Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Protect Yourself From Bad Doctors

Ed Normand — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:03:00 GMT

Did you know...

While the new health care bill is being debated in Washington, there is something individuals can do right now to ensure that they are receiving the best possible care. Most of the doctor malpractice in the country is committed repeatedly by just a small percentage of physicians. The Florida Department of Health publishes public profiles for every licensed medical doctor, osteopathic doctor, chiropractor, podiatrist, and advanced registered nurse practitioner practicing in the state. Each profile contains self-reported information about the medical practitioner that may help in selecting a doctor, or finding out more about the health professional that is currently treating you. The website also lists whether the practitioner carries medical malpractice insurance, and whether they have been involved in any medical malpractice litigation. For the website, go to: Medical Malpractice .

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Unemployed and Uninsured

Ed Normand — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:41:17 GMT

So far in 2009, almost 300,000 Floridians have lost their health insurance, along with their jobs. The link between health coverage and the rise in unemployment is important, because nearly two-thirds of people under the age of 65 get health coverage through their employment, or the employment of a spouse. Florida ranks third in the nation, among working age-adults, in the number of people who have lost their health insurance since January 2009, behind only California and Texas.

Several options are available to those who become unemployed, including COBRA, where you pay to extend current health coverage, but oftentimes individuals do not have the necessary financial means. However, the current trend of citing tort reform as a means to reduce health insurance costs are misplaced. During a time when more and more individuals are needing to purchase insurance on their own, it might be easy for some to point the finger at the alleged “evil” of medical malpractice lawsuits. Much has been proposed about the potential reduction in insurance costs if awards in medical malpractice cases were capped, or eliminated altogether. What individuals don’t realize is that in actuality, little to no savings in premiums have resulted from current attempts at tort reform. In fact, insurance companies in Florida like Aetna, have stated that tort reform has produced little or no savings in insurance rates in Florida, due in part to lawsuits only making up a tiny fraction of the overall healthcare spending in the United States each year. Reducing costs needs to come from within the system, starting with reducing the myriad of preventable medical errors committed by the small percentage of bad apple physicians each year.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Medical Malpractice and Money

Ed Normand — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:00:00 GMT

The public perception that medical malpractice cases regularly result in large awards of money is an unrealistic one. Even if a plaintiff prevails at trial, there is no guarantee that any money will be forthcoming. A study from the Department of Justice, based on data from 43,000 cases, reveals that for seven states between 2000 and 2004 (Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas), most medical malpractice cases that were decided for the plaintiff ended with no money going to the plaintiff.

For cases in which a plaintiff prevails and is awarded compensation, many states are now capping recovery at a maximum of $250,000. The amount an attorney can recover from that statutory maximum is now also restricted. In Florida, attorneys’ fees in such medical malpractice cases, unless agreed to otherwise, are limited to 30% of the first $250,000 (exclusive of reasonable and customary costs), and 10% of all damages in excess of $250,000 (exclusive of reasonable and customary costs). If an attorney seeks more than the statutory limit for fees, the attorney is regulated by the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. The rules limit attorneys’ fees to 33 1/3% to 40% for any recovery up to $1 million; 30% for any recovery between $1 million and 2 million; or 20% of any portion of the recovery exceeding $2 million.

Average costs of preparing for a medical malpractice case can now average $50,000 to well over $100,000 and require years to prevail at trial. Plaintiffs are often left permanently disabled as a result of the incompetence or negligence of doctors and/or hospitals, and deserve to be adequately compensated for their suffering. By capping recovery in medical malpractice cases, states are not only affecting the compensation that plaintiffs receive, but also the opportunity for plaintiffs to get their day in court. Because preparation costs for medical malpractice cases are getting so high, bringing a case to trial presents a serious financial risk, as attorneys might not be able to recover their costs even with a monetary judgment. Statutory caps on medical malpractice verdicts for pain and suffering hurt those most deserving - mothers, children, and the elderly. Big wigs still get 100% compensation for the loss of earnings, so the corporate executive hurt by malpractice will still be compensated for all his lost earnings but the child and the mother won’t. Are children less worthy?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

A Recent Case with Ed Normand (names have been changed)

