Medical Justice Blog

60 Minutes recently featured a story on Senator Tom Coburn. He’s an ob-gyn family physician from Oklahoma who also delivered babies. He vowed to serve only two terms. He intended to be a citizen-legislator and return to full-time medical practice upon retirement from the Senate.

Consent is intertwined with all aspects of medical care. A patient must give consent before undergoing treatment by a physician. If the patient presents emergently (in the absence of an advance directive) and cannot signal consent, our laws presume consent – namely a reasonable person … Read more

October 26th, 60 Minutes featured a segment on selective breeding in humans. The story focused on Genesis Genetics, a company which developed the technology for identifying those embryos within a larger set which have defective genes. Once identified, the family can choose the other “disease-free” … Read more

The genomics revolution is here. We are accumulating new information almost daily about how our genes cause various diseases. More importantly, the door is opening to new treatments. As we fine tune our diagnostic capabilities, we are discovering small groups of individuals who can be … Read more

Ever heard of the name Gary Muhrcke? He won the first NYC marathon in 1970.   He was also a firefighter. He injured his back in a burning building and was retired with ¾ disability pension. In 1975, he started running again. He said he … Read more

We return to our discussion of can you refuse to treat a patient. 2. Moral opposition to a treatment The analysis again starts with the contractual nature of the physician-patient relationship. The patient seeks care and the doctor agrees to provide it. In that idealized … Read more

Doctors receive subpoenas all the time. Lawyers send subpoenas for medical records when their client has been injured in a fender-bender; is seeking money from worker’s compensation; and when suing a doctor for negligence. In each of these cases, the lawyer is seeking the medical … Read more

Can you refuse to treat a patient? The simple answer is “Yes – of course.” But, when it comes to the law, there are layers to that answer.

I’ve spoken with several doctors over the past couple of months. All were dragged into litigation related to their role as an employer. They were being sued by ex-employees. The allegations varied – sexual harassment; improper termination; discrimination.   In 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity … Read more

Any physician who has spent time taking care of trauma patients has been cursed at, spit at, and more. If you are a woman or member of racial or ethnic minority, some patients have belittled you. If you are from another country and speak with … Read more