In August, United Medical Center (UMC)—a public hospital in Washington D.C.—had their obstetrics license suspended for 90 days without much explanation as to why. The local community and beyond were outraged, not only for the lack of details but also because it was the only…
Over the weekend we learned, more than two months after the fact, that Jerry Canterbury had passed away on March 15th in Hartville, Ohio at the age of 78. Considering the delay in news of his death, it might not be surprising to hear one…
A few months ago, I wrote a blog about human errors comprising one of the leading causes of death in U.S. hospitals and how many healthcare facilities called these events “nevers” (as in, they should never have happened in the first place). I think it’s important…
When an individual is injured in the process of medical treatment and suspects medical malpractice, he or she has the right to hold all responsible parties accountable for any negligence—including the hospital. That is, unless the treating physician is an independent practitioner. Historically, such…
In a recent post, I explored the constitutionality of medical malpractice damage caps after Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal in Charlotte County ruled against limits on non-economic damages in October. Across the state in Broward County, a similar ruling is now under review by the…
According to some of the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on hospital acquired-infections, approximately 650,000 people picked up a bacteria or virus after being admitted to U.S. hospitals in 2011—of those, 75,000 died. That’s substantial enough of a…
It was March 4, 1984 and a young college freshman was admitted to New York Hospital suffering from fever, chills and an unexplained flailing of her arms and legs. While she had a history of drug use and depression, hospital interns gave her a medication…
Last week, Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal in Charlotte County declared limits on “noneconomic” damages in medical malpractice suits to be unconstitutional. In their decision, the court cited another appeals court case in Broward County that declared such statutory limitations to be unconstitutional as…
An article in the Baltimore Sun last week covered the concerns of doctors and hospitals in Maryland stemming from two recent medical malpractice awards in that state. As I was reading the...
Consumer Reports released its first ever report of hospital safety ratings. Stating that Hospitals should be places you go to get better, but too often the opposite happens the consumer rating...
