Approximately twenty states in the United States employ medical screening panels to preview medical malpractice cases at the onset of litigation in an effort to screen out legally baseless claims. In addition to weeding out meritless cases, medical malpractice screening panels can encourage early settlement of cases. While each state’s panel differs slightly, most are made up of a combination …
Malpractice Liability of Sports Medical Care Providers
Children and young adults are playing a large variety of sports in ever-increasing numbers. As the number of participants increases, so does the occurrence of sports-related injuries and deaths resulting in more medical malpractice actions against team physicians and sports trainers. In this developing body of law, traditional medical malpractice principles usually govern claims by either amateur or professional athletes …
Malpractice by Pharmacists
New drugs are rapidly being developed and marketed, and more prescriptions are being written than ever before. The population as a whole is aging, and elderly patients account for about one-third of all drugs consumed. The practice of pharmacy itself has radically changed over the last decade. Whereas most pharmacies used to be part of family owed drug stores, they …
Claims for Breach of Contract
Generally, most medical malpractice cases are tort actions based on the existence of a physician’s duty to a patient, a breach of that duty, and injury to the patient as a result of the breach. Most healthcare providers do not promise a cure nor guarantee the best possible result. However, an individual physician may open him or herself up to …