Valleywide Legal Blog

Just Because A Doctor Says It . . .

There is a saying no patient should ever forget, “Just because a doctor says it, doesn’t make it true.”  As I have often remarked before, medicine is a business, and a big one at that, and we are its customers.  … Read More

Posted in Arizona Medical Board, Blood Clots, Doctors, Fee for Service, health, Health Care Costs, healthy living, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, Medicare |

Another Large Malpractice Verdict – Part II

Last week I wrote about what was the largest medical malpractice verdict in Maryland history.  A young girl, now almost 5, was born prematurely with profound brain injuries as the result of a delay in delivery.  Her attorneys argued that … Read More

Posted in Birth Injuries, Cesarean Section, Doctors, Hospitals, Informed Consent, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, Malpractice costs, Medical Costs, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, plaintiff, trial, Verdicts |

Technology Comes For The Humble Stethoscope.

Two hundred years ago, a Frenchman invented a tube with which he could listen to heart and lung sounds.  This was the first stethoscope.  Heart disease is one of the major causes of death throughout the world.  Often the abnormalities … Read More

Posted in Doctors, General Health, health, heart attack, Medical Costs, Medical Devices, medical errors, medical research, Misdiagnosis, science news |

Generic Drug Betrayal

The promise of generic drugs is enticing:  quality replacements for name-brand drugs at a fraction of the price.  Regardless of whether that promise was ever anything more than an illusion, it is a proven lie today. I read two recent … Read More

Posted in drug companies, Fraud, health, Health Care Costs, Lawsuits, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Secrecy |

When Will Congress Protect The American People?

If you needed any further proof of the corrosive effect of unlimited corporate money in politics, look no further than the scandalous profits being made by the big drug companies.  Drug companies are rolling in profits.  They make these profits … Read More

Posted in drug companies, General Health, Health Care Costs, Medical Costs, Medicare, Type 1 Diabetes |

How the U.S. Health System Puts Diabetics in Danger

“How the U.S. health-care system puts people with diabetes in danger” is the title of an article which appeared today in the Washington Post.  The author is an ICU physician who sees and treats diabetics when they become critically ill … Read More

Posted in drug companies, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, healthy living, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Type 1 Diabetes |

“The Computer Will See You Now.”

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the world and medicine is one of the areas in which it is changing things rapidly with much more to come. Dr. Eric Topol wears many hats.  He is a cardiologist, a professor of genomics, director … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, medical charts, Medical Costs, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Medication Errors, science news, Secrecy |

Arizona Hospitals Busted by Medicare for Patient Safety Lapses.

I am not the only one who believes that there are patient safety problems at Arizona hospitals.  Medicare has announced that it is penalizing 15 Arizona hospitals for high rates of infection and patient safety issues.  The Arizona 15 are … Read More

Posted in General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Infection, Medical Costs, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medicare, Sepsis |

Jury Awards $14 Million in Malpractice Case.

Here is another large malpractice award that sounds excessive but is probably not.  The facts, as they almost always are in these cases, are sad. A twelve-year-old girl underwent a heart transplant in 2007 at a Seattle children’s hospital.  In … Read More

Posted in Blood Clots, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Medical Costs, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Case Value, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Secrecy, Stroke, Surgical Errors, Valuing Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases, Verdicts |

Incidence of Malpractice in Long-Term-Care Hospitals.

Unbiased information about medical malpractice is often hard to come by.  As I have discussed from time to time, there is a veil of secrecy that surrounds malpractice events and claims.  Doctors and hospitals don’t want to admit they make … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, health, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Medical Costs, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Medicare, Medication Errors, Nurses, Secrecy |