"It’s not personal responsibility I have a problem with. It is the constant threat of litigation that gets to me. And that’s why we need to cap damages in malpractice lawsuits." How many times have you heard some member of the health care industry say that? I guess that the…
SVMIC, the well-managed, physician-owned liability insurance company that insures an estimated 90% of the doctors in the state, publishes a newsletter called "Riskpoints." It is available on their website. The Fall 2006 edition of the newsletter (article in on Page 2 of the newsletter). listed the top ten jury verdicts…
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear the following tort cases in Jackson in April: Dewayne E. Holloway v. State: Whether the Claims Commission lacked subject matter jurisdiction under Tennessee Code Annotated section 9-8-307(a)(1)(E) to adjudicate the plaintiff’s wrongful death claim. Troup v. Fischer Steel Corporation: Whether the Court of Appeals…
This is a comment from "Chris" to my post on Tuesday I agree that the main focus is economics. In general, one CV surgeon is needed for approximately every 35-50 thousand people. Now, it is impossible to do this if you are the only one as then there is constraint…
The Supreme Court has fiddled with the law of punitive damages again. More on this is in a later post.
"We have to limit the liability of negligent health care providers because doctors are leaving medicine to work at Krystal (or whatever)." That’s the non-stop babble we hear from lobbyists and pr flacks for the health care industry. Then, there are the facts. Consider this: cardiac surgeons are looking for…
Plaintiff’s lawyers need to be aware that legislation passed last year by the General Assembly requires the reporting of fees and expenses received as a result of medical negligence litigation in 2006. The reports are due at the offices of the Department of Commerce and Insurance on or before April…
In 2003 Texans passed Proposition 12. It placed caps on human losses in valid medical negligence claims and put in place other restrictions on the rights of citizens injuryed by medical negligence to seek justice. "Patients were told to expect significant improvements in health care across the state, as well…
Charlie Weis, head football coach at Notre Dame, sued two doctors in connection with injuries he received following gastric bypass surgery. The trial in underway in Boston. He alleges that he suffered internal bleeding after the procedure and that his doctors failed to promptly correct it. The doctors say that…
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that "both an original medical bill rendered and the amount accepted as full payment are admissible to prove the reasonableness and necessity of charges rendered for medical and hospital care." The Court went on to say that "[t]he jury may decide that the reasonable value…