Recent Blog Posts


What is Wisconsin's Move Over Law?

Wisconsin's Move Over Law requires drivers to move over or slow down for stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights.  The purpose of the law is to protect people who work on the side of the road, such as law enforcment, emergency responders and maintencance workers.  The law requires that drivers must move out of the closest lane to the stopped emergency vehicle.  A driver must also reduce their speed until they are past the emergency vehicle.  If a safe lane change…

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Is a Physician's Assistant Subject to Malpractice Liablity?

A physician's assistant (PA) can be subject to malpractice liability.  Like a physician, a PA is a medical professional who provides medical services.  A PA is held to the standard of care of a reasonably competent PA under similar circumstances.  If a PA fails to meet the standard of care and their actions result in harm to the patient, a PA can be held legally responsible for medical malpractice.  

Additionally, a PA must work within the scope of their…

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Seeking Adequate Medical Care after a Car Collision

A person in a car crash often does not know how badly they are hurt.  In some instances, the injury is easily identified.  In other cases, a person may not know immediately just how badly they were hurt at the time of the collision.  A very common example is a person who does not know that they hit their head on something at the time of the collision until they notice blood or days later notice a bump on their head.  That is why at Herrick & Hart we always recommend…

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Identify the Dog and its Owner

When bitten by a dog, the first thing a person should do is seek appropriate medical treatment.  After they are sure the bite is properly cared for the next step is to identify the dog and its owner.  At first glance, this may seem like it will be an easy task.  However, in many situations this gets complicated very quickly.  After a dog bites, many individuals will begin to deny ownership of the dog or to shift blame onto another once an injury occurs.  The task of…

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Does a Doctor Have a Duty to Review Past Medical Records?

Doctors have a critical responsibility to review a patients' past medcial records and take them into account when providing treatment to a patient.  The failure of a doctor to review past medical records can lead to serious and even deadly consequences for the patient.  A doctor who disregards or ignores a patient's medical history puts the patient at risk by not having all of the information needed to make a good decision about medical care.

A doctor not only needs to…

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Collisions Under the Influence of THC

In Wisconsin, the debate will continue in the future over the legalization of THC.  However, for now THC remains illegal.  A driver that causes a collision under the influence can be held civilly liable as well as criminally responsible for causing a collision and injury.

After a collision where the use of THC is suspected, law enforcment may seek a blood sample from the driver.  If this blood sample is positive for THC, that result may become important evidence in a…

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Cruise Control Causing Collisions

Cruise control can potentially lead to car collisions in several different ways.  In some cases, the cruise control can malfunction.  The malfunction can lead to unintended acceleration that can lead to serious collisions and fatalities  Additionally, drivers who use cruise control believe that the system will prevent crashes.  This can lead to driver overconfidence and lead them to set the cruise control at a higher speed than the legal speed limit.  Further, the…

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Failing to Identify the Interactions of Drugs

Drug interaction malpractice occurs when healthcare providers fail to identify the harmful interactions between medications that a patient is taking.  The failure to identify the interactions between medications can have severe and even deadly consequences for the patient.

A doctor and a pharmacist have duty to review a patient's medical history including the current medications the patient is on before prescribing a new drug.  They are expected to carefullly assess the…

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Older Drivers and Car Collisions

The Centers for Disease Control reports that older drivers aged 70 and over have a higher death rate per 1000 car crashes than younger drivers.  Further, about 20 older adults are killed on the roadways of the United States each day.  In addition, about 540 older adults are injured on the roadways each day.  

Older drivers often cause car…

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Do I Have Another Claim Besides Worker's Compensation?

If you have been injured at work, someone has probably told you that your only claim will be against the worker's compensation carrier.  An employee should keep in mind that worker's compensation is the exclusive remedy an employee may have against an employer.  There are many other exceptions where a claim may exist outside the realm of worker's compensation.  One exception is where the injury is due to a defective product.  In this case, the employee may be able to bring…

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