Medical Malpractice

• $4,100 Recovery to Have Top of Skull Replaced

  Ben Glass | August 31, 2007 11:10 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Every once in a while I think that Virginia couldn't be a worse place to be hurt or killed by a doctor and then I read stories like this.Seems that German doctors removed the top of a man's skull for an operation. They put it in the refrigerator during the operation but the fridge wasn't working, so the skull deteriorated and could not be replaced. The German court, reasoning that his new...

• 17 Arrested in California "Rent a Patient" Scam

  Ben Glass | May 18, 2007 4:34 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  The L.A. Times is reporting that three physicians in Orange County, California have been arrested for doing unnecessary surgery. This isn't like the other California horror described in Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry (where unsuspecting victims were subjected to unnecessary heart surgery.)No, these "patients" were allegedly recruited to be patients! Apparently 17 have been arrested...

• Malpractice Epidemic? Not!

  Ben Glass | May 08, 2007 3:37 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Every day its seems that there is another good article coming out that completely debunks the myth that there is an epidemic of medical malpractice claims and lawsuits. Hey doctors--I know you've been overcharged and gouged by the insurance companies. Time to stand up and tell them "show me the data."Sandra Boodman of the Washington Post has another good medical malpractice article today,...

• District of Columbia Court of Appeals Throws Out Nursing Home Verdict

  Ben Glass | May 02, 2007 6:03 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has thrown out a verdict that awarded nothing for pain and suffering for an elderly woman who fell and broke her hip at a nursing facility.According to the opinion the evidence at trial was that an elderly woman with dementia fell and broke her hip at the defendant's nursing facility. Medical records and the testimony of employees of the defendant...

• Florida "Paralyzed" Claimant found Walking (on video)

  Ben Glass | April 27, 2007 6:13 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Here's another disturbing story that only makes it harder for legitimate victims of malpractice to have their day in court.A Florida judge has thrown out a woman's medical malpractice lawsuit after the judge viewed a video showing the woman walking. This was after the woman had testified in deposition that she couldn't walk at all after an undiagnosed spinal abscess.Comments from her lawyers:He...

• $350,000.00 settlement for fall in assisted living center.

  Ben Glass | April 24, 2007 1:20 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  According to published reports,in this case in the southwest part of Virginia, an 87 year old assisted living resident fell and suffered hip and elbow fractures while walking from her bed to the bathroom. Prior to the fall she had been independent in walking at the time of the fall and for the prior five years while she was a resident of the facility. Her case settled for $350,000.00.Lawsuits...

• The "Final" Verdicts You Don't See

  Ben Glass | April 10, 2007 8:22 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Every once in a while you undoubtedly read about a verdict that seems too large, at least on the limited facts that appear in most newspapers.Often times these "runaway" verdicts start up a new round of calls for "reform."The truth is that the legal system already has in place methods for verdicts to be reduced by the person in the best place to make a judgment, the judge.This happened recently...

• Ohio Moves the Ball Forward, Virginia Still in The Dark

  Ben Glass | March 22, 2007 5:34 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  My friend Ohio Personal Injury Attorney Chuck Boyk has a great post about a terrific new medical malpractice decision from OHIO.It seems that Ohio has expanded the time that parents of minors have to fill a "loss of consortium" claim for injuries suffered by their children by medical malpractice. This is a lot better than Virginia for a lot of reasons:First, in OhioGenerally, children have until...

• New York Makes is Harder to Get Some Personal Records

  Ben Glass | March 17, 2007 2:27 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  All too often the insurance defense attorneys go on a "fishing expedition" in a medical malpractice case to try to find "dirt" in a patient's past medical records.Attorney Eric Turkewitz explains how, in New York, an appellate court has just made it a little more difficult for the fishing expedition to take place. Now, there must be an initital showing of a compelling need for some records,...

• Oklahoma Supreme Court Throws Out Medical Malpractice Affidavit Requirement

  Ben Glass | March 14, 2007 8:38 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Virginia medical malpractice law requires that before serving a medical malpractice lawsuit on a Virginia doctor the plaintiff or his attorney must have in his file a signed "Certification of Merit" from an expert witness that says, in effect, that the case is valid. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has recently thrown out a similar requirement in that state on the basis that the requirement,...