Medical Justice Blog

We continue with our series of articles penned by one attorney, an MD, JD, giving you a view of the world through a malpractice plaintiff attorney’s eyes. In this article, the author addresses “Blowing the whistle.” This attorney is a seasoned veteran. The series includes … Read more

This is a tough one.   Readers will remember the case of Jahi McMath, the unfortunate 13 year old who underwent an operation to treat sleep apnea, including tonsillectomy. Post-op Jahi was coughing up blood. The following morning her heart rate dropped and she went … Read more

Many years ago, I took care of a worker’s comp patient. He wasn’t improving. He lamented he could not even pick up the newspaper from his yard.   The worker’s comp carrier obtained video surveillance footage of this same person getting in his car, traveling … Read more

Most U.S. physicians are not clamoring to embrace the British healthcare system. But, one feature accessible to our colleagues across the pond is an exception. Loser pays.

Families are pivotal in helping patients recover. They advocate for their loved ones. They give encouragement to rehabilitate. They provide reasons to push harder to live. What happens when a patient deteriorates in front of the family and a code is called? Sometimes the family … Read more

In his sixth year of neurosurgical residency at Stanford, Dr. Paul Kalanithi developed night sweats, back pain, and cough. His weight dropped precipitously. In May, 2013, he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell EGFR positive lung cancer. He had never smoked.   He was … Read more

As medical innovation evolves, someone is the first person to do a procedure. If the results are great – wonderful. What happens if the results are great most of the time, but one patient out of 100 has a horrible complication? If that patient sues … Read more

Recently, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked himself in the cockpit of a Germanwings plane and intentionally caused the plane to crash, killing himself and 149 passengers and crew. We are learning new information daily. Apparently, he had a doctor’s note declaring him unfit for flying on … Read more

What’s the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?   An optimist believes these are the best of times.   A pessimist is afraid he’s right.   It’s an old joke. But, it exemplifies how we expect things will turn out.

A handful of states mandate that medical malpractice cases first be reviewed by panels of experts. These panels rule on the merits of a case. They conclude the standard of care was violated or it wasn’t.   In the states that use such panels, such … Read more