In the last weekly blog, we learned that medical error is the third leading cause of death: “Metrics For A New ‘Patient Centric Safety Movement’”. Since the IOM and Johns-Hopkins studies referenced there, the news has grown worse: The Washington Post now reports medical errors are the third leading cause of death. Quality Fraud is a […]
Daraprim was first made available in 1952. It treats toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis, diseases caused by eating undercooked food and other digestive problems – often with no detectable symptoms. Turing Pharma, operated by Martin Shkreli, bought this old drug in August of 2015, immediately jacking up the price of Daraprim from about $13 a pill to […]
In 1999, HHS announced 371 criminal indictments for health care billing fraud, up 61% from the previous year[1]. DOJ convicted 396 Defendants for health care fraud, filed 2,278 civil matters relating to health care fraud and excluded 2,976 providers from billing Federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid as a result of fraud[2]. These cases included […]
“…patients have to learn to diagnose themselves before they know which specialist to call.” The Problem On November 13, 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation notified 21st Oncology (based here in Ft. Myers) to that over two million patients’ confidential records and data in 21st Century’s possession and control had been collected and sold by […]
While the United States Constitution mentions the right to vote less than a half dozen times (and not at all in the original Bill of Rights), it does so with language the founders used that is peculiar to that right. They wrote that no laws could be passed that would prevent “or abridge” the right […]
“Justice delayed is justice denied.” A legal maxim often attributed to William Penn Clients are often surprised by the length of time their claims wait for final resolution in the courthouse. This is especially true for cases that may take a week or more to try. Insurance carriers and lawyers for defendants are financially […]
No one gives a damn about the things I give a damn about. The liberties that we can’t do without seem to disappear like ghosts in the air. When we don’t even care, it truly vanishes away. Jason Isbell, Alabama Pines In this jury trial series, we’ve been through history, television and the […]
What most people don’t understand – and most lawyers don’t want to talk about – is that jury selection is more DEselection. Everyone thinks they have no prejudices (they do) and can be fair in every case (they can’t). There’s a famous story about President George Herbert Walker Bush withdrawing as a judge in […]
Reed wrote me a letter me on June 7, 1984, after I graduated from college at Washington and Lee. He wanted to walk me through how to think about law school and a career in the law. He wrote that letter more than 130 years after Lincoln’s notes on a law lecture (see, the previous blog […]
