Our medical malpractice lawyers in Maryland regularly sue doctors and hospitals of malpractice
A victim has the burden of proof when bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland. There are three elements that must be proved:
According to Washingtonian, the average medical malpractice award in Maryland is $319,977, which is approximately $35,000 more than the national average. The average medical liability premium for specialists is $100,625, compared with the national average of $65,489. Not noted: just how much the average specialist makes in a year. (Hint: it is a lot.)
The article does not define what type of award it is. I assume it means the settlement or verdict.
A West Virginia man sued a Frederick, Maryland doctor, alleging that he stapled his rectum shut during an operation leaving the 64-year-old man with permanent bowel problems. The Plaintiff now experiences rectal discharge and needs to wipe himself between 12 and 15 times a day. This is a damages case with a real appeal for a jury because obviously, this is a life-altering injury.
The doctor’s medical malpractice lawyer’s argument: his bowels were swollen shut because he was a smoker. No, really, that was the argument.
Okay, this is a case that should just settle, right? Well, the doctor makes no offer, and the jury validates their offer with a defense verdict.
I found a new blog called ER Stories – Shocking, Hilarious, Bizarre, and Sad Tales from the ER. It is an anonymously written blog by an emergency room doctor.
I have a bit of a problem assessing the credibility of someone who refuses to identify themselves. Does the American Medical Association take a position on this? I also notice the site has a lot of prominently placed Google ads. To borrow the old Seinfeld line, “Not that there is anything wrong with it.” But it is worth noting.
Anyway, one of his leitmotifs is frivolous medical malpractice cases, as evidenced by his post called “What a Wonderful Legal System We Have.” He tells an incredible story of a patient who came in with a fractured ankle but ran out of the hospital to flee the police. After getting arrested a few days later, he gets treatment and then brought a medical malpractice claim against the hospital, which the hospital settled for $10,000.
With all due respect to fellow trial lawyer John Edwards, the Democratic race seems to be all about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Regarding tort reform, both seem to be on the side of allowing juries to make the call regarding whether and how much compensation should be awarded. In fact, back in their civil days (as in civil to each other) they co-authored an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, entitled “Making Patient Safety the Centerpiece of Medical Liability Reform.”
Still, I suspect Hillary Clinton is the safer play for trial lawyers. Obama has taken a mild shot at trial lawyers in the past. Campaigning for the Senate in 2004, he was quoted as saying, “Anyone who denies there’s a crisis with medical malpractice is probably a trial lawyer.” But, obviously, taking a shot at medical malpractice lawyers is just smart politics and I don’t think this changes his position that juries should have the authority to determine who gets what without intervention from statutes or anything else.
Perhaps more telling when comparing the two candidates, Senator Obama was among the 18 of 44 democratic senators voting for the Class Action Reform Act. In contrast, Senator Clinton (and Senator Edwards), voted against the Act, believing that it would deny remedies for many in their local state courts.
Maryland Lawyer Blog