Valleywide Legal Blog

The Greedy Doctor

Over and over again, I have recommended that people considering surgery take a close look at the credentials of the surgeon, who is being considered for the operation.  This is especially true in the case of plastic surgery.  Any licensed … Read More

Posted in Board Certification, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Medical Costs, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Surgical Errors |

Think Long And Hard Before Going To Mexico For Medical Treatment

I drive to San Diego from Phoenix a number of times a year.  As soon as I cross into Southern California on Interstate 8, I see billboard after billboard advertising low cost medical and dental care just across the border … Read More

Posted in antibiotic resistant bacteria, Arizona Medical Board, blood infections, Doctors, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Medical Costs, medical errors, medical ethics, medical mistakes, Pharmacies, Surgical Errors |

Hospitals Are Still Unsafe

The medical profession knows that there is a patient safety problem.  Every time they examine patient safety, they find the same thing.  People in hospitals are injured at an unacceptable rate and the doctors and hospitals seem to be unable … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Infection, Lawsuits, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medication Errors, Nurses, Secrecy, Surgical Errors |

An Unusual Medical Malpractice Verdict

Today’s blog post is about an unusual medical malpractice verdict.  The first thing that makes it unusual is that the jury found in favor of the plaintiff.  That just does not happen very often.  Here in Arizona and across the … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Lawsuits, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Case Value, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Orthopedics, plaintiff, Surgical Errors, Verdicts |

Do I Really Need That Surgery?

Many patients have wondered what to do when the surgeon tells them they need surgery.  One thing you should not do is just say, “OK” without first asking some questions. Of course, not all surgeries are the same.  Some are … Read More

Posted in Doctors, General Health, healthy living, Hospitals, Infection, Informed Consent, medical ethics, medical mistakes, Surgical Errors |

A Large Malpractice Award Was Justified.

Large awards for medical malpractice are not nearly as common as the medical profession and its insurers would have you believe.  Juries are reluctant to hold doctors responsible for injuring patients.  They don’t want to believe that doctors make mistakes … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Informed Consent, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Case Value, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Surgical Errors, trial, Verdicts |

“I Made A Mistake Which Injured You.”

This is not a statement a doctor is very likely to make, even though there is an ethical obligation to be honest with patients and to make sure medical records are accurate.  Sadly, the way our system operates, there are … Read More

Posted in Arizona Medical Board, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Fraud, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, plaintiff, Secrecy, Surgical Errors, trial |

Medical Malpractice and Quadriplegia.

Over the years, I have handled a number of cases in which the patient successfully underwent surgery only to become paralyzed in the hours and days after leaving the operating room.  In each of these cases, the patient should not … Read More

Posted in Blood Clots, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical charts, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, medical negligence lawyers, Nurses, Surgical Errors |

The Retained Foreign Object.

Something is going on and I am not sure what it is or why.  The incidence of objects being left behind in the body of the patient is increasing.  What is being left behind, you ask?  Mostly it is the … Read More

Posted in blood infections, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Hospitals, Medical Devices, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice lawyers, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, never events, Nurses, retained sponge, retained surgical instruments, Sepsis, Surgical Errors |

Your Tax Dollars At Work – The Arizona Medical Board

At least the Arizona Medical Board lets the public know what it has been doing.  It publishes a running list of all of the disciplinary action it has taken over the past year.  It makes for very interesting reading.  Here … Read More

Posted in Arizona Medical Board, Doctors, Fraud, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Surgical Errors |