New York Medical Malpractice

Are medical malpractice suits really hurting the medical profession? Some say yes, others say no. Check out this article for opinions on both sides of the story.

Reform of our reckless tort system remains an absolute necessity for the future vitality of the medical profession. Most emergency physicians work 2-3 months per year to pay their malpractice insurance premiums and to continue feeding the litigation industry. This industry generates a tidal wave of litigation against physicians, with more than 80% of all cases having no basis in fact. (1) Furthermore, the ability of a plaintiff to recover damages has no correlation with fault. (2) The ability to recover damages only correlates with the presence of an injury. This evidence proves that we have a broken tort system. We must look to state legislatures to provide relief.

And the retort?

It may sound awful that “most emergency physicians work 2-3 months per year to pay their malpractice insurance premiums,” but according to a review of placements by Merritt Hawkins in the 12 month period from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, the average base salary to hired emergency physicians not counting benefits offered for new hires during that time was $240,000 per year, and the Medical Group Management Association reported a higher average overall in 2007, $256,800; emergency physicians’ pay went up by 5.6% between 2003 and 2007, controlling for inflation. If an emergency physician really has to spend as much as 1/4 of their salary on malpractice insurance premiums, that leaves $192,600 per year in income. Report that annual income after malpractice insurance on the street, and wait for the world’s smallest fiddle to play a sad tune for you.

Be sure and check out the rest of the article for some interesting charts and statistics.

A new documentary entitled “America the Beautiful” examines the world of plastic surgery and the complications that could arise from what many consider to be simple procedures. The New York Daily News reports on medical malpractice issues that have come from botched plastic surgery.

Former "Today" show guest host Mary Nissenson had a brow-lift at 42 and, 12 years later, is still in agony.

"This man took my entire face off," explains Nissenson in the film, who says she opted for a surgeon with a "tremendous reputation."

"From the second I opened my eyes, the agony was so extreme, so excruciating. I wanted to kill myself that second," she says flatly.

Dr. Richard D’Amico, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, gives some tips to think about should you be considering plastic surgery:

He suggests taking the following three steps; "First, look for an ASPS certified surgeon." The American Society of Plastic Surgeons Web site(plasticsurgery.org)is a user-friendly resource for starting your search.

Second, check out accredited facilities where the surgery will be performed, at online resources like the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities Web site (aaaasf.org).

Finally, ensure you have a thorough preoperative evaluation, including laboratory tests. Sometimes, even if the procedure is done properly, pre-existing conditions may be a detriment in recovery.

Can being nice save malpractice? The tgllaw.com blog raises some interesting questions that stem from an article in the New York Times. Both pieces are worth a read, but this is what tgllaw.com had to say:

Can you put a dollar value on being nice? In essence that is the question posed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals in their “sentinel event alert” which warns hospital personnel against “all contumelious and sarcastic remarks”. Bad behavior amongst doctors and nurses towards their patients is causing quite a stir, and some claim that it is even the reason behind some medical malpractice suits. The Joint Commission has set out to create a code of conduct which will require medical facilities to adhere to certain mandates.

But is just “playing nice” enough? Or are their deeper flaws in the medical system that cause some malpractice issues to arise?

ABC is currently running a six part series entitled “Hopkins”, where doctors at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore are profiled showing their everyday lives as caregivers and major life and death decisions they have to make on the fly. In this video clip, we see a doctor make his first mistake on the job, and the consequences he has to face regarding his patient’s care in the aftermath. Do you think this qualifies as malpractice?

A 15 year old Boston teen was killed recently when a power outage caused his ventilator to fail, prompting an investigation into the failure. In an interesting move, the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk county district attorney’s office decided to turn the ventilator over to the manufacturer to be examined. The particular ventilator fell in a serial number batch that was known for having back up battery issues. The district attorney’s office defended their decision:

Josh Wall, first assistant district attorney, said police and prosecutors gave the device to the company so trained engineers at Pulmonetic could confirm that the ventilator shut off during the power outage, and determine why.

Police have said their preliminary investigation indicates the backup battery to the ventilator failed during a two-hour power outage Friday morning.

Wall said the engineers could retrieve the information without disassembling the device, which he described as a sort of "black box" that may have recorded any alarm that went off. The company will videotape the retrieval of the data, Wall said.

"The company does have experience in obtaining this information," he said. "We have no reason to think that the company is interested in committing a crime in obstructing justice. If we had reason to think that the company would expose itself criminally to protect itself civilly we would not have taken this action."

The ventilator company is awaiting a videographer to arrive at their corporate headquarters to document the investigation of the machine.

A Niagara County jury recently awarded a $9 million malpractice settlement to the family of a woman who died in 2004, making it the largest sum to ever be awarded by the court. The physician in question is a highly esteemed Western New York surgeon by the name of Nancy J. Stubbe, who was cited for negligence in the death of 33 year old Suzanne Crane.

The total, $9,057,000, includes retroactive damages and other “pecuniary” compensation for the period of time following Crane’s death to the present, and into the future, according to documents filed with the Niagara County clerk.

Of 10 separate allocations set for distribution among the three family members listed in the suit and Crane’s estate, the largest single figure is to her husband, Raymond Crane, for future losses in the amount of $3,030,160.00.

Dr. Stubbe had an illustrious career with accolades such as Woman Physician of the Year in 2000 by Kaleida Health System.

Much has been said in the blawgosphere recently regarding the negligent death of Esmin Green as she waited to be treated at Kings County Hospital. Ms. Green, a Brooklyn resident, had been waiting over 24 hours to be treated when she collapsed to the floor and was unattended to for over an hour. Several staff members of the hospital were caught on surveillance tape walking right past the woman even as she was laying unconscious on the ground. When she was finally attended to, she was pronounced dead.

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Current negotiations for medical malpractice reform are delaying the release of the newest malpractice rates. The New York Sun highlights:

The state’s insurance superintendent, Eric Dinallo, is holding off on raising medical malpractice insurance rates pending negotiations on ways to reform the state’s malpractice system, the insurance department announced yesterday.

When rates for 2008-09 are determined, they will be retroactive to today.

Malpractice insurance rates are set each year by the insurance superintendent, and physician groups were bracing for a single-digit rate increase this year.

Hopefully, this move for reform by New York state will be able to keep medical malpractice rates under control.

Should doctors be able to practice while under investigation for medical malpractice. Some say yes, others strongly disagree. New York Newsday points out:

Gov. David A. Paterson’s measures aimed at improving patient safety and putting more teeth into physician discipline drew a mixed reaction yesterday from experts in health care and the legal profession.

During his news briefing yesterday, Paterson alluded to Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, the Long Island physician caught in controversy after more than 10,000 of his patients were notified they might have been exposed to hepatitis C, B and HIV.

Under the governor’s plan, physicians would not be able to practice while an investigation is under way. But that denies doctors the right of due process, said Dr. Melissa Palmer, a liver specialist in Plainview who evaluated dozens of Finkelstein’s patients for liver disease. “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?” she said yesterday.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think all doctors should be using universal precautions,” she said of guidelines to prevent the transmission of communicable infections in health care settings. “But until they’re actually proven 100 percent guilty, they should not be forced from practice.”

While this is a measure to protect the public, does this go too far in taking away doctor’s rights? You decide. Please voice your opinion, and leave a comment.