Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Friends and family members often ask "hey, what's tort reform? Following I will attempt to answer this question about a legal topic that is more important to our society than most of us realize.

What Is A Tort?

However, before discussing tort reform I believe it is best to explain what we mean by "tort". Contrary to popular belief, the term tort (as used in the legal World) does not refer to a cake or other form of delicious pastry. It comes from English Common Law and it refers to the breach of a civil duty by an individual (or a corporation) to another person. Such civic duty is different from a contractual or an equitable duty: contractual duties are duties arising from an agreement reached by the parties. Equitable duties are those springing from rights a person may have.

While many wrongful acts amount to both torts and crimes, they are different: a tort is typically dealt with by the victim filing a lawsuit against the wrongdoer, who is known as the tortfeasor. A crime, on the other hand, is dealt with by the state prosecuting the accused. One more important difference: while the remedy for a crime is the sentencing of the accused to death or to a prison term, the remedy for a tortious act is typically money damages.

Finally, torts come from three different kinds of actions:

1. Negligent actions. Most lawsuits are based on negligence:

a. Car, motorcycle and truck accident cases;

b. Slip or trip and fall cases;

c. Medical malpractice cases;

d. Product liability or defective products cases;

e. Pharmacy error cases;

f. Negligent security cases;

g. Amusement park accident cases;

2. Intentional acts:

a. Assault;

b. Battery;

c. False Imprisonment;

d. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress;

e. Fraud.

3. Quasi-torts or liability torts. These can be categorized as statutory violations. Among others they include:

a. Violation of consumer protection laws;

b. Worker's compensation cases;

c. Violations of anti-discrimination laws.

For the purposes of this post, we will only deal with torts caused by negligent acts.

Continue reading "What is Tort Reform?" »

A bill overhauling medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida was passed by the legislature on Wednesday, according to the Insurance Journal.

Targets Out of State Doctors

The bill's primary target are doctors from other states that testify as expert witnesses in medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida courts. Under the new law, which Governor Rick Scott is expected to promptly sign, doctors from other states who wish to act as expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases litigated in Florida courts, must apply for a certificate which allows the State of Florida to subsequently discipline them if their testimony is found to be "deceptive or fraudulent".

Continue reading "Florida Legislature Passes New Bills on Medical Malpractice" »

Hospitals across the country have attempted to protect themselves from medical malpractice suits by classifying doctors who work there as independent contractors rather than employees. Under the law, an employer is liable for the acts of its employee, but most times is not liable for the acts of an independent contractor. Though patients often think of the doctor as a member of the hospital staff without a second thought, some of the consent forms signed during a hospital stay expressly state that the doctor is an independent contractor. This may act as a bar to success in a lawsuit for malpractice committed by a doctor in a hospital setting.

Before releasing a hospital from liability for medical malpractice, be sure to examine the contract with the doctor and the admissions forms. Certain factual scenarios will still allow for a cause of action to be brought against the facility for hospital malpractice.

Hospital Employee Errors Can Lead to Hospital Liability

Other hospital employee errors can trigger liability for the hospital as well. The hospital, as an employer, may be responsible for errors by hospital employees, such as nurses, hospital staff and pharmacists. Improper dispensing of medication, lab errors and poor sterilization techniques that lead to infection are all sources of liability for the hospital. Inadequate training, supervision and staffing may also support claims for hospital malpractice.

Medical Malpractice Cases Require In-Depth Investigation

Usually, when dealing with a claim for medical malpractice, the injuries will be significant. Long-term care, future surgery, extensive physical therapy and other treatment can all be very expensive. Often, the doctor or person who committed the malpractice does not carry insurance. Therefore, to improve the likelihood of fair financial recovery for the injured person, it is very important to conduct a thorough investigation into the practices, policies and procedures of the hospital. Sometimes, a suit against the hospital for medical malpractice will be the only hope for a recovery.

An Attorney Can Help

For guidance and an evaluation of your legal rights after a possible incident of hospital malpractice, contact a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney, like those at Greenberg & Stone, P.A. An experienced hospital malpractice lawyer can assess your case and help you receive the compensation you deserve. For more information, visit us at www.sgglaw.com.

Related Resource: ABC News "Medical Errors: Past and Present"

In 2006, nearly 13,000 Florida women were diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the most recent statistics published in the Florida Annual Cancer Report. The same study showed that 33 percent of the breast cancer cases had reached an advanced stage at the time of initial diagnosis.

The key to successful treatment of breast cancer is early and accurate detection. When breast cancer is misdiagnosed or undetected and allowed to reach an advanced stage without treatment, the breast cancer patient's chances of survival rapidly diminish.

For example, a woman who is diagnosed with Stage 0 cancer, also called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), has a 100 percent chance of survival. However, a woman whose cancer was not diagnosed until the cancer escalated to Stage III cancer has just a 67 percent chance of survival after five years, based on the 2005 National Cancer Data Base and American Cancer Society statistics.

Physicians and other medical professionals who fail to diagnose breast cancer or provide a patient with an incorrect diagnosis can be held responsible for medical malpractice.

Types of Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis

While incidents of breast cancer misdiagnosis are "exceedingly difficult to determine ...," the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation stated in a 2006 white paper that it is possible that as many as 90,000 people may be "living or dying with an incorrect diagnosis."

