ED Legal Letter – August 1, 2019
August 1, 2019
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Just Apologizing Not Enough for EDs to Reduce Malpractice Risk
Apology laws enacted by 39 states and the District of Columbia make apologies inadmissible as evidence in subsequent malpractice trials. The laws are based on the assumption that patients who receive apologies will not be as likely to take legal action. Researchers analyzed claims from a national malpractice insurer over an eight-year period and concluded that apology laws are not doing what they purport.
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