Play dealing with Marriage Equality and Medical Malpractice debuts at Trinity Rep

Love Alone, a timely play, debuts this week at Trinity Rep on March 16th and runs through May 27, 2012.  Check the play out on Facebook here.

The play deals head-on with marriage equality and medical malpractice by telling a fictional story of what happens when a routine procedure goes tragically wrong. In light of Rhode Island’s 2010 civil union bill and the current bill before the House to allow doctors to say “I’m sorry” for medical negligence, Love Alone couldn’t be more relevant.

Internationally awarded playwright Deborah Salem Smith is the author of Love Alone and the playwright-in-residence at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence. She has a personal connection to the subject matter in that her partner of 14 years is a doctor and her father-in-law is an attorney who represents patients and hospitals in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Love Alone was among 19 plays in the nation to be awarded a prestigious Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award and received an honorable mention from the Jane Chambers Award, the country’s premier women’s playwriting award. Recognized for its exploration of the complex human emotions experienced by those involved in medical error, Love Alone paints a loving portrait about how we grieve and how we heal.

Smith’s previous honors include an Emerging American Artist Fulbright for playwriting in Dublin, Ireland, where she worked with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre. Smith’s work has been recognized by a National Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities, a MacDowell Fellowship, a Colby Fellowship, a Major Hopwood Award, as well as writing and visual arts prizes from the University of Michigan and Princeton University. Her previous plays, which have been deemed “luminous, intelligent, provocative and deeply moving,” by The Boston Globe, include Boots on the Ground, Some Things Are Private, Good Business, and Caviar.

Defendant Hospital Ordered to Costs & Attorneys’ Fees after Improper Closing Argument

RI Lawyers Weekly has the update on a case (involving the firm where I work) that we profiled here last summer: Vann v. Women and Infants Hospital:

A hospital must pay the attorneys’ fees of a medical-malpractice plaintiff after defense counsel’s improper closing argument caused a mistrial, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

The plaintiff argued that a fee award was appropriate because the defendant’s comments about the plaintiff’s expert witness during the closing amounted to an attempt to present an “anything is possible” causation theory that the judge had already prohibited.

Presiding Judge Alice B. Gibney agreed.

“[T]his case presents unique and different circumstances from those involving mere improper statements during a closing argument,” Gibney said. “Accordingly, this Court equitably fashions a remedy that requires Defendant to reimburse Plaintiffs for attorneys’ fees and costs related to [the expert]’s appearance at the first trial.”

The 14-page decision is Vann v. Women and Infants Hospital, Lawyers Weekly No. 61-174-10. The full text of the ruling can be found by clicking here.

Providence attorneys Miriam Weizenbaum and Amato A. DeLuca represented the plaintiff. Michael G. Sarli of Providence represented the defendant.

Trial Lawyers Hold Protect Seniors & Hold Nursing Homes Accountable

A new report released today by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) illustrates how the civil justice system is the most effective force in uncovering abuses by corporate nursing homes and insurance companies that target elderly Americans.

Large corporate chains run nursing homes where 1.5 million elderly Americans currently reside. Many of these vulnerable residents have suffered abuse by staff members and even died from dehydration or infection caused by inadequate care. The report explains how litigation has revealed this neglect and abuse and allowed residents and their families to hold offending corporations accountable.

“Corporate nursing homes and insurance companies have continually chosen to put profits ahead of the well-being of our most vulnerable population,” said AAJ President Gibson Vance. “Where regulatory and legislative bodies have been unable to cope with this distressing rise of neglect and abuse of our elderly, the civil justice system has stepped into the breach.”

This year the American Association for Justice has fought against hidden forced arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts preventing seniors from seeking justice in court. AAJ helped move proposed nursing home legislation, and other forced arbitration bills, through hearings rounding up 115 cosponsors in the House and 13 in the Senate.