There are several medical mistakes that can seriously harm a woman who is afflicted with breast cancer. A single error in the process of evaluating possible breast cancer can delay treatment and allow the cancer to spread.

A doctor's failure to order further tests when breast cancer is suspected may mean that he or she failed to conform to the standard of care required under the circumstances. If this is the case, the physician may be liable for medical bills, pain and suffering, and more.

Similarly, a radiologist or pathologist may make a serious medical error by misreading the mammogram or biopsy results. The radiologist or pathologist may have been negligent in reviewing the results of the test and can be held responsible for the devastating error.

An Attorney Can Help

A breast cancer misdiagnosis can be frightening and confusing. For guidance and an evaluation of your legal rights after a breast cancer misdiagnosis, contact a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney, like those at Greenberg & Stone, P.A. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can assess your case and help you receive the compensation you deserve. For more information, visit us at www.sgglaw.com.

A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that physicians who offer injured patients an apology and fair compensation can help prevent medical malpractice lawsuits. Medical professionals and insurance companies laud the study and argue that it offers a simple, low-cost way to reduce the number of medical malpractice lawsuits, faster resolution of disputes and lowered overall legal costs. But patients injured by the negligence of doctors and other medical professionals should be hesitant to accept a quick settlement and should never do so without consulting their own attorney.

The study, funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, examined records on over 1,100 malpractice claims against the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS), which in 2001 launched a program urging health care workers to admit mistakes to patients. The program included a procedure for informing patients and their families of mistakes, explaining what steps would be taken in the future to prevent similar mistakes, and offering both an apology and fair compensation if at fault. The designers of the program believed that honesty and transparency would lead to fewer lawsuits.

The study failed to address, however, the nature of the final outcome for injured patients. From the perspective of both physicians and their insurance companies, the UMHS program was a success: The mean costs for liability, including paying attorneys and compensating patients, decreased 60 percent. But were patients fairly compensated for lost wages? What about intangibles like pain and suffering?

Physicians and their insurance companies have a vested interest in settling cases quickly and encouraging injured patients to accept settlement offers that may be far below what their cases are actually worth. What is worse, the pressure to accept such a settlement often comes while the patient and his or her family are under extreme duress. Often times, this amount would not even account for damages that are recoverable by the injured person through the legal process, such as lost earnings, future medical care and pain and suffering. No one should accept a settlement offer immediately after suffering an injury without independent legal counsel, even if the medical staff offers a sincere apology.

If a doctor's negligent treatment has caused injury to you or someone you love, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney like those at Greenberg & Stone, P.A. A knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer can assess your case and help you fight to receive the compensation you deserve. To learn more, visit us at www.sgglaw.com.

Everyone makes mistakes, but some mistakes have more significant consequences than others. When a highly trained medical professional provides substandard care or acts negligently, the consequences can be serious, even deadly. While some cases of medical malpractice are relatively clear-cut -- a surgeon removing the wrong limb, for example -- other cases can be more difficult to prove.

According to a study in the journal Family Practice Management, a large proportion of medical malpractice cases in the United States arise from the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of common conditions and diseases. Specifically, the study found that medical malpractice claims most frequently arise from problems diagnosing:

• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Breast cancer
• Appendicitis
• Lung cancer
• Colon cancer

Physicians are specially trained to identify life-threatening conditions. Diagnosing a disease is not always an easy process, but the failure to recognize certain symptoms may constitute negligence. Primary care physicians may sometimes misinterpret symptoms and begin treating patients for the wrong condition instead of seeking the opinion of a specialist. Specialists may make mistakes, too, when they begin treating a patient without obtaining and reviewing a patient's full medical history or fail to treat a patient for a condition that falls outside of their area of expertise.

If a doctor's misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a condition or disease has caused you or someone you love to suffer an injury, you may have a medical malpractice claim. An experienced medical malpractice attorney, like those at Greenberg & Stone, P.A., can evaluate your case and provide you the information you need to protect your rights. To learn more, visit our website at www.sgglaw.com.

Andrew Weiss, the former pain management physician who is currently serving a 12-year federal prison sentence for the illegal distribution of prescription drugs, was recently dealt another significant legal blow. The jury in a medical malpractice case has ordered him to pay $36.6 million to a former patient.

Kathleen Ramey received treatment from Weiss in September 2000 in the wake of a serious automobile accident. Unfortunately, this treatment included an improperly administered steroid injection that left Ramey with a litany of injuries, including an atrophied right arm, limited mobility and a four-inch hole in her spinal cord.

According to the lawsuit, Ramey felt numbness after receiving the injection but was informed by Weiss that she was fine. When she returned to him several days later in a worsened condition, he stated that she may have suffered a heart attack.

Physicians at the hospital later discovered the degeneration of her spinal cord caused by Weiss' improper injection.

Ramey now suffers from constant pain and will eventually have to use a wheelchair. While she will more than likely be unable to recover any of the medical malpractice verdict from Weiss, she can now pursue payment from his insurance company.

Weiss' medical license has been revoked.

Related Resources:
• Deerfield Woman Awarded $36 Million Malpractice Verdict (The Sun Sentinel)