Sometimes they’re doctors: “Since 2001, [Dr. Elizabeth] Rohr has filed at least 900 pages of lawsuits, court records show. There are 14 lawsuits bearing Rohr’s name in the Denton County database.” (Ben Tinsley, “Litigious doctor busily adds to court dockets”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 2)(via KevinMD).
Posts Tagged ‘medical’
Farewell, MedPundit
The pseudonymous “Sydney Smith”, who practices medicine in the Midwest, is discontinuing her medical weblog, which was among the earliest and best of its kind. “Sydney” joined us on this site as a guestblogger in late July and early August, 2004. Update: happily, she’s back.
$14 million for wrongful birth
A New Brunswick jury awarded $14 million to the Sharad family against their obstetrician, who failed to test for a rare genetic blood disorder, thalassemia major (Cooley’s anemia), that their son was born with. Newspaper coverage mentions neither the doctor’s defense nor even the words “wrongful birth.” $8 million of the award is for emotional distress, meaning the family will be millionaires even after attorneys’ fees and medical expenses. (Sue Epstein, “Couple gets millions for son’s blood disorder”, Star-Ledger, May 23). More on wrongful birth suits: Apr. 9, etc.
“Doctor loses malpractice case, kills self”
Yes, it does happen: “A Florida urologist killed himself a few hours after a jury awarded a former patient $1 million in a malpractice claim.” And this part is especially charming: “Timothy Moran, a Jacksonville lawyer who represented the plaintiff, blamed [Dr. Lawrence] Grey’s insurance company for not settling the case.” (UPI/M&C, May 5)(via KevinMD).
New Tabarrok/Agan med-mal study
Today the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy (with which I’m affiliated) released a major new paper by Alexander Tabarrok and Amanda Agan of George Mason University’s Department of Economics. It’s titled “Medical Malpractice Awards, Insurance, and Negligence: Which Are Related?” As summarized by my colleague Jim Copland this morning at Point of Law, Tabarrok and Agan reach the following conclusions:
1. They show that medical malpractice premiums are closely related to medical malpractice tort awards. …
2. They show that medical malpractice premiums are not explained by insurance industry price gouging. …
3. They show that medical malpractice tort awards are related to some factors not rationally related to injuries. …
4. They show that malpractice tort awards and thus insurance premiums can vary dramatically for reasons having little or nothing to do with negligence.
Tactical advantages of shotgun lawsuits
Why sue every physician on the patient’s chart? One reason, via KevinMD (May 6): “Plaintiffs’ lawyers love it when physicians point fingers at each other. They can just sit back and watch the doctors destroy each other.” (Berkeley Rice, “Watch out for this malpractice trap!”, Medical Economics, May 5).
Second verse, same as the first
The votes weren’t there in the Senate for med-mal reform before, and they’re still not there. (James Rowley, ” Demos kill caps on malpractice awards”, Bloomberg/Arizona Star, May 9; Dana Milbank, “Washington Sketch: Take Two of These and Call Us Next Year”, Washington Post, May 9). See our category pages on medical malpractice and on politics.
Medical malpractice insurance forms
Orac at Respectful Insolence has a must-read post about what a change in his insurance renewal form means. No further comment needed. (Via Childs).
Update: McLeod v. Mt. Sinai Medical Center
We covered this case as Hollins v. Jordan in 2004 on Nov. 20, Oct. 11, and Aug. 31. In a disingenuous 2-1 opinion, an Ohio appellate court overturned the lower court’s grant of a new trial, and reinstated the liability verdict. The court did hold that the $30 million verdict was too high, but it is unlikely to be reduced more than 20%. I found the dissent, starting on page 23, persuasive; the majority opinion falsely claims that the defendants did not challenge liability on appeal to argue that there was no need for a new trial. New detail that the press did not cover: the plaintiff suffered from microcephaly—is there a legitimate doctor out there who wishes to claim that brain damage from microcephaly results from the failure to perform a C-section? Also worth reading in the dissent is the detailing of the dishonesty with which Geoffrey Fieger characterized testimony. Lawyers plan to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. (AP/Canton Repository, May 5 (link fixed 5:45 pm)).
$20 million for nursing home death
[84-year-old Loren] Richards died on March 2, 2002, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation of Frankfort.
Richards’ daughter, Wanda Delaplane, sued the home, alleging that nurses had ignored her father’s repeated calls for help with abdominal pain. With an impacted bowel, he later died of a heart attack and a blood clot in his left lung.
The home argued that Richards had a heart attack because he had smoked for years and had severely blocked arteries. The Kentucky jury also awarded $200,000 for failing to immediately notify the family of a downward turn in Richards’ health. The Richards family had asked for over $150 million in total damages. Delaplane is an attorney with the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, so you know which government agency not to complain to when nursing home expenses go through the roof because of the liability insurance costs. (Greg Kocher, “Man’s estate to get $20 million”, Lexington Herald-Leader, May 5; Greg Kocher, “Nursing home provided proper care, attorney says in closing arguments”, Lexington Herald-Leader, May 3; Steve Lannen, “Nursing home sued for $155 million”, Lexington Herald-Leader, Mar. 23).