Medical Justice Blog

The information presented on this site is for general educational purposes only. It is not specific medical or legal advice. Nothing on this site should be construed as establishing a doctor-patient or attorney-client relationship.

Doc, What Would YOU Do?

As physicians, we learn we must inform the patient of their options. Each patient has a different tolerance for risk. Some want aggressive treatment. Some want conservative management. The patient decides what should be done. I always thought it awkward to merely present a smorgasbord … Read more
Medical Justice

Whose Baby Was It, Anyways?

I spent some time over the weekend scanning physician responses to this ethical conundrum. An endocrinologist was caring for a man who spent years taking anabolic steroids. He developed hypogonadotropic hypogonadism with a low sperm count. He was now living clean and ready to start … Read more
Medical Justice

Medico-Legal Issues in Restraining Patients

We continue with our series of general educational articles penned by one attorney, an MD, JD, giving you a view of the world through a malpractice plaintiff attorney’s eyes. This attorney is a seasoned veteran.  The series includes a number of pearls on how to … Read more
Medical Justice

Crazy Cases Against Doctors — and Inexplicable Settlements

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD Published in Medscape: May 14, 2015 (reprinted with permission) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/844060 How Would You Have Handled Patients Like These? Being sued for malpractice is a traumatic experience. The odds of being sued at least once over one’s career are high.[1] Doctors typically have sufficient … Read more
Medical Justice

Liability in Telemedicine: “Can you sue me now?”

Notes from a Plaintiff’s Attorney: Liability Issues in Telemedicine By Dr. JD, a plaintiff’s attorney, practicing in the Northeast We continue 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. … Read more
Medical Justice

When a Doctor Becomes a Patient

Hundreds of articles have been published on the theme of a doctor becoming a patient.  I’d like to add one more to the literature.  But only to express my gratitude. Over the years, I’ve cataloged many of the headaches faced by professionals in health care.  … Read more
Medical Justice

Avoiding Liability When Dealing with Brain Death Cases

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. This attorney is a seasoned veteran.  The series includes a number of pearls on how to stay out … Read more
Medical Justice

Dealing with Medical Marijuana

We continue with our series of general educational articles penned by one attorney, an MD, JD, giving you a view of the world through a malpractice plaintiff attorney’s eyes. This attorney is a seasoned veteran.  The series includes a number of pearls on how to … Read more
Medical Justice

Those Damn Jackson-Pratt Drains

As Shakespeare once posited: “To drain or not to drain. That is this the question.” Perhaps it wasn’t him. Surgeon preference typically dictates whether a drain makes sense. Keeping a hematoma from forming means avoiding one additional nidus of infection. But, a drain (even a … Read more
Medical Justice

Plastic Surgeons as Psychiatrists.

Many years ago, a mentor taught me a surgeon spends an entire residency learning how to operate. Then the surgeon spends the rest of one’s career learning how NOT to operate. This includes when not to operate. A plastic surgeon called me recently, and described … Read more
Medical Justice