Trial for Malpractice

Liability for Medical Malpractice

P_ hysicians and other medical providers are subject to a negligence rule of liability. To prevail, a plaintiff must show that he or she sustained damages that were caused by the failure of the physician to take due care, defined as customary practice of physicians in good standing with the profession, or a significant minority of such physicians. In a simple model, with perfect information and...

Medical Malpractice Crisis Medical Malpractice Crisis

Malpractice liability for informal consultations.

BACKGROUND Informal ("curbside") consults are widely used by primary care physicians. These interactions occur in person, by telephone, or even by e-mail. Exposure to malpractice liability is a frequent concern of subspecialty physicians and influences their willingness to engage in this activity. To assess this risk, we reviewed reported judicial opinions involving informal consultation by phy...

Statins for women, elderly: malpractice?

While de Lorgeril and Salen [1] call for a new paradigm excluding cholesterol, Trevisan and Stranges [2] call cholesterol lowering [to reduce mortality] ‘‘a great success story!’’ How to reconcile these points of view? The ‘statin success’ story is largely from nonfatal endpoint studies that may well derive much of such benefit from reduced angina (and thus hospital visits and resulting interve...

The Merits and Demerits of the Recent Trial for Malpractice at Stockton-On-Tees