The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

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Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that strikes the mesothelium, a thin layer of cells lining the internal organs. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the disease and affects the pleural lining of the lungs and accounts for over 70% of diagnosed cases. Pericardial mesothelioma affects the lining of the heart while peritoneal mesothelioma affects the abdominal tissues. Exposure to asbestos is a major risk factor for this disease.

Some warning signs of mesothelioma include shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing, wheezing or hoarseness, weight loss, abdominal swelling, anemia and fatigue and difficulty swallowing. Asbestos is found in many work environments and workers often bring it home to their families on their clothes, shoes and bodies, causing secondary contamination and exposure to the asbestos fibers.

Workers who may encounter exposure to asbestos fibers include those working in mines, factories, shipyards, railroads, construction sites, steel mills, power plants, oil refineries, chemical and cement plants and our nations’ schools.

If you are employed in an asbestos risk-related environment the mesothelioma attorneys at The Cochran Firm would like to talk to you if you have questions and concerns regarding this disease. Our attorneys are dedicated to obtaining fair and just financial compensation for our clients and will work quickly and effectively to do so.

Please contact the Dothan, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today if you suspect you are a victim of exposure to asbestos or have already been diagnosed with mesothelioma.

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Every year over sixty-five thousand people succumb to kidney failure. Dialysis acts as an artificial kidney, sustaining life for many Americans who would die without the treatments. However, there are thousands of documented incidents of kidney dialysis errors every year in the United States.

Hundreds of thousands of people must undergo kidney dialysis to stay alive, but these treatments are not without risk. Serious injuries and deaths have occurred unnecessarily because of medical negligence during kidney dialysis treatments.

Kidney dialysis errors typically involve medication errors, patient falls, vascular access-related incidents, dialyzer errors, excess loss of blood or prolonged bleeding, dialysis machine leaks, malfunctioning machine alarms, failure to clear cleaning solutions from dialysis machines, failure to properly monitor blood pressure and other vital signs and bloodstream infections due to contaminated lines or machinery.

If you or someone you know is presently receiving kidney dialysis and you have concerns about the quality of care you are receiving you should consult The Cochran Firm where an attorney with experience in kidney dialysis medical malpractice will evaluate your concerns and explain what options are available to you.

If you are a resident of the Dothan, Alabama area and you or someone you care about is experiencing a problem with kidney dialysis treatments, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential, no cost to you consultation with an experienced kidney dialysis error attorney to protect your legal rights and get the legal representation you deserve.

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Every day commuting back and forth to work or driving to a doctor's appointment, grocery shopping or dropping your children off at school is stressful enough, but when you add the danger inherent in a tired truck driver speeding to meet a deadline in an overloaded, poorly maintained, 40 ton truck in the lane next to you, the stress level rises to new heights.

If you are ever involved in an accident with a truck, protect your rights by gathering as much information about the accident as possible, and notify your own insurance company without delay; a delay in notifying your own insurance company may affect your claim. Do not allow the trucking company or insurance adjuster to choose your physician; you have the absolute right to choose your own doctor, and do not sign anything without the advice of your own legal representative.

Trucking companies have teams of lawyers and insurance adjusters on the payroll whose main goal is to protect the trucking company in the event of an accident and limit their financial and legal responsibility.

If you have been injured in an Alabama truck accident you can benefit from the experience of the truck accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm who will be aggressive in protecting your legal right, and willing to do everything they can to give you the legal representation and personal attention you deserve.

If you live in the Dothan, Alabama area, and you or a loved one has been the victim of an accident with a truck, please contact The Cochran Firm today and learn how we can help you recover financial compensation for your injuries and losses without delay.

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The fast pace, overcrowding and understaffing of emergency rooms in Alabama and throughout the country are responsible for seriously ill people sometimes being sent home with a misdiagnosis, a serious and often fatal occurrence.

The risks of going to the local emergency room, though well-known, must be put aside when you have no choice in the matter. Accidents, medical crises and health concerns come without warning in most cases and visits to the local emergency room are not by choice but by necessity. However, over 50% of all allegations of medical malpractice come from injuries suffered as a result of an emergency room visit.

Common emergency room medical malpractice incidents may include a delay in treatment or a failure to treat, medication errors, a wrong diagnosis, diagnostic testing and laboratory errors, and overall negligence on the part of healthcare professionals on staff there.

Emergency room errors can lead to medical complications and deaths from medication overdoses, infections contracted in the emergency room due to unsanitary conditions, and brain injuries due to the lack of oxygen.

