tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12080807645163918252013-05-05T07:15:16.243-04:00All the medical malpractice news and resources that are fit to clickM Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-71057689449892882692013-04-02T07:30:00.000-04:002013-04-02T07:30:01.645-04:002013-04-02T07:30:01.645-04:00

The CT Mirror reported yesterday that attorneys are pushing for changes in that state's medical malpractice lawsuit procedures, specifically in how cases come to court. "Since 2005, a patient wanting to claim damages from a doctor for alleged negligence must have his or her case reviewed by a similar health care provider, who will certify whether the claim has merit. If the patient can't get

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-17331986052728104972013-04-01T13:37:00.004-04:002013-04-01T15:28:44.527-04:002013-04-01T15:28:44.527-04:00

As reported by St. Louis Public Radio, The Missouri House has passed Legislation to reinstate medical malpractice damage caps that was "tossed out last year by the Missouri Supreme Court." (The court found that the cap law violated a right to a jury trial.) You can link to the news item here on St. Louis Public Radio. The Springfield News-Leader also carried this report, stating: "The bill

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-33687933232342491682013-03-19T11:15:00.001-04:002013-03-19T11:15:25.188-04:002013-03-19T11:15:25.188-04:00

We want to hear about changes to laws governning medical malpractice in your state. Please send news articles, press releases and links to maryrkennedy -at- gmail.com. Or, add information directly through our commenting system. Here's a recent round-up: Oregon - Governor Kitzhaber will sign a bill passed by the House where, through the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, patients and providers

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-6367782774323490692013-02-04T14:03:00.000-05:002013-02-04T14:16:35.320-05:002013-02-04T14:16:35.320-05:00

What do you think about this type of infographic? Is it a useful communications tool? Does it get across the point that is trying to be made? It is published by the Cunningham Group, and designed by SteamDriven. "Using data culled from multiple sources we compiled an over view of the payouts for medical malpractice awards based on 2011 and 2012 data." Could the publisher please provide the

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-65733330031852366252013-01-31T14:03:00.000-05:002013-01-31T14:03:00.613-05:002013-01-31T14:03:00.613-05:00

An article published on Need to Know on PBS on changes to the medical malpractice system, included a table that summarized selected tort reforms enacted since 1986 and which states have enacted them. The reforms that it included are: Modify Joint-and-Several Liability Modify the Collateral-Source Rule Limit Noneconomic Damages Limit Punitive Damages Click here to read the article and view the

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-88597091970527430032013-01-28T13:34:00.003-05:002013-01-28T13:34:51.123-05:002013-01-28T13:34:51.123-05:00

The Boston Globe Magazine yesterday ran an article that follows up on our previous post on the attempt in Massachusetts to control costs with its medical mistake DA&O law (disclosure, apology and offer). The article by Dr. Darshak Sanghavi is headlined, Why is it so hard for doctors to apologize? Fixing a system built on blame and revenge will require bold ways of analyzing mistakes and a radical

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-34010962932228186602012-08-28T08:22:00.000-04:002012-08-28T08:22:00.335-04:002012-08-28T08:22:00.335-04:00

A newly enacted law in Massachusetts will adopt the "disclosure, apology and offer (DA&O)" approach to help resolve malpractice cases. The Healthcare Cost Control Bill recently passed by the Massachusetts legislature and signed by Gov. Deval Patrick on August 6 contains specific language that facilitates a DA&O approach to medical malpractice claims.Under the DA&O model healthcare professionals

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-54513430774174530602012-04-27T07:55:00.000-04:002012-04-27T07:55:00.158-04:002012-04-27T07:55:00.158-04:00

Former NH Superior Court and Supreme Court judge Chuck Douglas has weighed in on the controversial SB 406 a bill to provide "early offer" settlements as a way to expedite medical malpractice settlements. According to Douglas in an opinion piece in SeacoastOnline.com, the legislation, "runs counter to the way we value life in this state. Under the proposal, a hospital or other provider can