Ed Normand — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:00:00 GMT

I recently resolved a medical malpractice case that raises serious concerns surrounding the granting of privileges to doctors by hospitals. Mary Smith went to a local hospital because she broke her right hip. She was operated on by Dr. Jones. When Mary woke up from surgery, her right leg below her knee was cold and discolored. The hip was dislocated and fractured during surgery, and it turns out that Dr. Jones damaged an artery in her leg during the surgery. Tests were ordered by the hospital to find out why Mary’s leg was cold and discolored, but those tests were never completed. In fact, the hospital did the wrong test! Dr. Jones operated again two more times, and another doctor tried to repair the damaged artery in Mary’s right leg. But by that point, it was too late - the lack of blood to Mary’s right leg lasted too long - her leg had to be amputated.

What Mary didn’t know before going into surgery the first time was that her surgeon, Dr. Jones, had suffered a debilitating stroke several years prior. Dr. Jones was left with permanent impairments both physically and psychologically. It turns out that there were severe restrictions on Dr. Jones’ medical license, but these restrictions were ignored by both Dr. Jones and the hospital where Mary went. According to the restrictions, Dr. Jones was permitted to practice medicine, but he wasn’t permitted to operate past 12 noon, wasn’t permitted to be the doctor on call in the emergency room and had other restrictions. All of these restrictions were violated by Dr. Jones, and the hospital knew of these restrictions and still permitted Dr. Jones to practice medicine in their facility. Dr. Jones also had psychological problems from the stroke, notably negative personality changes. After having her leg amputated, Dr. Jones went into Mary’s hospital room right after the surgery for a post-operative visit. During that first post-operative visit, Dr. Jones decided to tell her a joke: "Do you know what they call a woman with one leg in Ireland? Eileen. Do you know what they call a woman with one leg in Japan? Irene." I kid you not!

Because of Mary’s age, she is unable to get a prosthetic leg, and is now bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. How a surgeon who suffered a stroke and had numerous restrictions on his medical license could still be permitted by a hospital to operate unsupervised is troubling. What is also troubling is that no one at the hospital told Mary about her doctor’s condition. One of the principles of the American healthcare system is that we have choice. We can chose what hospital we go to, what doctor to see, and what treatment to get done. Unfortunately for Mary, the hospital granted Dr. Jones surgical privileges, and failed to inform her about Dr. Jones’ condition, or properly supervise a surgeon with such restrictions on his license. Mary was unable to make an informed decision, much to her detriment. If Mary knew that Dr. Jones had suffered a stroke and had limitations on his medical license that restricted when and how often he performed surgery, she would have chosen someone else to perform her surgery. Because Mary was kept in the dark about Dr. Jones’ medical past, what would have been a routine operation resulted in a permanent disability and the loss of her right leg. Hospitals need to be more rigorous in the granting of privileges to doctors, and thoroughly investigate those healthcare professionals permitted to work in its facilities.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Medical Malpractice Reform: The True Numbers?

Ed Normand — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:00:00 GMT

A recent article in TIME magazine about malpractice reform, available at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924501,00.html, caught my eye for several reasons. First, the article compares the varying levels of malpractice insurance costs for doctors throughout the nation. However, the article also contains incorrect facts about awards for noneconomic damages - money awarded for pain and suffering. Of note, the article, a Spotlight into Malpractice Reform, references that an obstetrician in Florida could pay five times as much as a colleague in Texas pays in malpractice insurance premiums. The reason behind this discrepancy? The author of the article blames it on the fact that "awards [for pain and suffering] are unlimited[]" in Florida, unlike Texas, where such damages are capped.

What the author of the article fails to realize is that this is wrong - awards in Florida for pain and suffering are capped. Beginning in 1988, the Florida legislature enacted NICA - the Neurological Injury Compensation Act, which was enacted as a way to compensate children who fit certain criteria. However, what the Act essentially did was limit the amount a child could recover from a doctor for a birth related neurological injury (most Ob/Gyn cases fall into this category), even if the doctor committed medical malpractice in the treatment of the child. Under NICA, a child gets $100,000 for a lifetime of pain and suffering. If the child dies, the death benefit is limited to $10,000, but if there is clear and convincing evidence of bad faith or malicious disregard of human rights, safety, or property, then a parent would not be prevented from suing the doctor. This is an almost impossible standard!

