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Goon Squads Atttempt To Chill Expert Testimony In Malpractice Cases

Emergency Medical Doctors attempts at expert witness intimidation.

Hospital Staff Not Likely to Report Errors

An ABC News report claims that a high percentage of errors made in hospitals are not reported as required.

Medical Malpractice Caps Will Hurt Patients

An Economics professor from California State, Northridge and a member of the CATO Institute has written an article about why med mal caps are not the answer.

Maryland family sues after son's legs are amputated due to undiagnosed strep

A Maryland family is suing Baltimore-Washington Medical Center after their son's legs were amputated after doctors failed to order a strep throat test.

Missouri Supreme Court hears noneconomic damages cap argument

On Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, the Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the legislative cap on noneconomic damages violated the Missouri Constitution.

California family awarded $10 million for amputation of daughter's limbs after ER delay

A California family was recently awarded $10 million for the amputation of their daughter's limbs as a result of a delay in the emergency room.

Malpractice In Radiology

A Must Read Primer on Malpractice In Radiology

Caps In Medical Malpractice Cases Are Wrong

It's Time For Caps To Go

Diagnosis Errors

What Are Diagnosis Errors and How You Can Help Prevent Them

Experts and Things I Just Don't Get

Things To Consider When Working With Experts

Hip Implant Recall Announced

Johnson and Johnson Announces Hip Implant Recall

VA Dental Claims

VA Dental Patients May Have Claim For Uncleaned Dental Equipment

Medication Errors

When the hospital workers can't read the prescription or addminister the wrong drugs, big problems can happen.

Hospital Accountability: Where is it?

Part of my job is to make health care institutions accountable because they'll rarely do it on their own.

The Top Five Vital Signs To Watch After Surgery

I took these suggestions from Chris Nace in Washington D.C. because this is great advice for watching out for yourself or a loved one in the hospital.

Missouri Supreme Court Rules on Constitutionality of Tort Reform

While the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that damage caps are still in effect on Medical Malpractice cases, the issue is still far from decided.

Patient Safety Issues

Patient safety and resident education do not always go hand in hand.

Day 3 Texas Nurse Trial

More recap on Nurse on trial in Texas for reporting dangerous doctor to state medical board.

Who In The Medical Community Is Watching Out For Patient Safety?

When a nurse gets prosecuted for reporting a dangerous doctor, all of us are in trouble when we go to the hospital.

East Texas Nurse Faces Trial for Misuse of Official Information

This case shows how there is little oversight in the Medical Community. It is shocking and I find it hard to believe.Anne Mitchell is a 53 year old nurse who lives and worked in west Texas. She is the wife of an oil field mechanic and mother of a teenage son, but it’s the simple act of writing a letter of complaint to the Texas Medical Board that has made her name known to the world. The act of writing that letter now has Mrs. Mitchell scheduled to stand trial in state court today for “misuse of official information,” a third-degree felony in Texas. Nurses and doctors are encouraged to report unethical and dubious behavior about doctors to their state medical boards in an effort to keep patients safe. Key to this function is protection from retaliation for the reporting person (whistle blower). After going through the chain of command at Winkler County Memorial Hospital, Mrs Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle wrote a letter to the Texas Medical Board mentioning six cases “of concern” that were identified by file numbers but not by patient names, as well as their concern of Dr. Rolando Arafiles misusing his professional influence to sell patients an herbal supplement. The complaint was made anomalously. The whistle blower protection laws should have protected the women, but Dr. Arafiles used his local friend Winkler County Sheriff Robert L. Roberts to uncover their names. On July 15, 2009, the nurses were charged by the county attorney's office with "misuse of official information." Charges against Vickilyn Galle were dismissed at the prosecutor’s discretion last week. The Texas Nurses Association has responded by creating a legal defense fund for the Winkler County nurses (accessible on its Web site.) The Texas Medical Board has sent a letter to the attorneys stating that it is improper to criminally prosecute people for raising complaints with the board; that the complaints were confidential and not subject to subpoena; that the board is exempt from federal HIPAA law; and that, on the contrary, the board depends on reporting from health care professionals to carry out its duty of protecting the public from improper practitioners. Sources New York Times Texas Nurses Association

Do Malpractice Suits Affect Obstetric Practice and The Alvin Wolff Plan for Tort Reform.

Here Is Another Story That Debunks The Tort Reformers Plan To Restrict Victim's Access To The Courts.

Retained Items After Surgery Can Cause A Lot of Problems

We have handled several cases of retained sponges and surgical instruments left in the body. This article talks about a retained drill bit left in a woman's sinus cavity.

Reader Question

Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments last Thursday regarding the constitutionality of $350,000 caps for non economic damages in Medical Malpractice cases when there are no caps in other types of cases. Do you think this current law is fair or unfair? Please respond.

Link To Missouri Supreme Court Kltoz Case-Constituitonality of Med Mal Caps

Important case for everyeone dealing with malpractice caps in Misaouri

Why Sorry In Health Care Is So Hard To Say

It's amazing how health care providers don't acknowledge responsiblity even when they have assumed the loss.