Valleywide Legal Blog

Should Doctors be Tattletales?

Medical mistakes kill over 400,000 people each year.  Ethically and morally, health care providers are obligated to tell patients when they make mistakes, but, of course, not all of them do.  For example, physicians detect medical errors all the time, but often there … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence | Tagged , , , |

Hospital Deaths Due to Mistakes – It Just Keeps Getting Worse

In 1984, the Institute of Medicine analyzed available data for patients admitted to New York hospitals and concluded that up to 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year from preventable medical errors.  The news was stunning at the time but has since come to … Read More

Posted in Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Nurses | Tagged , , , , |

Arizona’s Medical Boards – Doing the Job?

All states, including Arizona, have medical boards which regulate the practice of medicine by physicians.  In Arizona, they are the Arizona Medical Board, which regulates allopathic physicians (MDs), and the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners, which regulates osteopathic physicians (DOs).  The judgment … Read More

Posted in Arizona Medical Board, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes | Tagged , , |

Never Events Will Never Go Away

In 2002, the National Quality Forum, a non-profit that aims to improve health care, established a list of serious reportable events which have become known as never events.  Currently it lists 28 such events.  Never events are medical errors that are … Read More

Posted in Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, medical negligence lawyers, never events | Tagged , , , |

Malpractice Claims Are Helpful to Hospitals

The usual argument for limiting the rights of patients to sue when they have been injured by medical negligence is that malpractice claims are harmful to the medical industry.  Even if true, that would not be a good reason for … Read More

Posted in Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, tort reform | Tagged , , , |

Genetic Tests – The Future of Medicine and Malpractice?

Wouldn’t you know, the day after I post an entry about the marvels of genetic testing, Angelina Jolie puts an exclamation point on my point! By now, I am sure you have heard that the actress has joined an ever … Read More

Posted in Breast Cancer, genetic testing, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence | Tagged , , , , |

Medical Errors May Result from Shorter Shifts

We have all heard of the grueling schedules young physicians are required to endure – 80 hour work weeks with 30 hour shifts of intense practice, applying what they have learned over many years.  Just thinking about it is exhausting.  … Read More

Posted in Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence | Tagged , , |