ED Legal Letter – July 1, 2014
July 1, 2014
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Courts Carve Out Exceptions to Georgia’s Emergency Care Tort Reform
In a series of recent decisions, the states appellate and supreme courts diluted application of the clear and convincing gross negligence standard installed by Georgias tort reform statute, and they have also advanced exceptions to the law that allow plaintiff attorneys to circumvent the legislatures intended tougher standards required to prove medical malpractice. -
Failure to Diagnose Stroke Claims Have These Fact Patterns
Failure to diagnose ischemic stroke is a common allegation in claims against emergency physicians (EPs) even in emergency departments (EDs) at Primary Stroke Centers, according to Gary Mims, JD, a partner at Sickels, Frei and Mims in Fairfax, VA. -
Not Giving tPA? EPs Must Protect Themselves Legally
There is actually surprisingly little the emergency physician (EP) can do to influence the outcome of most stroke cases, according to Marc E. Levsky, MD, a board member of the Walnut Creek, CA-based The Mutual Risk Retention Group. -
EMR Charting "Creates New Areas of Liability" for EPs
Time-stamped electronic medical record (EMR) entries became the primary focus during a meeting with a patients family and their attorneys at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA, in which concerns were being addressed about a patients adverse outcome after a procedure performed in the emergency department (ED).