ED Legal Letter – October 1, 2011
October 1, 2011
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Florida Set for Showdown on Constitutionality of Noneconomic Damages Caps in Medical Malpractice Cases
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Florida's cap does not violate the federal Constitution, but punted whether the cap violates the Florida Constitution to the Florida Supreme Court. -
Will Future Suits Allege Cancer From Needless ED CT Scans?
This is the second of a two-part series on liability risks involving ordering of diagnostic tests in the ED. This month, we report on possible lawsuits for future cancers, strategies if patients threaten to sue because a test wasn't ordered, and liability risks specific to pediatric patients. -
What If Patient Threatens to Sue If Test Isn't Ordered?
After the actress Natasha Richardson died in 2009 from an epidural hematoma that media reports emphasized could have been diagnosed with a head CT scan, EPs were flooded with requests for the test, even for patients with very minor head injuries, recalls John Burton, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA. -
Even Informal Consults on ED Patients Could Come Up in Suits
The "second-look EKG" is a good risk-management strategy, according to Robert Broida, MD, FACEP, chief operating officer of Physicians Specialty Limited Risk Retention Group in Canton, OH. If you are the treating physician for any patient with chest pain being considered for discharge, it is a good practice to have another physician review and initial the EKG before discharge, he advises.