Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD - Medical Justice

Must Physicians Make Their Website Accessible to Visually Impaired Patients?

August 15, 2024April 13, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq. Several years ago, the National Federation of the Blind filed a suit against the retail store, Target. The issue centered around Target’s website allegedly not being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corp., 452 F. Supp. 2d 946 (N.D. Cal. 2006) challenged if … Read more

Trash-Talking a Competitor Can Land You in Hot Water

August 15, 2024April 12, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water. ~ Franklin P. Jones It’s almost irresistible. A prospective patient comes to your office. The prospect says her friend just had surgery performed by your competitor. The prospect asks you about the … Read more

Defensive Medicine and Disposable Helmets

August 15, 2024April 6, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS

A lot has been said and written about defensive medicine. Some pundits have stated, “If I’m a patient, I want you to practice defensive medicine.”

This is where the misunderstanding begins. There is universal agreement that doctors should do what is reasonable to keep patients safe. Period. Doctors agree. As do patients and attorneys.

But, defensive medicine is different. Defensive medicine has a different purpose. It includes tests, referrals, and procedures focused primarily on keeping doctors out of the courtroom.

Some will argue “Wait a minute. Shouldn’t a doctor do everything possible to prevent a problem?” Here’s where an analogy helps.

Tax-Saving Ideas You Can Do Now

August 15, 2024March 31, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Don’t Let Another April 15th Be Rainy for You: 4 Tax-Saving Ideas You Can Do Now

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA; Jason M. O’Dell, CWM; Carole Foos, CPA

As a physician, do you realize that – between income, capital gains, Medicare, self-employment and other taxes, you spend 40 to 50% of your working hours laboring for the IRS and your state? That is a lot of time with patients for someone else’s benefit. Given the significance of this fact, shouldn’t your advisors be giving you creative ways to legally reduce your tax liabilities? How many tax-reducing ideas does your CPA regularly provide you? If you are like most physicians, you probably get very few tax planning ideas from your advisors.

Given these sobering facts, the purpose of this article is to show you five ways to potentially save and possibly motivate you to investigate these planning concepts now, before the end of the year. Let’s examine them now:

Missouri Supreme Court Reinstates Wrongful Death Case

August 15, 2024March 29, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.

Several weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Missouri reinstated the wrongful death claim against a spine surgeon. The case involves a patient that committed suicide allegedly because of the pain cause by spinal surgery. The patient first underwent surgery in January 2005, to correct the curvature of his spine. Unhappy with the results of the procedure, the patient and his wife filed a medical malpractice action in July of 2005. In March of 2006, the patient committed suicide, leaving his wife and daughter to amend the medical malpractice action into a wrongful death action.

Medical Justice and the Impact on Patients

August 15, 2024March 24, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

We recently returned from a meeting that included business advisors to doctors. One advisor stated that what we do impacts a trend that has made her particularly sad. This woman, in her 60’s, said she sees residents and fellows graduate from their programs, armed with the latest life-saving techniques, excited to “save the world.” Invariably, … Read more

I Can’t Remember Any Risky Patients. Do I Need Tail Coverage?

August 15, 2024March 15, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS

When times are challenging, you must spend your money wisely. A Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor recently posed this question on a physician social networking site.

Had professional liability coverage with his carrier for 21 months. Now moving to another state to work for the federal government. Worked at a chiropractor’s office – saw about 25 patients. Then opened a solo practice – saw about 120 patients: mostly worker’s comp or personal injury cases.

The carrier wants $12k for tail coverage. “I can’t think of any patient that would have a reason to sue me, but you never know…. Am I taking too much of a risk?”

The answer:

Is There An Epidemic of Doctor Sexual Assaults?

August 15, 2024March 14, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS

The race to the bottom is accelerating. A new web site recently came to our attention. (We aren’t naming the site because we don’t want to direct any more traffic to the site than it deserves, which is ZERO. So we shall refer to it as thesitethatdeservesnottobenamed.)

One of our dentist members received an email from thesitethatdeservesnottobenamed bringing a post on that site to his attention. How thesitethatdeservesnottobenamed got the doctor’s email address is anyone’s guess.

OK. The details.

Where Has All the Trust Gone?

August 15, 2024March 11, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

The close relationship between Americans and “the neighborhood doctor” is a strong piece of American mythology. People implicitly trust physicians to use their specialized training to make decisions patients may not fully understand, but always trust. At least, that’s the way things used to be. These days, the atmosphere has changed for the worse; some patients no longer trust physicians and physicians sometimes resent their patients. The question is: why?

Real Reform or Just Whack-a-Mole

August 15, 2024March 9, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Last week, the NC State Senate approved changes in the state’s medical malpractice laws; including provisions to give emergency room doctors more protection against lawsuits (changing their malpractice standard from ordinary negligence to gross negligence) and a cap non-economic damages for patients at $500,000 (economic damages and medical payments would not be capped). The proposal now moves to the State House for consideration.

+ More