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Not only does a wrongful death devastate a family, but also it may dramatically affect their financial survival.

The pain of losing a loved one suddenly due to the possible negligence of someone else is heart rending. At times like this, the family is not only coping with the wrongful death, but also wondering how they are going to be able to make ends meet. “Financial security becomes a very real concern for those left behind,” indicated Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

Although it is incredibly painful to function after the loss of a loved one, someone must take the first step forward and contact a highly skilled and compassionate wrongful death attorney for advice and guidance. This needs to be done as soon as possible, partially because of the statute of limitations and partly because filing a wrongful death lawsuit quickly, while the details are sharp and clear, makes the most sense.

“Never assume that just because the death may have been an unintended accident that something cannot be done to obtain compensation for the resulting death,” indicated Mellino. Even if the idea of filing a lawsuit seems foreign, and not likely to happen, contact an attorney and find out how a wrongful death lawsuit is handled and what it may mean in terms of financial compensation.

“Wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases, not criminal cases, and usually deal with emotional pain and material loss, not the question of guilt,” added Mellino. In these kinds of circumstances, it must be proven that another person or a company caused the death of an individual due to negligence. The person filing the wrongful death claim must also be a legitimate dependent or surviving member of the deceased, and the damages received are to financially assist the surviving family.

Be aware that each state has its own wrongful death statute and it is best to ask the wrongful death attorney what is applicable in the case being discussed. One such first rate wrongful death attorney is Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland malpractice lawyer specializing in Cleveland medical malpractice cases in Ohio.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Having the proper safety harness and infant car seat is crucial in the event of a car crash.

It is vitally important to have the correct type of car seat and harness for a baby when traveling anywhere in a vehicle. Actually, it is not only important to have the right car seats and harness for your child, it is the law. “The seat needs to be installed in the rear seat of a vehicle and for an infant, it must be rear facing,” explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.

Unfortunately, these days it seems there are a fair number of car seats tagged for a manufacturer’s recall. While the maker may send out an additional part for a seat that is already installed, it makes one wonder just how safe it is to be adding extra parts that weren’t there in the first place. It may somehow affect the integrity of the whole unit. Other manufacturers will choose to send a whole new car seat as a replacement.

If anxiety had a name, it would be called the child car seat. Installing it according to the proper safety instructions is often a task for a mechanic, not a mom or dad. “Cutting corners when installing it is not an option and having the installation checked by someone in the know is crucial. If any part of that seat happens to be defective, the consequences may be severe injuries or death,” added Mellino.

“When on the hunt for an approved child car seat, avoid car seats made before 1981 and seats that do not have a label on them clearly stating the date they were manufactured and the model number,” said Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.

Never buy second hand child car seats and do not simply glue a part back on that comes off. Any child car seat that is falling apart has the potential to be dangerous. Take the time to invest in a replacement.

Typically if someone is dealing with a situation where they had problems with a child car seat, it was due to defective handles, weak construction, sudden and unexpected releases and unanticipated rotation. This is possibly due to the manufacturer’s negligence, and any situations like this need to be discussed with a dangerous products attorney. One such top-notch attorney is Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland product liability lawyer specializing in Cleveland product liability cases in Ohio.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Touted as a new cholesterol buster, Lipitor was said to have very few side effects. That turned out not to be true.

Atorvastatin seemed to be a dream drug, the answer to those who were diagnosed with high cholesterol levels. Pfizer marketed this drug like there was no tomorrow and made it a point to mention that Lipitor had very few side effects.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and many people across the nation found themselves talking to a dangerous drug attorney to assess their case. Lipitor is in a class of drugs called statins whose major function is to lower cholesterol.

Pfizer has a history of bringing out blockbuster drugs and you might recognize some of them because they are so popular: Viagra, Diflucan, Zithromax, Celebrex and Zoloft. They are also noted for the groundbreaking drug, Aricept, used to treat Alzheimer’s patients.

Lipitor/atorvastatin turned into a virtual success overnight, raking up sales of close to $12.9 billion in 2006 when it was first released on the market. From then on, sales have continued to soar and return healthy revenue to Pfizer.

Then, one day the roof fell in, and Lipitor patients were reporting rhabdomyolysis and severe liver damage. Lipitor sales plummeted to about $6 billion for the first quarter of 2007 compared to $6.2 billion in the same quarter in 2006.

Despite the damaging reports from Lipitor patients, statins are still in high demand, as more than 52 million people suffer from high cholesterol. Roughly one-third that number seeks treatment for it. The sales potential for this drug is virtually unlimited. The patent on Lipitor is good until 2010 even though the drug company wanted an extension until 2011.

