Articles Posted in Medical Negligence

A new study published in Health Affairs found that “[t]he United States often stands out with high medical errors and in-efficient care and has the worst performance for access/cost barriers and financial burdens.”

The study looked at the health care delivery systems in Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

The study reports that “p]atients in the United States reported the highest rate of disorganized care at doctor’s offices – 33 percent – followed by Germany with 26 percent, Canada with 24 percent and New Zealand with 21 percent. Patients in Britain and Australia reported 19 percent.” The study also found that “U.S. patient-reported lab error rates were significantly higher than the other five countries, with rates double those reported in Germany and the United Kingdom. Lab error rates were also relatively high in Canada.”

Interested in knowing what the American College of Emergency Physicans thinks about how certain patients should be treated in the ER?

Then read this post at our Medical Malpractice Blog.

Here is an interesting article published in a Memphis newspaper.

Kaiser Permanente is advancing the cause of patient safety by using a “Preoperative Safety Briefing” similar in concept to preflight checklists used in the airline industry. A one-page checklist was developed and used for the project.

In a six-month trial project wrong site surgeries were eliminated (there had been three in the prior six month period) and positive perceptions by staff about patient safety and teamwork increased.

Read more here and here.

There is no decision yet in the Calloway case. Until there is, it may be wise to assume that the three-year statute of repose in medical negligence cases trumps the rights of minors.

I will let you know as soon as I hear something on this important case.

Plaintiff filed a medical negligence lawsuit. She enjoyed an occasional joint, before and after her injury. At trial, the defendant called four witnesses to say that the use of pot could affect a doctor’s treatment of her. None testified that it did affect treatment. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant.

A Florida appellate court reversed, holding that “In the absence of such evidence, the doctors’ testimony that a patient’s use of marijuana could have an impact on treatment decisions did not logically tend to prove or disprove any fact of consequence to the outcome of Shaw’s action. Accordingly, it was irrelevant, and should not have been permitted.”

The Court went on to say that “[e]ven if we assume that the evidence regarding Shaw’s marijuana use had some marginal relevance, however, the outcome remains the same. By repeated reference to Shaw’s marijuana use in opening statement, during the doctors’ testimony, and in closing argument, the marijuana use became a feature of the trial. As such, any marginal probative value it might have had was clearly outweighed ‘by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues [and] misleading the jury.'”

The Washington Post reports that “Americans pay more when they get sick than people in other Western nations and get more confused, error-prone treatment, according to the largest survey to compare U.S. health care with other nations.”

The Post also states that “Americans also reported the greatest number of medical errors. Thirty-four percent reported getting the wrong medication or dose, incorrect test results, a mistake in their treatment or care, or being notified late about abnormal test results. Only 30 percent of Canadian patients, 27 percent of Australian patients, 25 percent of New Zealanders, 23 percent of Germans and 22 percent of Britons reported errors.”

Read the article here.

Apparently not every doctor in America is willing to accept the propaganda from liability insurance carriers that “your rates are the fault of greedy trial lawyers.” This doctor wants information, and is pushing legislation to get it. Read more here.

A friend who is getting ready to file a medical negligence case told me that his medical consultant said this about the case: “It took a whole group of doctors to kill this woman.”

The consultant was not suggesting that the doctors conspired to hurt, much less “kill”, the patient. His point was that in a hospital setting the cause of an injury or death is often not the fault of one person. In the ordinary course, one person makes an error and someone else catchs it before harm is done. No, where things really get messed up is when a group of people is having a bad time of it, where balls are flying all over the place and nobody has a catcher’s mitt or is even aware that the balls are flying around. Simply put, awareness is off, communication breaks down and people get hurt.

The adoption of proper systems can usually prevent these situations from occurring. Indeed, this is one of the reasons behind Vanderbilt’s Evidence-Based Medicine Program that I talked about recently.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has just granted a Rule 9 application in a medical negligence case, even though the Tennessee Court of Appeals refused to do so.

The plaintiff had an abdominal operation several years ago and learned more than three years later that a clip was left on one of her ureters, resulting in the death of one kidney. She brought suit and the defendants asserted the three-year statute of repose. The plaintiff raised the foreign objection exception to the statute of repose. The defendants then asserted because the clip was of the type that is often left in the body it was not a “foreign object” within the meaning of the statute and therefore the suit was untimely.

Plaintiff asserts that even though the clip is of the type often left in the body it is not supposed to be left on a ureter. Essentially, the plaintiff argues that an object can become a “foreign object” if it was left in the body for an unintended use.