Falls In A Healthcare Setting Can Be Devastating

A three-judge Appeals Court panel reversed a Suffolk County judge’s dismissal of a suit alleging that nurse Orbelina Erazo, physical therapist Lauren O’Hara and their employer, Brigham & Women’s Faulkner Hospital, failed to properly assess the fall risks for patient Elizabeth Owens, which caused her to fall and fracture her hip following hip surgery. Read […]

Service of Process Problems Are Real: But I Know Where Shaq Was Last Night.

From Law360 Shaquille O’Neal won four championship rings during his legendary basketball career, and now he’s chasing a legal accomplishment that’s just as elusive: successfully avoiding service long enough to have a civil suit against him dismissed. For months, O’Neal has dodged attempt after attempt by process servers to formally notify him about a proposed […]

Defense Raises New Argument After Trial To Escape $12M Verdict, Blaming a “Prejudicial” Animation

Evidentiary issues during the trial need to be preserved in order to be protected on appeal. In oral argument before a three-judge panel in Miami, Discount Rock & Sand’s attorney Andrea Cox told the appeals court that the district court judge erred in allowing jurors to view what she called a “horror show of an […]

The ‘Win At Any Cost’ Mentality of Insurance Defense

Over one hundred thousand dollars in sanctions upheld against an insurance defense lawyer for deliberately poisoning a trial to benefit his client. And it worked – at least for his client, if not for him. I am not surprised in the least. Plaintiffs: Choose your lawyer carefully, and this won’t happen. Hurt was representing the […]

Federal Preeemption: The Cost-Effective Way For Special Interests To Lock You Out of Court

The 11th Circuit (Atlanta) just created conflict with other jurisdictions in ruling that federal law “preempts” or blows up negligence claims against brokers. Preemption is the legal rationale that courts use to block victims of torts from suing rental car companies and other large corporate interests that successfully lobby Congress for special protection. In Aspen Amer., […]

Quality Fraud and Patient Safety

Doctors who prescribe to people they’ve never met and care they never give. These claims go back to a Civil War era law designed to prevent the Government from being overcharged for military supplies. Now, the DOJ brings in billions of dollars every year for healthcare fraud. Here’s the link Physicians facing prison, fines, for […]

Quality Fraud: The Insurance Industry Gets It All Wrong

After lobbying legislatures for “tort reform” for decades, the number of medical malpractice claims – especially what they used to call “frivolous” claims – has gone down. Has that lowered rates for physicians? Of course not. But instead of accepting responsibility, the insurance industry now blames “nuclear claims” and other imaginary foes to explain their […]

South Florida Nursing School Sold Thousands of Fake Diplomas

This takes unlicensed practice to another, putting it on steroids. Unanswered in this story is how many patients were harmed by these unscrupulous academics and the fraudsters they set loose. Two nursing school operators in the Fort Lauderdale area have fessed up to peddling fake diplomas to thousands of students who could then avoid completing […]

When Your Lawyer Walks Into The Courthouse and You’re Going To Jail

Sure, its superficial but there’s a reason things become a meme. In every endeavor, the most effective participants are often the best prepared. That preparation often includes taking care to protect a routine of putting your best professional foot forward – regardless of the situation. Make it real – every time – and expect nothing […]