Texas Supreme Court Rules in Hospital Injuries Case

The Texas Tribune reports that the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that injuries unrelated to medical error are still subject to Texas’ strict medical malpractice caps – continuing Texas’ reputation as one of the most anti-civil justice jurisdictions in the nation.

The case was filed by Irving Marks, who fell at Houston’s St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in 2000 while recovering from surgery. The suit claimed a broken hospital bed caused to Mark’s fall and therefore he should be entitled to sue the hospital for unlimited damages.

At least $1.5 Million awarded in Federal Vaccine Case

CBS News reports that the first court award in a vaccine-autism claim is a big one: the family of Hannah Poling will receive more than $1.5 million dollars for her life care; lost earnings; and pain and suffering for the first year alone.

In addition to the first year, the family will receive more than $500,000 per year to pay for Hannah’s care. Those familiar with the case believe the compensation could easily amount to $20 million over the child’s lifetime.

Hannah was described as normal, happy and precocious in her first 18 months.

Then, in July 2000, she was vaccinated against nine diseases in one doctor’s visit: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, varicella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae.

Afterward, her health declined rapidly. She developed high fevers, stopped eating, didn’t respond when spoken to, began showing signs of autism, and began having screaming fits. In 2002, Hannah’s parents filed an autism claim in federal vaccine court. Five years later, the government settled the case before trial and had it sealed. It’s taken more than two years for both sides to agree on how much Hannah will be compensated for her injuries.

Read Sharyl Attkisson’s 2008 report on Hannah Poling

In acknowledging Hannah’s injuries, the government said vaccines aggravated an unknown mitochondrial disorder Hannah had which didn’t “cause” her autism, but “resulted” in it. It’s unknown how many other children have similar undiagnosed mitochondrial disorder. All other autism “test cases” have been defeated at trial. Approximately 4,800 are awaiting disposition in federal vaccine court.

Time Magazine summed up the relevance of the Poling case in 2008: …(T)here’s no denying that the court’s decision to award damages to the Poling family puts a chink — a question mark — in what had been an unqualified defense of vaccine safety with regard to autism. If Hannah Poling had an underlying condition that made her vulnerable to being harmed by vaccines, it stands to reason that other children might also have such vulnerabilities.”

Then-director of the Centers for Disease Control Julie Gerberding (who is now President of Merck Vaccines) stated: “The government has made absolutely no statement indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism. This does not represent anything other than a very specific situation and a very sad situation as far as the family of the affected child.”

Read the newly-released decision on Hannah Poling’s compensation.

Study Says Medical Errors Cost Nearly $20 Billion Every Year

The Wall Street Journal “Health Blog” reported on a study released Monday by the Society of Actuaries which states that medical errors cost the US $19.5 billion in 2008.  The costs include both medical costs and those linked to lost productivity.  The Hill reports that the dollar figure cited is “likely low,” according to consultants at Milliman, “who crunched the data.” Jonathan Shreve, an actuary for Milliman who co-authored the report, said, “We used a conservative methodology and still found 1.5 million measureable medical errors occurred in 2008.”  More than “half of those costs were associated with just five avoidable medical injuries: pressure ulcers; post-op infections; mechanical troubles with devices, implants or grafts; post-laminectomy syndrome; and hemorrhages.”

Skilled Healthcare Group Class Action Yields Largest Verdict of 2010

American Lawyer notes that “On Tuesday, a California state court jury awarded $671 million in damages to a class of plaintiffs who alleged that Skilled Healthcare Group had inadequately staffed its nursing homes. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, this is the largest verdict of 2010.” Class counsel W. Timothy Needham of Janssen, Malloy, Needham, Morrison, Reinholtsen, Crowley & Griego said that “plaintiffs lawyers…first began to consider a class action against Skilled Healthcare after suing the company and its facilities in individual wrongful death cases and learning of widespread violations.”