Florida has also placed a cap on medical malpractice awards in general, limiting noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering to $500,000 against medical practitioners such as doctors and nurses. For medical negligence that results in a permanent vegetative state or death, Florida has capped awards at $1,000,000. There are also separate caps related to hospitals and nonpractitioners. With respect to the medical negligence of nonpractitioners, Florida has capped noneconomic damages at $750,000 per patient, and where such negligence results in a permanent vegetative state or death, the maximum is set at $1,500,000. There are also separate caps in place for emergency services and care. For such services, recovery against medical practitioners are capped at $150,000 per patient, up to $300,000 recoverable by all patients from all such practitioners. Awards against nonpractitioner defendants providing emergency services is capped at $750,000 per claimant, up to $1,500,000 recoverable by all patients from all such practitioners. Florida statutes state these figures as the maximum amount a patient can receive, even if there are multiple negligent practitioners or nonpractitioners. For public health care providers, like the local county hospitals, there is also a more restrictive cap of $100,000 for all damages.

What needs to be the focus of health care in the United States is the reduction of costs. Part of the argument for capping malpractice awards has been the reduction of malpractice insurance premiums for doctors. Damages caps have been in place in Florida for quite some time, and malpractice insurance premiums have not been significantly reduced. Perhaps more attention should be focused on what else can be done to reduce costs, as the capping of malpractice awards is still not reducing health care costs in Florida and around the country. The real culprit is that there are bad doctors that commit multiple acts of malpractice but continue to practice. If the Department of Health and the doctors would police their own, rates would go down.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Relief From Unfair Hospital Billing Practices

Ed Normand — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:46:00 GMT

There is a little known but highly unfair practice in charges for hospital care. That is that a private pay or uninsured patient is charged much more for the exact same services than is charged to insured patients. Many times the hospital bill for a private, uninsured, patient is 200 to 300 percent that of the charges that an insurer is billed for the very same treatment. To make matters worse, a hospital lien statute exists in many Florida Counties that gives a hospital the right to take most or all of a personal injury settlement to pay for these inflated charges. These hospital liens prohibit a lawyer or insurer from distributing any part of settlement to an injured person until the hospital gets paid in full, even when the settlement includes other medical bills, lost earnings or pain and suffering damages. In effect, the hospital can charge whatever it wants and hold the settlement up until it gets paid that blood money in full--to the detriment of doctor bills, and to the exclusion of even necessary future medical care.

A recent case in Florida addressed this lien statute and found it to be unconstitutional. The case is called Mercury Insurance Company of Florida v. Shands Teaching Hospitals and Clinics, Inc. In Mercury, the Florida First District Court of Appeals held the Alachua County Florida hospital lien law to be unconstitutional. This only makes sense. There is no valid reason should a hospital charge uninsured patients at a higher rate and then get a blank check to take away an entire settlement. What is fair is that they charge a reasonable rate and the settlement is allocated fairly to all, be they hospitals, doctors and the victim's family. This is especially relevant given the recent disclosure that many hospital executives at even so called not for profit hospitals are being paid millions in annual salary and bonuses.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Legal Charges For Medical Records

Ed Normand — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:08:00 GMT

As part of our practice we are constantly ordering medical records from doctors and hospitals. In that process it is amazing to see how many times these health care providers charge illegal and excessive rates for copies of a patient's own medical records. Sometimes they try to charge a flat fee of $50.00 or more for just a few pages of records, or they charge hundreds of dollars for copies of xray films that costs a fraction of that amount, or they will charge $25.00 dollars or more for a copy of the bill.

Florida consumers should know that they have a right to complete copies of medical records and diagnostic films. Further, the charges for these patient records are regulated and cannot exceed certain amounts set as part of Florida law.

Hospital records:

Regulated by Florida Statutes Section 395.3025. Charges may not exceed $1.00 per page for paper records, and $2.00 per page for non-paper records. Handling charges are limited to sales tax and actual postage. They may charge a search fee of $1.00 for each year of records requested.

