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State high court rules for patient safety in liability case

In Allred v. Saunders, the Utah Supreme Court weighed in on an earlier court ruling that required a physician’s peer review files to be produced as evidence in determining medical liability, contrary to a law passed in 2012 that explicitly protects that information in order to preserve the integrity of peer review proceedings.

Judicial Advocacy
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2 Min Read

State high court to rule on expert witnesses in medical liability

The Florida Supreme Court is taking up Edwards v. Sunrise Ophthalmology ASC, in which a lower court had excluded the testimony of an infectious disease specialist, which was offered regarding the standard of care the plaintiff received from her ophthalmologist related to surgery on her lower eyelid.

Judicial Advocacy
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2 Min Read

Record release law for medical liability suits upheld in court

In Murphy v. Dulay, the appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that said a Florida law requiring the release of relevant health information was impermissible under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Judicial Advocacy
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Oral arguments begin in patient safety case before U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the United States is hearing oral arguments in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC, a case previously decided by a federal appeals court that ruled in favor of the FTC’s claim that state licensure boards should be subject to federal antitrust laws.

Judicial Advocacy
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Ruling could impede efforts to improve patient safety

The Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies, the Kentucky Medical Association and more than two dozen patient safety and health care quality groups from around the country have filed a brief with the Kentucky Supreme Court, arguing that the appeals court ruling in Tibbs v. Bunnell would hamper open discussions that are essential to maintaining and improving patient safety.

Judicial Advocacy
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2 Min Read

Case could leave doctors vulnerable to repeat, delayed lawsuits

In KBR v. United States of America Ex Relator Benjamin Carter, petitioners are seeking to overturn earlier court decisions that would eliminate the existing six-year limit on pursuing “false claims” under the federal False Claims Act and would allow repeat lawsuits to be filed.

Judicial Advocacy
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2 Min Read

Law limiting physician speech upheld; doctors call for rehearing

A federal appellate court earlier this summer issued a split-decision upholding a controversial Florida law that could restrict what physicians can talk about with their patients in the exam room.

Judicial Advocacy
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1 Min Read

Patient privacy court ruling would interfere with care

In Lewis v. Superior Court (Medical Board of California), a lower court ruling grants law enforcement and other government employees broad access to the state’s prescription drug monitoring program’s database. Physicians are flagging the ruling as a violation of confidentiality in the physician-patient relationship.

Judicial Advocacy
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2 Min Read

Court considers: Can doctors sue insurers for underpaid claims?

In North Jersey Brain and Spine Center v. Aetna, a physician practice that received assignments of benefits from patients with employer-sponsored health plans sued the insurer for denying and underpaying medically necessary surgeries for three different patients.

Judicial Advocacy