U.S. Attorney Reclaims $275k in Medicare Payments from Dermatologist Ordering Unnecessary Tests

Hines Dermatology Associates, Inc., a Massachusetts based corporation with a practice and laboratory in Providence, R.I., is reimbursing $275,000 to the Medicare Program after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island determined that unnecessary pathology services were being performed at the Rhode Island office and then billed to the federal government.

Dr. Yvonne C. Hines, M.D., president and medical director of Hines Dermatology Associates, Inc., and Dermatopath Lab, was also required to enter into an Integrity Agreement with HHS to ensure compliance with regulations, directives and programs associated with Medicare, Medicaid, and all other federal health care programs.

The civil settlement requiring the reimbursement of funds and implementation of an Integrity Agreement was announced by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Susan Waddell, Special Agent in Charge of the regional office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

Between mid February 2004 and early October 2007, through the practice, Dr. Hines and the lab falsely represented that some patient test results required additional and more expensive testing and thus were eligible for reimbursement by Medicare, when in fact, they were not necessary.

U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha commented, “Health care fraud victimizes nearly every American – whether covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or one of the many private insurers. It has rapidly become one of our most urgent, destructive and widespread national challenges; a crime for which we will have zero tolerance. Cases like this will be rooted out and those responsible will be held accountable.”

“Charging Medicare for unnecessary medical services is a crime and those that do so will be brought to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Susan Waddell, of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Boston Region. “The HHS-OIG integrity agreement will monitor future activity to eliminate fraudulent billing for tests that were never needed.”

The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan and John W. O’Brien, Senior Counsel, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The matter was investigated by Special Agent George E. Walford, III, OIG-HHS, Boston.

Maryland Jury Awards $3.5M Med-mal Verdict

The Baltimore Sun reports that a 53-year-old Harford County woman won a $3.5 million medical malpractice verdict on Thursday against two surgeons and their business, Vascular Surgery Associates. Victoria Little underwent surgery for blocked arteries in 2007, with disastrous results, according to her Baltimore attorneys.  Little’s lawyers, James Cardea and Scott Kurlander, claim that the doctors used an improper grafting technique that led to blood loss and various injuries, including damage to Little’s spinal cord, which left Little paraplegic and unable to walk.

Georgia Supreme Court Strikes Down Caps on Non Economic Awards

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a unanimous Georgia Supreme Court on Monday struck down limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases ruling that the $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages violates the right to a jury trial guaranteed by the Georgia Constitution, as the cap “clearly nullifies the jury’s findings of fact regarding damages and thereby undermines the jury’s basic function,” Chief Justice Carol Hunstein wrote for the court.

The AP reports that the ruling “will likely herald a flurry of new litigation, as the court said the ruling applied retroactively to all other pending medical-malpractice cases, including those that are now in the appeals process.” In the case before the court, Betsy Nestlehutt “was awarded $1.15 million in non-economic damages — including $900,000 in pain and suffering — by a Fulton County jury after she was permanently disfigured after a botched facelift.”

Report: Medical Error Leads to Congressman Murtha’s Death

While various news outlets have described the death of Congressman John Murtha’s (D-PA) as resulting from “complications following gallbladder surgery,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the “complications” involved an error by Murtha’s surgeons.

Mr. Murtha was first hospitalized with gallbladder problems in December. He had surgery Jan. 28 at the National Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md. He went home, but was hospitalized two days later when complications developed. According to a source close to Mr. Murtha — confirming a report in Politico — doctors inadvertently cut Mr. Murtha’s intestine during the laparoscopic surgery, causing an infection.

Congressman Murtha is not alone.  The Institute of Medicine estimates that 98,000 people die each year in the US from preventable medical errors. And, this number does not even include the countless other people who are injured by medical errors. Rather than reforming the legal system that provides protections to these injured patients, we must focus on reforming the medical system in this country to prevent these errors from ever happening in the first place.

