Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

“Even when she was gone, she was present in the patient sitting before me and in the way I was newly able to comfort and reassure her.” Dr. Joseph Stern, a neurosurgeon, wrote a moving piece published in the NY Times, about how his sister’s recent fight with cancer impacted him. The process of sitting … Read more

In 2017, a high profile medical malpractice highlighted what is euphemistically known as “overlapping surgery.”   Before plodding ahead, let’s get our terms straight.  The American College of Surgeons defines operations as concurrent “when the critical or key components of the procedures for which the primary attending surgeon is responsible are occurring all or in part at the same time” and as overlapping “when the key or critical elements of the first operation have been completed, and … a second operation … Read more

On occasion, complex systems crumble because of a single defective part, a part no one anticipated. The space shuttle Challenger is a case in point. What happened? O-rings failed at 31 degrees, the temperature at Cape Canaveral at launch.  That led to a cascade of badness which resulted in the Challenger exploding. Some at NASA … 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 “Assumption of risk versus informed consent..” This attorney is a seasoned veteran.  The series includes a number of pearls on how to … Read more

Skydiving is dangerous. Most skydivers land safely. But, not all. And if your chute does not timely open (and properly), death or injury are likely. How is it skydiving facilities are rarely sued? And, if they are sued, the facility usually prevails.   There’s a legal defense known as “assumption of risk.” The skydiver presumably knows that skydiving is a dangerous … Read more

There’s an old joke regarding different cultures’ interpretation as to when a fetus is considered alive.   The broadest definition of the beginning of life pinpoints the date at conception.   Others target a later date – namely, viability outside the womb.   But, the longest delay for the ‘beginning of life” is when the “person” graduates from medical school.   I hear two stories from … Read more

Skeptical Scalpel publishes an excellent blog. He recently tackled the topic of whether the public even understands how to interpret surgical complication rates and surgeon report cards. He graciously gave us permission to distribute his post. Read on.  Some data is better than no data at all  Do you believe that?   I heard it frequently when … Read more

Plaintiff’s attorneys frequently argue there is no way a seasoned attorney would take a meritless med mal case. They note that taking such cases to trial to case is expensive. They take such cases on contingency. If they lose, they lose big. And they would be the party bearing the out-of-pocket risk. Now, the market … Read more