Med Mal News

Family Sues over Missing Disabled Patient

The Los Angeles Times reports that one of the L.A. hospitals accused of taking part in an alleged scheme to pad its coffers by performing unnecessary procedures on homeless patients is in hot water again. This time, the City of Angels Hospital is being sued by the family of a mentally disabled man, Lawrence Garcia, for losing him after he underwent a medical test there. Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 9/18/08. The missing 76-year-old man was being treated for lymphoma at the hospital and was allegedly left unattended in the hospital's lobby to wait for his driver, even though his mental development is, according to the suit, that of a six-year-old child. After the patient disappeared, his family said the hospital refused to help them find him.

Nurse with Tuberculosis Worked with Newborns

The maternity ward at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Francisco unwittingly employed a part-time nurse with tuberculosis (TB) in its postpartum maternity unit from March 10 to Aug. 10 of this year. On Aug. 18, the health care organization's physicians began notifying the 960 mothers whose children were kept in Kaiser's Maternal Child Health Unit that they, their children and their visitors might have been exposed to TB. The risk of their contracting the disease was considered minimal, however. Kaiser said in a release that the San Francisco Medical Center followed all the hospital's employee health screening procedures when it hired the affected nurse, and that investigation into how a nurse with TB was hired is ongoing.

New York Freezes Med-Mal Insurance Rate Hikes

New York's Governor David Paterson signed a bill in August freezing medical malpractice insurance premiums for a year while investigation is made into what is causing doctors' business expenses to rise, reportedly forcing them out of the state. Following the Governor's action, Richard F. Daines, M.D., Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, said in a release: “This temporary freeze demonstrates the Governor's and Legislature's commitment to assuring that New Yorkers have uninterrupted access to the full range of health care services. At the same time, it will foster an environment in which the stakeholders can come together to continue the hard work we began last year to reach an agreement on real reform. I call upon the physicians who will benefit from this freeze to join the Department of Health in our continuing effort to increase patient safety and eliminate preventable medical errors.”

Study Looks at Settlement vs. Trial

A new study published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies says plaintiffs who choose to go to trial are likely to end up worse off than they would have been if they had settled their cases. The study looked at 2,054 cases of varying types and found that, between 2002 and 2005, 61% of plaintiffs who rejected settlement offers received damage amounts lower than the offered amounts. For defendants, the study's results were a mixed bag. Defendants who opted to go to trial rather than pay a settlement demand generally fared well, with 76% of these being ordered to pay less than the plaintiff's demanded settlement amount. The 24% of defendants who chose to go to trail, however, were asked to pay an average $1.9 million verdict amount, as opposed to the average plaintiff settlement request of $770,900.

Mississippi Malpractice Lawyer Loses Big over Affair

A Mississippi attorney's affair with a medical malpractice client will cost him $1.5 million, the Supreme Court of Mississippi has affirmed. A jury in 2006 had found attorney Ronald Henry Pierce liable to one of his former clients for intentional infliction of emotional distress, alienation of affection and breach of contract following the attorney's affair with the claimant's wife. Pierce had been hired by the couple to represent them and their son in a medical malpractice action. He was dismissed from that role when the husband found out about the affair, and the couple have since divorced.

Joint Commission Suggests Ways to Prevent Anticoagulant Overdoses

The Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert Sept. 24 offering solutions to the problem of accidental blood thinner misuse in hospitals. Several prominent news stories about anticoagulant mishandling that led to overdoses in infants, some of whom died, have brought the problem to the fore in the past year. The Joint Commission noted that the narrow therapeutic ranges for the drugs pose a high potential for complications, so patients should be screened for drug and food interactions and should be monitored closely while on anticoagulants, like heparin and warfarin. In addition, the Joint Commission issued a list of 15 steps hospitals and other medical care facilities should take to avoid overdoses. These recommendations include clearly labeling syringes and containers for anticoagulants and paying special attention to pediatric patient doses. The full list of overdose prevention steps is available at: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_41.htm

Pennsylvania Doctors Call for Extension of Med-Mal Insurance Subsidies

Some physician groups in Pennsylvania met at the state capitol on Sept. 16 to voice their concerns about the legislative impasse that is holding up passage of an extension to the state's program that subsidizes doctors' medical malpractice insurance premiums. The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error fund (MCARE), which was created to stem the tide of physicians leaving the state due to the high costs of practicing there, is set to expire this year. Governor Ed Rendell (D) and state House Democrats are holding up renewal of MCARE until such time as the Republican-controlled state Senate passes legislation that will offer more medical care coverage for Pennsylvania's low-income citizens. The Republicans have also dug in their heels, leaving both programs in limbo. The Pennsylvania Medical Society and The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) sponsored the Sept. 16 press conference at the capitol.

Another Emergency Medical Transport Helicopter Crashes

A Maryland State Police helicopter carrying two teenaged car-crash victims to a hospital crashed in the woods on its way from the road accident site to Prince George's Hospital in Cheverly, MD, killing four of the five on board. Killed were one of the patients, two Maryland State personnel and the pilot, a retired Maryland State trooper. The pilot reportedly tried to abort the flight because of bad weather and the helicopter was to have returned to Andrews Airforce Base, where ambulances were waiting to carry the patients to the hospital.

