The article presents information on the latest drug policy change in the Russian Criminal Code: a decrease of the drug threshold amounts for which possession can lead to a criminal liability. Also, the article presents an assessment of the 2003-2004 liberal revisions in the Criminal Code, and an analysis of the background/premise for the 2006 counter-reform. The author examines the new criteria...

This Essay exposes and analyzes a hitherto overlooked cost of tort law: its adverse effect on innovation. Tort liability for negligence, defective products, and medical malpractice is determined by reference to custom. We demonstrate that courts' reliance on custom and conventional technologies as the benchmark of liability chills innovation and distorts its path. Specifically, recourse to cust...

Noting that the risk of malpractice liability poses a significant barrier to the provision of volunteer health care in this country, the author analyzes current state and federal legislative approaches designed to overcome the hurdle, including a changed standard of care for malpractice liability from simple negligence to gross negligence, governmental indemnification of volunteer providers, an...

BACKGROUND With the evolution of healthcare services in Saudi Arabia, there has been an increase in the number of medical practice litigations. The author analyzed the medical malpractice litigation that was referred to the National Medico-Legal Committee (MLC) in order to evaluate the magnitude and underlying factors of the problem in Saudi Arabia. METHODS A retrospective analysis of the off...

A frequently overlooked problem with the current medical liability system is the vast number of medical errors that go uncompensated. Although studies indicate that 1% of hospital patients are victims of medical negligence, fewer than 2% of these injured patients file claims. In this Article, I explain that many victims of medical malpractice do not file claims because they are unable to find a...

This article provides an initial look at how managed care organizations (MCOs) might incorporate cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) into their decision-making process and how the courts might respond. Because so few medical liability cases directly involve CEA, we must look at other areas of the law to assess potential MCO liability for applying CEA. In general negligence cases, courts rely on a...

Few issues elicit more emotion from physicians than medical malpractice. The very word "malpractice" implies guilt and immediately places the involved physician on the defensive. Defensive medicine adds 5% to 9% to the cost of medical care. Numerous solutions have been proposed, but special interests have blocked the implementation of these solutions in most states. Tort reform is necessary to ...

Improving patient safety depends on a sophisticated understanding of what can jeopardize it. Reports of adverse patient events and “near misses” constitute valuable information that can foster that understanding. Knowing what has gone wrong in the past facilitates the search for systems improvements, which can prevent recurrence. Unfortunately, providers have been generally unenthusiastic about...