Florida updates in category: Medical Malpractice

In a decision just released earlier today the Florida Supreme Court ruled on the scope of the 2004 Florida Constitutional Amendment 7, entitled the "Patients Right to Know" Act. In a ruling that is welcome to consumers and patients who are concerned about the safety of their families when choosing a hospital, our State Supreme Court held in rulings on cases called Florida Hospital Waterman,...

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Proposed legislation in Missouri increase the liability caps in medical malpractice cases for cases of abortion malpractice. . Under the present medical malpractice caps in Missouri, pain and suffering damage awards are capped at $350,000. The new law would make the caps invalid in claims of abortion related medical malpractice. Obviously this will be a hot topic and highly debated between...

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Actor John Ritter, best known from his days in the sitcom "Three's Company", died in 2003 at age 54 from a tear in the aorta, at a hospital in Burbank, California. Subsequent investigation by his family led them to conclude that the aorta tear was not treated correctly and, in fact, was misdiagnosed as a heart attack. The Ritter Estate, on behalf of his surviving relatives is now suing his...

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A man that cut the end of his finger off in a hobby related accident was able to regrow skin, blood vessels, and the nail after using a extracellular matrix powder. About half an inch of finger was regrown in about 4 weeks using the powder. This medical marvel was performed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. This powder is a medical product called extracellular matrix. Made from...

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This week the FDA issued a Public Health Notification to the healthcare community which to a lay person would seem to be pretty obvious. The Notice begins: Dear Healthcare Practitioner:This is to advise you of serious adverse events associated with unretrieved device fragments (UDFs) and provide recommendations to mitigate these events. A UDF is a fragment of a medical device that has separated...

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According to a study, which was conducted by seven doctors affiliated with Harvard University and the Cambridge Health Alliance, a network of nonprofit Massachusetts hospitals, emergency room waiting times rose 36% for all patients and 150% for heart attack patients. An increase in the number of ER visits, plus a decline in the number of emergency rooms, likely has contributed to the wait. ...

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All over the country reports are coming in that Medical Malpractice lawsuits are down tremendously, despite the insurance lobby propaganda. In Pennsylvania, for example, medical malpractice lawsuits are down 38% since 2002 and in Philadelphia by 52%. Furthermore, two of the largest insurance carriers in the state for that kind of coverage are decreasing their rates and since 2002, 57 new...

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A study published on October 30, 2007, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology again noted that the use of certain chemotherapy drugs in breast cancer patients can increase the risk of developing congestive heart failure. This potential was first noted more than thirty years ago, but has become more of a problem in the past fifteen years as more early-stage breast cancer patients are receiving...

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A recent study of Medical Malpractice data conducted in California since its enactment of legislation capping awards on "non-economic" damages has shown that a lot of individuals can no longer afford access to the courts. Recently, a doctor found it impossible to find a lawyer to represent him after his mother had died from a medical error despite an exhaustive search of almost two dozen local...

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California has closed its confidential program that allowed physicians to continue to practice medicine while undergoing treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. There have been many cases of medical malpractice, even those involving injury and death, committed by physicians in treatment programs administered by state medical boards. Many physicians successfully recover while under such programs...

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The FDA has issued a warning stemming from improperly maintained electrical dental equipment. The poorly maintained equipment can result in third degree burns. In fact, some of the patients even needed to undergo plastic surgery as a result. One of the main reason for the alert directed at dental professionals was that the burns may become apparent only after tissue damage has occurred...

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Recently, Dennis Quaid's new born twins were mistakenly given 1,000 times the normal dose of the blood-thinning medication Heparin while under treatment for a staph infection. The twins have apparently recovered fully but the Quaid's want Baxter Healthcare Corporation, the maker of Heparin, to fix the packaging so this never happens again and have filed suit to help effectuate that change. ...

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According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, which surveyed more than 1,600 physicians in 2003 and 2004 for their recently published report, 46% of physicians admitted to not reporting serious medical errors that had been made. "There is a measurable disconnect between what physicians say they think is the right thing to do and what they actually do," said Eric Campbell of Massachusetts...

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The reuse of syringes by a physician was kept from the public and the potentially infected patients even when known by the authorities. The state health departments and even officials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were aware of the risk of infection but delayed reporting the problem. Incredibly the number of patients potentially infected may run in the thousands. ...

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The reuse of syringes by a physician was kept from the public and the potentially infected patients even when known by the authorities. The state health departments and even officials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were aware of the risk of infection but delayed reporting the problem. Incredibly the number of patients potentially infected may run in the thousands. ...

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