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Best of 2016: Litigation
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3 MIN READ

Litigation: These court cases got readers’ attention

Notable litigation this year involved tussles over expert testimony, clinical judgment, informed consent and exam-room censorship.

Judicial Advocacy
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4 MIN READ

Judgment on life expectancy at issue in Medicare fraud case

The case concerns qualifying a patient’s care under the Medicare hospice benefit. At issue is a physicians’ ability to exercise their clinical judgment in certifying a patient’s life expectancy is less than six months.

Medicare & Medicaid
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4 MIN READ

Error-reporting confidentiality threatened in court

Confidential, protected peer-review mechanisms for reporting medical errors are at issue in a case before the Iowa Supreme Court. The state’s Morbidity and Mortality Study Law is being reviewed.

Judicial Advocacy
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4 MIN READ

Court case tests New York City sodium warnings rule

New York City’s law requiring restaurant chains to post warnings on menu items that contain more than the USDA daily limit for sodium was tested in court. The case has medical and public health implications.

Hypertension
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3 MIN READ

Court overturns physical therapy decision

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that physician practices can employ physical therapists. This overturned a previous ruling that prohibited them from working in a physician’s office. Patients can now benefit from easier access to physical therapy services.

Scope of Practice
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5 MIN READ

State supreme court could narrow confidentiality of physician peer-review

To be effective in improving quality of care, peer-review of physicians requires confidentiality. A state supreme court case examines a case involving a third-party peer-review.

Sustainability
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4 MIN READ

Medical liability suit seeks change to informed consent for surgery

State supreme court examines whether a patient’s informed consent to surgery can be predicated on information provided in part by a physician’s assistant, as opposed to just the physician.

Sustainability
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3 MIN READ

Challenge to medical liability law could complicate discovery

State supreme court of Florida studies challenge to pre-suit investigation requiring plaintiff to authorize release of confidential health information as a condition of bringing a lawsuit for medical liability.

Sustainability
Hands being sworn in on a book in court.
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4 MIN READ

Banning expert testimony from liability cases: Court decides

Does a physician have the right to present expert testimony that differs from the plaintiff’s? A Wisconsin court of appeals rules it’s jury’s role to decide which competing scientific theory best fit facts of the case.

Sustainability