All Topics

• Secret Malpractice Settlements

  Ben Glass | April 01, 2006 6:32 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Whenever you see see doctors pushing for "malpractice reform" or "tort reform" you should call your legislature and ask her to ask this question when the doctors come calling:Doctor, before we sit down to discuss what it is you want me to do for you, will you release the claim information on every claim you have paid and will you encourage your colleagues to do the same?You see, the doctors...

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  Ben Glass | March 31, 2006 1:14 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  There is an interesting case brewing here in Fairfax County. I represent the former manager of a dental office who filed a complaint with the board of dentistry here in Virginia. Now she and others she worked with have been sued by the dentist, Farid A. Zurmati, DDS, owner of Kingstowne Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.The dentist alleges that a former office manager "made numerous allegations...

• Hospital restraint hangs patient

  Staff Writer | March 31, 2006 12:54 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  The recent report of a hospital patient who died after being found suspended with a restraining vest slung around his neck should remind hospitals and their employees of the care that must be used in the decision to put a patient in a restraining device and the supervision that must be provided to that patient while restrained. That the hospital in question has reassessed its policy and...

• Eliminating Disability Claim Mistake #7

  Ben Glass | March 31, 2006 6:07 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Every disability insurance policy contains a definition of disability. What many people don't realize is that these definitions can differ dramtically. This is not the first time that someone has been denied benefits under the definition contained in your plan.You should know how courts have interpreted the language in your policy. While you might able to do this (somewhat) by research on the...

• Medication Celebrex

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 4:53 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A study conducted by the Medical Research Institute in New Zealand has shown that people taking the pain reliever Celebrex have nearly twice the risk of heart attacks as those using other drugs. Celebrex, which is manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., is widely used to treat the pain of arthritis. Celebrex is part of a class of drugs knows as Cox-II Inhibitors. Two other drugs in this same class,...

• Elimiminating Disabilty Claim Mistake #6.

  Ben Glass | March 30, 2006 3:59 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  If your disability insurance claim has been terminated or denied, you must submit additional evidence to convince the insurance company that your claim is meritorious. Most people think that the additional evidence is limited to medical records. Not true:Here is a list of evidence that we have submitted in our disability insurance claims:1. Medical records.2. Detailed opinion letters from...

• Jury awards verdict against doctor in hospital for placing a screwdriver in the patient's back

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 2:19 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A Hawaii jury has awarded damages of nearly $5.6 million in a lawsuit against a surgeon who placed a piece of a screwdriver in the patient's back.Two hours into the surgery the doctor discovered that the titanium rods to be placed in the patient's back were missing and he improvised a new rod by cutting the shaft of a stainless steel medical screwdriver. He did this despite the fact that a...

• Doctor Arrested

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  According to the Associated Press, the Chief of Neurosurgery at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California, was recently wrestled to the operating room floor by Sheriff's Deputies and arrested after allegedly going into a drunken rage when a nurse refused to let him operate. Dr. Federico Castro-Mouri was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and interfering with the duties of a law...

• Drug therapy may partially reverse plaque buildup in arteries

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 10:39 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A study presented in a recent meeting of the American College of Cardiology demonstrates, for the first time, that significantly lowering cholesterol with a statin medication can partially reverse the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries. Prior research had indicated that aggressive statin therapy could prevent the progression of coronary arterial plaque buildup, but this is the first...

• Mandatory Insurance for Lawyers?

  Ben Glass | March 30, 2006 8:02 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  The Virginia Supreme Court has asked the Virginia General Assembly to study the issue of whether lawyers should be required to carry malpractice insurance. This comes on the heals of the shocking disclosure that 13% of Virginia lawyers carry no insurance whatsoever. Here's what I think about this.I've seen too many folks victimized twice. First by careless lawyering and then by the fact that the...