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-78689653646056928662012-04-25T19:39:00.000-04:002012-04-26T19:40:32.867-04:002012-04-26T19:40:32.867-04:00

A coalition of seven Massachusetts hospitals are undertaking an intiative to transform a culture of "secrecy and denial" regarding medical errors according to a report in The Boston Globe. The hospitals in the coalition include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield,

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-74387015284952986182012-03-20T08:01:00.006-04:002012-03-20T08:01:01.216-04:002012-03-20T08:01:01.216-04:00

Usually when reporting medical malpractice verdicts and settlements it is the phrase 'wrongful death' that comes up, not 'wrongful birth'. But a rare 'wrongful birth' trial reached a conclusion for the parents of child who was born with Downs Syndrome claiming doctors for medical negligence in pre-natal care, in the amount of $2.9 million for the lifetime care of the child. See article on

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-46750696202186852592012-03-19T15:32:00.002-04:002012-03-19T15:32:45.296-04:002012-03-19T15:32:45.296-04:00

In today's The Hill's Healthwatch the article — State lawmakers blast House GOP's medical malpractice reform bill - mentions a letter from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), expressing strong, bipartisan opposition to attaching federal medical malpractice legislation to the Medicare accountability bill as a "State's rights issue." "Medical malpractice, product liability and

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-37912469841733135812012-03-11T18:46:00.001-04:002012-03-11T18:50:19.316-04:002012-03-11T18:50:19.316-04:00

Every time surgeons operate, they're betting their skills are better than the brain tumor, the faulty heart valve, the fractured femur. Sometimes, they're wrong. At Chelsea General, surgeons answer for bad outcomes at the Morbidity and Mortality conference, known as M & M. This extraordinary peek behind the curtain into what is considered the most secretive meeting in all of medicine is the back

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-28424569548164612672012-02-06T21:52:00.000-05:002012-02-06T21:52:25.526-05:002012-02-06T21:52:25.526-05:00

Here’s what Consumer Reports and Dr. Peter Pronovost, senior vice president for patient safety and quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine, say patients can do to keep themselves safe when they go to a hospital. Do your homework. Go to the Web sites Hospital Compare and the Joint Commission and look up hospitals in your Zip code. Based on that information, ask your doctor which ones they trust. Ask a

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-12161257263151617512011-09-19T13:18:00.000-04:002011-09-19T13:18:07.323-04:002011-09-19T13:18:07.323-04:00

Headlines out of Allentown, PA's The Morning Call, indicate a medical malpratice lawsuit by a woman who lost both legs due to infection while under care the care of a home care nurse, has been awarded $23 million by a jury. According to the report: "The medical malpractice verdict, among the highest ever in the county, came after attorneys [the plantiff] argued that her home-care nurse failed

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-90515252704597794352011-08-31T22:43:00.002-04:002011-08-31T22:46:22.135-04:002011-08-31T22:46:22.135-04:00

Breaking news via Law Links Health Links: Lubin & Meyer announced on its Twitter page tonight that they had won a jury verdict in a case involving the death of an 8-day old baby. After much searching and hand-ringing we found the first report providing more details on the case in the Boston Globe. According to a report in the White Coats Blog, the award was $7 million — $3.5 million for each

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-27340100770886139662011-08-19T09:10:00.002-04:002011-08-19T09:22:25.376-04:002011-08-19T09:22:25.376-04:00

Kaiser Health News reports on the findings of a study published this month by the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that "only one in five malpractice lawsuits results in a payout. The authors conclude that the truth behind these numbers is complicated." The study is Malpractice Risk According to Physician Specialty, Anupam B. Jena, M.D., Ph.D., Seth Seabury,

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-12942489785933722262011-07-18T08:41:00.000-04:002011-07-18T08:41:00.782-04:002011-07-18T08:41:00.782-04:00

