Kentucky Injury Law Blog
- Last build:
- Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:43:41 -0500
- Language:
- en
- Feed URL:
- http://www.kentuckyinjurylawblog.com/index.xml
RSS FEED IDEMS: Kentucky Injury Law Blog
- Website to Discourage Caring for MedMal Victims
Ben Glass of the Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Blog has a distressing story about a website that publishes the names and personal information of people who have sued doctors. The apparent aim is to get subesquent doctors to refuse treatment to people who have filed lawsuits.
Website to Discourage Caring for MedMal Victims
July 25, 2006
By Ben Glass of the Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
What will they think of next? Here is a website that will publish, in Florida (for now) the names of patients who will have filed, but "not prevailed" in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Under the guise of "this is news" this site is apparently designed to discourage doctors from accepting these patients for care.
But wait... there's more....
You can have your name listed there even if you sued the doctor, and settled your case out of court! You see, because this database is purportedly derived from public records, they have no way of knowing whether you "lost" your case, or whether the doctor paid you a million dollars. So, if the purpose is to "out" patient who have lost cases, it's valueless.
CONTINUE READING:
Website to Discouarage Caring for MedMal Victims - Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer.
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:43:41 -0500 - Gaps in bus laws are safety risk
State inspections on 'honor system'
By R. G. Dunlopand, Peter Smith
The Courier-JournalGaps in federal and state regulations could be putting bus passengers at risk.
Although buses are required by state and federal law to undergo annual inspections, for instance, no proof of inspection is required at registration, The Courier-Journal has found.
And it was a Louisville church bus with no record of ever being inspected that was responsible for sickening half a dozen children earlier this month. Emergency workers said the children suffered symptoms consistent with carbon-monoxide poisoning.In addition, neither the state nor the federal government tracks the number of privately owned buses in Kentucky that need inspections or whether they are being inspected, the paper found.
The result is that a bus that does not undergo an inspection or fails is unlikely to be caught unless it has a chance roadside encounter with law enforcement, a random safety audit or a complaint.
"As far as state inspection is concerned, it's basically an honor system," said Maj. Glynn Powers of the Kentucky Department of Vehicle Enforcement. "We can't go behind these vehicles to make sure they got the inspection done. There's a whole lot more buses than there are of us."
Additional resources:
• Judge orders church not to alter bus until investigators check it [7.20.06]
• Church's use of bus investigated [7.19.06]
• Lax again on bus safety [7.16.06]
• 1st on bus to fall ill just start of woes [7.16.06]
• Church's bus fleet overdue for inspection [7.14.06]
• Bus with sick kids had safety violations [7.13.06]
• 7 children on church bus fall ill during trip [7.11.06]
Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:52:50 -0500 - Medication Errors Harming Millions, Report Says
Medication Errors Harming Millions, Report Says
Extensive National Study Finds Widespread, Costly Mistakes in Giving and Taking Medicine
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 21, 2006; Page A08
At least 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured or killed each year by errors in prescribing, dispensing and taking medications, the influential Institute of Medicine concluded in a major report released yesterday.
Mistakes in giving drugs are so prevalent in hospitals that, on average, a patient will be subjected to a medication error each day he or she occupies a hospital bed, the report by a panel of experts said
Medication Errors Harming Millions, Report Says.
REUTERS: Drug mistakes injure 1.5 million every year
Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:32:42 -0500 - Kentucky Injury Law News: Judge orders church not to alter bus until investigators check it
Children fell ill while riding home
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A Jefferson Circuit judge yesterday ordered a local church not to alter a bus until it can be examined by representatives of one of the children who became ill on a July 9 trip.
Judge Steve Mershon issued the restraining order yesterday on behalf of Joetta Thomas, whose daughter Roniqua Yocum was among the children who became sick while riding the bus.
Attorney Steven Frederick, who represents Thomas, said no lawsuits have been filed or are planned, but he sought the restraining order so that his investigators can try to find out what went wrong with the bus before it gets fixed.
"This will just assure us that the bus will be maintained in its current condition," he said, adding that he has no reason to believe the bus has been altered.
The restraining order prevents the church, Evangel World Prayer Center, from transferring possession of the bus.
Several children with The Village of Louisville, a community group, became sick while riding the bus home through Indiana from a track meet.