Things were going well until the Food and Drug Administration started getting reports that people were dying from liver damage, heart problems and severe muscle deterioration as a result of taking Lipitor. It turns out that Lipitor’s side effects may be numerous, including diarrhea, muscle pain, headache, joint pain, memory loss, severe liver problems, and non-functioning muscle fibers (rhabdomyolysis).

Non-functioning muscle fibers means muscle breakdown, with the muscle cells purging their contents into the blood stream. This winds up in the liver and causes severe damage or death. This drug inhibits an enzyme needed to make cholesterol in the liver. It also blocks the manufacture of CoQ10 that benefits the heart.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the Division of Public Health Sciences found Lipitor to be one of the most dangerous drugs on the market. In fact, it ranked it as the eighth most dangerous drug with over 6,000 adverse events. That’s pretty hard to ignore.

If you have experienced Lipitor side effects, contact a highly skilled dangerous drug attorney and discuss your situation. Knowing your rights will help you decide whether or not to file a dangerous drug lawsuit.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

Who really has an appendix left these days? It seems like most of us had them out when we were kids and could still eat a bowl of ice cream as a reward.

Appendicitis, the end result of an inflamed and diseased appendix, is referred to as a surgical disease, as it usually requires the removal of the organ from the body. Often it becomes irritated and enlarged and at that point becomes what doctors classify as a medical emergency. Removal of this organ is considered an emergency because if it bursts and spills out toxic contents into the system, the problem becomes even worse, if not life threatening.

The interesting thing about the appendix is that no matter what stage the appendicitis is at, surgeons still recommend its removal as soon as possible. Most of these operations are safe and go as planned; however, there is the possibility of developing post-operative complications thanks to surgical malpractice. In some instances, there have even been cases cited where a patient had an unnecessary appendectomy of a healthy appendix.

The more advanced the infection of this organ, the more difficult and risky the surgery. In these cases, patients have been known to develop either an abscess or sepsis after surgery. Sepsis is a dangerous condition that presents as a whole-body inflammatory state, also called a systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

These possible complications of performing surgery if an appendix is too diseased, is usually one of the things that prompts physicians to operate early and avoid the problem of advanced appendicitis. This isn’t to say that all cases of appendicitis are correctly diagnosed in the first place, as it tends to mimic many other illnesses and is thus hard to correctly diagnose. There are also cases of appendicitis patients who have no symptoms and no one knows that until the disease is seriously advanced.

Unfortunately there are still no reliable medical tests these days that are totally accurate in diagnosing appendicitis, and for this reason, if the surgeon suspects a diseased appendix; their first instinct is to remove it before problems develop. Yes, it’s a risk to remove a healthy organ, however given the alternatives most surgeons would err on the side of caution.

Removing an appendix in young children is another proposition altogether and surgical statistics indicate at least 9% of children who have an appendectomy had a healthy appendix. One of the reasons children’s appendixes tend to be healthy when removed is due to the fact that it’s a lot more difficult to diagnose appendicitis in kids.

If you feel you are the victim of medical malpractice, contact a highly qualified medical malpractice attorney and discuss your case. The attorney will be able to explain your rights and assess your case.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.

There is a myth floating around that bigger Medicare supplement insurance companies have much better doctor networks and take more patients on Medicare. This is a myth.

The truth of the matter is that any doctor that takes Medicare will accept any standard Medicare supplement insurance, no matter the size health insurance company offering it. This of course implies that there is non-standard Medicare coverage, something that needs to be discussed with a local Medicare health insurance agent.

There is a big difference in how health care operates with Medicare as compared to how it operates prior to age 65. When a person is under 65 and on a company or individual health insurance policy, they have to worry about seeing doctors within that particular insurance providers PPO or HMO network.

Once they have Medicare and a Medicare supplement it changes considerably. Because of the standardization of Medicare supplement plans, they no longer have to worry about whether one insurance provider is going to provide better access to a larger group of doctors; or if a doctor will choose to take one Medicare supplement insurance company’s plan versus another.

If the doctor accepts Medicare supplements he or she will accept a Standard Medicare supplement policy from any insurance company – whether it be a very large company everyone’s heard of or a very small regional insurance company providing Medicare supplements.

A lot of this has to do with the standardization of plans and claims processing by Medicare. What’s great about this is that, once a person has determined which plan they prefer, they may shop the market to determine who is going to give the best rate. This gives the peace of mind that the plan will work the same no matter from which company it was purchased.

So, go figure out which plan is the preferred one and find a reputable Medicare supplement insurance agent who brokers several companies to help people determine which company will provide the best rate for this standardized coverage.

To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

It’s a well-known fact that Medicare covers everything. Actually, that isn’t the case at all, and this is a very common misconception.

