HeathGrades studies Medicare patient care in our nation’s hospitals based on 15 indicators of patient safety. Here are some highlights from the 2009 report representing data from 2005 -2007: · There were 913,215 total patient safety events among 864,765 Medicare beneficiarieswhich represents 2.3 percent of the nearly 38 million Medicare hospitalizations. · These…
There are a significant number of cases of interest to Tennessee tort lawyers pending before the Tennessee Supreme Court. One of those cases is Cox v. M.A. Primary and Urgent Care Clinic, 2009 WL 230242 (Tenn. Ct. App. 230242 (Jan. 30, 2009). The issue in the case is the appropriate…
You know that patient safety is not a priority in a hospital when your state regulatory agency orders that cameras be installed in your operating rooms. Rhode Island Hospital has had five wrong-site surgeries since 2007. Here is how the AP described the last incident: The latest incident last month…
On the afternoon of June 4, 2004, a woman named Patricia Copening driving a SUV ran into a delivery-van driver who had pulled over to repair a flat tire on the highway’s shoulder, killing him at the scene. She also hit another man, causing a head and other injuries. A…
Every day, more than 5 Tennesseans die as a result of medical malpractice. How do I know such a thing? Simple math. The Institute of Medicine has reported that 98,000 people a year die from medical malpractice. Think about it: the death rate from medical malpractice is the equivalent of…
A couple of months ago I filed an application with the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys seeking board certification in medical malpractice cases. I have been board certified as a civil trial specialist for over 15 years. In fact, several years ago I served as President of the National Board…
Washington State’s outstanding plaintiff’s lawyer offers great advice to those of us who have lost jury trials. A sample from "First Aid for Lawyers When They Lose Their Case:" When trial lawyers who are passionate about their client’s cause lose the case, their pain for the loss of their client…
Senator Orin Hatch (R-Nevada) asked the Congressional Budget Office to update its previous findings concerning the effect that restrictions on the rights of patients to hold the health care industry responsible for errors that kill or injure patients ("tort reform"). Here are some of the findings from the report: "National…
Yes, handoffs occur in football. But they also occur in healthcare, when one professional transfers the responsibility for caring for a patient to another provider. Here is how The Doctor’s Company explains handoffs when talking about hospitalists: The primary objective of a handoff is to provide accurate information about a…
President Obama announced yesterday that the government will set aside $25 million to support state grants for pilot programs to reduce medical malpractice lawsuits. ABC News describes the grant process this way: The Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the process for states to launch and test initiatives…