http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/malpractice/ en-us Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:50:46 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411932/posts In theory, the right to sue should ensure that injured patients receive compensation, and the adversarial justice system should ensure that only patients who are harmed by negligence receive compensation. However, the evidence suggests that the reality is far different. According to the Harvard Medical Practice Study, the vast majority of all instances of malpractice never lead to a lawsuit; of the suits that are filed, a significant number do not involve malpractice; and juries do not always make the right decisions. The Woodward Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411932/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:50:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396881/posts One of the many contentious issues in the national health care debate is something that began 34 years ago in California when Jerry Brown, in the first year of his first governorship, signed legislation imposing a $250,000 limit on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases. The version of a national health care bill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through the House contains a provision that would push – but not quite compel – California and other states with malpractice damage caps to repeal them. Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396881/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:52:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389228/posts Dr Otto Chan told a hearing in East London that some doctors at the Royal London Hospital were ''exposed'' to procedures that they were not trained for. He said: ''The department was going rapidly backwards, I had real serious concerns about patient care in relation to the training programme. ''The junior staff in our department were doing too much unsupervised work.'' Dr Chan added: ''The juniors were being exposed to procedures that they were clearly not trained to do.'' The radiologist said junior doctors were sometimes given notes on how to do a procedure and ''being told to go and... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389228/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:20:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366924/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's willingness to consider alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits is providing a boost for taking such cases out of the courtroom and letting experts, not juries, decide their merits. The idea of appointing neutral experts to sift malpractice facts from allegations appeals to conservatives in both political parties, who are looking to address medical liability as part of health care overhaul legislation. Trial lawyers remain steadfastly opposed. Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366924/posts#comment Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:31:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363955/posts <p>An Everett nursing home is facing a lawsuit after an elderly resident's genitals disintegrated while staff allegedly failed to act.</p> <p>Charles Bradley, then 93, arrived at Everett Care & Rehabilitation in the winter of 2004, suffering from the usual maladies of old age, according to court documents. He continued to live at the nursing home until two weeks before his death, which came on March 31, 2008, when he was rushed to the emergency room with a life-threatening -- but previously undetected -- malady.</p> Seattle PI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363955/posts#comment Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:16:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2361551/posts NEW YORK (Legal Newsline)-Medical malpractice litigation has driven up U.S. health care costs dramatically, translating into higher costs for consumers, a study said Tuesday. The report by the Manhattan Institute's Center for Legal Policy said the direct cost of medical malpractice litigation is roughly $30.4 billion annually. Legal Newsline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2361551/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:49:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2346815/posts Litigation: The Founding Fathers envisioned the states as laboratories for ideas and choices. If the administration needs a demonstration project for successful tort reform, it need look no further than Mississippi. When President Obama said during his health care speech to Congress that he would "look into" malpractice reform and support "demonstration projects" at the state level, Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, a Republican, responded: "If they want a demonstration project, come down to Mississippi. I'll show you a demonstration project." Mississippi enacted tort reform in 2004, including caps on medical malpractice awards. As a result, the number of medical... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2346815/posts#comment Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:53:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342082/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is announcing $25 million in grants to states and health care systems to launch a national experiment on alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits. The grants will be up to $3 million each for three years. They can be used to examine a broad range of ideas, including programs in which doctors and hospitals quickly acknowledge a mistake, offer an apology and restitution, and pledge to take corrective action. Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342082/posts#comment Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:57:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340092/posts Obviously, the "main stream" media are hard of hearing and seeing. About 2 million mad-as-hell taxpayers assembling in Washington, D.C. for the largest-ever (most well-behaved ever, most respectful ever) protest did not make it onto their radar screens (or our TV screens). They need our help. Maybe we cannot repeat an assembly of 2 million mad-as-hell taxpaying patriots in one place, but surely those who longed to go and couldn't would love to be a part of Operation "Can You Hear Us Now?" I'll bet for every one patriot who went to D.C. there are 10-20 more who wished they... Website - OperationCanYouHearUsNow.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340092/posts#comment Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:18:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338921/posts Barack Obama offered this "olive brancn" to Republicans during his health care overhaul speech to the joint session of Congress on Wednesday. After spending most of the speech deriding his opposition, Obama finally got to the subject of tort reform which the White Nouse had promised Obama would pursue to get Republicans on board. HotAir.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338921/posts#comment Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:39:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2337514/posts BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana's top health official said Thursday that the state will keep an open mind on whether to apply for the demonstration projects touted by President Barack Obama this week as a way to reduce medical malpractice suits. But state Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said the pilot programs Obama is proposing would likely be ineffective in reducing health-care costs unless they remove doctors' fears of getting sued. "The state of Louisiana would probably participate in anything that would help improve patient safety," Levine said. "But this is not real tort reform." Levine's comments came a day... The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2337514/posts#comment Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:44:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336478/posts The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee wants levies on insurers to pay for Obamacare and fines for families who don't sign up. To keep Obamacare alive, Baucus has proposed a Rube Goldberg scheme of fees and fines on insurers and the uninsured designed to forcibly bring everyone into the loving and protective arms of the nanny state... National Center For Policy Analysis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336478/posts#comment Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:07:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335953/posts Health Overhaul Cost Cut to $900 Billion; Obama Warns GOP, Offers Malpractice Deal WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, in a prime-time address to Congress on Wednesday, combined tough talk to opponents with fresh olive branches on policy to try to break the impasse on revamping health