Emergency workers said the children suffered symptoms consistent with carbon-monoxide poisoning, and Indiana State Police investigators found 10 serious safety violations on the bus, which was evacuated on a highway rest stop in that state.
Six children were taken to hospitals for treatment. All were released by the next day.
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
Judge orders church not to alter bus until investigators check it.
Thu, 20 Jul 2006 11:01:18 -0500 - For Kentucky Medical Malpractice Lawyers: Great Article from Slate on The Medical Malpractice Myth
Following is an outstanding synopsis of the truth about medical malpractice. If you have not read “The Medical Malpractice Myth” and the studies referenced in this article, I highly recommend you do so soon.
The Medical Malpractice Myth
Forget tort reform. The Democrats have a better diagnosis.
By Ezra Klein
The Republican answer to runaway health-care spending is to cap jury awards in medical malpractice suits. For the fifth time in four years, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist tried and failed to cap awards at $250,000 during his self-proclaimed "Health Care Week" in May. But this time, the Democrats put a better idea on the table.
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also want to save on health care. But rather than capping jury awards, they hope to cut the number of medical malpractice cases by reducing medical errors, as they explain in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. In other words, to the Republicans, suits and payouts are the ill. To the Democrats, the problem is a slew of medical injuries of which the suits are a symptom. The latest evidence shows the Democrats' diagnosis to be right.
The best attempt to synthesize the academic literature on medical malpractice is Tom Baker's The Medical Malpractice Myth, published last November. Baker, a law professor at the University of Connecticut who studies insurance, argues that the hype about medical malpractice suits is "urban legend mixed with the occasional true story, supported by selective references to academic studies." After all, including legal fees, insurance costs, and payouts, the cost of the suits comes to less than one-half of 1 percent of health-care spending. If anything, there are fewer lawsuits than would be expected, and far more injuries than we usually imagine.
Click Here!
As proof, Baker marshals an overwhelming array of research. The most impressive and comprehensive study is by the Harvard Medical Practice released in 1990. The Harvard researchers took a huge sample of 31,000 medical records, dating from the mid-1980s, and had them evaluated by practicing doctors and nurses, the professionals most likely to be sympathetic to the demands of the doctor's office and operating room. The records went through multiple rounds of evaluation, and a finding of negligence was made only if two doctors, working independently, separately reached that conclusion. Even with this conservative methodology, the study found that doctors were injuring one out of every 25 patients—and that only 4 percent of these injured patients sued.READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE:
Tue, 11 Jul 2006 13:20:29 -0500 - For Kentucky Insurance Bad Faith Lawyers: Albuquerque Lawyer Awarded $11 million
July 5, 2006
A New Mexico State district court jury has awarded an Albuquerque lawyer nearly $11 million after she sued an insurance company that she said ruined her legal practice.
Allstate Insurance Co. routinely hired Suzanne Guest to represent the company in accident claims.
But when two accident victims sued Allstate and Guest, the company went back on a promise to defend her, said Guest's attorney, Thomas Simons.
Albuquerque Lawyer Who Sued Insurer Awarded $11 million.
Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:39:13 -0500 - Uninsured Drivers Increasing; Vary by State; Miss. Highest, Maine Lowest
This study should be of interest to Kentucky insurance attorneys and Kentucky personal injury lawyers:
excerpt from the Insurance Journal:
Across the United States, if someone is injured in an auto accident, the chances are about one in seven that the at-fault driver is uninsured. According to a recent Insurance Research Council (IRC) study, the estimated percentage of uninsured motorists increased nationally from 12.7 percent in 1999 to 14.6 percent in 2004. However, the magnitude of the uninsured motorists problem varied widely from state to state.
The recently released study, Uninsured Motorists, 2006 Edition, examines trends from 1999 to 2004 in the percentage of uninsured drivers by state. In 2004, the five states with the highest uninsured driver estimates were Mississippi (26 percent), Alabama (25 percent), California (25 percent), New Mexico (24 percent), and Arizona (22 percent).
The five states with the lowest uninsured driver estimates were Maine (4 percent), Vermont (6 percent), Massachusetts (6 percent), New York (7 percent), and Nebraska (8 percent).
The study estimated that 12 percent of Kentucky drivers are uninsured.
Uninsured Drivers Increasing; Vary by State; Miss. Highest, Maine Lowest.
