Medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Only cancer and heart disease cause more deaths. And when we talk about medical malpractice, we’re not just talking about an error, but we’re talking about a preventable error.

One example of a case that I tried recently, was a gentleman who came into the hospital and he told the hospital up front that not only did he have back pain, but the he had an addiction to heroin; a common problem we are seeing through our communities all across the United States. And they gave him a very limited evaluation. They sent him home with drugs, and by the time they realized, after he had left, that he had an infection they couldn’t find him. They couldn’t follow up with him, and they didn’t take the proper steps.

And as a result, by the time he came back to the hospital it was too late, and he ended up spending the rest of his life paralyzed. I was honored to represent him because the man was very honest. He didn’t just tell me, but he told the jury about his problems, what led to his problems and he was straightforward. And the jury saw all that, and they didn’t just treat him as another drug addict. They recognized that he was like any other patient in our community. And they awarded him a very substantial verdict to make up for the harms and losses that he had suffered.