Florida Insurance Claims Lawyer Blog

The untimely and tragic death of Michael Jackson in 2009 pushed what appears to be an ever-growing problem into the national spotlight: the tendency of doctors to over-prescribe medicines for their patients' use. Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, is currently being prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, Murray faces the very real prospect of actually spending some time in prison.

According to an article from Reuters, this is a relatively new, but increasingly popular, way in which to deal with problems of Florida medical malpractice. Until recently, criminal prosecution of negligent doctors was virtually nonexistent. If a doctor made a mistake, he or she could expect to be called upon to answer for that mistake in a civil court and possibly to pay out money damages, but the idea of going to jail for a medical mistake was typically not a concern.

Now, however, state prosecutors across the nation are beginning to show an interest in bringing charges against doctors for the more extreme cases of Florida medical malpractice, especially in cases involving excessive dispensing of prescription drugs. Florida prosecutors are leading the charge by aggressively following up on any indications that doctors are abusing the privilege of writing prescriptions. A new law has limited doctors' abilities to dispense drugs at medical clinics, and the Reuters article quotes one state attorney as saying, "Our marching orders are that we will not turn down a pill case coming into this office." This new tone is likely to make doctors pay a little more attention to the pills they are prescribing and any potential side effects or negative interactions that those medications might have.

Although the Florida medical malpractice cases that warrants criminal prosecution are still very much in the minority, this trend is important to note because criminally prosecuted cases can have an effect on the way in which civil cases on the same subjects are resolved. For example, if a doctor is prosecuted and found guilty of criminal negligence, then he or she is much more likely to also be found liable in a medical malpractice suit that involves the same matter. This is true because the legal standard that the evidence is required to meet in a criminal case is higher than that required in a civil case. Therefore, if the evidence is enough to meet the standard in a criminal case, it is likely enough to meet the standard in a civil case, as long as the facts and circumstances involved are substantially the same. Additionally, even if the civil and criminal case diverge in some ways, a conviction in a criminal case will likely make a negligent doctor quite aware of the weaknesses in his or her defense and, as a result, more willing to negotiate and come to a fair and reasonable settlement.

Continue reading "Florida Medical Malpractice Attorneys Get Help from Unlikely Source" »

Florida medical malpractice has severe consequences on the lives of those affected. It is unacceptable for patients to visit a hospital to receive treat for an ailment only to get even more ill because of poor medical care. Unfortunately, these hospital errors occur much more frequently than most residents imagine.

ABC Action News reported last week on a new government report which shines a spotlight on the quality--or lack thereof--of many local hospitals. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released information that shares the total number of "hospital acquired conditions" (HACs) reported at area facilities. These are infections and other ailments that a patient develops while they are staying in a hospital to seek aid for a separate condition. Research indicates that virtually all HACs can be prevented if hospitals follow proper prevention standards and guidelines. Common HACs include: air embolisms, blood incompatibilities, catheter-associate urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, vascular catheter-associated infections, and many others.

Unfortunately, this HAC report reveals that Florida medical malpractice occurs more frequently than many imagined. Some area hospitals scored poorly for preventable infections, bed sores, and similar HACs. A few facilities had five to ten times higher rates of these errors than the national average. When discussing statistics like this it is important to keep the focus of on the patients involved. It is easy to get mired down in data. However, the fact remains that each mistake represents another Florida family that has suffered increased pain, suffering, worry, and loss. Preventable Florida medical mistakes have real consequences on real lives.

In fact, the figures listed in the CMS data only include errors that were actually reported by administrators. Many medical mistakes are never officially documented, and so the total number of errors is likely much higher than listed here. The latest figures that attempt to account for all medical errors estimates that a staggering 100,000 patients are killed every year across the country because of preventable medical malpractice.

Release of reports like this one are a step in the right direction to tackle the problem. As one of the authors of the research explains, "If you give people more information, they can make better decisions on where to go for care." Hospitals are often reluctant to share information on mistakes with the public. However, nothing is more important to community members than their health, and so it is logical for residents to have access to as much information as possible to help them make informed choices about their medical care.

Continue reading "Government Report Reveals Prevalence of Preventable Florida Medical Errors" »