care. The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335953/posts#comment Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:22:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2320163/posts Though the focus today may be on the massive push of the ObamaCare bill by liberal Democrats and the noisy minority opposition, there are solutions to some major headaches in Health Care staring us in the face. Problem is, no one chooses to see them. Digital Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2320163/posts#comment Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:12:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2319046/posts News fairly unbalanced. We report. You decipher. With multimillion-dollar jury awards in medical malpractice suits driving up the cost of liability insurance for physicians -- and thus the cost of health care to consumers -- President Barack Obama today backed a health care malpractice reform plan that would create a "public option" law firm to sue doctors for "reasonable" damages. "We need to keep these ambulance-chasers honest," Obama said. "These sharks are becoming obscenely wealthy by tugging the heartstrings of compassionate jurors, who then grant ridiculous damage awards for pain and suffering, which makes malpractice insurance rates skyrocket and jacks... The Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2319046/posts#comment Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:05:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315626/posts President Obama, You have repeatedly trashed doctors in the US. And you claim that they are taking people's feet off, and removing tonsils simply because they want to make more money. They are greedy. You make these claims and sound so confident as if you have irrefutable proof. So let us see your proof. Tell congress to investigate the matter, they love investigations. America doesn't need any more of your demagoguery on this matter. If you are going to prosecute doctors who are committing a clear case of malpractice, then do so. If not, then put an end to these... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315626/posts#comment Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:41:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2304043/posts Health Costs: Lawyers are responsible for more unneeded procedures than "greedy" doctors. But instead of capping malpractice awards, bureaucrats will soon decide which treatments are OK and whether you're worth it.Health Costs: Lawyers are responsible for more unneeded procedures than "greedy" doctors. But instead of capping malpractice awards, bureaucrats will soon decide which treatments are OK and whether you're worth it. IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2304043/posts#comment Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:22:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2303521/posts Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky talked about the high costs of health care today. In particular, Mr. McConnell pointed out how malpractice lawsuits affect how expensive healthcare can become. Dr. Orrin Devinsky, NYU Langone Medical Center neurologist and researcher agrees with Senator McConnell. Dr. Devinsky told the Washington Times,: "By some calculations forty-five to well over fifty percent of the money paid for malpractice actually goes to lawyers and administrators not to the patients. The large percentage of malpractice suits when reviewed independently of doctors and lawyers are felt not to be justified and many people who are wronged... Washington Times - Water Cooler http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2303521/posts#comment Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:11:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276014/posts For patients with prostate cancer, it is a common surgical procedure: a doctor implants dozens of radioactive seeds to attack the disease. But when Dr. Gary D. Kao treated one patient at the veterans’ hospital in Philadelphia, his aim was more than a little off. Most of the seeds, 40 in all, landed in the patient’s healthy bladder, not the prostate. It was a serious mistake, and under federal rules, regulators investigated. But Dr. Kao, with their consent, made his mistake all but disappear. He simply rewrote his surgical plan to match the number of seeds in the prostate, investigators... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276014/posts#comment Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:29:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272623/posts Of course Mr. Obama deserves credit for even referring to what he called the "real issue" of medical malpractice reform. The paragraph he appended to his stock speech on health care for the American Medical Association yesterday didn't offer much detail -- "I do think we need to explore a range of ideas," he boldly declared -- but trial lawyers and their stratospheric jury awards and settlements have led to major increases in the medical malpractice premiums, thus driving up the overall cost of U.S. health care. The system today is worse than random -- many lawsuits do not involve... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272623/posts#comment Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:37:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272495/posts President Obama says he will not place caps malpractice awards: "Now, I recognize that it will be hard to make some of these changes if doctors feel like they're constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of lawsuits. I recognize that. (Applause.) Don't get too excited yet. Now, I understand some doctors may feel the need to order more tests and treatments to avoid being legally vulnerable. That's a real issue. (Applause.) Now, just hold on to your horses here, guys. (Laughter.) I want to be honest with you. I'm not advocating caps on malpractice awards -- (boos from some... Real Clear Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272495/posts#comment Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:18:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272483/posts Barack Obama isn't used to hearing boos. For all the young president's popularity, the response he got Monday from doctors at an American Medical Association meeting was a sign his road is only going to get rockier as he tries to sell his plan to overhaul the nation's health care system. The boos erupted when Obama told the doctors in Chicago he wouldn't try to help them win their top legislative priority—limits on jury damages in medical malpractice cases. But what could they expect? If Obama announced support for malpractice limits, that would set trial lawyers and unions—major supporters of... Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272483/posts#comment Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:59:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2260773/posts DAVIE, Fla. — When the sharp pain shooting through Lisa Strong's back got worse, she thought it was another kidney stone and expected the discomfort to pass. This time was different. Through a series of mistakes, miscommunications and misdiagnoses, she wound up having her arms and legs amputated. She sued the doctors, who essentially blamed one another for what everyone involved agrees were profound errors. Everyone except the jury that ruled against Strong. FOX NEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2260773/posts#comment Fri, 29 May 2009 19:31:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2248754/posts I have a malpractice lawsuit I'm hoping to file, and I need to know if I've waited too long. Not long ago I had developed some severe back problems such that I couldn't walk, and was trying to apply for temporary disability benefits from my job. One day I got a call from my Primary Care Physician, who had been out because of a back injury herself and had not seen me for this problem. She said she had just received the paperwork for my disability application, and she then proceeded to berate me for being in pain, saying that... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2248754/posts#comment Mon, 11 May 2009 20:38:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2225778/posts Los Angeles County supervisors have agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the children of Edith Rodriguez, the woman who died after writhing in pain for 45 minutes on the waiting-room floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center, according to an attorney representing the family. Rodriguez's death nearly two years ago attracted national attention, becoming a symbol of an indifferent emergency system. A triage nurse had dismissed her complaints in the early morning of May 9, 2007. A security videotape showed a janitor mopping around Rodriguez and other staff walking past. Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2225778/posts#comment Thu, 9 Apr 2009 19:18:58 GMT