The Endless Courthouse Drama When Hospitals Are Determined To Hide Their Policies And Procedures

I posted recently about frivolous defenses and appeals raised by defendants, often because their insurance carriers have the resources to waste time and the incentive to hold on to the money that will eventually be paid to satisfy the claim. When we hear about frivolous claims, it is usually from insurance interests complaining that non-meritorious […]

Surgeon’s Recorded OR Conversation About His Suboxone Prescription Is Admissible

It isn’t easy to develop evidence that your surgeon was under the influence. I know. I’ve done it. In a 49-page opinion comparing the saga to both a traditional opera and a TV soap opera, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Philip J. Ignelzi said that while rival doctors Jonathan D’Cunha and Lara Schaheen […]

Fla. Justices Say Malpractice Claim Met Expert Qualifications

In the late 1980s, Florida’s legislature passed lots of special rules for medical malpractice cases – hoops to be jumped through before a case can be filed. These laws, on the books from the time I became a lawyer, spawned warehouses full of legal challenges, appeals, opinions, and related paperwork. Whether the laws accomplished anything […]

Univ. Of Wash. Hospital Sued Over Allegedly Lost Tumor

I’m curious because the news report doesn’t mention it – wasn’t there a repeat biopsy once they realized the first specimen was lost? “Defendant UW lost the surgically removed tumor prior to conducting the requisite pathological review and left plaintiff without a clear diagnostic or care plan,” according to the complaint seeking medical negligence damages. […]

Vicarious Liability Quacking Like A Duck

I got nuthin’. Wait … I do. Dear Hospital Counsel – stop litigating this nonsense. “Taking a broader view of the relationship between RMF and Burke, we emphasize that those parties deliberately chose to use the term ’employee’ in their agreement,” the appeals court said. “They could have used the term ‘independent contractor,’ but they […]

Missouri Hospital Keeps Trial Win In Shaken Baby Case

Duty to warn cases are important but the proof can be tricky. At issue on appeal is a jury instruction stating that jurors were to find in favor of the hospital if they determined that Lane’s then-boyfriend, Ben Andrews, had abused Hollis. Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1688549?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-06-14&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=4?copied=1

AI In Medicine and Law

As lawyers look forward to patient safety advances that AI may make available in medicine, it is important to keep an eye on the dangers as they appear in our own profession. Levidow Levidow & Oberman PC and its attorney Steven Schwartz told a New York federal court that they are “truly mortified” over submitting […]

Hospital Trickle Down

Hospitals can fail their communities when they aren’t run properly. Mismanaged finances can result in poor quality care. Executives and board members of the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn have been accused of conspiring to divert hospital resources into their own pockets at the expense of patient care and community health in a proposed $500 […]

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 […]

FDA Black Box Warnings

FDA’s black box drug warnings can be powerful evidence in medical malpractice cases. But in Florida, they probably aren’t enough to relieve the requirement to have expert witness testimony. An Arizona appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit alleging a urologist negligently prescribed an antibiotic that caused harmful side effects to a patient, saying medical […]