By Alex Stein Until recently, the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) was a designated arbitrator in thousands of nursing home agreements. When a nursing home resident complained about medical malpractice or other mistreatment, her complaint had to be arbitrated before NAF and according to NAF’s rules. If the resident or her successors were to sue the nursing…
By Alex Stein We are just in mid-March, but yesterday’s decision of the Florida Supreme Court, McCall v. United States, — So.3d —-, 2014 WL 959180 (Fla. 2014), is – and will likely remain – the most important medical malpractice decision of 2014. The case at bar presented a particularly egregious example of medical malpractice: a…
By Alex Stein Two days ago, the Appellate Court of Connecticut affirmed the dismissal of an indigent plaintiff’s action to void a statute requiring plaintiffs to support malpractice suits against medical professionals by an opinion letter from a similar healthcare provider. The plaintiff claimed that this statute, Conn. General Statutes § 52–190a, is unconstitutional insofar as…
By Alex Stein In a recent case, Lawrence v. Mountainstar Healthcare, — P.3d —-, 2014 WL 685594 (Utah App. 2014), Utah’s Court of Appeals sharpened the distinction between two categories of doctors’ statements: (1) “we messed up” statements that acknowledge a complication or fault; and (2) statements expressing the doctor’s benevolence and apology for what happened…
By Alex Stein A gynecologist’s patient filed a suit alleging that he touched her inappropriately and made sexually charged comments during her office visits. The suit was filed against the gynecologist and his employer. The plaintiff’s allegations against the gynecologist included medical negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Her cause of action against the employer…
By Alex Stein When a patient files a malpractice suit against a doctor, she waives the evidentiary privilege that protects the information pertaining to her treatment by the doctor. This information extends to all communications between the patient and the doctor, the patient’s medical history, diagnosis, treatment, and medical records. The patient’s waiver of the privilege…
By Alex Stein Schroeder v. Weighall — P.3d —-, 2014 WL 172665 (Wash. 2014), is the second Washington Supreme Court’s decision that voids the Legislature’s time bar for medical malpractice suits. The first decision, DeYoung v. Providence Medical Center, 960 P.2d 919 (Wash. 1998), voided an eight-year repose provision for violating the constitutional prohibition on special…
By Alex Stein Evidence law requires the plaintiff to prove every element of her suit by a preponderance of the evidence. Under this requirement, an aggrieved patient will not succeed in her suit against the doctor unless she adduces persuasive evidence of causation. This evidence must demonstrate that it is more probable than not that the…
By Alex Stein Florida statute, § 766.102(12) (2012), lays down a strict same-specialty requirement for expert witnesses supporting medical malpractice allegations. Specifically, it provides that “If a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 or a dentist licensed under chapter 466 is the party against whom, or on whose behalf, expert testimony about the prevailing…
