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Personal Injury Law

Medical Malpractice Law News

Tracks News and Trends in Medical Malpractice Law in United States.
By Mary R. Kennedy

Post Frequency: 9.8/day

Last Entry: October 03, 2020 at 00:40:04

Pittsburgh Med-Mal Jury Finds Hospital Negligent, Awards $0 Damages

Posted on July 28, 2008
This via Law.com's The Legal Intelligencer... "Pittsburgh attorneys are seeking a new trial in a medical malpractice case in which a jury found a hospital negligent in a patient's death but awarded $0 survival damages because the jury said "no amount of damages will adequately punish" the hospital...

Ouch! Surgeon Apologizes for Operating on Wrong Side

Posted on July 22, 2008
To err is human; to apologize divine? A surgeon in Boston recently operated on the wrong side of a patient (see Boston Globe blog entry: Surgeon operates on patient's wrong side) despite much effort by the industry and Beth Deaconess Medical Center to avoid just this type of medical error through use of a "time out" and other practices and procedures...

ABA Medical Malpractice Media Kit - Good Backgrounder

Posted on July 15, 2008
While these resources are not extremely fresh, they are part of the current ABA media kit on medical malpractice. This mini-site includes, ABA commentary and policy/letters as well links to resources including, but not limited to: Medical Malpractice FAQThe ABA on Federal Legislation to Limit a Patient?s Right to CompensationA Harvard School of Public Health study that Casts Doubt on Claims That

RI Jury Awards $2 Million for Medical Malpractice

Posted on June 14, 2008
PROVIDENCE ? A jury has awarded $2 million to a Warwick, RI, man who claimed he suffered brain damage due to substandard care after open heart surgery at Rhode Island Hospital. A Superior Court jury awarded him $2 million following nearly two days of deliberation and a 19-day trial, according to this Providence Journal report...

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Top Med Mal Verdicts & Settlements in MA for 2008*

Posted on June 13, 2008
This via Law Links | Health Links: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has compiled its Top Verdicts & Settlements for 2008 (* as of its June 2, 2008 issue) and medical malpractice lawsuits are again prominent. Four of the top five settlements were medical malpractice cases: $6 million for birth injury $5 million for delay in diagnosis of cancer $5 million for misdiagnosed cardiac arrest $4...

Milwaukee Jury Awards $10 Million in Hospital Malpractice

Posted on June 06, 2008
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on a jury award for a man with multiple sclerosis who suffered injury as the result of a spinal injection while in the hospital. According to the report, nearly half the award is for pain and suffering. It is interesting to note that the injury occurred shortly before a $750,000 cap on damages for pain and suffering went into effect...

North Carolina To Publish Med Mal Data?

Posted on June 01, 2008
The News & Observer reports that the North Carolina Medical Board proposes posting physician malpractice data to the web in an article: Doctors fight malpractice Web site. "The Web site would note that malpractice payments don't always suggest negligence...

New York Hospital Ordered to Pay $17M for Injury to Mother During Caesarean

Posted on May 28, 2008
ROCHESTER, N.Y. ? Legal Newsline reports that A New York jury ordered Strong Memorial Hospital to pay a former patient more than $17 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The case involved a woman who claimed a Caesarean delivery damaged her organs...

Jury Awards $4.45M for Medical Malpractice by ER Doc in Indiana

Posted on May 25, 2008
HAMMOND, IN ? The Times of Munster Indiana (May 20, 2008) reports that a jury awared $4.45 million to a family after finding an emergency doctor responsible for medical malpractice in the death of 45-year-old man who "died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm about 12 hours after being discharged from St...

State Roundup: Medical Malpractice Laws

Posted on May 14, 2008
Louisiana: The Louisiana House rejected legislation that would have expanded coverage under the state's medical malpractice laws, reports the Baton Rouge Advocate. At issue was language that included in the definition of malpractice, "problems that occur when transporting or monitoring patients as well as failure to attend to patients' personal hygiene," according to the Kaiser Daily Health

Access To Medical Records A Problem Many Patients Say

Posted on April 30, 2008
According to an article in USA TODAY, a common complaint among patients and families nationwide is, "It can be difficult to obtain medical records from hospitals and other treatment facilities after something goes wrong." In 2006, USA TODAY created a Patient Safety website (patientsafety...

Busy Week for Boston Med Mal Firm

Posted on March 09, 2008
Boston malpractice law firm Lubin & Meyer had two verdicts make headlines this week. Both are considered to be among the largest verdicts for 2008 in NH and MA respectively... MANCHESTER, NH ? (March 8, 2008) Blinded man awarded $1.75m via New Hampshire Union Leader "The failure of a Concord emergency room surgeon to stabilize an accident victim before surgery resulted in one of the largest jury

Massachusetts: Medical Malpractice Statute of Repose Doesn't Apply to Fraud Claim

Posted on March 02, 2008
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports that a lawsuit against a doctor and nurse can go forward..."A doctor and a nurse who allegedly falsified medical records to hide evidence of malpractice during the delivery of a child could be sued even though the seven-year statute of repose for medical negligence claims had run, the Appeals Court has ruled...

Rhode Island Considers Bill To Track Medical Mistakes

Posted on February 26, 2008
PROVIDENCE ? The Providence Journal reports today on legislation proposed in Rhode Island that will track medical errors."... state lawmakers from both parties, backed by much of the medical community, are proposing a system to investigate and track errors and close calls at hospitals and nursing homes, by creating a Patient Safety Organization...

Will Binding Arbitration Replace Med-Mal Lawsuits?

