Medical Malpractice

• Jury Awards $144 Million in HMO Discrimination Lawsuit

  Robert Wolf | November 07, 2006 2:25 PM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  We all hear the jokes and the stories about HMO plans - they're expensive, unpopular, and many people find them a pain to deal with. Well, a recent jury verdict in Illinois will do nothing but reinforce many beliefs about HMOs. A health maintenance organization hired by the government to provide coverage for the poor in Illinois will have to pay damages of $144 million for discriminating...

• Physician Oversight At Medical Spas

  Bob Carroll | November 06, 2006 5:17 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  I have never been to a medical spa. I don't have a clue what goes on at one. But, judging by the ads in my part of Florida, they must be sprouting like Starbucks coffee shops. Medical Spas Online raises the issue of physician oversight of the spas. The full article provides some examples of services requiring medical direction and supervision.Physician Oversight & Scope Of Practice: What's...

• How To Reduce Errors In Obstetrics And Gynecology

  Bob Carroll | November 05, 2006 8:39 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, would seem an unlikely place to produce an author who says medical errors and unsafe systems of care has had a profound effect on the practice of obstetrics and gynecology. But, there it is, an article summarized at the National Library of Medicine.Patient safety in obstetrics and...

• Medical Malpractice And Shoulder Dystocia

  Bob Carroll | November 05, 2006 5:21 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  The Hartford Courant carries the story of the vaginal birth that should have been a Caesarean section. The result of the medical malpractice of the obstetrician is a lifetime of shoulder and arm impairment for the child. Shoulder dystocia is the medical term used to describe a mismatch between the mother's pelvis and the size of the fetus. When it occurs and significant injury to the baby is...

• Which Doctor Should I Choose?

  Bob Carroll | November 04, 2006 7:04 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  Just about every day an injured client asks me or one of my partners about the choice of medical provider. Fellow InjuryBoard.com blogger, John M. Cooper, Norfolk, VA, has had the same experience and has posted a helpful article on the topic.Family Doctor, Chiropractor or Orthopedist - Who Do You Choose?Our clients often ask us who should I go see after an automobile wreck with a personal...

• Crisis in Emergency Room Care

  Ken Margolin | November 03, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Since the 1990s, emergency room closings and emergency room errors have been on the rise, due to rising healthcare costs, shrinking hospital budgets and dwindling staff levels. During the same time period, the number of patients seeking ER care as risen.The American College of Emergency Physicians has posted an action-alert page urging people to write to their Congressional representatives to...

• Is Florida Online Hospital Quality Info Helpful?

  Bob Carroll | November 03, 2006 6:12 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  According to an article posted by the Miami Herald we may now have more online information than we can properly use to measure the quality of hospital care in Florida.Daunting data: Hospital flaws go publicOnline comparisons of hospital quality are lifting the cloak of secrecy -- but few consumers use them, finding them confusing.Patients with severe strokes who go to Broward General are more...

• How Good Is Your Primary Care Doc And Your Health Insurance Company?

  Bob Carroll | November 03, 2006 5:50 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  Gooznews.com asks a question all of us should answer.How Good Is Your Primary Care Physician?Everytime I hear or read that the U.S. health care system is the best in the world, I wonder why we wind up so low on so many basic indicators like longevity and infant mortality. A study out today that focuses on primary care -- that first interface with the health care system -- helps explain why.A...

• Second Removal Of The Same Gallbladder Is Obvious Malpractice

  Bob Carroll | November 02, 2006 3:56 PM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  Contrary to conventional wisdom, an expert is not always needed in a medical negligence case since there are some deeds that even lay persons know are below the standard of care, and "]i]ndeed, a layperson would have no difficulty in recognizing Dr. Sharpe's purported deviation from the standard of care in advising and undertaking to remove a gallbladder that he had previously removed." I would...

• Dangerous Drugs: Merck's Vioxx Study Fails to Clear its Reputation

  Ken Margolin | November 02, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  On September 6, 2006, two years after its voluntary withdrawal of Vioxx from the market, Merck released a self-funded study attempting to evade charges that the company knew of the dangers of Vioxx prior to selling the drug to the public. According to an ATLA (Association of Trial Lawyers of America) press release, documents produced because of the numerous lawsuits in several states that have...