Category: Malpractice

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, […]