In almost every medical malpractice claim, there are related medical expenses that were paid by health insurance or by a government program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. What most people don’t realize is that, when there is a settlement of a malpractice claim, the health insurance company or the government program usually has a right to be repaid all or part of the amounts it paid for medical care caused by the malpractice.
All medical negligence attorneys deal with cases in which a surgical error or mistake caused great injury or even death. The difficulty is in proving that the surgeon was negligent. The mere fact of a bad outcome does not establish negligence, and the burden is on the claimant to present expert testimony that the surgeon was negligent in causing the injury.
A recent trend in Washington is changing the face of hospital medical care. Hospitals are merging, acquiring other hospitals, or otherwise entering into arrangements for some kind of operating control or joint practice. Examples include Swedish Medical Center, which has taken over the former Stevens Hospital (now called Swedish Edmonds). Swedish, in turn, is now in a partnership arrangement with the Providence hospital group in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.
The issue of transparency in hospitals is not a new one, particularly when errors occur. On the one hand, hospitals prefer not to disclose information that might open them up to liability due to an error that resulted in injury to a patient. Hospitals also argue that allowing it to have a degree of privacy makes patients safer, because they can have internal discussions about what went wrong and fix the problem so that it hopefully will not happen again.
Many potential clients who contact us about a case emphasize that, in their case, the medical negligence was clear or egregious. Of course, proving that a medical provider was negligent is the first step in a case. But the second step – proving causation – is often the more difficult burden to meet.
Pat Greenstreet discusses a case that vividly demonstrates why CMG focuses on medical negligence cases. Pat describes how medical mistakes resulted in a baby suffering a profound brain injury due to prolonged labor. It is challenging and heartbreaking cases like Anthony’s that keep CMG working toward being “a trusted voice for victims of negligence.”
A new study will be published soon that found that 20 of 24 credentialed radiologists did not see a dancing gorilla placed on one of five scans they were asked to look at. In fact, half of the 24 radiologists looked directly at the gorilla, and missed it.
A recent article debunking the “myths” about medical malpractice appeared in a surprising publication: Chest. This is a journal published by the American College of Chest Physicians. Although the myths listed are those commonly held by physicians, they are also widely held by the public.
