Articles Tagged With: Malpractice
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Hospital May Be Held Liable for ‘Independent Contractor’ Surgeon’s Alleged Mistakes
A Texas Appellate Court recently decided that a nonprofit hospital could be held vicariously liable for a botched brain surgery that left a minor permanently disabled. The hospital’s argument that the defendant surgeon was an independent contractor rather than an employee was dismissed by the court. This ruling opens the door for the family of the injured plaintiff, who sued on her behalf, to continue their case against the hospital and doctor and, if successful, seek to hold the hospital responsible for damages.
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Minnesota Orthopedic Center Settles Injury Suit Before Second Trial
A settlement has been reached in a high-stakes lawsuit between an orthopedics center and former patient stemming from a 2017 emergency surgery that allegedly led to catastrophic and permanent injuries to the patient’s leg. This settlement comes just before a second trial was set to begin after a jury previously had awarded the patient $110 million in damages — a verdict later vacated by the court for being excessive.
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Texas Appellate Court Affirms Dismissal of Medical Malpractice Plaintiff’s Complaint for Failure To Observe Procedural Requirements
Recently, a Texas appellate court affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s medical malpractice action after she failed to comply with Texas procedural rules.
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Malpractice Insurance Rates Increasing After Stable Period
After a dozen years of medical malpractice insurance rates holding stable, a recent analysis by the American Medical Association (AMA) shows that 36.2% of medical liability insurance premiums increased over the previous year, the highest rate since 2005.
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Kentucky Protects Clinicians from Criminal Charges
The state of Kentucky has responded to the sensational criminal prosecution of a nurse in neighboring Tennessee by enacting a law that shields healthcare providers from criminal prosecution for medical errors.
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Patient Advocacy System Shown to Lower Malpractice Costs
A patient advocacy reporting program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center was associated with a significant decrease in malpractice claim costs for high-risk clinicians in an orthopedic practice network, suggesting a strategy that other hospitals can employ.
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Can Ethicists Be Sued for Recommendations? Attorneys Warn of Potential Legal Risks
The field of clinical ethics continues to evolve, with core competencies, certification, and documentation in the electronic medical record. In a recent paper, Claudia R. Sotomayor, MD, DBe, HEC-C, chief of the Ethics Consultation Service and a clinical ethicist at Georgetown University’s Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics in Washington, DC, and colleagues explored whether the professionalization of ethics consultation exposes those working in this field to the types of liability claims faced by professionals in other fields.
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Appellate Court Affirms Trial Court’s Grant of Summary Judgment in Drowning Case
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently upheld a trial court’s decision granting summary judgment to the defendants in a medical malpractice suit following the accidental drowning death of a patient after he was discharged from the hospital.
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Attorney-Client Privilege Is Vital, but Know Limitations
Attorney/client privilege can be vital in defending malpractice cases and managing other risk management issues. But sometimes, it is misunderstood by risk managers in healthcare, and missteps can have significant implications. Understanding attorney-client privilege is the first step to taking advantage of this important protection.
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Defendants Prevail Against Malpractice Claims Related to Hernia Surgery and Medication List
This case has many lessons to learn from the multiple defendants, multiple theories of malpractice liability, and multiple defenses. Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of this case relates to the patient’s primary care physician, who was one of the two remaining defendants when the matter proceeded to trial.