How many times has an overheard conversation brought up the fact that people think Medicare covers everything, almost and including the kitchen sink? It’s interesting that people seem to regard Medicare as the Super Man of the health insurance industry with far reaching powers. To a certain extent this has a nugget of truth in it, however, Medicare is far from being the “be all, end all” of health insurance.

While Medicare does a yeoman’s job of covering the general populace, they definitely have drawn some lines in the sand that they won’t cross when it comes to coverage. For instance, Medicare does not cover long-term care. This would actually make some sense when the bigger picture is taken into consideration. They could not cover long-term care due to the nature of the enormous expenses involved.

Medicare also only partially covers preventative care, as there is a limit to some things when it comes to what is classified as preventative care. This area of the health care system could be abused with very little effort, and in order to keep a lid on soaring expenses, only some prevention is approved.

Check with your local Medicare health insurance agent for the whys and wherefore on this. Never assume something is the case without specifically checking it, as the Medicare system in the U.S. is in a state of transition right now and things are changing rapidly.

While Medicare is fairly reasonable when it comes to approving treatments for things that are considered medical necessities, there are exceptions to every rule. This is the time to be checking out the exceptions with a highly qualified Medicare health insurance agent. It’s one call that will definitely save some hassle and confusion in the long run.

If the overall Medicare system is taken into consideration, it would be obvious that the number of people it must insure would be staggering. They realistically are not able to cover everything for everyone or the cost of Medicare, rather than being fairly reasonable, would be right out of line.

To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

Many people think they are only able to switch Medicare supplements during the anniversary enrollment period of November 15th to December 31st. This isn’t the case.

For some strange reason many people seem to think that they are only allowed to switch their Medicare supplements during the anniversary enrollment period. The actual truth is that they are able to switch at any time during the year so long as they are medically qualified to do so.

Medicare Advantage plan and Part D of the drug supplement are the only plans that can be switched between November 15 and December 31 of each year.

Furthermore, Medicare Advantage plans seem to be losing their luster. Well Care and Coventry, two of the biggest names in the Medicare health insurance business, won’t be offering Medicare Advantage in 2010. They will be totally out of business because they can’t afford to offer the Medicare Advantage plan. The reason is because the government is reducing the amount paid to companies offering Medicare Advantage.

Coventry handles Medicare Advantage benefits for well over 318 thousand people. It’s safe to say that tens of thousands of Medicare Advantage recipients will be wondering what they are going to do with the demise of the Medicare Advantage plan.

Some good news about the death of Medicare Advantage is that you will be guaranteed issue for 63 days once your plan is no longer in effect. Talk to a local health insurance agent now to plan for the future. Choose one that knows their Medicare inside out and will be able to walk you through other alternatives.

Again, it is a common misconception about Medicare that people can only change coverage during the anniversary enrollment. This could easily be put to rest if people needing this kind of information took the time to do a little research on the Internet. In the alternative, they could make a call to their local Medicare health insurance agent and ask some pointed questions about qualifying dates and how those apply to their particular situation.

Richard Cantu is with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

Misconception one is that you are able to get Medicare and Medicare supplements at the age of 62, just like applying for Social Security.

This is definitely a myth. You cannot get Medicare and Medicare supplements at the age of 62, so don’t plan your retirement banking on having those supplements to go along with your Social Security. If you do this, you will find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The truth of the matter is that you are only able to get Medicare and Medicare supplements when you turn 65 – period, no earlier. The problem is that many people, without checking things out to confirm it, are assuming that because they are able to get Social Security at 62, that the same is true for Medicare and Medicare supplements.

We have seen many cases where people took retirement early, banking on having not only Social Security, but also Medicare to help defray the expenses. Unfortunately, many couples and individuals have found themselves in a pickle having to try and find other insurance to fill in the gap until they reach 65.

While sourcing other insurance isn’t necessarily a problem, the price of the insurance an older person is able to find is another matter altogether. In most instances they would need to go with Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) or buy health insurance from a private insurance company.

COBRA offers retirees and some other categories of individuals temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates and typically this type of coverage, while less expensive than private insurance, is still higher than the budget may be able to afford. In the case of sourcing health insurance from a private health insurance company, retirees may be facing up to $300 per person per month for coverage until they turn 65.

If you do the math for a single senior at age 62, the amount of money they would need to fork out to have health insurance would add up to $10,800 for three years or double that for a couple. Living on Social Security benefits and a pension may not allow people to find that kind of extra money.

It’s always best to be cautious about applying for the various benefits older people are entitled to, as many of them have certain restrictions or qualifications that those applying don’t know. Always check the requirements and never assume anything. When in doubt, contact a local Medicare insurance agent who has the inside scoop.

