Study Finds Few Pain Doctors Face Criminal Prosecutions

A new study has found that doctors are rarely criminally prosecuted or sanctioned in connection with the prescribing of narcotic painkillers. The study, published this month in the journal Pain Medicine, found that 725 doctors, or about 0.1 percent of practicing physicians, had been prosecuted or sanctioned by state medical boards between 1998 and 2006 on charges arising from illegally or improperly prescribing narcotics. Of that group, 25 doctors specialized in pain treatment. “The widely publicized chilling effect of physician prosecution on physicians concerned with legal scrutiny over prescribing opioids appears disproportionate to the relatively few cases,” the study reported. The study was undertaken by the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Mo., the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Association of State Attorneys General. The study’s authors acknowledged that their review, while extensive, did not account for prosecutions against doctors brought by state and local law enforcement officials.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/us/20pain.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=health&adxnnlx=1222172532-I0/v02DXel1/5qsTtigYIA

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Liability Cap Could Be Tested in Deadly Metrolink Crash

Compensation awards to victims of Friday’s Metrolink train crash could easily overwhelm a $200-million cap that Congress imposed 11 years ago on a railroad’s liability in any one accident. The limit, adopted as part of the reauthorization of Amtrak in 1997, has never been tested on constitutional grounds, and lawyers and legal scholars differ in their predictions of whether the government will prevail in restricting payouts. Based on recent wrongful death and catastrophic injury awards in the range of $5 million to $10 million, the amount of damages likely to result from the latest crash — which left 25 dead and 135 injured — could for the first time exceed the congressional cap, said Brian J. Panish, who represents a dozen victims of the 2005 Metrolink crash near Glendale and was retained Tuesday on a Chatsworth liability case. He criticized the damage limit as part of the federal government’s “bailout” of Amtrak and said Metrolink should waive the cap to ensure fair settlements for all involved. “They’re responsible. They should compensate the victims,” he said.

Please click on the link below to read the Los Angeles Times article:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-trainlegal17-2008sep17,0,3206727.story

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.