The Boston Globe reports that more than 2000 people died in a period of a little more than five years because of issues arising from alarms on hospitalized patients. The cause in many cases: personnel did not notice that the alarms were sounding or ignored them. From the article: …
A new study reveals that as many as 75 percent of hospital tests are not followed up and this failure can have serious consequences for patients, including delayed or missed diagnoses and even death. The study is a "study of studies," and looked at 12 international studies. The work showed…
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation has released this Adverse Event Protocol discussing what should be done when things go bad for a patient receiving or who is under anesthesia. As the author of the plan explains, the "plan of action will help minimize damage to the patient (and also to…
Tennessee consumers injured by medical negligence are facing a full assault on their right to trial by jury. Some members of the new General Assembly seem hell-bent on placing arbitrary caps on damages, notwithstanding the fact that medical malpractice lawsuits are down over 40% and malpractice insurer profits are soaring.…
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation has created a video that discusses how to prevent and manage fires that occur in the operating room. The video is 18 minutes long and was released in February 2010. Here is what the organization says about operating room fires: The most notable finding when…
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance has put the medical malpractice case reporting form on its website. The reports must be filed on or before March 1, 2011. Plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorneys who concluded a case in 2010 must complete this form.
I will be speaking on a Webcast seminar on January 5, 2011 at Noon CST discussing the developments in the law of notice and certificates of good faith in medical malpractice cases. I will also discuss service of process issues after the decision in Hall v. Haynes. The seminar is…
Judge Mays of the United States District Court in Memphis has dismissed a medical malpractice case filed against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act because the plaintiff did not file a certificate of good faith as required by T.C.A. Sec. 29-26-122. Judge Mays held that the federal…
The November 25, 2010 New York Times has reported on a study that has found that no progress has been made at improving patient safety in hospitals. The study is reported in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine. It was conducted from 2002 to 2007 in 10 North Carolina…
Yesterday I reported that SVMIC, the bedpan mutual that insures the vast majority of Tennessee doctors, reduced its rates by 23.1% . I also reported that the company declared a $20,000,000 dividend. The net effect of the dividend means that policyholders with a history of no paid claims will receive another 8% reduction (or…