Medical Malpractice

• Congress Not Fooled by Reformers' Cry

  Ben Glass | May 09, 2006 10:06 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Two proposed federal medical malpractice bills got hammered (again) in Congress yesterday. The arguments of those beholden to the insurance industry are getting tired. Nothing new. Most folks see through their smoke. What is almost laughable is the position taken by Pennysvlania's Senator Santorum. What a hypocrite this guy is.(I'll have to give him credit, though, for taking a stand even when...

• Roanoke Neurosurgeons Critical of Judge

  Ben Glass | May 08, 2006 12:36 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  While going through some of my archives this weekend in preparation for a talk I am giving soon, I ran across this letter that a couple of Roanoke, Virginia neurosurgeons had sent to a local judge following a verdict in a Roanoke medical malpractice case. It shows the type of pressure that judges are under. You can read the letter from the malpractice case and draw your own conclusions, but here...

• Jury Should Not Have Been Allowed to Reduce Verdict

  Ben Glass | April 24, 2006 9:48 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  A Suffolk jury should not have been told that it could reduce a medical malpractice victim's verdict because of his choice of which hospital to go to following a nurse's bad medical advice, according to the Supreme Court of Virginia. In the lawsuit, Lawrence J. Monahan sought recovery from Obici Medical Management Services, Inc. for its nurse's bad advice following signs and symptoms of an...

• Wrong Site Surgeries On the Rise!

  Ben Glass | April 18, 2006 4:23 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  USA today is reporting a stunning statistic. Despite years of claims involving "wrong side" surgeries and all of the efforts that have (supposedly) gone into hospital procedure changes that would eliminate the risk that once you go to sleep the doctor operates on the correct body part, the number of medical mistakes is rising."It's getting worse," says Dennis O'Leary, who heads the non-profit...

• A Block to Valid Malpractice Claims in Texas

  Ben Glass | April 01, 2006 4:04 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  My friend, Texas personal injury lawyer, Bob Kraft has updated everyone at his blog on the effects of the drastic tort reform in Texas. It's no surprise that in an effort to weed out "frivolous" claims they've thrown out the bathwater with the baby. Now, even meritorious claims aren't being filed since the Republican legislature took it upon themselves to virtually immunize bad doctors. Every...

• Secret Malpractice Settlements

  Ben Glass | April 01, 2006 6:32 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Whenever you see see doctors pushing for "malpractice reform" or "tort reform" you should call your legislature and ask her to ask this question when the doctors come calling:Doctor, before we sit down to discuss what it is you want me to do for you, will you release the claim information on every claim you have paid and will you encourage your colleagues to do the same?You see, the doctors...

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  Ben Glass | March 31, 2006 1:14 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  There is an interesting case brewing here in Fairfax County. I represent the former manager of a dental office who filed a complaint with the board of dentistry here in Virginia. Now she and others she worked with have been sued by the dentist, Farid A. Zurmati, DDS, owner of Kingstowne Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.The dentist alleges that a former office manager "made numerous allegations...

• One More Way to "Lose" a Malpractice Case

  Ben Glass | March 14, 2006 1:30 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Malpractice cases must be virtually "perfect" in Virginia to win. Now here's another way to "lose" one. Have the large, 45 doctor specialty practice buy insurance from a company that was not licensed in Virginia and is now out of business. At least that's the story out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, today. The Virginia Pilot exposed this travesty today. Now, you might think that Virginia law would...

• Pediatric Patients Beware

  Ben Glass | February 27, 2006 5:00 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Studies published last week by the Journal of the American Medical Association reveal the shocking disclosure that most hospitals and health plans don't require board certification by those wishing to hold themselves out to the public as "pediatricians." In the article about hospitals 78 percent of hospitals did not require doctors to be board certified as pediatricians before they were given...

• "I'm Sorry" Banned in Washington

  Ben Glass | February 23, 2006 9:33 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  A Seattle, Washington newspaper is reporting on a compromise tort reform law agreed to by doctors and lawyers. The bill includes a provision similar to what we have in Virginia medical malpractice cases in that if a doctor or other health care provider apologizes or says he's "sorry" following a medical mishap, that statement is not admissible in a later lawsuit. This makes a lot of sense and...