Financial compensation for medical expenses both present and future, lost wages, rehabilitation costs and other damages may be awarded to victims of emergency room medical malpractice and their families.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of emergency room medical malpractice, please contact the Dothan, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm's experienced medical malpractice attorneys to get the legal representation to ensure justice is served and those responsible for your injuries are held accountable.

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Over three million Americans are injured in automobile accidents every year in the United States with injuries ranging from minor scrapes and bruises to life-altering, life-threatening and fatal injuries.

Typically, injuries sustained in an automobile accident are obvious, but another serious injury with possible life-long consequences is not so obvious to the casual observer and that is a so-called whiplash injury.

A whiplash injury occurs when the occupant of an automobile absorbs the energy produced from the impact of a collision that causes the head and neck to snap forwards and backwards in a whipping motion. This whipping motion results in trauma to the joints, discs, ligaments, muscles and nerves in that area.

Symptoms of a whiplash injury include headache, searing or aching pain, soreness, tenderness, swelling, muscle spasms, dizziness, loss of motion and nausea and often are not present immediately after the accident, but become apparent after 24 to 48 hours. If left untreated whiplash can lead to a long period of disability with symptoms lasting for weeks or months.

If you live in the Dothan, Alabama area and have been injured in an automobile accident, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation to learn how to proceed with a claim to recover damages for the injuries you have sustained.

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Property and business owners have a legal obligation to provide safe premises for customers, renters, and guests. If owners of businesses and properties ignore that legal obligation, innocent people can be seriously injured or killed and many others are put at risk.

Premises liability laws are in place to make certain property and business owners are held accountable when serious injuries or a fatality occurs as a result of their negligence. Some examples of premises liability negligence include negligent and inadequate security at a shopping mall or office building, construction site accidents, amusement park or theme park accidents, resort pool drowning and slip and fall accidents in restaurants or other businesses.

Premises liability cases allow payment of damages for pain and suffering, lost wages and medical expenses and may also financially compensate survivors in the event of a death caused by injuries sustained as a result of hazardous premises conditions.

If you have reason to believe a negligent property or business owner was responsible for injuries you or someone you love suffered, please contact the Dothan, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a consultation at no cost to you with an experienced premises liability attorney so you can be advised on how to proceed to protect your legal rights and obtain the financial compensation you are entitled to.

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Toxic torts are legal cases that refer to injuries caused by the exposure to toxic substances because of the negligence of chemical manufacturers, distributors or users of toxic chemicals. In a toxic tort, the people who were injured by exposure to the toxic substance are the plaintiffs and the people whose negligence caused the exposure and injuries are the defendants.

Some toxic substances involved in recent toxic tort cases include asbestos, pesticides, toxic waste products, paints, benzene and fertilizers. These toxic substances are found in the environment, home and workplace.

Diseases that can occur after exposure to toxic substances include, but are not limited to mesothelioma, silicosis, leukemia, lung diseases, aplastic anemia and Hodgkins disease.

Despite the difficulty of proving responsibility in a toxic tort case, the effort may gain you compensation for your pain and suffering, disabilities, medical expenses, emotional stress, loss of enjoyment of life or the death of a loved one. Proving responsibility can also result in protection for your community by forcing the polluters to stop their damaging activities and punishing them with large monetary losses.

If you know or suspect a toxic exposure in your environment, home or workplace has caused serious injury to you or someone you know, please contact the experienced toxic tort attorneys at The Cochran Firm in Dothan, Alabama today.

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When you or a loved one is sick or injured and you need medical treatment, it is only natural for you to assume you will receive the best care and treatment available to you and your loved one. Unfortunately, medical errors and mistakes are a fact of life in this country. Every day, thousands of Americans fall victim to medical negligence and malpractice.

Over 250,000 people die every year nationwide from the consequences of medical malpractice errors, such as unnecessary surgeries, medication errors, infections contracted in hospitals and instances of misdiagnosis, and delayed diagnosis.

Studies have shown that over 40% of medical malpractice claims are initiated due to a healthcare provider's inability to correctly diagnose a disease or condition. This failure to diagnose leads to delayed treatment, the incorrect treatment or no treatment, which can lead to a life-long disability or eventually, the death of the individual.

Breast cancer, lung cancer, heart attack, appendicitis, cervical and ovarian cancer are often misdiagnosed or at best, not diagnosed early enough to treat the disease it it's early stages when a successful outcome may be possible.

