Medical Negligence: Non-Patient and Third Party Claims


Book Description

Healthcare professionals face an increasing threat of litigation from parties whom they have never met in their daily medical practice and who look nothing like the traditional patient. The so-called ’non-patient’ may take many forms”for example, a person who is injured or killed by a mentally-ill, physically-disabled or diseased patient; a wrongfully-accused parent in a child neglect/abuse case; or a local authority which is put to the expense of caring for a negligently-treated patient. This book explores the legal principles and conundrums which arise when determining a healthcare professional’s liability in negligence towards a wide variety of non-patients. The topic is assuming increasing legal importance and relevance, given the potential for many non-patient claims to give rise to class actions litigation, and in light of the legislative and human rights interventions, and the frequent appellate judicial consideration, which non-patient claims have attracted in recent times. The aim of the book is to have utility for both legal and medical professionals; for academics and students of comparative medical negligence and tort law; and for law reformers who may be interested in adopting certain features of statutory models elsewhere which pertain to some non-patient claims, such as those based upon ’Good Samaritan’ conduct. Important parallels or counterpoints from other common law jurisdictions, in which courts and commentators have grappled with the legal complexities of non-patient claims, are also discussed and critically analyzed.




Advances in Patient Safety


Book Description

v. 1. Research findings -- v. 2. Concepts and methodology -- v. 3. Implementation issues -- v. 4. Programs, tools and products.




Medical Malpractice Litigation


Book Description

"Drawing on an unusually rich trove of data, the authors have refuted more politically convenient myths in one book than most academics do in a lifetime." —Nicholas Bagley, professor of law, University of Michigan Law School "Synthesizing decades of their own and others’ research on medical liability, the authors unravel what we know and don’t know about our medical malpractice system, why neither patients nor doctors are being rightly served, and what economics can teach us about the path forward." —Anupam B. Jena, Harvard Medical School Over the past 50 years, the United States experienced three major medical malpractice crises, each marked by dramatic increases in the cost of malpractice liability insurance. These crises fostered a vigorous politicized debate about the causes of the premium spikes, and the impact on access to care and defensive medicine. State legislatures responded to the premium spikes by enacting damages caps on non-economic, punitive, or total damages and Congress has periodically debated the merits of a federal cap on damages. However, the intense political debate has been marked by a shortage of evidence, as well as misstatements and overclaiming. The public is confused about answers to some basic questions. What caused the premium spikes? What effect did tort reform actually have? Did tort reform reduce frivolous litigation? Did tort reform actually improve access to health care or reduce defensive medicine? Both sides in the debate have strong opinions about these matters, but their positions are mostly talking points or are based on anecdotes. Medical Malpractice Litigation provides factual answers to these and other questions about the performance of the med mal system. The authors, all experts in the field and from across the political spectrum, provide an accessible, fact-based response to the questions ordinary Americans and policymakers have about the performance of the med mal litigation system.




Principles of Medical Law


Book Description

Replete with references to primary sources and the secondary literature, this major undertaking provides a comprehensive exposition of English medical law, from the organization of health care to the legal meaning of death.




Legal Medicine - E-BOOK


Book Description

Authored by the two primary organizations in the field, Legal Medicine: Health Care Law and Medical Ethics, 8th Edition, remains the premier treatise in this increasingly important area of medical practice. In the midst of a progressively litigious culture, this essential reference provides up-to-date information on topics surrounding professional medical liability, the business aspects of medical practice, and medicolegal and ethical issues, offering comprehensive discussions on a myriad of topics that health care professionals face every day. - Addresses the legal aspects of almost every medical topic that impacts health care professionals, using actual case studies to illustrate nuances in the law. - Offers the expert guidance of top professionals across medical and legal fields in an easy-to-read format. - Includes new chapters on Legal Medicine History; Healthcare Technology; Patients with Infectious Diseases (HIV Infection and COVID-19); General Pain Management; Opioids and Illicit Drugs: Misuse, Abuse and Addiction; Cannabis (Marijuana); Drug (Treatment) Courts; and Public Health Law and Policy. - Provides authoritative information on current issues such as the high costs of medical liability insurance for practitioners and organizations; changes in health care and the law, including HIPAA and patient privacy; the overturning of Roe v. Wade; the opioid epidemic, and more. - Features Key Points boxes to open every chapter, Pearls boxes to call out important details, additional diagrams and tables throughout, a glossary of medical terms, and updated references and suggested readings. - Serves as the syllabus for the Board Review Course of the American Board of Legal Medicine (ABLM).




