In our legal system, a person injured through the negligence of another can file a lawsuit seeking monetary compensation for damages. The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution ensures that civil cases can be heard and decided by a jury of our peers. Yet, in most…
A judge recently upheld most of a jury’s $53 million medical malpractice verdict awarded to a woman and her 12-year-old son who was born with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability. Twelve years ago, the woman was about 40 weeks pregnant when she went to…
What does a woman do if she becomes pregnant but discovers that her baby will have a severe mental disorder or seriously debilitating genetic disease? Should a woman be afforded the informed choice, weighing all factors, positive or negative, of terminating the pregnancy? What if…
Statute of limitations sets the time limit within which a patient can sue for medical malpractice, but the clock doesn’t always start with the negligent act. The discovery rule allows victims of medical malpractice the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit after the standard…
A 2013 USA Today investigative report shows that thousands of doctors who have been banned by hospitals or other medical facilities are not punished by state medical boards and continue to treat unsuspecting patients. My readers may recall neurosurgeon, Stefan Konasiewicz (Dr. K). In August…
A Baltimore family was recently awarded $10 million in a medical malpractice case against the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) after a jury found that the health care providers’ negligence ultimately resulted in death. The patient was admitted to UMMS on March 11, 2013…
Here is an interesting case where a plaintiff received a sizeable verdict, but was denied full adjudication by a jury of his/her peers because of a legislatively capped recovery. A Texas jury awarded a man over $6.8 million against a hospital that let him go…
Did an anesthesiologist blind five cataract patients in one day at a surgery center in Massachusetts? The Boston Globe describes a shocking account of a morning in May 2014 after patients lined up in reclining chairs awaiting their turn at Cataract & Laser Center West…
Here is another story I want to share with my readers in hopes that more people will take note of the harm that is inflicted by tort reform. A jury awarded a collective $1.75 million to two siblings who alleged doctors at UCLA Medical Center…
A Philadelphia jury recently awarded $44.1 million to a women who suffered a brain hemorrhage while being treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Formerly a project manager at a financial services company, the woman was left paralyzed on her left side and…