Wed, 05 Jul 2006 14:53:29 -0500 - TN Supreme Court: Ex-Parte Contact With Non-Party Physicians Disallowed
Today, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that ex parte communications between defense counsel and a plaintiff's non-party physician are not allowed.
Click here to read the entire opinion.
The Court ruled that these sort of communications violate the implied covenant of confidentiality between physicians and patients. This only makes sense because this is some of the most sensitive information about a person. Moreover, the information can be obtained through formal discovery.
Thanks to The Duncan Law Firm for bringing this to our attention.
Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:17:07 -0500 - Kentucky Injury Law: Statute of Limitations in UM/UIM Claims
While researching statutes of limitation in UM/UIM claims, I found an unpublished 6th Circuit slip opinion with a succinct explanation of the law in Kentucky on the subject. Kentucky injury lawyers should find this synopsis very helpful.
PIKE v. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INS. CO.:
"The issue on appeal is whether a contractual limitation for bringing UIM claims that tracks the statutory MVRA limitation period is unreasonable under Brown and Gordon. In Kentucky, the statutory period of limitation for a written contract, such as an insurance policy, is fifteen years after the cause of action accrued. K.R.S. 413.090(2). Parties to an insurance contract may, however, limit the time in which to bring a claim against an insurance carrier so long as the time limit is reasonable. Webb v. Kentucky Farm Bureau Ins. Co., 577 S.W.2d 17, 18 (Ky.Ct.App.1978) (citing Riddlesbarger v. Hartford Ins. Co., 7 Wall. 386, 74 U.S. 386, 19 L.Ed. 257 (1868); Lee v. Union Central Life Ins. Co., 56 S.W. 724 (Ky.Ct.App.1900)). See also Brown, 189 F.Supp.2d at 670; Gordon, 914 S.W.2d at 333; Elkins v. Kentucky Farm Bureau Ins. Co., 844 S.W.2d 423, 427 (Ky.Ct.App.1992). Where a policy limitation is deemed unreasonable, the fifteen-year statutory period for commencing contract claims in Kentucky applies. Gordon, 914 S.W.2d at 332.
With respect to uninsured or UIM contracts, Kentucky courts have held that a one-year policy limitation for bringing UIM claims against one's insurance carrier is unreasonable because it would require the insured to sue his carrier for UIM benefits long before he is required to sue the tortfeasor. Elkins, 844 S.W.2d 423; Gordon, 914 S.W.2d 331. Also, a policy limitation requiring an insured to sue his UIM insurance carrier no later than two years from the date of the accident has been deemed unreasonable because it would require the insured to sue his carrier "before being required to discover whether or not the tortfeasor is in fact an uninsured [or underinsured] motorist."Brown, 189 F.Supp.2d at 671. This is presumably because the insured has no reason to investigate the tortfeasor's insurance status so long as reparation benefits are being paid.FN1"
Slip Copy, 2006 WL 890147 (C. A.6 (Ky. ), 2006 Fed.App. 0222N
Mon, 26 Jun 2006 15:34:52 -0500 - For Kentucky Injury Lawyers: Legal Talk Network
My good friend and fellow Kentucky acdident lawyer Hans Poppe mentioned a great practice resource to me the other day. Legal Talk Network is an interactive internet radio network for attorneys. Offerings range from "Conversations with F. Lee Bailey" to a show called "Coast to Coast", with Robert Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams from Law.com.
Very interesting stuff and well worth the time.
Thu, 22 Jun 2006 11:41:49 -0500 - Medical Malpractice News: Rapid response team activation by patients can mitigate errors
Wow. Kentucky malpractice lawyers, what do you think of this unique concept?
Allowing patients and their families to demand prompt medical attention saves lives.
Who knew?
Rapid response team activation by patients can mitigate errors
Many hospitals are familiar with the concept of rapid response teams (RRT), one of six initiatives that comprise the 18-month-long Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives Campaign. The idea is simple: any healthcare worker can bypass the typical chain-of-command and call what is essentially a medical "SWAT team" to quickly assess the patient and intervene when life-saving care may be needed (1). Unlike the traditional "code" team, the RRT intervenes before the patient experiences a respiratory or cardiac arrest. The results have been impressive, with reductions in cardiac arrests, deaths, and length-of-stay (2).
