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3 Min Read

Physician medical liability funds protected from state raids

Five years after the state government took $100 million from a special medical liability fund in Pennsylvania, a settlement has been reached that provides key protections against future diversion and returns $200 million in overpayments to physicians and other health care providers.

Judicial Advocacy
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1 Min Read

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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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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1 Min Read

Court: Physician not liable for patient's risky behavior

In Kelly v. Haralampopoulos, two Colorado physicians were accused of medical liability when a patient experienced cardiac arrest during a procedure after presenting with abdominal pain. Testimony of close friends indicated that the patient had been recreationally using a dangerous drug that is known to cause cardiac arrest.

Judicial Advocacy
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3 Min Read

AMA, others support California's caps on damages law

The case, Winn v. Pioneer Medical Group, examines whether a claim based on medical negligence committed against an elderly patient can give rise to an action under the California Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection act, thus avoiding protections allowed in medical negligence cases under MICRA,

Judicial Advocacy
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2 Min Read

States advance medical liability reforms

Physicians in Idaho now will be protected from exposure to new causes of action based on whether the physician complied with quality and delivery improvement initiatives outlined by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

State Advocacy
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2 Min Read

New bill would free physicians to help victims of disasters

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last month could clear the way for out-of-state physicians to be able to lend their skills to the victims of federally declared disasters, preventing a repeat of the New Orleans catastrophes of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when medical volunteers were turned away as the result of vague liability and licensing laws. 

Federal Advocacy