Medical Justice Blog

I just finished Do No Harm, a book authored by a freshly retired British neurosurgeon. If you’re not maxed out on your summer reading list, add this one. In one sense, the book is a bit depressing. Dr. Marsh works for the National Health Service … Read more

Some unintended foreign bodies left post-op in the body never create any problems. Some are associated with continued risk. And the law is all over the place in terms of how long a surgeon or facility is liable, if at all.   A recent New … Read more

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

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

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