Medical Attorney Blog

When a lawyer is requesting medical records for a law suit, am I entitled to receive a reasonable fee for providing copies of such records (I am not in the law suit).
They are using it as evidence for support of damage done by another party. Can anyone site an official laws stating compensation is due?

Are you a medical professional or health care provider? If so, many jurisdictions allow medical facilities/health care professionals to charge certain fees for copies of medical records.

ETA:
If you want specific laws, it would help if you gave a specific jurisdiction (i.e., state).

http://www.Medicaljustice.com – Medical Justice Founder and CEO Jeff Segal, MD, speaks out about his company’s mission: protect doctors from medical malpractice lawsuits.

Duration : 0:1:24

(more…)

Technorati Tags: defensive medicine, frivolous lawsuits

Nobody seems to ask WHY medical costs are so high, and why insurance costs so much. It looks to me that doctors pay through the nose for their own insurance due to ridiculous payouts on frivolous lawsuits and pass the cost on to us. Why aren’t politicians addressing the root cost of high medical costs (that is, lawyers)? How about a system that doesn’t allow doctors to be sued at all, but removes the license to practice from doctors who have X number of complaints per X months of duty? Any ideas?

Lawsuits are only a small part of the problem.

There was an interesting analysis in an article in Consumer Reports latest issue. Research done by Darthmouth Medical School showed that a communities medicare bill is determined by its supply of hospital bed and physicians, rather than medical needs. They also showed that regions of the US that spent more per capita had worse quality of care and that the outcome was no better in regions where more money is spent. The more doctors and hospitals that are available the more they have to find problems to bill for to pay for their high salaries.

One reason is greed. Dr. will perform unneeded procedures. The example was a person who had hear surgery that was un-needed. It was fraud to get money. Drs order lots of expensive test because they know the insurance will pay.

Also, there are patients who insist on the latest expensive medcine even if it is not the best for them.

Prescription meds that are under patent are expensive and not always better. All they have to do is prove the med is better than a sugar pill to get it on the market. They do not have to prove it is better than a standard med. This is lame. I’m a plant breeder and we always have to show how our plants stack up against the standard cultivars.

If you’re in the middle of a pending lawsuit you already understand the financial stress than can build during that period. This is especially true for injury or accident related lawsuits. During this period the plaintiff in the case won’t be able to work, and depending on the situation might never able to work again. As with most lawsuits this can be a very trying situation; most lawsuits tend to take many months if not years to complete. During this period the plaintiff in the case can become delinquent with monthly bills, medical payments, car loans and mortgages. In worst cases you can actually lose your home or vehicle during a pending lawsuit; and have adverse effects on your credit history.

Many people in this situation tend to do the worst thing and take out more credit. This can include applying for more credit cards or taking out a home equity loan. This is dangerous, if you lose your pending lawsuit you’ll still be liable for that money that was loaned. A better option in this type of situation is a settlement loan. They are a great way for a plaintiff in a pending lawsuit to take hold of their financial issues, and in the process protect their assets and credit history.

The best part of a settlement loan is it doesn’t have to be paid back until the end of your lawsuit. If you happen to lose your lawsuit you pay nothing back. That means the money you spent and that is left over the settlement loan is yours to keep and will not effect your credit history or any personal property you would other wise take out equity loan on. Settlement loans are based on the merit of your lawsuit, so if it’s a strong lawsuit against the defendant you’ll almost certainly get approved.

Remember, you need to make smart financial moves during your lawsuit. A traditional loan can be damaging if you fail to win your case since you’ll still be responsible for the payments. This is why the settlement loan is a far better option, you’ll be able to secure the financial funds you need to proceed with life and not be in danger of a loan you can’t afford if you lose.

Legal Settlement Loans
http://www.articlesbase.com/loans-articles/would-a-settlement-loan-be-right-for-you-687752.html

Two California dentists say medical liability is hurting their medical practice and raising their costs which effects their business and their patients.

Duration : 0:2:19

(more…)

Technorati Tags: california, dentist, lawsuit abuse, Sickoflawsuits

This newspiece is from June 2010. Medical marijuana attonrey Damian Nassiri describes how the last medical marijuana collective in Lake Forest plans to appeal the Judge’s order that the collectives must close down.

Duration : 0:1:54

(more…)

Technorati Tags: attorney, collective, Damian, dispensary, Forest, Lake, litigation, marijuana, medical, Nassiri

My insurance was not used, and the settlement was for the amount of the medical bills. No guilt was ever admitted by the defendants. Can I submit my insurance for reimbursement? Thanks.

No. In fact, even if your insurance paid originally, and you then reached a settlement the insurance company would have a right to what is called subrogation. Meaning that, in most states, you would then have to reimburse the insurance company for what they paid on the claim.

For you to reach a settlement and then submit a claim to insurance on the same matter would be double dipping and quite possibly illegal in your state.

dnassiri75http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/dnassiri75PeopleFox11Attorney Damian Nassiri KTLA Channel 11 News: Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Collectives Lawsuit

Duration : 0:1:52

(more…)

Technorati Tags: Fox11

The key issue in the legal challenge to federal health care laws from several states, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said, is Congress’s power under the Interstate Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution to require people to buy medical insurance.

Duration : 0:0:38

(more…)

Technorati Tags: coreissue, Wasden

Does anybody out there (lawyers preferably) know that statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit for medical malpractice in California? Thanks!

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in California is the shorter of (1) one year from discovery of the injury, or (2) three years from the date of injury.