The preliminary numbers are in for 2010 and demonstrate that the statute providing for the giving of notice and filing a certificate of good faith has dramatically decreased the number of medical malpractice filings in Tennessee. The new law came in to effect on October 1, 2008 and was modified…
This article from Newsweek reveals some interesting information on medical errors. An excerpt: Undoing a culture is hard, especially one steeped in hierarchy and intimidation, where doctors tend to reign supreme and nurses, pharmacists, and technicians fall into the ranks below. “What underlies it is arrogance,” says Pronovost, an anesthesiologist…
This article from NPR caught my eye. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), a physician, said recently on the House Republican website America Speaking Out that the tab runs "an astounding $650 billion each year. That’s 26 percent of all money spent on health care." As the article notes, a series of…
If you have a potential claim for professional misconduct against a therapist for sexually abusing or inappropriately touching a patient, don’t forget that Tennessee has a special act for such torts. The act is known as the "Therapist Sexual Misconduct Victims Compensation Act." It is codified at T.C.A. Section 29-26-201…
The government of Thailand wants to have a scheme to compensate victims of medical malpractice. Many Thai doctors are opposed to the law. Here is an argument made by the physicians, as reported in Taiwan News: It means our staff would have to be extra careful during work, which would…
A recent study gives yet another reason of why it is difficult for a plaintiff to win a medical malpractice case in Nashville. MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center has released a study that states that puts health care industry’s annual economic impact in Nashville at $30 billion. That represents an…
On June 15, 2010 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…
The Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ordered a district judge to re-consider the fee to be awarded to plaintiff’s counsel in a personal injury case that resulted in a $18M dollar settlement. The district court had cut the fee from $6M to $600,000. The appellate court concluded that…
Max Kennerly has this interesting post that sprung from a post on Kevin, M.D. about a doctor who was a victim of poor medical care. The doctor went to a lawyer, not because she wanted money (she said) but because she wanted an apology. The lawyer couldn’t take her case…
The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, declaring the cap to be a violation of the right to trial by jury. The case is Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt, NO. SO9A1432 (Ga. March 22, 2010). Read the opinion here.…