Richard Cantu is with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

When a Father’s Day traditional pig roast results in accidental burn injuries to a gentle boy’s hands, it’s fortunate that his parents had purchased a child’s policy from California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard.

The Smuckers of Visalia didn’t make jams and jellies, but for five generations the family had purchased a piglet during the previous December from a local pig farm for roasting on the upcoming Father’s Day. Always the eldest Smuckers child would be charged with raising the piglet to maturity in order for it to be slaughtered on its appointed day in June. This festive and delicious tradition was eagerly anticipated by one and all, although the boy or girl raising the piglet usually had harbored mixed feelings amid a sense of dread about the animal to be inevitably sacrificed. Dan J. Smuckers had told his son Jeffy, age 8, not to get too attached to his piglet. “It’s not a pet Jeffy. It’s just your job to raise him so he gets nice and plump with good meat on him,” he warned.

But Jeffy was unlike other Smuckers children preceding him. “Yes Daddy,” the boy said, but he already harbored forbidden feelings of affection for his piglet, having secretly named him “Spot” because of a small brown birthmark on its little pink hindquarters. Jeffy was a gentle kid and loved animals, but he’d never been allowed to have a pet.

“Spot” grew up at a normal pace and bonded with Jeffy, often letting the soft-hearted boy scratch him behind the ears. His eight-year-old mind tried frantically to devise a scheme to rescue his porcine friend from its looming encounter with the spit. The pig, for its part, grew big and fat. Finally, it was June, and time for “Spot” to be executed in the shed. Dan surmised his son’s misgivings, and performed the murderous deed when Jeffy was at a sleepover one Saturday. While Jeffy cried and screamed when he found out, he was quiet on Father’s Day until the festive time had arrived, and “Spot” was appropriately spitted. But Jeffy appeared like an avenging little angel when the party was in full swing and the cooking had commenced, and when the boy grabbed the red hot pig to wrench it off the spit ….

Jeffy really cried and screamed as both of his hands were badly burnt. As the family’s SUV raced along to the local hospital’s emergency room, Dan reassured himself with words that he hoped would calm his tender-hearted (and tender-handed) son. “Don’t worry Jeffy. I know you’re sad because of that pig. But at least treatment in the hospital burn unit will be covered because we purchased a child’s health insurance policy from our California agent, Matt Lockard.” But Jeffy just screamed all the louder.

Go to Mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote and to learn more about California health insurance, California medicare supplements, California health insurance quotes.

Leonard was in a natural foods grocery store’s parking lot when a 94-year-old woman mistook his brand new Saab for a stop sign. It was a good thing his injuries were taken care of by a policy he bought from California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard.

Leonard Durban was proud of his brand new Saab. It was chartreuse with a gold trim. It had no flaw or blemish. While shopping one fine sunny day, he’d purchased his groceries two bags full and was preparing to exit the parking lot of Nice Foods where natural foods were sold.

His Saab was stopped. But another car, a 1965 Studebaker which was the color of phlegm had approached from within the parking lot as Leonard looked on with horror. The driver, one Agnes L. Penta, an irascible 94-year-old, was practiced in cutting corners as she approached stop signs. She’d been driving this way for what seemed like an eternity at least for any traffic she unfortunately encountered. As far as she was concerned, Leonard’s brand new Saab had no right to be where it was. Even its right to exist was questionable in her murky mind.

“I always stop at the stop sign when I shop at Nice Foods,” she told the police officer called to the scene, “I can’t help it if he was in my way. He hit my car. I had the right of way.”

Leonard had tensed his muscles when he saw the phlegm-colored Studebaker approach, and impact triggered a generalized pain almost immediately. But within minutes as Leonard’s sad Saab story was ending, he recalled California health insurance agent Matt Lockard and he managed a weak smile.

“You stupid ninny. Why are you smiling like a jackass?” Agnes screamed at Leonard while flashing what could only be described as her characteristic reptilian grin. At that precise instant, all Leonard could produce in response was an agonizing grimace accomplished while smiling because he now knew it annoyed the vicious woman.

When the phlegm-colored Studebaker and its despicable driver had begun to recede into Leonard’s memory, and after he’d been treated to alleviate the neck and back spasms caused by the accident, a more pleasant interlude occurred. Leonard found himself inside the office of California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard.

“You’re completely covered,” Matt said, “and your auto insurance covered the damage to your Saab. It’s fixed good as new. But that elderly driver …”

“I don’t blame her,” asserted Leonard, “Life’s too short.”

“Not for the woman who hit you,” replied Matt. “She’d take any moment she gets, and yours too.”

Go to Mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote and to learn more about California health insurance, California medicare supplements, California health insurance quotes.