Posted on February 18, 2008
Found via Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report:"The use of binding arbitration, rather than the court system, to resolve medical malpractice claims has become more common, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. According to the Inquirer, supporters maintain that binding arbitration is "faster, cheaper and fairer than trials," but opponents "say the secretive system can be weighted against consumers" and it can be "harder to track complaints or build legal precedents" through arbitration...

Should I Sue? Examining the Complex Question and the Role Apologies Play in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Posted on February 05, 2008
WBUR examines the medical apologies issue: On WBUR, a Boston NPR station, Radio Boston host David Boeri examines the topic of medical apologies. The February 1, 2008 show overview reads, "Some patients who have been harmed during medical procedures are opting not to sue, but to talk with the medical team responsible for the harm...

Operating Room Fall Causes Lawsuit in Massachusetts

Posted on January 31, 2008
A Massachusetts family has filed a lawsuit after a women falls off an operating table following hip surgery. According to an article in the Boston Globe, the woman "fell, buttocks first, through a gap in an orthopedic surgical table on Oct. 6 after a nurse removed a safety strap around her torso as medical staff prepared to transfer her to a hospital bed, according to an investigative report by the state Department of Public Health...

Insurance Department Issues Second Annual Ohio Medical Liability Closed Claim Report

Posted on January 22, 2008
COLUMBUS ? The Ohio Department of Insurance has issued its second annual Ohio Medical Liability Closed Claim Report, shows a total of 4,004 medical malpractice claims were closed in 2006. The average paid per claim was $288,080.Some key findings in the report include:Total Claims: 4,006 claims reported for 2006 by 93 entities...

Medical Errors: Informative Web Site

Posted on January 17, 2008
Bookmark this: A wealth of information related to Medical Errors & Patient Safety courtesy of the US government. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality web site with the mission of improving care and reducing errors...

State Roundup on Medical Malpractice Developments from Kaisernetwork.org

Posted on January 04, 2008
More from Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report's State Watch:"Indiana: The rates that physicians pay to participate in the state Patient's Compensation Fund will decrease by 19.1% next year, and the rates that hospitals pay will decrease by 1.3%, according to the Indiana Department of Insurance, the Indianapolis Star reports...

Defibrillation Shock Comes Too Late for Some in Hospitals

Posted on January 04, 2008
In Hospitals Do Not Deliver Defibrillation Shock Within Recommended Two Minutes in 30% of Cardiac Arrests, Study Finds, Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report today describes a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that..."70% of participants received defibrillation to restart their hearts within the recommended time of less than two minutes after their cardiac arrest, with a survival rate of 39%...

More on Medical Error Mea Culpas

Posted on January 04, 2008
This New York Times article written by Sandeep Jauhar, MD, is a personal account of a case trying to diagnose a man's chest pains. In the end he misses the diagnosis, but the patient keeps him as his cardiologist for his personal attention. It presents the physician's side of the medical error situation...

Looking At Causes of Medical Errors and How to Fix

Posted on December 12, 2007
Nashville, TN (PRWEB) December 11, 2008 ? Administrators of healthcare agencies are no-doubt familiar with the Institute of Medicine's much publicized report, To Err Is Human; Building a Safer Health System, which found that preventable medical errors account for at least 44,000 and possibly as high as 98,000 deaths each year...

Massachusetts Supreme Court Says Doctor's Liability Goes Beyond Patient

Posted on December 10, 2007
From The Boston Globe today: "BOSTON ? A doctor who failed to warn his patient about the potential side effects of medication can be held liable for the man's car crash that killed a 10-year-old boy, the state's highest court ruled Monday in the first such decision to make doctors responsible for harm to nonpatients...

Romney Raises Malpractice Caps As Campaign Issue

Posted on November 24, 2007
Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has raised the issue of medical malpractice caps as part of his campaign... Link here for more from The Associated Press.

Pennsylvania Jury Awards $3 Million for Sinus Infection Misdiagnosis

Posted on November 24, 2007
In today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Jury awards $3 million in malpractice suit for sinuses treated with steroids, not antibiotic...The case involved a woman who visited her family doctor's office, reporting having headaches and nasal discharge ? "symptoms consistent with a sinus infection," according to the report...

Massachusetts Jury Verdict - Medical Malpractice

Posted on November 24, 2007
The Lowell Sun reports on a case in Lowell Superior Court involving a woman who died 19 days after having surgery to remove ovarian cysts in a wrongful death lawsuit, calling it "one of the largest jury verdicts in the Merrimack Valley [Massachusetts]...

Ruling on Med Mal Caps: Award Limits Unconstitutional

Posted on November 14, 2007
The Chicago Tribune today reports on the controversy over limits on medical malpractice awards in the article: Judge rejects medical suit caps, Cook County ruling calls award limits unconstitutional...

Medical Malpractice News Roundup

Posted on November 02, 2007
From the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, a summary of recent developments to medical malpractice law in three states. Briefly,"Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Medical Society has asked state lawmakers to pass a bill sponsored by state Sen. Robert O'Leary (D) under which plaintiffs could not use statements of guilt or admissions of error by physicians as evidence in malpractice lawsuits, the Boston Globe reports...

Emotional Costs of Medical Errors - Patient, Family, Physician

Posted on October 30, 2007
An editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine examines the issue of medical errors, in "Guilty, Afraid, and Alone ? Struggling with Medical Error," in its October 25, 2007 edition. Tom Delbanco, MD and Sigall K. Bell, MD, ask "How can we characterize and address the human dimensions of medical error so that patients, families, and clinicians may reach some degree of closure and move toward forgiveness?""In interviews that our group conducted for a documentary film, patients and families that had been affected by medical error illuminated a number of themes...

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