Medical Malpractice
Medical Errors May be the Third Leading Cause of Death
Medical errors may be the third leading cause of death in America. This is a huge jump from prior estimates. In a February, 2000, report entitled “Medical Errors: The Scope of the Problem”, the Agency for Heathcare Research and Quality stated that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as…
Read MoreAlternative Dispute Resolution – What is it?
Alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) refers to a process of settling disputes without a court or jury trial. The most common ADR options are mediation and arbitration. Alternative Dispute Resolution may include Mediation Mediation is by far the most common ADR method. Mediation is used to resolve cases involving personal injury, auto accidents, wrongful death, and…
Read MoreA Surgeon Scorecard?
Last year, we wrote a blog post entitled “Five Tips to Help You Avoid Negligent Healthcare”. Most of the tips encourage individuals to take ownership of their own healthcare and to ask tough questions of their doctors. We all need to be fully informed before agreeing to any medical procedure, especially those that are elective…
Read MoreTort Reform (Again) Creates Medical Malpractice Caps in Missouri
On May 7, 2015, Governor Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 239 into law and reinstated medical malpractice caps in Missouri medical malpractice cases. In 2012, the Missouri Supreme Court declared the caps (instituted in a 2005 tort reform bill) were unconstitutional in all medical malpractice cases, except those for wrongful death, on the grounds that…
Read MoreTort Reform Kills
Tort reform kills people. That is a strong statement, but unfortunately, one that is accurate in products liability and medical malpractice cases. According to a recent New York Times article, at least 42 people died as a result of a decision by General Motors to leave vehicles with faulty ignition switches on the road. The…
Read MoreDistracted Doctoring?
The use of social media has become the norm in our society. According to a survey performed by the Pew Research Center earlier this year, .73 percent of online adults are active on social media sites—90 percent of those aged 18-29, and 78 percent of adults 30-49. On average, social media users aged 18-34 spend…
Read MoreFive Tips to Help You Avoid Negligent Health Care
In a February, 2000, report entitled “Medical Errors: The Scope of the Problem”, the Agency for Heathcare Research and Quality stated that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as the result of medical errors. The report went on to state that “Even using the lower estimate, this would make…
Read MoreMedical Malpractice, the Myth of damage caps and Missouri Law
Last year, the Missouri Supreme Court found that Section 538.210, which capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, violated the right to a jury trial guaranteed under the Missouri Constitution. Non-economic damages are those that compensate an individual for pain, suffering, etc. The statute capped these damages at $350,000.00. Following the decision in Watts vs.…
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