ED Legal Letter
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Hospital Advertisements About ED Care Can Cause Problems for Defense
Hospitals try to set themselves apart from the competition with advertisements about the excellent care people can expect in their EDs. But beware: The ads can be used against hospitals by creative plaintiff attorneys in many ways.
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Fall Injuries in the ED: A ‘Hot Topic in the Medical-Legal Arena’
Multiple organizations have released guidelines and recommendations on fall prevention.
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Did Patient Contract MRSA in ED? Maybe, But It Is Almost Impossible to Prove
What if an ED patient acquired a MRSA infection from a contaminated surface? It might seem like a successful lawsuit against the hospital would be imminent. However, making a malpractice lawsuit is surprisingly difficult.
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Factors That Could Make Quality Assurance Process Discoverable in Malpractice Litigation
Creating a robust quality assurance process can reduce malpractice risk for ED groups because it can identify practices that put EPs at risk for lawsuits.
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Legal Risks for EPs Responding to In-House Codes
EPs face unique legal risks when responding to codes in the ICU, labor and delivery, or elsewhere in the hospital.
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Patients Leaving AMA: Signed Forms Alone Are Not Sufficient Malpractice Defense
The number of patients leaving EDs against medical advice is rising dramatically, according to a recent report. About 352,000 California ED visits ended before their medical care was complete in 2017, an increase of 57% since 2012.
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Physician Health and Malpractice Risk: A Look at Holmes v. Lyons
If a state board licensing investigation is initiated, it is wise to immediately consult an attorney who is familiar with applicable law. Cases like these are a challenging factor in the tension between physician wellness and the shift to a culture of openness about physician wellness and medicolegal risk. Physician involvement in shaping how the states manage these issues has the potential to positively affect the health of both physicians and their patients.
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New EMTALA Data Show Decline in Settlements
EMTALA’s status as an unfunded mandate and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act threaten the financial viability of safety-net hospitals, researchers warn, which could lead to more EMTALA violations.
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Facial Trauma Lawsuits: Half of Cases Involve Delayed or Missed Diagnosis
Lawsuits stemmed from a variety of issues, but when EPs were sued, it was usually for failure to diagnose a fracture.
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Legal Problems if ED Overlooks Critical Lab Finding
Critical lab results are missed because ED patients are discharged already. Other times, results are never communicated to the EP who is caring for the patient. Despite the importance of critical values in ED care and requirements that hospitals provide for the identification and timely communication of critical results, there is little standardization of procedures.