Medical Malpractice

• Medical Identity Theft Can Kill

  Bob Carroll | November 22, 2006 4:00 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  If you thought identity theft could only lead to financial problems, time to think again.Fast-Growing Medical Identity Theft Has Lethal ConsequencesFrom a Boston psychiatrist who submitted false bills to insurance companies, marring the medical records of several patients, to a Florida woman who found an imposter had led a hospital to record a false blood type causing a potentially fatal error,...

• The Ferrari Racing Team Revs Up Hospital Procedures

  Bob Carroll | November 18, 2006 7:02 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The next time the nursing staff decides to change bed linens during your hospital stay start your stopwatch.Hospital Care, Ferrari StyleWhat do a Ferrari race-car team and your local hospital have in common? More than you might think. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London hired a Formula One Ferrari racing team to improve hospital care. The Wall Street Journal explains:In one of...

• Is That A Yorkie In The Next Hospital Bed?

  Bob Carroll | October 31, 2006 6:40 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Underutilization of medical facilities and equipment is a concern for many health care providers in the U.S. From England comes one small suggestion that probably would not fly.Hospital For Humans To Offer Radiotherapy For Animals CriticizedIn order to earn desperately needed cash, Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, England, has come up with the idea of offering its radiotherapy facilities for treating...

• There Are Alternatives To Major Surgery For Chronic Pain

  Bob Carroll | October 02, 2006 5:34 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Chronic pain does not always require major surgery. In addition to minimally invasive surgery there are a number of other techniques which have been effective in reducing or eliminating pain. From the reports of my clients each of these alternatives to major surgery has provided some benefit and should be considered by victims of debilitating pain. Different Techniques Can Help Ease Chronic...

• Unlicensed Hospital Worker's Wrong Diagnosis Leads To $116 Million Malpractice Verdict

  Bob Carroll | October 01, 2006 6:36 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  What may be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Florida's history was handed down on Friday. The victim was misdiagnosed at a local hospital. As a result he is a paraplegic. An explanation for the size of the verdict may be the fact that an unlicensed hospital worker made the critical mistake.$116M is awarded in stroke suitTAMPA - A jury on Friday awarded a $116-million medical...

• Malpractice Victims Permitted To Waive Attorney Fee Caps

  Bob Carroll | September 29, 2006 5:37 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Everybody knows the push behind Amendment 3 to severely limit the fees lawyers can charge in Florida in medical malpractice claims was an effort to restrict the rights of victims to seek justice. Only a banana could have believed the medical profession was just doing a good deed for malpractice victims.The Florida Supreme Court has now done the right thing and ruled clients may waive their...

• What Inflation Has Done To Damage Caps Over The Years

  Bob Carroll | September 29, 2006 5:15 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The Associated Press reports that a Louisiana Appeals Court has observed the obvious - a $500,000 cap on medical malpractice damages established in 1975 has been impacted by inflation in the intervening years. In 2006, the cap is actually worth only $160,000 which, by the way, the Court feels no longer is fair.Maybe we should ask the Louisiana Court to do some calculating on the Florida cap on...

• ER Diagnosis Not Always Right Or Timely

  Bob Carroll | September 26, 2006 2:28 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  There are definite breakdowns in the diagnostic process in emergency rooms that can cause serious injury and death. The National Library of Medicine has posted an abstract of a recent medical journal article detailing the nature of the breakdowns. The news is not good. Missed and Delayed Diagnoses in the Emergency Department: A Study of Closed Malpractice Claims From 4 Liability Insurers. ...

• $5 Million Dollar Settlement For Brain Injured Newborn

  Bob Carroll | September 19, 2006 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  There are few injuries more devastating than a brain injury inflicted upon a newborn. In this reported settlement the child is unable to walk, talk or eat on his own. Personally, although there were probably good reasons for the settlement at $5 Million, the lifetime of expense and suffering would justify millions more in compensation. $5 million settlement in suit over brain-damaged boyBOSTON...

• "Show Me The Money" - Hospital CEO's

  Bob Carroll | September 07, 2006 4:47 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Hospital CEO's are fattening their wallets while physician and nurse income plummet and patient safety tanks. And, this report is only the "not-for-profit" hospitals in Boston. Can you imagine what is going on in the "for-profit" world? Massachusetts Hospital CEOs Cash In In Time to Heal, Kenneth Ludmerer traced the evolution, if that is the right word, of the academic medical center from a...