Malpractice news and information

Malpractice issues and tort reform should be the top priority of the New Hampshire Medical Society, according to a survey of the state's physicians.
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Diagnostic errors produce the vast majority of medical malpractice suits related to primary-care practice, and it's harder to successfully defend such cases than other types of malpractice suits, according to a report in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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A federal judge Wednesday rejected a key part of a new Florida medical-malpractice law, saying it conflicts with federal requirements designed to prevent the improper disclosure of patients' health information.
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At the sixth International Conference on Diagnostic Error in Medicine on Wednesday, Dr. Robert Wachter gave a quick history of patient safety and quality improvement but noted that activity to reduce diagnostic errors was noticeably absent from the movement's timeline.
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A panel of state lawmakers is studying a Senate bill that would overhaul Georgia's medical malpractice system, with groups such as the Medical Association of Georgia and the State Bar of Georgia lining up against it.
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Doctors in California would have to be tested for drugs and alcohol if a proposed initiative makes the ballot, is approved by voters and survives post-election lawsuits. The proposal would also end the $250,000 cap on pain and suffering from medical malpractice that's been in place since 1975.
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The federal government needs to prevent the ripple effects of a new Oregon law from protecting bad doctors, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen says. The first statewide law of its kind, SB 483 allows facilities, doctors and patients to settle malpractice claims or injuries through mediation...
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Gov. Rick Perry chose a South Texas county that he said had been at the epicenter of the medical malpractice lawsuit "crisis" to commemorate the 10th anniversary of legislation capping how much juries could award plaintiffs.
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Businesses formed by doctors are covered by a state law that caps the damages that victims of medical malpractice can collect from healthcare providers, New Mexico's highest court ruled Thursday.
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A family is speaking out about a botched kidney transplant in which a nurse threw out a man's viable kidney just before it was to be given to his sister, saying that at first they assumed the woman had died because her scheduled surgery ended so soon.
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