Well, the Civil Practice Subcommittee met today but the sponser of the two “reform” bills asked that the bills be “rolled” (continued) until next week. The sponser indicated he wanted to amend the bill to address some of the issues I raised in the hearing of 12 days ago. Next…
That title is so misleading. Today’s hearing has nothing to do with modifying the health care system to prevent injuries and death from medical malpractice. Today’s hearing will determine whether the Civil Practice Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will vote-out a bill to restrict the rights of people who…
The American Association of Critical Care Nurses has issued a new study concerning medical malpractice in our nation’s hospitals. This is scary stuff. The reports says that each year “one in twenty in-patients will be given the wrong medication, 3.5 million will get an infection from someone who did not…
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…
