Med Mal News

Sexual Relationships with Patients Not Constitutionally Protected

The New York court system's Appellate Division has upheld the revocation of a psychiatrist's license, based on findings by the state's Board for Professional Medical Conduct that the doctor had not only provided substandard care in several instances, but had carried on sexual relationships with two of his patients. The doctor, Rochester physician Carmen A. D'Angelo, argued in his appeal that the state regulators' actions against him violated his constitutional rights to court and marry the person of his choice (he later became engaged to one of the patients with whom he had had a sexual relationship). He also asked the court to abandon its own holding in Matter of Miller v. Commissioner of Health for State of N.Y., 270 AD2d 584 (2000), which said that the state's legislature did not mean to grant its approval of physician/patient sexual relationships simply because it had failed to specifically discuss such liaisons in its legislation addressing a physician's lack of moral fitness to practice medicine (Education Law ' 6530(20)). Psychiatrists, on the other hand, are explicitly barred from having sexual contact with patients under Education Law ' 6530(44). “Petitioner urges this Court to overrule this precedent, asserting that his constitutionally guaranteed liberty interest which protects his right to marriage encompasses a right to activities related to marriage and courtship, including ' astoundingly ' the right to engage in extramarital sexual relationships with his patients,” Justice Edward O. Spain wrote for the five-member court in Matter of D'Angelo v. State Board for Professional Medical Conduct. “We are unpersuaded that our interpretation of the Legislature's intent, undisturbed now for over nine years, was in error,” the court concluded.

Study of Vets with PTSD Shows Increased Mortality Post Surgery

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Veterans Administration have reported a link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and death following surgery. The researchers looked at the medical histories of nearly 1,800 veterans who had had elective major surgery requiring hospital admissions. Controlling for age and for several known complicating factors, like high blood pressure or a history of smoking, they still found that one-year mortality rates for those surgical patients with PTSD were significantly higher than for those who had never been so diagnosed. The researchers advise, based on their findings, that health care providers ask their surgical patients about any history of PTSD, and treat those who answer affirmatively with extra care.

Advanced Telemedicine Technology Superior to Telephonic Exchanges

At October's annual meeting of the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, researchers presented their findings on the efficacy of telemedicine vs. telephonic consultations between rural health care providers and trauma surgeons when patients cannot be immediately taken to a trauma center. (In the context of the study, the term “telemedicine” refers to reciprocal video and audio communications between two or more locations.) The study's lead author, Rafael Grossmann, MD, FACS, a general surgeon at Eastern Maine Medical Center, reported that after analyzing the two methods of exchanging information, the researchers found that medical errors following telemedicine consultations were only a quarter of those that followed telephonic consultations. In addition, unnecessary patient transfers were nearly eliminated with use of telemedicine conferences. For more information about the study's methodology and findings, see the release from the American College of Surgeons at: http://www.facs.org/clincon2009/press/grossmann.html.

Med-Mal Defendants Say Appeals Judge Should Have Recused Himself

Some Pennsylvania medical malpractice defendants are seeking permission to appeal a $3.97 million verdict that was reinstated on the plaintiff's appeal, arguing that one of the appellate judges who heard the plaintiff's appeal was too personally connected to the plaintiff's attorney firm. Defendants Dr. Joseph M. Skutches and St. Luke's Hospital Physician Group point out in their allocatur petition that Martin D. Cohen, the founder of the plaintiff's law firm, Cohen & Feeley, was one of two people who performed the robing ceremony at Judge Jack Panella's Superior Court installation in January 2004. “It is believed that this distinct honor is generally bestowed on a person with whom a judge has an especially close relationship,” the petition says. Cohen also contributed to Judge Panella's campaign fund when the latter was running for the judgeship. The petition cites to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 129 S.Ct. 2252(2009), which holds that recusal is warranted not only when there is proof of an actual bias, but also when a risk of actual bias exists, based on objective and reasonable perceptions. “While the [Cohen & Feeley] firm founder was not Plaintiff's actual trial counsel,” states the petition, “his firm's large financial interest in this case, combined with his close relationship with Judge Panella, created precisely the type of situation that warrants disqualification.”

The personal and financial connections between the judge and Cohen came to light when Seymour Traub, general counsel for defendant St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, noticed that the normally talkative and inquisitive Judge Panella was silent during oral arguments in his client's case. Considering the fact that both the judge and the plaintiff's law firm were located in the same Pennsylvania county, Traub suspected there could be some connection between them. After researching contributions to Judge Panella's campaign through the Pennsylvania Department of State Web site and finding the contribution made by Cohen, Traub conducted further research that turned up newspaper articles about Judge Panella's appearance at an event honoring Cohen, and about Panella's installation ceremony.