Taking this intervention to a whole new level, The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Shadyside, is perhaps the first hospital in the nation to invite patients and families to call for a RRT to address unresolved concerns about their safety and health (3,4,5). Upon admission, patients and family members are encouraged to pick up any phone in the hospital to report a Condition H (for "help") if they:
IV vincristine survey shows safety improvements needed.
Thu, 22 Jun 2006 09:59:27 -0500 - Medical Malpractice News: NY Judge Denies Disclosure of Surgeon's Medical Records
N.Y. Judge Denies Disclosure of Surgeon's Records
Daniel Wise
New York Law Journal
June 21, 2006
A medical malpractice plaintiff, who claims her doctor was suffering from a physical condition that caused him to botch her face-lift, may not compel the doctor to disclose his medical records, a New York judge has ruled.
The defendant doctor's medical records remain privileged, unless he has taken some affirmative step to put his medical condition in issue, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Eileen Bransten ruled in Brower v. Beraka, 109514/03.
Although Bransten refused to require Dr. George J. Beraka, a plastic surgeon, to disclose his medical records, she did order him to submit to a deposition where he could be asked questions about the facts and circumstances of his condition during the 40 days following the plaintiff's surgery.Law.com - N.Y. Judge Denies Disclosure of Surgeon's Records.
Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:57:14 -0500 - Medical Malpractice Essentials: Sentinel Event and Root Cause Analysis
If you have handled medical malpractice cases in and around Kentucky you have no doubt practiced a case with Kirsten Daniel. She spent the last 8 years defending doctors and hospitals in Kentucky medical malpractice cases and gained extensive trial experience in the process. I am pleased and proud to say that she recently made the switch from the dark side and joined our firm.
On our way to meet with clients yesterday, Kirsten and I started talking about Sentinel Event and Peer Review materials and their importance in med mal litigation. She informed me that many plaintiff's lawyers don't even request Sentinel Event or Peer Review materials, which came as a big surprise to me. I can only assume this is because these lawyers don't know about the JCAHO's Sentinel Event policy. And that is a big problem, as these materials often contain a wealth of information which is not discoverable by any other means.
It is essential that any lawyer handling medical malpractice cases have a firm grasp of Sentinel Event, Root Cause Analysis and Peer Review procedures. The JCAHO website is a great place to start educating yourself on the subject.
Sentinel Event Links
Joint Commission Sentinel Event Main Page
Sentinel Event Policy and Procedures - Joint Commission
Joint Commission website search for "Sentinel Event"
JCAHO Sentinel Event Flow Chart
Here are two books which should be in the library of any medical malpractice lawyer:
Sentinel Events: Evaluating Cause and Planning Improvement, Second Edition
Root Cause Analysis in Health Care: Tools and Techniques, Third Edition
Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:13:14 -0500 - Medical Malpractice Essentials: "Patient Safety Essentials for Health Care"
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has released the Fourth Edition of its book "Patient Safety Essentials for Health Care." This is a valuable reference which should be in the library of any Kentucky malpractice lawyer.
The blurb: "This book is the complete guide to the Joint Commission's safety standards for ambulatory care, behavioral health care, critical access hospital, home care, hospital, and long term care organizations. It includes the standards, rationales, elements of performance, and scoring information in one handy resource. This book also identifies the commonalities among the standards to help readers understand which standards apply to which settings."
Order it for $75.00 here.
Thanks to John Day of MedMalBlog.com for bringing this important resource to our attention.
Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:07:28 -0500 - Medical Malpractice News: Sorry Works! Coalition
An interesting read from the Joint Commission Website on the Sorry Works! Coalition.
The Sorry Works! Coalition, an organization of doctors, lawyers, insurers, and patient advocates, is dedicated to promoting full disclosure and apologies for medical errors as a “middle-ground solution” in the medical liability crisis. If a standard of care was not met (as shown by a root cause analysis) in a bad outcome or adverse event, the providers (and their insurer) should apologize to the patient/family, admit fault, provide an explanation of what happened and how the hospital will ensure that the error is not repeated, and offer compensation. The Sorry Works! protocol is based on the disclosure program developed at the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Sorry Works! Coalition: Making the Case for Full Disclosure
Sat, 10 Jun 2006 11:37:19 -0500
