Valleywide Legal Blog

Placebo Treatment Works but Is Not Always Ethical

A recent AP article I read discussed the use of placebo by British physicians in a clinical  setting.  (It is an important an indispensable tool in the research setting.)  It noted that 75% prescribe a treatment, like low dose drugs or vitamins, they know won’t … Read More

Posted in medical ethics, placebo | Tagged , |

Robotic Surgery – The Jury Is Still Out but Likely Not for Long

It’s hard to fathom the technological advances made just in past few decades, much less the last 100 years.  They almost pale in comparison to the predictions of Forbidden Planet’s Robbie the Robot and Star Trek’s replicator.  (Okay, maybe we haven’t quite caught up to … Read More

Posted in Health Care Costs, hysterectomy, robotic surgery | Tagged , |

Retained Sponges – Never Events which Tiny Transmitters Can Stop

“Never events” are defined as serious medical events which are so easily preventable that they should never happen.  Inadvertently leaving a surgical implement inside of a patient is a never event.  Surprisingly, it happens a lot – 4,500 to 6,000 times … Read More

Posted in Malpractice costs, Medical Malpractice, Medical Negligence, retained sponge, retained surgical instruments, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , |

Arizona Supreme Court Sides with Doctors – Again

Sadly, today the Arizona Supreme Court handed down a decision in Baker v. University  Physicians Healthcare, et al. which makes it more difficult for plaintiffs who have been harmed by medical negligence to obtain justice.  The decision can be found at … Read More

Posted in Arizona Supreme Court, Malpractice caps, Malpractice costs, Medical Malpractice, Medical Negligence | Tagged , , , , |