You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2007.
This news article has several encouraging stories. Here is a sample:
A trial judge on Oct. 18 sanctioned two plaintiff lawyers for frivolous behavior and good-faith violations because they sued bariatric surgeon Mark T. Jaroch, MD, twice without adequate supporting testimony.
The plaintiff’s expert in 2002 withdrew his opinion that Dr. Jaroch did something wrong when he operated on a patient who lost portions of fingers after the surgery. Dr. Jaroch denies any wrongdoing. Plaintiff attorneys dropped the case but refiled it in 2003 using the same expert, who again withdrew his criticism.
Dr. Jaroch said his career “came to a standstill” as a result of the case. He had to shut down his practice because his medical liability insurer increased his rates by $100,000.
“The crux of the whole issue is: Is an attorney required to understand the nuances of the case or is he just a maitre d’ serving up witnesses?” Dr. Jaroch said. “They should have done their homework.”
It is great to know that the system can sometimes redress the problems. After all, if it is OK to sue doctors for the wrong things they do to people, then it should be just as OK to sue lawyers for the wrong things they do to people, including doctors.
Right?
Hat tip: Kevin MD
Since I recently blogged about an ER doctor shortage in Arizona, this story from Florida caught my eye.
Over the past few months, local health officials have been gathering feedback from hospitals and talking with state officials about solving the crisis in emergency care — an issue affecting the county, state and much of the nation.
In a letter to hospitals, Dwight Chenette, of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, said regionalized care likely would not win favor from Attorney General Bill McCollum because of antitrust concerns. A centralized call center or Web-based schedule would be the first step toward creating a system that directs patients to and from private, competing hospitals.
So why the shortage under the current system? There are a combination or reasons, but heading the list is one that is predictable.
A grab bag of reasons explain why specialists shy away from the ER: high malpractice insurance costs, the risk of seeing new patients, the increasing number of uninsured patients and the growth of outpatient surgery centers that obviate hospitals.
This list has four items, but it seems like the first two are the same one. What is the “risk” of seeing new patients?
