Myth: Spikes in Litigation Cause Medical Malpractice Crises
In a recently-published article in Chest, David A. Hyman, M.D., and Charles Silver, J.D. examine what they call "five myths of medical malpractice," the first of which is that medical malpractice...
View ArticlePursuing Nursing Home Liability in an Elopement Case
According to the Briggs Corporation, about ten percent of all lawsuits involving nursing homes deal with elopements, or wandering, and 70 percent of these involve the death of the resident. A report...
View ArticleWill a New Patient Reporting System Reduce Medical Errors?
In September 2012, The New York Times reported that the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) had proposed a new system for reporting medical mistakes and unsafe practices. The new...
View ArticleTort Reform Fails to Reduce Health Care Costs—Or Improve Patient Safety
In April 2013, Florida lawmakers approved medical malpractice reforms, in essence making it harder for patients to sue doctors and hospitals for medical negligence. Originating from the Judiciary...
View ArticleMedical Malpractice Helps Encourage Patient Safety
According to recent studies, medical malpractice suits have more positive effects than negative, and actually contribute to improved patient safety. Yet, advocates of medical malpractice tort reform...
View ArticleMost Primary Care Malpractice Suits Filed Because of Misdiagnoses
When Berks County infant Emma Takacs was taken by her family to the emergency room of Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Berks County, in December 2007, she was suffering from a 103-degree...
View ArticleCerebral Palsy May Be the Result of Medical Negligence
The United Cerebral Palsy organization estimates that about 764,000 children and adults in the U.S. have one or more symptoms of cerebral palsy. Each year, about 10,000 more children are born with the...
View ArticlePreventable Medical Errors Estimated as Third Leading Cause of Death
In 1999, a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) shocked America by stating that at least 44,000 people a year—and as many as 98,000—were dying from preventable errors in hospitals. Using even the...
View ArticlePennsylvania Jury Agrees with Mother That Obstetrician Delayed C-Section
About thirty percent of all U.S. births are via C-section, many of them planned, but some are necessary because of complications during birth. When the mother is already in labor, the unborn child may...
View ArticleLehigh County Jury Awards $55 Million in Birth Injury Lawsuit
After a two-week trial, a Lehigh County jury recently awarded a historically large verdict to Mark Crowell and Sharon Petrosky Crowell. The couple had filed a lawsuit against St. Luke’s University...
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