Yesterday, the Maryland Daily Record published the first of a three-part series I wrote with retired Judge Clifton J. Gordy (now a mediator and arbitrator) on mediation in serious personal injury and wrongful death claims. The article is for both plaintiff and defense lawyers looking to make mediations as productive…
In a 6-1 opinion, the Maryland Court of Appeals decided Blondell v. Littlepage, affirming the Court of Special Appeals decision which rejected a tort and breach of contract lawsuit brought by a lawyer against a malpractice lawyer regarding a case he referred to her. The lawyer referred a cancer misdiagnosis…
The New York Times has a story about encouraging doctors to admit their own mistakes. The UCLA surgeon who wrote the article does not contend that admitting medical mistakes should take the place of civil accountability. In fact, she suggests – as some recent literature has showed – that being…
Let’s say Barack Obama takes a strong position on medical malpractice caps and puts his weight behind a bill to eliminate malpractice and other damage caps in all 50 states. This would be a huge windfall for our practice. But I would oppose this legislation. Why? Because such a law…
The Illinois Supreme Court made big news nationally when it issued its much-awaited opinion in Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital> yesterday, The court overturned in a 4-2 ruling the Illinois five-year-old medical malpractice cap on damages because limiting compensation for injured malpractice victims for pain and suffering violated the Illinois…
A federal court jury in Baltimore found that an Elkton obstetrician was not liable in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The core of the case is bound to raise moral concerns with at least some jurors. Plaintiff claimed she would have ended her pregnancy if they had advised her that her…
St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, a hospital known and respected in no small measure for its cardiology department, is being accused of conduct that goes well beyond medical malpractice. The Stent Allegations The allegations are beyond stunning: at least 369 of St. Joseph’s heart patients have received coronary stents…
In a 7-0 decision, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned a Montgomery County trial judge’s ruling in Lockshin v. Semsker that Maryland’s medical malpractice cap applies to all malpractice lawsuits, including those where one party waived health claims arbitration. But that is not the only blow the opinion gives to…
This doctor I deposed last week makes $1,700 an hour. (Or maybe she is just a stock photography model.) The Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog reports that a federal judge in New Jersey held the line on rampant expert fees last week, holding that while neurosurgeons should be able to demand…
Yesterday in Burnside v. Wong, the Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the Court of Special Appeals and a Baltimore City trial judge’s finding that Baltimore County was an appropriate venue for a medical malpractice lawsuit filed in Baltimore City. Trial Judge Usually Makes the Call on Venue The doctor had…