Toyota has a problem with some of the vehicles it has manufactured and a little over 40 days ago issued a recall of 3.8 million of them. According to Toyota, "[r]ecent events have prompted [the company] to take a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get…
I have written before about the dangers of texting while driving (here is a post about the danger of posed when truckers text and drive), and the Tennessee Legislature recently outlawed the practice. Here is a game developed by the New York Times that demonstrates the danger.
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…
The Commercial Appeal wrote an interesting story on medical malpractice litigation in today’s paper. Read it here. An excerpt: Nationwide, the number of payments physicians made for malpractice claims fell to 11,037 last year — the lowest figure since the National Practitioner Data Bank began tracking data in 1990. Adjusted…
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…
By now most of us have heard of the Sweat Lodge incident. The Huffington Post article says that "[m]ore than 50 followers of spiritual guru James Arthur Ray had just endured five strenuous days of fasting, sleep-deprivation and mind-altering breathing exercises [were] into a sweat lodge ceremony" that is said to have…
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…
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…
The Georgia Legislature imposed a cap on noneconomic damages in meritorious medical malpractice cases in 2005. The cap is $350,000. In a case tried in Fulton County several years ago, the jury’s verdict exceeded the cap, and the Georgia Supreme Court is now considering whether the cap is…
The Washington Supreme Court has struck down the filing of a certificate of merit in medical malpractice cases in Washington state. The certificate is required by RCW 7.70.150. The opinion said that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers between the Legislature and the Judiciary and…