Family Sues over Missing Disabled Patient

The Los Angeles Times reports that one of the L.A. hospitals accused of taking part in an alleged scheme to pad its coffers by performing unnecessary procedures on homeless patients is in hot water again. This time, the City of Angels Hospital is being sued by the family of a mentally disabled man, Lawrence Garcia, for losing him after he underwent a medical test there. Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 9/18/08. The missing 76-year-old man was being treated for lymphoma at the hospital and was allegedly left unattended in the hospital's lobby to wait for his driver, even though his mental development is, according to the suit, that of a six-year-old child. After the patient disappeared, his family said the hospital refused to help them find him.

Nurse with Tuberculosis Worked with Newborns

The maternity ward at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Francisco unwittingly employed a part-time nurse with tuberculosis (TB) in its postpartum maternity unit from March 10 to Aug. 10 of this year. On Aug. 18, the health care organization's physicians began notifying the 960 mothers whose children were kept in Kaiser's Maternal Child Health Unit that they, their children and their visitors might have been exposed to TB. The risk of their contracting the disease was considered minimal, however. Kaiser said in a release that the San Francisco Medical Center followed all the hospital's employee health screening procedures when it hired the affected nurse, and that investigation into how a nurse with TB was hired is ongoing.

New York Freezes Med-Mal Insurance Rate Hikes

New York's Governor David Paterson signed a bill in August freezing medical malpractice insurance premiums for a year while investigation is made into what is causing doctors' business expenses to rise, reportedly forcing them out of the state. Following the Governor's action, Richard F. Daines, M.D., Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, said in a release: “This temporary freeze demonstrates the Governor's and Legislature's commitment to assuring that New Yorkers have uninterrupted access to the full range of health care services. At the same time, it will foster an environment in which the stakeholders can come together to continue the hard work we began last year to reach an agreement on real reform. I call upon the physicians who will benefit from this freeze to join the Department of Health in our continuing effort to increase patient safety and eliminate preventable medical errors.”

Study Looks at Settlement vs. Trial

A new study published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies says plaintiffs who choose to go to trial are likely to end up worse off than they would have been if they had settled their cases. The study looked at 2,054 cases of varying types and found that, between 2002 and 2005, 61% of plaintiffs who rejected settlement offers received damage amounts lower than the offered amounts. For defendants, the study's results were a mixed bag. Defendants who opted to go to trial rather than pay a settlement demand generally fared well, with 76% of these being ordered to pay less than the plaintiff's demanded settlement amount. The 24% of defendants who chose to go to trail, however, were asked to pay an average $1.9 million verdict amount, as opposed to the average plaintiff settlement request of $770,900.

Mississippi Malpractice Lawyer Loses Big over Affair

A Mississippi attorney's affair with a medical malpractice client will cost him $1.5 million, the Supreme Court of Mississippi has affirmed. A jury in 2006 had found attorney Ronald Henry Pierce liable to one of his former clients for intentional infliction of emotional distress, alienation of affection and breach of contract following the attorney's affair with the claimant's wife. Pierce had been hired by the couple to represent them and their son in a medical malpractice action. He was dismissed from that role when the husband found out about the affair, and the couple have since divorced.

Joint Commission Suggests Ways to Prevent Anticoagulant Overdoses

The Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert Sept. 24 offering solutions to the problem of accidental blood thinner misuse in hospitals. Several prominent news stories about anticoagulant mishandling that led to overdoses in infants, some of whom died, have brought the problem to the fore in the past year. The Joint Commission noted that the narrow therapeutic ranges for the drugs pose a high potential for complications, so patients should be screened for drug and food interactions and should be monitored closely while on anticoagulants, like heparin and warfarin. In addition, the Joint Commission issued a list of 15 steps hospitals and other medical care facilities should take to avoid overdoses. These recommendations include clearly labeling syringes and containers for anticoagulants and paying special attention to pediatric patient doses. The full list of overdose prevention steps is available at: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_41.htm

Pennsylvania Doctors Call for Extension of Med-Mal Insurance Subsidies

Some physician groups in Pennsylvania met at the state capitol on Sept. 16 to voice their concerns about the legislative impasse that is holding up passage of an extension to the state's program that subsidizes doctors' medical malpractice insurance premiums. The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error fund (MCARE), which was created to stem the tide of physicians leaving the state due to the high costs of practicing there, is set to expire this year. Governor Ed Rendell (D) and state House Democrats are holding up renewal of MCARE until such time as the Republican-controlled state Senate passes legislation that will offer more medical care coverage for Pennsylvania's low-income citizens. The Republicans have also dug in their heels, leaving both programs in limbo. The Pennsylvania Medical Society and The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) sponsored the Sept. 16 press conference at the capitol.

Another Emergency Medical Transport Helicopter Crashes

A Maryland State Police helicopter carrying two teenaged car-crash victims to a hospital crashed in the woods on its way from the road accident site to Prince George's Hospital in Cheverly, MD, killing four of the five on board. Killed were one of the patients, two Maryland State personnel and the pilot, a retired Maryland State trooper. The pilot reportedly tried to abort the flight because of bad weather and the helicopter was to have returned to Andrews Airforce Base, where ambulances were waiting to carry the patients to the hospital.