Patient Safety Archives - The Thompson Law Firm

Jury Awards $30M To Family Of 23-Year-Old Who Died From Ulcer

Bill Thompson — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 14:31:46 +0000

You don’t often hear about the frivolous and stubborn defenses that anger juries.

David Dickey, who represents Hannah Waite’s parents, told Law360 on Friday that he proposed settlements of $250,000 to each doctor, but the defense refused and made no offers of their own.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1803831?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2024-02-20&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

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Who’s In Charge?

Bill Thompson — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 15:51:18 +0000

In every investigation involving medical malpractice issues, in addition to the medical research and deep dive into the medical records, I endeavor to find out everything I can about the background of the health care providers involved at every level in my client’s care and treatment. For this very reason:

Lee’s family successfully argued that inexperienced doctors on call at the hospital waited three hours before removing the clot from a major artery, leading to brain damage, according to Lee’s attorneys with Gair Gair Conason Rubinowitz Bloom Hershenhorn Steigman & Mackauf, who said the verdict is the largest award ever in a medical malpractice case in Westchester County.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1779270?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-12-21&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

In many cases, the front-line providers use inexperienced providers as a shield to hold themselves at a remove from patient care. Frequently, the experienced providers will blame the inexperienced providers with not sharing important information. This often results in substandard or negligent care and treatment.

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United Health Is Using AI to Deny Insurance Claims

Bill Thompson — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 15:13:38 +0000

Insurance carriers have already begun using artificial intelligence to deny health insurance claims. A new lawsuit in Minnesota identifies United Health as using algorithms to deny the health insurance claims of elderly and disabled insureds, When claims are denied, necessary treatment is delayed – increasing the likelihood of serious injuries and death.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Minnesota on behalf of the families of two UnitedHealth private Medicare plan enrollees who died, accuses the company, which is based in Minnesota, of using an algorithm to “systematically deny” coverage of elderly patients’ rehabilitation care.

The link to the story from noted health insurance expert Wendell Potter, and meticulously researched and backed up, is

Here

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Med Mal Presuit Rules Can Be A Trap

Bill Thompson — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 14:28:55 +0000

Many states, like Florida, have presuit rules for medical malpractice cases, passed at the urging of lobbies that represent insurance companies and hospital systems. These rules differ from state to state but generally make filing suit more difficult by setting up a series of procedures your lawyer has to follow. Unsurprisingly, almost every case involves a claim by the defense that the procedures were not properly followed. This results in an unbelievable amount of litigation, appeal, and court docket crowding.

Texas is one of those states. Recently their Supreme Court had to overturn an appellate court ruling that ruined a legitimate action for years – all because the Appellate court accepted quibbling over the language of the expert reports confirming the merit of the case.

The appeals court faulted the two reports for not including enough details about how Kenmar should have changed Uriegas’ care plan, monitored his condition after the first fall or the specific interventions the facility and its nurses should have implemented, according to court documents.

Choose your lawyer carefully.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1722343?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-18&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=4?copied=1

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Discovery of Hospital Incident Reporting and Peer Review Privilege

Bill Thompson — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:26:28 +0000

I have had cases like the one below with both anonymous and signed reports removed from medical charts. In one case, a doctor met me in a restaurant across the street from the hospital and delivered to me his copy of a report that had been removed from the patient’s chart. I have also been involved in cases challenging peer review privileges asserted by Hospitals. I have even secured a court order compelling a Hospital to produce JCAHO sentinel event reports. These are extraordinarily difficult issues to litigate – factually and legally. They require patience, resources, experience, and – most importantly – persistence.

This Pennsylvania case in the news today made me think of the hard work required by trial lawyers.

A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel on Thursday told a University of Pittsburgh hospital that it must make an effort to identify the author of an anonymous report regarding the treatment of a patient who died, saying the whistleblower protections of the state’s Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act don’t block the hospital from revealing the author’s identity.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1721860?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-15&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=3?copied=1

Click here to view the Supreme Court’s ruling in our case, Charles v. Baptist Hospital on peer review privileges.

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Sackler Immunity and the Purdue Pharma Settlement

Bill Thompson — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 13:38:43 +0000

SCOTUS court watchers were a little shocked that the Court blocked the Purdue Pharma / Sackler settlement – even if temporarily – and there is a lot of buzz about how they will answer this question: whether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, a release that extinguishes third party claims (including claims not yet brought).

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Purdue Pharma LP Chapter 11 plan that contains as a key feature the settlement with the Sackler family for approximately $6 billion that, in return, prevents any other creditor from suing the family.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1716196?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-01&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=13?copied=1

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Physicians Assistants Are Not Doctors

Bill Thompson — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 14:02:20 +0000

You might assume that a physicians’ assistant is working under the close supervision of a physician. In my experience, you would be mistaken.

The nurse practitioner will see you now.

It’s not the phrase most people are accustomed to hearing, but it’s increasingly the case, with patients more likely than ever to see providers with advanced degrees, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, instead of doctors.

Link is here:

Physician assistant, nurse practitioner or doctor: What patients should know

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

Bill Thompson — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 14:40:21 +0000

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 claims burden the system. While that is not my experience (and there aren’t any economic incentives for plaintiffs or their lawyers to act that way), I can say with certainty that insurance carriers are often the reason for unnecessary time, expense, and delays in the judicial system. As mentioned above, they have every economic incentive to behave this way.

I cannot tell you how often I have felt like the Ohio plaintiff’s lawyers who pursued these issues. Good on them for having the patience, determination, and skill to see it through.

During discovery, Dillon and Maurer filed a motion to compel the production of documents, and the hospital claimed that some of the documents relating to its policies and procedures were confidential and proprietary and asked the plaintiffs to sign a confidentiality agreement before turning them over. The hospital also argued that the documents were not relevant to the proceedings.

The trial court found that the documents were relevant to the standard of care, that the hospital had not shown what harm would occur should they be made public, and that as a not-for-profit business, the hospital was not covered by a state law protecting commercial businesses.

The judges added that while hospital staff said the policies were created by the hospital, they were still based on publicly available information.

“The policies and procedures were created using information gathered from public sources including recommendations and guidelines of national health care associations as well as medical literature,” the judges wrote. “OhioHealth’s ‘unique’ compilation of such information does not transform otherwise public information into confidential information.”

In addition, the panel found that the hospital failed to show what harm would occur as a result of producing the documents, saying Medical Director Dr. Marian K. Schuda’s direct examination testimony was “purely speculative,” as she said, “I’m not aware of any specific harm, but I can tell you it’s not good.”

John A. Lancione of The Lancione Law Firm, representing the parents, told Law360 that the hospital has made the same arguments in other cases, even taking a similar appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, and lost there as well.

“The opinion came as no surprise,” Lancione said Thursday. “What was frankly surprising was that they actually pursued an appeal.”

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1699512?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-07-14&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=9?copied=1

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Missouri Hospital Keeps Trial Win In Shaken Baby Case

Bill Thompson — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:26:59 +0000

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

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AI In Medicine and Law

Bill Thompson — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 13:56:26 +0000

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 a brief produced by generative artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, which cited fake cases, and asked not to be sanctioned over the mistake.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1686237?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-06-08&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

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