Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD - Medical Justice

Look Who’s Getting a Tax Break: Plaintiff’s Attorneys

August 15, 2024September 10, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

The Treasury Department is rumored to be on the verge of reversing a long-standing policy which did not help personal injury attorneys. The status quo: litigation expenses in contingency agreements are not deductible. Litigation expenses in contingency agreements are considered loans advanced to the plaintiff. Of course, if the plaintiff loses, the loan is not … Read more

And THEN they said…

August 15, 2024September 8, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

The past couple of years have been full of promises. There was going to be health care reform, universal coverage, coverage for those who have pre-existing conditions, a sincere attempt to reduce the obscene cost of health care… the list goes on and on. So far, unfortunately, the bottom line is actually a step or three backwards.

Yes, Congress did pass what they CALLED healthcare reform. But it didn’t have one word in it about tort reform. To make matters worse, several states’ supreme courts are now hearing cases that claim that caps on awards are unConstitutional. To make matters worse yet, those cases are winning. At least some of that is because judges don’t like being told what they can or cannot do/award, even if the caps are reasonable. So even when a state makes a tort reform law, the System seems bound and determined to override it.

Why Should We Care About Caps?

August 15, 2024September 1, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

All across the nation, states are pushing cases that challenge the sanity of tort reform laws. In states where tort reform has been enacted, cases are making their way up through to that state’s Supreme Court, complaining that the law against maximum awards (caps) on pain and suffering are either insufficient, or shouldn’t exist at all. Some judges seem to side with the plaintiffs — not because they think the plaintiffs are necessarily getting an unfair verdict, but because they don’t like laws that limit their autonomy. Some might claim this is legislating from the bench as well. In the bigger picture, the awards themselves aren’t what’s putting a stranglehold on the medical profession. In a practical world, then, why should we care?

Medical Justice Announces Partnership With New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons

August 15, 2024August 30, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons and Medical Justice Announce Partnership

– Partnership extends Medical Justice’s programs to preempt frivolous lawsuits, unwarranted demands for refunds, and Internet defamation to Members of the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, August 18, 2010 – – The New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons (NJSPS) recently announced partnership with Medical Justice®, the organization that protects healthcare professionals against frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, unwarranted demands for refunds, and online defamation.

Medical Justice focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry. Their members enjoy significant reductions in frivolous medical malpractice cases and other related medico-legal threats. The partnership is intended to aid the Society by preemptively mitigating medico-legal risks for members while further enriching and enhancing the Society’s mission.

Effective immediately, Medical Justice will offer NJSPS members preferred price discounts on its full membership, (encompassing all products and services,) based on NJSPS Member participation. The NJSPS will add Medical Justice as a new member benefit for its members.

When Experts Opine Outside Their Core Competence. The Lockerbie Bomber

August 15, 2024August 19, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

We’re fans of the British professional liability system. Across the Pond, the loser pays the legal fees of the winner. Not surprisingly, there, medical malpractice cases are screened more diligently before going forward. The cost of getting it wrong is stiff.

So, what happened to the convicted Lockerbie bomber? His tale has nothing to do with medical malpractice, but everything to do with how “experts” can control the outcome of a legal case.

The Magic Bullet Against Fivolous Lawsuits!

August 15, 2024August 18, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Any health care professional will tell you that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This holds true for the many ills of medical and dental malpractice suits as well. The time to get insurance is BEFORE you’re sued, just as the time to get preventative medicine is before you get sick. Most health care professionals know this. Most wouldn’t dream of being without medical malpractice insurance. Most would do anything they could to reduce the risk of being sued, if only they knew what else to do. Read on for the magic bullet.

New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons and Medical Justice Announce Partnership

August 15, 2024August 18, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Medical Justice will offer NJSPS members preferred price discounts on its full membership, (encompassing all products and services,) based on NJSPS Member participation.

Limited Access To Care Looms Large. What Can Be Done?

August 15, 2024August 16, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

The Demise of the General Practitioner Is Caused by Frivolous Medical Malpractice Suits & Defensive Medicine.

It seems that two opposites are drawing down. On one hand, we have the physicians, struggling to be able to continue to heal for a living. On the other, we have the insurance companies and politicians wrangling and writing about, under increasing heat to make health care something like sanely affordable for people to be healthy, yet looking to cut corners at every turn. The government (which theoretically should be We The People) seems dead set on including physicians’ reimbursements as part of those “cut corners”. It’s hard to fathom how all of these groups expect a doctor to accept a reduction on a rate that is already obscenely below standard; already at or below the cost of providing services in the first place. Then we have the patients, themselves struggling with systems that seem unnecessarily complex and uncaring, yet needing the services that only a doctor can provide. And those healers themselves? They’re the ones caught in the middle.

Mitigating Legal Risks for Physicians – The Proactive Approach to Deterrence

August 15, 2024August 12, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

It is said that the best defense is a good offense. While this axiom of warriors may not be the first inclination of gentile healers, the trial lawyers and other opportunists have made a good offense a necessary part of survival in the medical profession. The proactive approach is foundational to mitigating risks in this litigious time and society. In short, you’ve got to be a step or two ahead of the greedy few to keep them at bay. And taking steps to prevent the case from ever being filed in the first place is the best way to avoid the disruption of your practice, as well as the risks and other expenses inherent in a medical malpractice suit, no matter how frivolous it may be. Since 95% of all doctors will probably be sued for malpractice at some time in their career, it’s a wise move to ensure that you minimize the impact of that suit.

Expert Testimony for Medical Malpractice Suits In Doubt

August 15, 2024August 11, 2010 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Hindsight may very well be 20:20. That fact is at the core of a study that presents very persuasive data to show that the use of Expert Testimony is inherently flawed. The study, which appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, demonstrates that knowing the outcome of the case makes it all too easy for these paid Experts to opine that statement which endorses what the plaintiff’s attorney wants that witness to say. But the study shows that at least 30 of 31 experts’ opinions would have been exactly the same as the doctor being sued — if only they were blind to the outcome at the time.

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