In what appears to be a change in 100 years of law, the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ruled that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines can be successfully sued for medical malpractice by passengers who have been negligently injured or killed by the ship medical providers. The federal…
The Illinois Supreme Court is about to entertain two cases that may have great impact on how medical-malpractice cases are handled. In the case of Klaine v. Southern Illinois Hospital Services, the state Supreme Court will decide whether a doctor’s application for hospital privileges to practice at a particular hospital…
A Tuesday, July 15, 2014 a story in the Science section of the New York Times covered the circumstances in which doctors are faced with a dilemma in practice. They are reluctant to say to a patient or his or her family that they were sorry for a poor outcome…
In a 9th Circuit decision handed down in January 2013, the court of appeals found that the Medical Device Amendments (MDA) to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act were not a wedge to prevent a plaintiff from making a state negligence claim against Medtronic. In a series of previous cases…
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that in 2008 only 12% of doctors were self-employed. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other healthcare reforms, the future of employment by physicians in hospitals will be overtaking the past trends. Hospital employment of doctors is expected to increase between 10…
In a May 16, 2013 New York Times opinion page editorial, written by assistant professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles, Joanna C. Schwartz, discussed the Affordable Care Act in relation to medical malpractice lawsuits. The article was titled, “Learning from Litigation.” The thrust of the article is…
A new study shows that energy drinks may increase blood pressure and lead to a dangerously high heartbeat. The study is an analysis of seven previous studies. It showed that these drinks appeared to disturb the heart’s natural rhythm. Over time, the drinks may lead to an irregular heartbeat or…
More Yasmin birth control lawsuits have made their way through the court system against the manufacturer Bayer. According to a recent report, Bayer has settled many cases and paid a reported $402 million setting aside another $600 million for future settlements. Approximately 11,000 lawsuits have been filed in the federal…
GlaxoSmithKline has settled with 38 state attorney generals for $90 million in connection with its unfair and deceptive promotion of a diabetes drug, Avandia. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led the way in the allegations that GlaxoSmithKline marketed its brand-name medication, Avandia, to treat…
A new Finnish study suggests that high blood levels of lycopene may significantly reduce the risk of stroke. Vegetables, especially tomatoes, are a significant source of lycopene. The analysis was published in the journal Neurology, prospectively followed 1,031 men ages 46 to 55, measuring their blood levels of five antioxidants…