Physician Records:

Regulated by Florida Administrative Code. Charges capped at $1.00 per page for the first 25 pages and $.25 for each additional page They may only charge the actual cost of copies of nonwritten records such as x-rays.

We refuse to pay illegal charges in excess of the statutory limits. You should too. If you need help, please call because, frankly, at $1.00 per page don't you think they can afford to follow the law?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

30 Preventable Medical Mistakes

Ed Normand — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:07:00 GMT

30 common but preventable medical mistakes:

1. Prescribing the wrong dosage of medication

2. Prescribing the wrong medication

3. Providing medications not prescribed

4. Prescribing multiple medicines with complications when taken together

5. Wrong site surgery

6. Surgery on the wrong patient

7. Performing wrong procedure on patient

8. Medical devices improperly left in patient’s body

9. Non medical objects left in patient’s body

10. Sexual molestation of patient

11. Voyeurism of patients

12. Physical attacks on patients by other patients

13. Physical attacks on patients by staff

14. Physical attacks on patients by others

15. Injury caused by contaminated medical devices

16. Injury caused by

17. Providing the wrong type blood to a patient

18. Patient suicide while under medical care

19. Patient elopement from the facility

20. Child or incompetent patient discharged to wrong person

21. Child or incompetent patient abducted from facility

22. Injuries from recalled medical devices after known danger is apparent

23. Health care provider imposters providing medical care

24. Patient falls from failure to take apparent fall precautions

25. Bedsores from failure to maintain skin integrity of at risk patients

26. Injuries from the use of patient restraints

27. Injuries from burns in healthcare facility

28. Improper placement of venous line in artery

29. Infection from lack of appropriate sanitary precautions

30. Birth related death or injury in low risk pregnancy

Source: National Quality Forum.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Want Lower Health Insurance? Prevent Surgical Errors.

Ed Normand — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:18:00 GMT

Eliminating medical malpractice would result in savings of billions of dollars each year. The annual cost of medical errors in additional medical expenses to fix the injuries caused by malpractice is estimated to be over 1.4 billion dollars for just surgical errors alone. This does not include misdiagnosis cases, medication errors and other medical mishaps not related to surgery.

The reason for the high cost is because of the sheer extent of malpractice in our medical system. It has been estimated that "about 1 in 10 deaths occurring within 90 days of surgery stemmed from a preventable error". This calculation comes from data analyzed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Now think about that if one in ten of plane flights resulted in deaths from preventable error our society would be outraged. If truckers caused deaths in one in ten trips from preventable errors the Department of Transportation would crack down on the bad truckers causing all these deaths. Sadly, the health care providers are not regulated by the DOT, they are regulated by various and sundry state agencies that use peer review systems to sanction other health care providers. Enforcement is lax and sometimes nonexistent. It appears that our legal system and lawsuits are the only deterrents we have to rampant medical malpractice. Sadly, however, many laws immunize health care providers from financial liability in wrongful death cases. For example, in Florida health care providers have virtually no liability for the negligently causing a death of someone who is single and without minor children.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

The Cost To Society of Rampant Medical Malpractice

Ed Normand — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:36:00 GMT

Every year there is a study called the Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study. The name speaks for itself. Sadly every year for the 5 years it has been in existence shows shocking amounts of medical negligence resulting in severe injury and death, in this, the supposedly best health system in the world. It does not make it the best just because it costs the most. You constantly hear political hacks and medical malpractice reform lobbyists whining about the cost of medical malpractice suits, well check out these facts about the costs from the medical malpractice itself:

"From 2004 through 2006, patient safety errors resulted in 238,337 potentially preventable deaths of U.S. Medicare patients and cost the Medicare program $8.8 billion".

Now those are some serious costs to our nation and taxpayers. We need good medical malpractice lawyers to weed out the dangerous health care providers.

Now lawsuits do work to limit the malpractice. The bad apples out there that are killing all these patients need to be stopped. The medical boards are not doing it and so the Courts will have to. Eventually if a physician kills enough patients and gets sued so that there is a cost to it then the physician won't be able to get insurance to perform procedures that should not be done or should be done by another qualified physician. The good ones have nothing to worry about.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand