From the monthly archives:

October 2009

“The Real Defendent” – The (Comforting) Truth About Personal Injury Lawsuits

by admin on October 29, 2009

in Legal

- By Radhika Puri, personal injury law Expert on JustAnswer

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Did you ever hear the one about the Cuban, the Russian, and the American?

They were travelling together on a train. The Cuban brought cigars, the Russian brought vodka, and the American brought his lawyer. The Cuban shared his cigars with everyone and tossed his remaining cigars out the window. He asked why. The Cuban stated that there were plenty of them in his country and he could get more. The Russian shared his vodka with everyone and tossed the surplus out the window. When asked why, he stated that Russia was overflowing with vodka and he could get more.

I bet you can guess what happens next. The American tosses his lawyer out the window and says we have plenty in my country and I can get more. Everyone says Americans are too litigious.

We are reluctant to invite our neighbors to our homes. They could injure themselves on our property. Then we will lose our homes due to lawsuits. Pundits and pontificators blame malpractice suits for our healthcare crisis. They say there is a shortage of qualified doctors as a result.

Here is the truth. Most “lawsuits” are not really lawsuits, but claims handled by a clerk. How is this possible? If there is a car accident, the at-fault driver’s auto insurance company pays the damages. They even hire a lawyer to defend the driver. Love that gecko! If someone gets hurt on your property, homeowners’ insurance pays. What if someone falls and gets hurt at a store? Premises liability insurance pays the medical bills. If an employee gets hurt on the job, they file for workers’ comp. Guess what? This is insurance and it pays medical bills and lost wages. If a doctor, dentist, or even a lawyer makes a mistake, there is malpractice coverage.  Yes, you can even bring a claim against the very lawyer who handles your claim. Insurance pays for it!

You may ask yourself, does this payment happen by magic? Is there an insurance check fairy? Here is what happens: The injured party’s lawyer will contact the other party’s insurance adjuster. They will try to negotiate an out of court settlement. In fact, most cases are resolved this way. A lawyer may have a hundred active case files. By the end of the year, sixty of these cases will be resolved this way. Do the math!

If you anticipate being sued, don’t worry. Get good insurance.

–

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The Pup Lump: What it Means, What to Do

by admin on October 12, 2009

in Answer of the Week,Experts on JA,Pets

DogObedienceTrainingQ.  I found a lump on my dog’s body.  What should I do?

(by Dr. Evan Keller, Expert on JustAnswer)

A. When a lump shows up on a dog, we can never be certain what it is merely by looking at it. There are many things it could be, but it is most likely an infection or a tumor.

Infections are typically sore and tender.  However, if your pet has a general infection in their body, it could be a swollen lymph node.  Also, your pup would tend to have a fever and not be feeling so good.

The other concern is a tumor.  There can be benign (not really bad) tumors and malignant (bad types that can continue to grow locally or can spread to other parts of the body). Dogs very often get a benign tumor called a lipoma.  This is just a bunch of fat cells and really never causes them too much of a problem.  They can also get cystic tumors that again don’t typically cause a serious problem. Of more malignant (bad) type tumors we worry about sarcomas (a type of cell), lymphoma (a blood cell tumor) and hemangiosarcoma (a blood vessel tumor).  However, there are many others.

What we typically do is examine the dog to see if there are any lumps or bumps anywhere else inside or outside of their body.

Then we recommend doing what is called “a fine needle aspirate.”  This involves taking a needle and quickly sticking it into the lump.  Then we look under the microscope to see what the cells are.  This can often give us pretty good information about what is going on.  In most cases, the pet can just be held (some need to be sedated, but usually not), and it takes less than 20 seconds to get the sample.

Sometimes, this does not work and we need to actually do more of a biopsy.  This may require sedation or full anesthesia.  But this step may be important to find out definitively what it is.

At this stage, I would strongly recommend you bring your dog to the vet so they can help you determine what it is — and what you should do next.

I’m am hoping for the very best for your pup!

Dr. Keller

Got a question in veterinary or any one of 100+ other categories? Visit us online: www.justanswer.com. We’re here for you 24/7/365.

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Love is in the Air at JustAnswer – What Makes This Company So Special

October 1, 2009

[by Lisa K., "Vice Princess of Everything," JustAnswer.com] A friend of mine was married this past weekend. Neither the bride nor groom has much money so I offered to handle all the flowers and the hors d’oeuvres because yes, I am THAT insane. And like all best laid plans, mine went to hell in a hand basket. The [...]

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