Category: Malpractice

A proximate cause of wrongful death

An excerpt from Wrongful Deaths. “We will name Memorial Hospital, Dr. Julie Stone, Dr. Vijay Gupta, and ICU nurse Tracy Miller in a malpractice suit involving the wrongful death of Ivy Jackson.” Venjer appeared apologetic. “But Dr. Torrins is correct. …

A bad outcome changed this physician’s life

I’m struggling — truly struggling. This year has been beyond hard. I honestly never thought this time last year that I would be in this predicament. Things were good, I had a great job, and I was working on our fixing up our dream retirement home. We h…

Care but don’t touch: Being wise in the modern era

The medicine I practiced between 1974 to 1992 is gone. Evidence is the coin of the realm in the courts of modern medicine. The rule “first, do no harm” demands a corollary — be paranoid. We receive extensive training and licensure to “touch” patients. Any person who is not a physician who cuts into another […]

How to survive a medical liability lawsuit

I do not feel that I truly survived my lawsuit. Sure, I am alive, but the emotional toll it took on me during the four years that we co-existed was tremendous. That being said, I do feel that it taught me several things that may be helpful to others. My lawsuit occurred very early in […]

When should insurance companies be held responsible for medical malpractice?

In July, 2009, the family of Massachusetts teenager Yarushka Rivera went to their local Walgreens to pick up Topomax, an anti-seizure drug that had been keeping her epilepsy in check for years. Rivera had insurance coverage through MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid insurance program for low-income children, and never ran into obstacles obtaining this life-saving medication. […]

We need brave voices to tell stories of medical error

What is evidence? How do we gather evidence of patient harm? More importantly, what is the evidence that counts? A research paper dating back to 2004 suggests that besides research evidence, clinical and patient experiences, as well as contextual information also constitute evidence. However, the only currency of science is data collected through systematic and rigorous […]

Doctors are conditioned to deny

13 years ago a colleague of mine did a labiaplasty on my 18-year-old daughter for medical reasons. What was supposed to be routine has become a nightmare for her.  Not only did he remove all of her labia minora, but he also denervated her clitoris. When he saw her post-op, he told her she was fine, […]

Doctors are conditioned to deny

13 years ago a colleague of mine did a labiaplasty on my 18-year-old daughter for medical reasons. What was supposed to be routine has become a nightmare for her.  Not only did he remove all of her labia minora, but he also denervated her clitoris. When he saw her post-op, he told her she was fine, […]