Lexington Kentucky Personal Injury Law Blog

One of the key traits of a highly developed country is usually that the country has a low rate of pregnancy-related deaths, both for women and their children. However, the numbers in the United States are frightening, and they are only getting worse.

Per new reports after a government study, about 700 women lose their lives every year while they're pregnant, during delivery or from complications after delivery. The numbers continue to rise every year, as they have been doing for decades. African American women face the greatest risks.

Patients in Kentucky and throughout the country may see better outcomes if they opt for a robotic surgery. However, this type of surgery is often more technically challenging than an open surgery. Therefore, it is important that it be performed by a surgeon who has experience doing so. Ideally, it will also be done by someone who performs an adequate volume of a given procedure. This is because experienced surgeons are less likely to make a mistake.

By avoiding mistakes, it is likely that a patient will avoid some or all complications that could occur. When done correctly, the benefits for a patient who undergoes a robotic surgery include less time out of work and less physical disfigurement. Other benefits include a shorter recovery period as well as a lower chance of infection. Prior to agreeing to a robotic surgery, a patient should ask questions about the surgeon who will perform the procedure.

Fatal truck crashes are going up in Kentucky and across the U.S. There were 4,102 large truck crash fatalities in 2017, representing a 28 percent jump from 2009. Rear-end accidents are especially widespread, yet it is these types of accidents that can most easily be avoided with new safety technology, according to truck safety groups.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in particular, recommends that all heavy trucks be required to have forward crash warning and mitigation systems. These systems can alert drivers when advancing toward stationary or slow-moving objects. On at least 10 different occasions since the 1990s, the NTSB has made this recommendation to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, yet the latter has failed to propose any regulations.

Experts say that 45 percent of adverse medical events involve surgical patients. Of those events, 35 to 66 take place in the operating room. Kentucky residents should know that complications during surgery do necessarily develop because of any lack of technical skills on the part of the doctor. Rather, they can develop because surgeons fail to react to a situation in an appropriate way.

When things go wrong, surgeons need not only ability and ambition but also adaptability and humility. Part of this means admitting when they did something wrong. Another part is working calmly when under pressure.