Yesterday I had the opportunity to testify before a group of state legislators interested hearing debate about a bill designed to limit the ability of patients to file medical malpractice lawsuits and recover adequate compensation when they do. The bill, HB 2122, includes a provision that would give a defendant…
The March 28, 2005 edition of Lawyers Weekly USA reports several cases on behalf of nursing home residents killed by fire ants. In Florida, a 73 year old man recuperating from surgery was attacked by fire ants. The lawsuit against the nursing home settled for $1,870,000. The family of a…
A recent editorial quotes the results of a Florida study that demonstrates that there has not been the dramatic increase in the numbers of malpractice cases represented by the insurance industry and doctors. The editorial said that “the research showed that while the state’s population climbed by 31.5 percent in…
The Tennessee General Assembly has a myraid of tort “deform” bills pending in the medical malpractice field this year. Generally speaking, the bills want to cap damages on meritorious cases, limit attorney’s fees for lawyers who represent patients, cut off subrogation interests, impose periodic payments, etc. The newest example of…
The Hunter v. Ura decision that I wrote about several days ago also seems to open the door to prejudgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Several years ago a case called Myint seemed to suggest that prejudgment interest could be awarded in such cases. Then, several court…
Hunter v. Ura has been decided by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The Court reversed the Tennessee Court of Appeals and reinstated a jury verdict for the plaintiff. The majority opinion is authored by Justice Riley Anderson. Justice Barker, joined by Chief Justice Drowota, dissented on one issue of many raised…
Would you think that a doctor who has had 33 medical malpractice payouts in the last decaded would still be practicing medicine? Dr. Michael Sachs in Manhattan is. His record became news after a 42 year old mother died after a nose job performed in his office. The cause of…
The Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota has held that a physician has an affirmative duty to inform a child’s biological parents about the risks posed by their child’s genetic problem. The plaintiff’s child was born with an inheritable form of mental retardation known as “Fragile X.” The parents…
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that the mother of a stillborn infant may seek damages for wrongful death and for negligent infliction of emotional distress. The child died as a result of conceded medical malpractice. The misdiagnosis took place several hours before the child died in utero. The mother…
An article in the Washington Post demonstrates an amazing ability of Sen. Bill Frist: the skill to make a medical diagnosis from a videotape. This may surprise some of you who do medical negligence work or address a lot of medical issues in your practice. As lawyers we are all…