Sexual Relationships with Patients Not Constitutionally Protected

The New York court system's Appellate Division has upheld the revocation of a psychiatrist's license, based on findings by the state's Board for Professional Medical Conduct that the doctor had not only provided substandard care in several instances, but had carried on sexual relationships with two of his patients. The doctor, Rochester physician Carmen A. D'Angelo, argued in his appeal that the state regulators' actions against him violated his constitutional rights to court and marry the person of his choice (he later became engaged to one of the patients with whom he had had a sexual relationship). He also asked the court to abandon its own holding in Matter of Miller v. Commissioner of Health for State of N.Y. , 270 AD2d 584 (2000), which said that the state's legislature did not mean to grant its approval of physician/patient sexual relationships simply because it had failed to specifically discuss such liaisons in its legislation addressing a physician's lack of moral fitness to practice medicine (Education Law ' 6530(20)). Psychiatrists, on the other hand, are explicitly barred from having sexual contact with patients under Education Law ' 6530(44). “Petitioner urges this Court to overrule this precedent, asserting that his constitutionally guaranteed liberty interest which protects his right to marriage encompasses a right to activities related to marriage and courtship, including ' astoundingly ' the right to engage in extramarital sexual relationships with his patients,” Justice Edward O. Spain wrote for the five-member court in Matter of D'Angelo v. State Board for Professional Medical Conduct. “We are unpersuaded that our interpretation of the Legislature's intent, undisturbed now for over nine years, was in error,” the court concluded.

Study of Vets with PTSD Shows Increased Mortality Post Surgery

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Veterans Administration have reported a link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and death following surgery. The researchers looked at the medical histories of nearly 1,800 veterans who had had elective major surgery requiring hospital admissions. Controlling for age and for several known complicating factors, like high blood pressure or a history of smoking, they still found that one-year mortality rates for those surgical patients with PTSD were significantly higher than for those who had never been so diagnosed. The researchers advise, based on their findings, that health care providers ask their surgical patients about any history of PTSD, and treat those who answer affirmatively with extra care.

Advanced Telemedicine Technology Superior to Telephonic Exchanges

At October's annual meeting of the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, researchers presented their findings on the efficacy of telemedicine vs. telephonic consultations between rural health care providers and trauma surgeons when patients cannot be immediately taken to a trauma center. (In the context of the study, the term “telemedicine” refers to reciprocal video and audio communications between two or more locations.) The study's lead author, Rafael Grossmann, MD, FACS, a general surgeon at Eastern Maine Medical Center, reported that after analyzing the two methods of exchanging information, the researchers found that medical errors following telemedicine consultations were only a quarter of those that followed telephonic consultations. In addition, unnecessary patient transfers were nearly eliminated with use of telemedicine conferences. For more information about the study's methodology and findings, see the release from the American College of Surgeons at: http://www.facs.org/clincon2009/press/grossmann.html.

Med-Mal Defendants Say Appeals Judge Should Have Recused Himself

Some Pennsylvania medical malpractice defendants are seeking permission to appeal a $3.97 million verdict that was reinstated on the plaintiff's appeal, arguing that one of the appellate judges who heard the plaintiff's appeal was too personally connected to the plaintiff's attorney firm. Defendants Dr. Joseph M. Skutches and St. Luke's Hospital Physician Group point out in their allocatur petition that Martin D. Cohen, the founder of the plaintiff's law firm, Cohen & Feeley, was one of two people who performed the robing ceremony at Judge Jack Panella's Superior Court installation in January 2004. “It is believed that this distinct honor is generally bestowed on a person with whom a judge has an especially close relationship,” the petition says. Cohen also contributed to Judge Panella's campaign fund when the latter was running for the judgeship. The petition cites to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. , 129 S.Ct. 2252(2009), which holds that recusal is warranted not only when there is proof of an actual bias, but also when a risk of actual bias exists, based on objective and reasonable perceptions. “While the [Cohen & Feeley] firm founder was not Plaintiff's actual trial counsel,” states the petition, “his firm's large financial interest in this case, combined with his close relationship with Judge Panella, created precisely the type of situation that warrants disqualification.”

The personal and financial connections between the judge and Cohen came to light when Seymour Traub, general counsel for defendant St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, noticed that the normally talkative and inquisitive Judge Panella was silent during oral arguments in his client's case. Considering the fact that both the judge and the plaintiff's law firm were located in the same Pennsylvania county, Traub suspected there could be some connection between them. After researching contributions to Judge Panella's campaign through the Pennsylvania Department of State Web site and finding the contribution made by Cohen, Traub conducted further research that turned up newspaper articles about Judge Panella's appearance at an event honoring Cohen, and about Panella's installation ceremony.