According to a report in the Times-Herald Record, an Orange County, New Jersey jury has reached a verdict in the case of a critical-care physician and nurse at Bon Secours Community Hospital accused of a medical error causing a woman to suffer a brain injury and became severely disabled. The jury's damage award includes $19.5 million for future medical and rehabilitation services for the patient

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-9535454156281813402011-07-17T10:39:00.000-04:002011-07-17T10:39:20.037-04:002011-07-17T10:39:20.037-04:00

CHICAGO, IL — Hospital-based pathology groups and physicians in Illinois have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate, on constitutional grounds, Illinois legislation designed to shift the burden of absorbing certain patient-related costs from insurers to practitioners of only a few specifically-enumerated medical specialties. The Statute is Illinois Public Act 96-1523, and you can

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-83893148590588586342011-07-08T16:48:00.000-04:002011-07-08T16:48:39.575-04:002011-07-08T16:48:39.575-04:00

Outpatient electronic prescribing systems don’t cut out the common mistakes made in manual systems, suggests research published online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA). And not all systems are the same: some perform worse than others, the study shows. The rapid adoption of electronic prescribing systems has in part been fuelled by the belief that they

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-8727356810707711732011-05-02T20:41:00.001-04:002011-05-02T20:42:03.119-04:002011-05-02T20:42:03.119-04:00

Medical Malpractice Law News seeks to aggregate news and trends on medical malpractice topics including mentions of significant settlements and trial verdicts in your state. Please forward news releases or a summary of key points with credible links to confirm your news. We will consider using your submissions, but reserve the right to edit or turn it down based on relevance to our audience and

M Kennedy, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038198296544009549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-33056419700124770642011-04-08T21:23:00.001-04:002011-04-08T21:25:06.260-04:002011-04-08T21:25:06.260-04:00

A wrongful death medical malpractice trial that ended in a hung jury a year ago, this time ended in a jury awarding "...$3.5 million in general damages, including pain and suffering, and more than $1 million in economic damages," according to the Pasadena Star-News. See article: La Canada Flintridge physician loses medical malpractice case - Pasadena Star-News.

Malpractice News Editornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-26898310669714439672011-03-26T10:48:00.001-04:002011-03-26T10:49:27.353-04:002011-03-26T10:49:27.353-04:00

In an article about New York's debate over medical malpractice caps, the New York Times looks at California's experience with caps, writing: "...states that have similar caps in place offer cautionary evidence about the big savings for health care providers that such limits are believed to produce. In 1975, California lawmakers approved a $250,000 cap on so-called noneconomic damages

Malpractice News Editornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-57995918095618089452011-03-22T16:42:00.003-04:002011-03-22T22:50:27.181-04:002011-03-22T22:50:27.181-04:00

The Allentown, PA Morning Call published a lengthy article by Tim Darragh on wrong-site surgery in Pennsylvania. The report titled, 'Never events' happen dozens of times a year, starts with this lead in... "More than five times a month, every month, a doctor in Pennsylvania commits one of the medical establishment's greatest taboos — working on the wrong part of a patient's body, or even the

Malpractice News Editornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-18206876730411949032011-03-20T23:27:00.000-04:002011-03-20T23:27:12.256-04:002011-03-20T23:27:12.256-04:00

New London, Connecticut's Day.com carries an editorial by John Foley, a former cardiologist, regarding the importance of 'safe harbor' offered by adhering to evidence-based medicine practices. The state's SustiNet legislation recently had the safe harbor language remo which has physicians up in arms. Click here to read more on what's happening on this issue.

Malpractice News Editornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208080764516391825.post-1662322949956246642011-03-14T11:55:00.002-04:002011-08-19T09:20:46.283-04:002011-08-19T09:20:46.283-04:00

A recent lawsuit filed against Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston provides the family of a woman who died as the result of a medical error with an opportunity to push for changes in hospital policies. The family's attorney Drew Meyer said in a Fox News interview that what the family is pushing for "is some recognition by Mass General that they are changing their policies." See video below..

Malpractice News Editornoreply@blogger.com0