This Makes Me Sick

Action Grandmas and Lawsuit Experts Denied

We said, "don't resuscitate grandma." So now we're gonna sue. Read [Kaiser Network]
Who's at fault, here?

Pill pushing doc's patient overdoses, murder charges filed Read [Las Vegas Now]

'Soothing' ointment chafes grandma, payday ensues Read [Roanoke Times]

Chemo overload in San Mateo Read [San Mateo Daily Journal]

Oklahoma Supreme Court says experts don't need to sign off on med mal suits Read [Tulsa World]

 

Washington Special and Blowhards

Will Tort Reform Fade as New Priorities Emerge for Congress? Oh, and buh-bye hearings on gay marriage .  Read [Law.com]

Thank the Lord! Insurance commish says med-mal crisis is over. Biz is lucrative again. Read [WTRF-TV]

Seems the GOP, the party of limited govt., was telling states how to deal with med-mal lawsuits. There's a shift happening in US politics, ya' hear? Read [Stateline.org]

Dr. Jaimy Bensimon has been defending himself in one malpractice case FOR NINE YEARS! Read [Orlando Sun-Sentinel]

News of the Nation

Petition: Lower the insurance rates already! Read [Florida Today]

$20 mil Payout in Philly Suburb; Thought Only City Juries Paid Out Big Read [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Miffed Mom Pickets Outside Doc's Office Over Poor Treatment Read [The Roanoke Times]

Rx: Judge Orders Sides To Work Something Out Read [The West Virginia Record]

Corporations Trim Fat and Liability, Tell Plebes To Get Operations in India Read [Austin Chronicle]

Med-Mal Caps? Check. Insurer Profits Up? Check.  Read [Birmingham Business  Journal]

ER Wait Kills Mom; Hospital Quickens the Pace Read [Gwinett Daily Post]

News and Views From the US

• Med Mal Insurer Gets Docked Big $$ For Screwing Docs Read [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
• Louisiana Judges On $500K Med Mal Cap: It's Chump Change Circa '75  Read [The Times-Picayune]
• 'Suit: Wal-Mart Printed Iowan's Medical History On Back-to-School Shopping Lists. Notebooks? Check. Monthly Rx of Valium? Check. Read [WHO-TV]

 

Revenge (?), Docs on Retainer, and CPR-safe

Plastic Surgery Goes Wrong. Patient dies 'accidentally'. Or was it revenge for high school tears? Read [Herald Today]

Salt Lake Docs Practicing on Retainer Read [KSL-TV]

Texas Medical Liability Trust Declares Big Dividend, Cuts Docs A Break Read [Yahoo Finance]

Thank someone! American Heart Association says no "lay rescuer has ever been successfully sued for performing CPR." Glad that's cleared up. Read 

In Good Hands: Florida politco tackling med-mal issues also a tort claims attorney, married to a physician. Read [Times and Democrat]

Robin Williams Special: Patch Adams and Pet Lawyers

'Patch' Adams Recalls Practicing Sans Med-Mal Insurance Read [Centre Daily Times]

Blue Cross and Friends Say 'No Mas' to Covering Bariatric Operation for Biggies Read [Delaware State News]

Veterinarians' New Fear: 'Suit Happy Pet Lawyers Read [The Providence Journal]

In 2004 the American Veterinary Medical Association formed a task force on animal law last year and came out squarely against redefining the legal status of pets. They're on top of the issue and its paws-itively nuts! Read

News Anchor Who Sued For Botched Op Nets $1.4 million Watch [KOIN-TV] ~Settlement Is First Since Med-Mal Caps Overturned in Oregon

Friday News Roundup

Language barriers plague hospitals Read [USA TODAY]

Georgia peaches don't have to give up privacy of their medical records when they sue Read [Access North Georgia]

Delivery Rooms Vanishing for Philadelphia Mothers Read [WPVI-TV]

Missouri state insurance director gets to veto medical mal rates that are excessive or "unfairly discriminatory." Read [Insurance Journal]

Georgia Malpractice Reforms Miss Mark

The politicos promised that rising medical malpractice insurance rates would be suppressed under new Georgia state laws—a $350,000 limit on jury awards for malpractice victims' pain and suffering, tougher standards for expert witnesses in malpractice trials, and new incentives for patients to settle out of court—BUT six of the state's top insurers of doctors and dentists have increased their liability rates since the reforms took effect in 2005. Where's the drawing board? Read [Houston Chronicle]

Senate Pleas, Docs Return and A Liability IPO

Medical Liability Linkage
1) The gloves of the perfectly parted-haired senators are off. In light of the Senate shooting down med-mal caps—the GOP controls the action by the way— Sen. Rick Santorum, R-PA, keeps up the pleas. “Do we serve the patients and the doctors who wish to help them or do we serve the trial lawyers? By preventing debate and an up-or-down vote on these bills Monday evening, the Senate Democrats made their choice abundantly clear.” Read [The Hill]

2) Mississippi Gov. Haley R. Barbour says doctors are coming back to the state because the state’s principal medical liability carrier cut rates 5 percent and gave a 10 percent rebate. Interesting. Read [The Neshoba Democrat]

3) About 40 percent of the medical malpractice cases filed in the United States are groundless, according to a new Harvard analysis. How do you come to such a conclusion, you might ask? Researchers reviewed 1,452 malpractice claims randomly selected from five insurance companies. The cases were resolved between 1984 and 2004. The claims resulted in a combined $449 million in verdicts and settlements. Many of the lawsuits contained no evidence that a medical error was committed or that the patient suffered any injury. The majority of those cases were dismissed without payout. Read [Mercury News]

4) When it rains…. An eye surgeon in Tucson, Arizona convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder now is facing several medical malpractice lawsuits. Read [KPHO]

5) Sound investment? There’s a coming IPO of Darwin Professional Underwriters—they specialize in liability insurance for docs and hospitals. Some 5,217,391 common shares for about $15 are up for grabs. Business must be good. Hedge your bets people. Read [Hartford Courant]