Georgetown Study: Medical Malpractice Is Not Random

Physicians with a single paid claim are 4x as likely to have a future claim than physicians with zero paid claims.  We find a similar pattern in both high-risk and lower-risk specialties.  We also find no evidence that public disclosure of paid claims has any impact on these patterns — meaning there is no “blood […]

The Increasing Incidence and Cost of Medical Malpractice

  The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 raised the alarm while calling for urgent action to reduce patient harm in healthcare. The United Nations (UN) specialized agency stated that medical malpractice results in 2.6 million deaths annually. “Most of these deaths are avoidable. The personal, social and economic impact of patient harm leads to […]

Strategies for Managing Disruptive Behaviors in Health Care Settings

A link to a podcast on “managing” disruptive behavior in a clinic, hospital, or doctors office: We’ll be discussing the role of Behavioral Emergency Response Teams (BERTs), trained in non-violent intervention techniques, in managing disruptive behavior and improving safety for both patients and staff. We’ll also dive into the impact of trauma-informed care (TIC) on […]

Handling A Punitive Damages Claim in the Setting of Medical Malpractice

An appellate court reversed a punitive damage claim brought against a Hospital only. Where culpable or wanton (criminal) recklessness is alleged, the line between professional employment and misconduct outside the scope of that employment is always at play. Trial lawyers juggle that difficult balance in the most serious cases. Fourth DCA Reverses Punitive Damages Against […]

Iatrogenic Injuries

Numerous errors and medicolegal aspects have been identified in diagnosing and treating cardiac tamponade associated with cardiac-related procedures such as valve replacement surgeries, cardiac pacemaker implantation, pericardiocentesis, and other non-cardiac related procedures such as peri-hiatal surgeries. Patients taking anticoagulants or anticancer medications are especially susceptible to developing cardiac tamponade when undergoing surgical procedures, raising the […]

The cutoff date to file a medical malpractice lawsuit is extended if a medical practitioner flees the state within the four-year lawsuit deadline, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled recently.

Here is a case out of Ohio allowing a claim to proceed, even where the defendant makes himself difficult to find and serve with process. Ohio Supreme Court: Patients can pursue legal claim against doctor who fled country I had a similar and horrific case involving a small child killed in an office setting during […]

Misdiagnoses lead to 250,000 ER patients’ deaths annually, U.S. study finds

There was a New England Journal of Medicine article decades ago that found that if emergency room patients didn’t list their complaints in the right order and in time – they wouldn’t be heard or recorded properly. Originally reported in the New York Times, this study is getting wide attention. “The study, released [Dec. 15] by […]

The Wait

Said the wait child, bruised ball child, pride slapped child hurts The wait child, crest felled child, tear eyed child hurts The wait child, bus stop child, late come child hurts The wait child, platform walk, idle talk hurts Pretenders, The Wait So many of my cases have involved a delay in the face of […]