The recent court case, Ghiassi (Litigation guardian of) v. Singh 2017 ONSC 6541 focused on a rare, but serious complication of newborn jaundice; kernicterus. This case involved a preterm, male infant of East Indian descent who developed kernicterus in the hospital setting. The nurses were deemed liable for damages for failing to recognize and report signs of worsening jaundice. Newborn jaundice is common. It is, in fact, the most common newborn ailment requiring treatment. Babies are born with more red blood cells than adults, which gives them their red, ruddy color. These cells have a shortened lifespan and as they break down, bilirubin is produced as a natural byproduct. Bilirubin is an orange-yellow substance which can permeate the skin, eyes and inside of the mouth, turning them yellow, or jaundiced. You may be familiar with this process of cell breakdown if you’ve ever watched a bruise turn from red…

  This white paper is the third of three parts on the complex functions of brain, what happens when an injury is acquired and how to care for and manage a life-changing brain injury. BY LINDA SIMMONS, RN BScNConsultant and Cost of Future Care Expert, Connect Medical Legal Experts The prehospital care of a patient with a brain injury has a profound impact on the subsequent course of events and outcomes. Prehospital management refers to the initial resuscitation and interventions that stabilize the patient at the scene of the accident and on route to the hospital. Prehospital management requires timely and effective brain resuscitation, as the brain only has minimal reserves to meet ongoing metabolic needs. If resuscitation is insufficient because of reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) and decreased oxygen delivery, ischemia and hypoxia develop and can lead to secondary brain injury.

This white paper is the second of three parts on the complex functions of brain, what happens when an injury is acquired and how to care for and manage a life-changing brain injury. BY LINDA SIMMONS, RN BScN Consultant and Cost of Future Care Expert, Connect Medical Legal Experts TBI refers to any injury to the scalp, skull (cranium or facial bones) or the brain. Injury to the brain can be focal or diffuse. Focal injuries result in contusions, lacerations, or hemorrhages. The hemorrhages that can occur are epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, intracerebral hematoma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. The diffuse injury can cause a mild to severe concussion or diffuse axonal injury.

This white paper is the first of three parts on the complex functions of brain, what happens when an injury is acquired and how to care for and manage a life-changing brain injury. BY LINDA SIMMONS, RN BScN Senior Nurse Life Care Planner, Connect Medical Legal Experts This document will increase the health care professionals understanding of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). ABI is defined as damage to the brain that is acquired after birth. It can affect cognitive, physical, emotional, social, or independent functioning. ABI is an umbrella term used to describe all brain injuries. ABI can result from traumatic brain injury (i.e. accidents, falls, assaults, etc.) and non-traumatic brain injury (i.e. stroke, brain tumours, infection, poisoning, hypoxia, ischemia or substance abuse). The motor vehicle related accident clients that we at Connect Experts see with ABI have often resulted from a Traumatic Brain Injury and thus ABI’s that have resulted from a TBI will be the focus of this document.

The inside scoop on hospital triage Connect Experts explores the system used by nurses to assess and priorize ER patients It’s another packed evening in the hospital emergency room. You’re here with a painful cut on your hand, caused when you grabbed at a razor-sharp piece of falling metal tubing. You can’t help but notice that the busy waiting area is overflowing with patients and worried family members in equally dire straits. Next to you, a mom sits anxiously with her toddler, whose tears, flushed face and bleary eyes suggest she has a fever. Across the aisle, an elderly man is coughing loudly into a tissue (causing you to secretly hope his illness isn’t contagious). You’re called by the triage nurse, who tells you your swollen purple index finger should have been stitched days ago. She sends you back to the waiting room, smiling patiently as you ask how long…

When your case involves future costs of care, you need an expert to accurately assess your clients’ needs who understands the full spectrum and interplay of medical diagnoses, treatments, medications and client goals. Connect Experts has the perfect expert for this role; Nurse Life Care Planners.

Mrs. Jefferson* was just like so many other residents living in so many other long-term care homes in Ontario. In her mid eighties and suffering from dementia, she had moved into Happy Hollow* from her home. Over time, her condition had deteriorated to the point where she was no longer walking, communicating or helping with any of her activities of daily living.

In modern litigation, though trials are few and far between, the prospect of eventual trial continues to be the infrastructure around which cases are built. The steps in preparing an expert for trial ensure parties identify the issues in dispute and distill complex matters to the essence. While the specific nature of allowable communication between counsel and experts may differ by jurisdiction, universally the courts will be looking to the expert to be an impartial advisor. The expert's evidence will assist the court in understanding complex technical matters in the decision making process.

Two years ago, at a conference in Atlanta, a woman from Jamaica excitedly approached me when she learned that my company provided experts for medical malpractice cases. She had been searching for resources to help in her efforts to support victims of medical malpractice in her home country. She shared multiple stories of negligence that were almost unimaginable and confided that although many Jamaican doctors were educated to North American standards, their underfunded, undersupplied and poorly managed public health-care system was struggling greatly, leaving too many patients injured as a result. There was little recourse for injured patients and minimal accountability for health-care providers.

You've got chills -- they're multiplying. It's 3 a.m. and you've been tossing and turning for hours. An extra blanket could put the shivers to rest, but where's the nurse? And the chorus of snores from the next bed is competing with the attention-seeking rumble from your hungry stomach. Aren't hospitals supposed to be places of rest and recovery? Fear and uncertainty can amp up your stress levels and ruin your stay, but don't let them run the show. Our hospital insiders give you the behind-the-scenes scoop on how you can feel more comfortable and in control.