What Is Medical Malpractice?
The Thompson Law Firm Video: What Is Medical Malpractice?
Something In Our Bloodstream
Ten years ago, 12-year-old Rory Staunton dove for a ball in gym class and scraped his arm. He woke up the next day with a 104-degree Fahrenheit fever, so his parents took him to the pediatrician and eventually the emergency room. It was just the stomach flu, they were told. Three days later, Rory died […]
Candy Stripers
A famous critical care doctor once told me that “they want candy stripers delivering medicine.” That choice of the phrase probably dates both of us, but hopefully, it’s not too prehistoric to make the point. He was griping about what he viewed as an institutional assault on physician judgment and prerogatives. Long after that, I […]
Patient-Care Satisfaction Centered Modeling? Really?
When I represented hospitals, my boss used to stress bedside manner as the most effective risk management. It’s been forty years and the industry is still trying to figure out a way to make that stick. Healthcare is fully embracing the concept of consumerism, and with that comes the need for consumer and patient satisfaction—and […]
“By the time Jeremy came back with help, I had delivered the baby by myself with no one else in the room. All alone.”
Ever felt alone in a crowd? How about alone in a crowded emergency room surrounded by professionals who could help but choose to ignore you? These things happen. Here is the link: ‘I delivered my baby scared and alone.’: Mom raises awareness about hospital malpractice after traumatic birth
QB Sues NFL Team For Pre-Game Pain Injection That Collapsed His Lung
When this happened, I started calculating the missed game checks in my head. Now, the case is set for trial. Here’s the link: Tyrod Taylor sues Chargers team doctor for medical malpractice stemming from punctured lung suffered in 2020
The Case For Tort Reform Gets Harder And Harder To Make (But That Won’t Stop Some)
It is absurd to criticize a fee structure that puts a lawyer in complete concert with his client’s interests and allows clients without resources or influence to pursue remedies against the most powerful institutions in their community for real harm done to them. Back in the day, the argument was that verdicts were too numerous […]
Unnecessary Medical Tests Are #QualityFraud
DOJ pursues billing fraud cases. In some cases, the patients did not know what they were being tested for. TRICARE beneficiaries were enticed to provide urine or saliva specimens in exchange for $50 gift cards. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Rao was paid in exchange for signing off on medically unnecessary and repetitive toxicology and […]
Ethics in Medicine
Why aren’t medical students trained in ethics the same way law students are? Ethics is required in school and your knowledge of ethics is tested in a stand-alone bar examination before a lawyer can start practicing. Here’s a link to a BMJ article on it. With consent, medical students get to observe most surgical procedures, […]
Every State Has It’s Own Set of Odd, Old Laws
I worked with a critical care doctor at a teaching facility who told me this: “Listen, Thompson, Don’t forget this. They want candy stripers practicing medicine.” That was 1992. He meant that hospital systems were leaning on the nurses to expand their traditional roles to maximize profit. Meanwhile, lawyers are citing cases from a century […]