule, sheep, swine, or goat upon any land over the protest and against the will of the owner shall be deemed a running at large.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or any person having the control of any such animal to permit the same to run at large in the state.

Any person who shall knowingly permit the running at large of any such domestic animal [including dogs] shall be liable to the person aggrieved for treble damages sustained by the aggrieved person, to be recovered in a civil action brought for that purpose.

Minnesota Running at Large: Example Case

Plaintiff Rhea was injured by defendant’s horses while on defendant’s property. He sued on the grounds that the horses were permitted by defendant to run at large in violation of a statute. The trial court held the statute did not apply in this situation and the Court of Appeals agreed. It held that the running at large statute does not apply to horses running on their owner’s own property. Rhea v. Lashua WL 31173, 1999

Hurt In A Running At Large Incident?

If you have any questions about the running at large statute, contact our Minneapolis personal injury lawyers today. The attorneys at our law firm have years of experience in Minnesota Personal Injury Law and a reputation for aggressive, persuasive representation. Call (612) TSR-TIME.

Dog bites are the most common form of animal attacks in the U.S., and therefore receive the most attention from the media and health professionals. This does not make attacks from other kinds of animals any less serious, however. In fact, cat bites or scratches can be far more dangerous than many people realize.

Cat Bites and Infection

Unlike dog bites, which can create immediately obvious injuries such as severe lacerations, cat bites are usually small and may not even bleed. They do carry the risk factor of infection.

It is the design of cats’ teeth that makes the risk of infection so high. They are thin and sharp, so cat bites often create puncture wounds. This allows the bacteria in a cat’s mouth to be pushed deeply into the skin, sometimes through several layers of tissue. The very small punctures created by these wounds also make them more difficult to clean thoroughly.

Cats are most likely to bite people’s hands than other parts of the body, which also contributes to the risk of medical complications. Hands have many tendons, veins, and joints that are close to the skin, making them vulnerable to injury. A cat bite that is located near a joint is at an especially high risk for inflammation or bone infection.

What to Do After a Cat Attack

While cat scratches can become infected, they are far less likely to do so than bites. For a minor scratch, cleaning and bandaging the bite will probably be enough. In contrast to this, around 80% of cat bites become infected. If you have been bitten by a cat, it is important to seek medical attention right away.

Speak with a Minneapolis Cat Bite Attorney

If you or a loved one has been attacked by a cat that was not properly trained or supervised by its owner, you may have grounds for a personal injury suit. To speak with a Minnesota personal injury lawyer, contact TSR Injury Law at (612) TSR-TIME or submit our contact form.