New York Medical Malpractice

In an odd case of “medical malpractice” and harassmentNew York Newsday reports:
Richard Karpf was bullied as a child and kicked out of his apartment by roommates while attending a Mexican medical school.
Dennis White started having panic attacks when he was 6 and suffered from sleep disorders and depression as an adult.
Their lives crossed in 1996 [...]

The apparent decrease in sanctions against doctor error and indiscretion is certainly alarming. All Headline News reports:
New York, NY (AHN) - While complaints against physicians keep on rising in the Big Apple, New York state’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct has penalized fewer doctors in 2007, an 11-year record low.
An 18-page report by the [...]

Doctors are turning to apologies in cases of mishaps. The New York Times highlights:
At the University of Illinois, for example, of 37 cases where the hospital acknowledged a preventable error and apologized, only one patient filed suit. At the University of Michigan Health System, existing claims and lawsuits dropped from 262 in August 2001 [...]

In the face of the Supreme Court’s Feres doctrine, soldiers can’t sue for malpractice. Rick Mays in the Army Times highlights:
A New York congressman is hunting for cosponsors for a bill that would let service members sue the military for medical malpractice.
The Carmelo Rodriquez Military Medical Accountability Act, introduced by Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey, [...]

Merck essentially created a scientifcally and ethically questionable study for Vioxx. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Merck has agreed to pay $58 million to settle allegations by a few dozen states that the company used deceptive advertising to promote Vioxx. That’s relatively small potatoes considering Merck has put up $4.85 billion to settle thousands of [...]

A recent post by the Wall Street Journal points out that a study published in Health affairs reports that Massachusetts medical malpractice premiums have actually fallen since 2005:
Given how often we hear complaints about rising malpractice premiums, we couldn’t help but notice a study out today that suggested rates have actually fallen slightly in Massachusetts [...]

Accountability for medical malpractice is critical to patient health. There is a movement in New York to create greater transparency in this key area.New York Newsday reports:
Under Paterson’s proposal, any professional discipline charges would be made public. Right now the public isn’t notified of physician misconduct unless and until the doctor is found guilty. [...]

Lasiks eye surgery is big business in the medical community. The question becomes is it for everyone? Are doctors opting for lasiks when other options should be pursued instead? Lauran Neergaaard, a medical writer points out:
About 7.6 million Americans have undergone some form of laser vision correction, including the $2,000-per-eye Lasik. Lasik [...]

Medicine use by Americans for chronic conditions is skyrocketing. Linda A. Johnson, business writer for AP points out:
In addition, there is the pharmaceutical industry’s relentless advertising. With those factors unlikely to change, doctors say the proportion of Americans on chronic medications can only grow.
“Unless we do things to change the way we’re managing health [...]

If you’ve experienced an injury that related to your medical health it can be very complex and complicated to find out what to do. Findlaw provides some guidance:
Q: Does someone who is not satisfied with the results of his or her surgery have a malpractice case?
A: In general, there are no guarantees of [...]