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Myra Dembrow

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Recent Articles

Honesty and Apologizing Reduce Malpractice Lawsuits

October 22, 2009

Honesty really is the best policy, especially when it comes to taking responsibility and avoiding lawsuits. That is what the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) discovered after it launched an innovative program in 2002.

Surgical Glove Perforation Linked to Risk of Infection

September 01, 2009

Surgical gloves that develop holes or leaks during a procedure appear to increase the risk of infection at the surgical site in patients who are not given antibiotics beforehand, a Swiss study found.

Malpractice Payouts Continue to Decline

September 01, 2009

Medical malpractice payouts continued to fall across the country last year and account for a minuscule portion of health-care costs, the watchdog group Public Citizen reported.

Inform Patients of Lab Results or Risk Being Sued

September 01, 2009

Physicians often fail to inform patients of their tests results—or to document that notification—raising the likelihood of a lawsuit, a recent survey suggests.

Reforms Cited for Dramatic Caseload Decline

August 19, 2009

The number of medical malpractice cases has plunged in Pennsylvania since the state changed two procedures. State statistics show 1,602 cases were filed in 2008, a 41% decline from the base years of 2000-2002.

Judge: Malpractice Caps Don't Apply to Jury Trials

July 20, 2009

A Maryland trial judge has ruled that the state's cap on noneconomic damages cannot be imposed on jury awards.

Not Weighing Patients Can Lead to Medication Errors

July 20, 2009

Mistakes or omissions in obtaining patient weights caused almost 500 medication errors in Pennsylvania hospitals over 4.5 years, according to a state watchdog agency.

Oklahoma Revamps Civil Court Rules

July 20, 2009

Oklahoma has overhauled its procedures for medical malpractice lawsuits, reinstating pretrial certificates of merit and setting a limit on most pain-and-suffering damages.

Utah Demands More Proof for Emergency Errors

June 18, 2009

A new state law raises the standard of proof required for patients claiming errors in Utah emergency department (ED) care. The state legislature has raised the standard of proof from the traditional "preponderance of the evidence" to the higher "clear and convincing evidence" model.

Letter to Patients Leads to Lawsuit

June 18, 2009

Several patients at a South Dakota urology clinic have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against it, charging sloppy practices may have exposed them to disease.

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