Fewer Medical Malpractice Suits – But Is That a Good Thing?

In 2003, the lawyers fought fiercely with the doctors and their insurance companies over legislation that would keep the lawyers from suing the doctors and their insurance companies, or at least from suing them so often and for so much. The doctors’ side prevailed at the time, the state legislature strongly approving their bill. Five years later, all is not calm. The lawyers keep hacking away at the legislation in court, with considerable success, even though some of them say that the bill never had as much impact as its backers intended. The doctors say the bill had a great and beneficial impact until the Arkansas Supreme Court began mucking it up. The two sides agree only that much still remains to be resolved. From the record so far, it appears the doctors own the legislative branch of government, the lawyers have the judiciary, and the executive branch is lying low. Act 649 of 2003 was the so-called “tort reform” bill. It aided corporate defendants as well as doctors, but the bill’s proponents liked to keep the doctors out front, in the interest of public relations. (Equally aware of the medical profession’s generally favorable reputation, plaintiffs’ lawyers in malpractice cases like to say they’re not really suing doctors, they’re suing insurance companies. Defense lawyers in malpractice cases, while paid by insurance companies, like to say that they’re really defending doctors.)

Please click on the link below to read the complete Arkansas Times article:

http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=a26a0bf1-aca7-4198-b6a6-f2e312537af6

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Gallbladder Complications Fall After Work Limits for Surgical Residents

Eighty-hour weekly limits on work for surgical residents haven’t hurt patients, as some in the medical community feared. In fact, surgical complications have fallen, according to a new study of gallbladder procedures at a California hospital, though it’s unclear whether the change has anything to do with residents getting more sleep. The study appear in the current Archives of Surgery and looks at the effect of the restrictions on gallbladder surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. The researchers looked back at the medical records of 2,470 patients who had their gallbladders removed laparoscopically — about half of them before UCLA put the 80-hour restriction on residents in place, and about half of them afterward. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a minimally invasive technique, is one of the most commonly performed procedures by surgical residents, the authors write.  The upshot: after the shorter work weeks, fewer patients had surgical injuries to the bile ducts, a problem that’s one of most frequent triggers for malpractice suits. The results were interesting because a greater percentage of patients treated after the shorter work week came along were male and had acute cholecystitis, both of which are associated with a higher risk of bile-duct injury. But it’s not clear exactly why the second group ended up having fewer complications.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Wall Street Journal article:

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/09/15/gallbladder-complications-fall-after-work-limits-for-surgical-residents/?mod=googlenews_wsj

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.