North Providence Radiologist, Dr. Nicholas D. Iannuccilli, Allowed to Resume Practice

The Providence Journal reports that North Providence radiologist, Dr. Nicholas D. Iannuccilli, has resumed his practice after undergoing treatment for substance abuse and receiving approval from the state’s Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline.

“I never met a doctor who was so relieved to get caught. This poor fellow was crying out for help,” said Bruce McIntyre, acting administrative officer of the state Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. “He spent a considerable amount of time in treatment.” McIntyre said that Iannuccilli had not been sued and the board had not received any complaints about the quality of his work.

In a brief phone interview, Iannuccilli said that he wrote prescriptions for Ativan, a tranquilizer, for his sister-in-law but took them himself as a sleep aid. “It was the worst decision I ever made in my life. I’m very repentant,” he said. “I’m back at work –– thank God.”

Under his agreement with the medical board, Iannuccilli’s medical license was suspended retroactively for the period from Aug. 21 through Jan. 13, at which point he was put on probation. He will be monitored for drug abuse by the Physicians Health Committee of the Rhode Island Medical Society, and his probation will continue until that committee believes he no longer needs monitoring. His license to prescribe controlled substances has been suspended for at least a year. And he must pay a $500 administrative fee.

The goal of the Board is to provide information which furthers safe and healthy lives in safe and healthy communities.  You can find out more here and you can look up the status of a doctor’s privileges and history of disciplinary actions here.

Studies Question FDA Approvals of Cardiac Devices

The New York Times reports that two studies have “found shortcomings in some clinical trials accepted by the FDA over the last decade in connection with the approval of high-risk cardiovascular devices,” such as “pacemakers, implanted defibrillators, and…coronary stents.” For its part, the FDA said it “is developing guidelines that will set tougher scientific standards for data from tests on humans” that medical device makers submit.

The first study, published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), showed that many cardiovascular devices are not subjected to rigorous safety and effectiveness research before being approved for use and that “it’s common for such devices to receive…approval based on information from only a single study, which raises questions about the quality of data on which some cardiovascular device approvals are based.”

Meanwhile, a second study appearing in the American Journal of Therapeutics, co-authored by a medical reviewer from the FDA’s cardiovascular device division, found that studies submitted for approval of cardiovascular devices often lack important information, including details on the studies’ participants.  The Associated Press reports that the second study “found about 40 percent of pivotal studies lacked precise targets for how safety would be measured,” and researchers “failed to fully account for what happened to all patients enrolled in the research.”

Boston Jury Awards $15 million in Medical Malpractice Verdict for Death of 3-year-old

The Boston Globe reports that a Boston jury awarded $15 million to the parents of a 3-year-old Pennsylvania child whose 2004 death at Children’s Hospital Boston was the focus of a malpractice lawsuit. The jury found that former physician-in-chief at Children’s Dr. James Lock and anesthesiologist Dr. James A. DiNardo were negligent in the death of Jason Fox during treatment him for congenital heart disease. The lawsuit claims that the doctors lied to the Fox family about the treatments Jason was receiving at Children’s. The actual damages received will be less, due to an agreement reached while the jury was deliberating, but the exact number has not been specified.

Trial Lawyers Seek to Get the Facts Out on Health Care Reform and Medical Malpractice

The American Association for Justice has bought up all the advertising space at Union Station in Washington D.C. to remind the political decision makers that 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors.  Both Politico and the Wall St. Journal have stories on the campaign.  Click here to see photos of the advertising blitz.

Here’s AAJ’s president Anthony Tarricone:

In our continued efforts to protect the rights of patients, today, we launched a new ad campaign in the Union Station metro in Washington, DC, targeting Senate staffers commuting to work.

The station has over 30 spots for ads, including billboards, banners and lightboxes. All the ads on the platform include stories of people who have been injured by medical negligence, with other messages displayed throughout the station. It directs readers to visit www.98000reasons.org, where they can view reports, fact sheets, and stories of real people injured by medical negligence.

Click here to learn the facts on medical malpractice and health care reform.