Medical Malpractice

• Medical Malpractice Payouts Don't Add Up To "Crisis"

  Bob Carroll | July 08, 2006 7:06 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  All of us have experienced the unbelievable increases in homeowner's insurance premiums over the last 10 years. We would all probably agree it is a crisis. The insurance industry responds by citing the increased payouts over the same period which have made the higher premiums necessary. Meanwhile, during the same period, the medical profession has also been experiencing large increases in...

• Is This An Emergency Room Or A Disaster Area?

  Bob Carroll | July 07, 2006 8:58 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  In case you were thinking about using the Emergency Room at Winter Haven Hospital you may want to read what is posted over at This Makes Me Sick.Just before he resigned, Dr. Scott H. Plantz penned an 11-page resignation letter and sent it Winter Haven Hospital officials and other doctors.Since most resignations take about one half of a page, it sounds like the doctor had something to get off his...

• Obesity Treatment Has Complications

  Bob Carroll | July 06, 2006 6:41 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Guidelines and malpractice in obesity treatment (Clin Ter. 2006 Mar-Apr;157(2):143-52) is the title of a medical journal article from Italy.The article's conclusions are a cautionary warning in both Italy and the United States. Obesity management (dietary treatment, monitoring of weight loss, pharmacologic approach, and surgery ) is associated with several complications and errors.Guidelines and...

• "Foreign Objects" Left In Body After Surgery

  Bob Carroll | July 06, 2006 5:59 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Time for a quiz. In the law of medical malpractice what exactly constitutes a foreign object? Is it (A) something imported from another country; (B) something accidentally left in a patient's body after surgery; (C) something intentionally left in a patient's body but wrongly placed; or (D) something that can extend the time in which a medical malpractice suit can be filed? You will have to...

• The Bermuda Triangle In Your Local Hospital

  Bob Carroll | June 28, 2006 2:45 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  I have known for some time that the most dangerous time for a patient in the hospital is often the change of shift. Over the years I have learned of so many bad events during the hand-off from one shift to another that I had begun to refer to the time period as the black hole. Now, a national commission is working on correcting the poor communications that appear to be the source of the...

• Pharmacies Must Do More Than Slide Pills Into Bottles

  Bob Carroll | June 26, 2006 6:14 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  When a prescription for 30 days of painkillers is refilled by a pharmacy at less than 10 day intervals, what is going on? For one thing, it is likely that the patient is abusing the medication. For another, the pharmacy may become liable for harm caused by the overuse of the drugs. The Miami Herald reports on a decision of the Florida Supreme Court recognizing the legal responsibilities of...

• The Letter Not Sent To The Cancer Patient

  Bob Carroll | June 26, 2006 7:05 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A letter not sent: An investigation at the hospital revealed that the letter...had never been sent. The hospital said a temporary secretary had been unfamiliar with correct procedures. When the letter was to inform the patient that his cancer had returned the results are tragic.EXCLUSIVE: NOBODY TOLD TAM HE HAD CANCERHe died in agony after results went missing for 10 months.. now his family...

• Smearing The Plaintiff's Medical Expert After Malpractice Testimony

  Bob Carroll | June 22, 2006 5:12 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Finding medical experts to testify against fellow medical care providers in malpractice cases is never easy. Just how vindictive the defendants can be is documented in this item in The Advocate.Doctor wins renewed order in caseA Baton Rouge federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against a national medical association, protecting a prominent local neurosurgeon who claims he is...

• "Speak No Evil" Rule Causes Lifetime Coma

  Bob Carroll | June 21, 2006 7:10 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  When can a hospital or other health care organization just let a really bad actor move on to another organization and cause serious injury to unsuspecting patients? It may be OK to keep your corporate mouth shut if the former employee is an accounting clerk who was habitually tardy, but quite another thing to give a former anesthesiologist with a drug problem a favorable recommendation. The...

• Seven Years After "To Err Is Human" - Translation Urgently Needed

  Bob Carroll | June 15, 2006 3:22 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Lawyers read medical literature from time to time. Sometimes the articles help understand the medicine or science in a particular case. Sometimes they just enlighten us about overall patient safety. A recent medical journal article, The "To Err is Human" report and the patient safety literature makes me wonder if patient safety is really a top priority for the medical profession. The "To Err...