Improving Diagnosis in Health Care


Book Description

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.




Malpractice and Medical Liability


Book Description

Medical responsibility lawsuits have become a fact of life in every physician’s medical practice. However, there is evidence that physicians are increasingly practising defensive medicine, ordering more tests than may be necessary and avoiding patients with complicated conditions. The modern practice of medicine is increasingly complicated by factors beyond the traditional realm of patient care, including novel technologies, loss of physician autonomy, and economic pressures. A continuing and significant issue affecting physicians and the healthcare system is malpractice. In the latter half of the 20th century, there was a major change in the attitude of the public towards the medical profession. People were made aware of the huge advances in medical technology, because health problems increasingly tended to attract media interest and wide publicity. Medicine is a victim of its own success in this respect, and people are now led to expect the latest techniques and perfect outcomes on all occasions. This burst of technology and hyper-specialization in many fields of medicine means that each malpractice claim is transformed into a scientific challenge, requiring specific preparation in analysis and judgment of the clinical case in question. The role of legal medicine becomes more and more peculiar in this judicial setting, often giving rise to erroneous interpretations and hasty scientific verdicts, but guidelines on the methodology of ascertainments and criteria of evaluation are lacking all over the world.The aim of this volume is to clarify the steps required for sequential in-depth analysis of events and consequences of medical actions, in order to verify whether, in the presence of damage, errors or non-observance of rules of conduct by health personnel exist, and which causal values and links of their hypothetical misconduct are involved.​




Medical Law and Ethics


Book Description

Medical Law and Ethics covers the core legal principles, key cases, and statutes that govern medical law alongside the key ethical debates and dilemmas that exist in the field. Carefully constructed features highlight these debates, drawing out the European angles, religious beliefs, and feminist perspectives which influence legal regulations. Other features such as 'a shock to the system', 'public opinion' and 'reality check' introduce further socio-legal discussion and contribute to the lively and engaging manner in which the subject is approached. Digital formats and resources The ninth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. · The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks · The online resources include: complete bibliography and list of further reading; links to key cases; a video from the author which introduces the book; links to key sites with information on medical law and ethics; and answer guidance to one question per chapter.




Legal Medicine E-Book


Book Description

Regarded as the citable treatise in the field, the 7th Edition of Legal Medicine explores and illustrates the legal implications of medical practice and the special legal issues arising from managed care. Edited by the American College of Legal Medicine Textbook Committee, it features comprehensive discussions on a myriad of legal issues that health care professionals face every day. Substantially revised and expanded and written in a plain manner, this New Edition includes 20 brand-new chapters that address the hottest topics in the field today. Will also serve as the syllabus for the Board Review Course of the American Board of Legal Medicine (ABLM). Includes need-to-know information on telemedicine and electronic mail · medical and scientific expert testimony · medical records and disclosure about patients · and liability exposure facing managed care organizations. Addresses the legal aspects of almost every medical topic that impacts health care professionals. Uses actual case studies to illustrate nuances in the law. Discusses current trends in the peer review process · physician-assisted suicide · and managed care organizations. Offers the expert guidance of top professionals across medical and legal fields in an easy to read format. Includes a glossary of medical terms. Features many brand-new chapters, including Patient Safety · Medication Errors · Disclosure of Adverse Outcome and Apologizing to Injured Patient · Liability of Pharmacists · No-Fault Liability· Legal Aspects of Bioterrorism · and Forensic Psychiatry.