If you live in Dothan, Alabama or the surrounding area and you or someone you care about has been the victim of medical malpractice, please contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at the Dothan, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation to protect your legal rights and hold the responsible individuals accountable for your loss.

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Statistics for motorcycle accidents are shocking. One third of all motorcyclists killed were speeding, one half of all motorcyclists killed had consumed alcohol or drugs, and one out of four was driving with an invalid license. The greatest increase in fatal accidents was in the 50 year old and over age group.

The risks for motorcycle riders are many. There are road hazards such as potholes, oil slicks, puddles, debris and uneven pavement to contend with. Motorcycles are a smaller visual target and more likely to be unseen by other vehicles on the road, especially in inclement weather.

There are many contributory factors involved in motorcycle accidents, such as driver inexperience, road hazards, weather conditions and defective equipment. Sometimes dangerous or aggressive driving behaviors are at fault such as a failure to yield, failure to change lanes properly, failure to observe a safe distance, passing on the shoulder and weaving in and out of car lanes.

If you reside in Dothan, Alabama or the surrounding area and you or a loved one has been involved in an accident with a motorcycle, please contact the Dothan, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation at no cost to you to learn all about your legal rights.

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It is almost impossible for the American consumer to know if they have been sold a defective tire or bought a car with defective tires. The public depends on the integrity of tire manufacturers and retailers to provide well-made, safe tires for their families to ride on. However, defective tires are responsible for thousands of accidents, injuries and fatalities nationwide. Although millions of tires have been recalled, untold millions of defective tires are still being used throughout the country.

A tire failure is one of the most frightening things that can happen to a driver at highway speeds. Tire tread separation at highway speeds often causes the vehicle to rollover. Rollover crashes normally crush the occupants of the vehicle causing devastating injuries and deaths.

In the recent past, tire manufacturers have been found legally responsible for losses from automobile accidents caused by defective tires. Millions of dollars in compensation have been paid to victims and their families for injuries and deaths sustained in accidents caused by defective tires.

If you live in Dothan, Alabama or the surrounding area and you or someone you care about has been the victim of an automobile accident caused by a defective tire, please contact the Dothan, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation with an experienced defective tire attorney at no cost to you to protect your legal rights.

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In April of this year, an Alabama man lost control of his vehicle and ran it off the road. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from his truck. This accident resulted in his death. Alcohol is suspected to be the cause of the car accident.

Fortunately, this man did not claim the lives of others as well. However, he certainly paid the ultimate price for drinking and driving. He lost his life due to his inability to judge his own intoxication level. Many car accidents are the cause of someone else's negligence. Other reasons for car accidents are:

• Defective products such as seat belts and tires
• Defective automobile
• Defective roads
• Inattentive drivers
• Intoxicated drivers

What to do After an Overwhelming Car Accident

A car accident can be overwhelming and you may not know what your next steps should be. You know you are not at fault, but you still have questions. Some questions you will want answered may be:

• Who is responsible for paying my medical bills?
• Who will pay for the rental expenses and vehicle repairs?
• Should I see my doctor for a medical checkup after the accident?
• How will I know if the responsible driver has insurance or if I have adequate insurance?

Our Dothan Car Accident attorneys are here to help answer all of your questions and put your mind at ease. We will deal with the pushy insurance companies so you don't have to. Accidents happen and those at fault should be held responsible for your vehicle repairs, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.

If you have been involved in a car accident and need advice, please contact the Cochran Firm's Car Accident Attorneys located at the Dothan office for a confidential, no-cost consultation.

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There are thirty six million people in this country over the age of sixty five. Many of these older adults will require the services of an assisted living facility or a nursing home at some point in the future. While many of these facilities are staffed with dedicated, hard working and caring people, some older adults may find themselves vulnerable to various forms of neglect and abuse by an undertrained and uncaring staff at another facility.

These same older adults are often unable or unwilling to communicate their abuse to visiting family and friends for fear of retribution by their abusers. It is believed that elder abuse is often under reported for that reason. Estimates say almost one million senior citizens are the victims of nursing home abuse each year.

Add to that statistic that nursing homes have become a dumping ground for people with mental illness. Younger and stronger residents of nursing homes with depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are living next to frail senior citizens and sometimes lashing out at them. The National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform says the nursing homes are failing to provide a safe environment for the frail elderly population entrusted to their care.

If you live in Dothan, Alabama or the surrounding area and your loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, please contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney at The Cochran Firm Dothan, Alabama office today to schedule a confidential consultation at no cost to you to find out about your legal rights.

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