Sometimes, to control initial costs, an attorney will utilize a service that offers quick opinions on potential malpractice cases. Depending on the case, this may be an effective screening tool, but this scenario can also be problematic, since the experts do not always get the complete picture. (more…)
An article by The Nursing Home Abuse Advocate reported a new “record” has been broken in the form of $38 million. Extendicare Health Services Inc. agreed to pay $38 million to the U.S. government and eight states to settle allegations that it billed Medicare and Medicaid for substandard nursing care and unnecessary rehabilitation therapy. (more…)
Throughout Life Care Planning’s history, Physiatry has played a central role, yet less than 1% of Life Care Planners are qualified physicians.
The unique qualifications of physiatrists afford them capacities that are not possessed by non-physicians and, in some cases, non-physiatric Life Care Planners. These capacities represent significant value to the subjects of Life Care Plans as well as to the parties who commission their production. In determining the best route to take for life care planning, we need to first understand Life Care Plans.
A reputable expert witness referral service can be a great asset to attorneys and law firms. As an expert referral service that has been helping trial attorneys since 1974, we have had to demystify common objections to the types of services we provide. Here are 5 misconceptions we have encountered throughout our years.
Pursuing favorable lawsuits is the goal of any attorney that works in the medical malpractice arena, and over the past ten years we have seen many changes in the legal industry that force an attorney to be diligent and cautious when deciding which cases they will invest the time and money needed to be successful, especially in states with caps on punitive damages.
Attorneys know that Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice cases can be quite complex. Clients often have extensive medical histories, and it can be an arduous task to separate and/or correlate previous injuries with current ones. Furthermore, electronic medical records are quickly becoming the standard. These records are often repetitive and voluminous.
Medical peer review is the process by which a physician or a committee of physicians examines the work of a peer and determines whether the physician under review has met accepted standards of care in rendering medical services.
A common phone call that we receive from attorneys is that they are in the process of investigating a potential medical malpractice case, but there is no clear indication in their initial review of the records that they have a case that should be pursued. In many of these discussions, it is a straight forward question regarding the unsuccessful outcome of a procedure that needs to be answered, while other discussions are due to the complexity of the case for various reasons like the number of practitioners involved, or ability to decipher electronic medical records.(more…)
The Daubert Standard is used by a trial judge to make an assessment of whether an expert’s scientific testimony is based on reasoning that is scientifically valid and can be properly applied to the facts of a case. The Daubert standard is the test currently used in the federal courts and some state courts.
It’s a reality of our time – cameras are everywhere.
Unless you haven’t watched or listened to the news in the past year, you have probably noticed the effect that cameras have had (whether they are surveillance, mobile phone or police cams) on collecting evidence from everything ranging from medical malpractice to police misconduct cases, and everything in between. The camera, something that observes yet makes no comments, is increasingly becoming a Silent Witness – a powerful and compelling means of evidence collection. (more…)
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