Despite practicing in only one state, many physicians maintain licenses to practice in multiple states.  Some maintain active licenses in states where they no longer practice just in case they decide to return at some time in the future.  Others allow the licenses to lapse and become inactive, having no intention of practicing in the former state again.  Physicians holding more than one medical license, whether active or inactive, should [...]

In Downing v. Grossman, an April 2022 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed that medical malpractice plaintiffs may not use allegations of fraudulent concealment to employ equitable estoppel to eviscerate the operation of Iowa Code § 614.1(9)’s a statute of repose when the alleged fraudulent concealment goes to the very “heart of” a plaintiff’s claim. To understand Downing, it is important to keep in mind the similarities and differences between [...]

The Supreme Court of the United States recently expanded the ability of states to recoup health care costs from accident victims under the Medicaid Act. The case, Gallardo v. Marstiller, involved injuries sustained by a plaintiff when she was hit by a motor vehicle as she stepped off a school bus in Florida.  Florida’s Medicaid agency paid $862,688.77 for Ms. Gallardo’s initial medical expenses.  Ms. Gallardo, through her parents, sued the [...]

When recently defending my physician client in a medical malpractice deposition, Plaintiff’s counsel started asking questions outside the lines. I objected and he immediately retorted back that I did not know the Rules of Evidence and that his questions were legitimate. He claimed certain testimony privileges only apply in criminal matters. I stood on my objections and my physician client followed my lead and did not answer the questions. But [...]

They say the truth will set you free, but one nurse who told the truth about a medication error she committed in 2017 now faces up to 8 years in jail.  On March 25, 2022, following a 3-day trial, RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), was found guilty of gross neglect and negligent homicide of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey.  Murphey died as the result of Vaught administering a [...]

The statute of limitations is a frequent defense in medical malpractice cases. Patients are often reluctant to sue a physician with whom they have an ongoing relationship. This has led to many cases being filed after the statute of limitations has expired. In the past, patients have relied upon the vague and confusing “continuous treatment doctrine” to avoid the statute of limitations. That will now be much more difficult to [...]

In any medical malpractice case where a plaintiff claims your physician-client violated the applicable standard of care, one of the defense attorney’s first tasks is—or should be—to identify an expert to defend your client’s treatment.  At first glance, this task seems straightforward.  After all, the simple goal is to identify a person that can vouch for the care your client provided.  But states maintain distinct standards that sometimes differ as [...]

Opioid abuse has grown into a crisis that has occupied the headlines in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement. The root of the problem is misuse of opioids prescribed for chronic pain. It is estimated [...]