Legal - Medical Justice

No Day In Court for a Minnesota Physician Who Was Slammed On Line

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

Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.

Westlaw Journal recently reported that a judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Duluth neurologist who claimed he was defamed by a patient’s son that criticized his bedside manner.

Dr. David McKee alleged in his lawsuit that Dennis Laurion of Duluth made false statements about McKee’s treatment of Laurion’s father to the American Academy of Neurology, St. Luke’s Hospital, colleagues and several internet websites that “solicit physician reviews and ratings.” Laurion alleged McKee failed to treat his father with dignity following a stroke. Further, Laurion posted that McKee treated his father as a “task and charting assignment.”

The Neville Chamberlain Analysis: The Legal Consequences of Physician Security at Any Price

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

Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 16, Number 2, Summer 2011 By: Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, and Michael Sacopulos, JD Download legal_consequences_of_physician_employment

Discount Medicine. Participating in group savings programs could bring heavy costs.

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

Florida Medical Magazine 2011, Summer By: Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, FACS, et al.and Michael Sacopulos, JD Last week, I received a Groupon alert for a local restaurant I like. For those of you living under a rock, Groupon is a social networking group discount program. Here’s how it works. A local merchant, like a restaurant … Read more

Caps on Pain and Suffering: On the Defensive Across the US.

August 15, 2024June 3, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS

Some phenomena oscillate in cycles – the economy, hem lengths, the political party in office. And attacks on hard-fought tort reforms.

Last year, Georgia and Illinois saw their caps on pain and suffering ruled unconstitutional. Caps help keep professional liability premiums within “more” reasonable ranges. Once premiums start rising, doctors head for the borders.

The field is busy this year with pending attacks on constitutionality (and other legal foundations) in a number of other states. As reported in AmedNews, the lineup is a follows.

Troubles in Kansas

August 15, 2024May 18, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.

On May 4, 2011, the United States District Court in Kansas allowed a plaintiff to insert an administrative negligence claim against a hospital administrator. The claim arises out of alleged permanent injuries to the newborn child of Sandra and Edwin Deya. The Deyas claim that a hospital administrator failed to create, develop, and refine policies and protocols for newborn care at Hiawatha Community Hospital. The Deyas went on to argue that the absence of appropriate policies and protocols contributed to the injuries suffered by their newborn child.

Hiawatha Community Hospital moved to dismiss this claim based on the fact that there was no physician patient relationship between the hospital administrator, Dr. Rosa, and the Deyas’ child. The defense cited the Kansas Supreme Court’s position that absent a physician patient relationship there can be no liability for medical malpractice.

How We Do It

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

Medical Justice is sensitive to the fact there are legitimate claims by patients who have been harmed by negligent care. But the fact remains that the majority of medical malpractice cases are ultimately deemed without merit. We harness the principles of medicine, law, and business to defeat dishonest plaintiffs, unethical medical malpractice attorneys, and unscrupulous expert witnesses.

Medical Justice Members are licensed to use Medical Justice’s intellectual property; deterring meritless legal actions, creating a critical practice infrastructure to strengthen the future use of legal remedies should a frivolous suit be pursued.

A Bad Day for Allergan

August 15, 2024May 5, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.

A federal jury on Thursday awarded 67-year old Douglas Ray Jr. of Fredericksburg, VA a $212 million verdict. This award included $200 million in punitive damages against Allergan. Ray Jr. claimed injections of the wrinkle-smoothing drug Botox to treat hand tremors and writer’s cramp left him brain-damaged and disabled.

Douglas’s wife said that her husband of 43 years requires around-the-clock care. She has in-home nursing help four hours a day, four days a week. Douglas’s wife also said she is grateful for doctors who testified for her husband.

A company spokesperson for Allergan who manufactured the Botox said the verdict “is inconsistent with the credible scientific and medical evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of Botox,” which she said has been used for two decades to treat 21 separate medical conditions.

Study Confirms Hungover Surgeons Make More Mistakes

August 15, 2024May 4, 2011 by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS

The April edition of Archives of Surgery confirms the answer to a nagging scientific question. Can hungover surgeons perform adroitly? I had guessed that a metaphorical ice-pick in the temple would have an impact. Now we know the answer. It matters.

The study was performed in Ireland – focusing on minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. The test involved a surgical simulator the day after drinking (or for the control group – day after abstinence).

The experimental group was allowed to drink as much as they wanted. The only rule: each participant needed to show up to a group dinner with at least one investigator to “determine intoxication levels.” I suspect this was a subjective interpretation.

+ More