Wrongful Birth Medical Malpractice Award is $2.9 Million in Oregon

Usually when reporting medical malpractice verdicts and settlements it is the phrase 'wrongful death' that comes up, not 'wrongful birth'. But a rare 'wrongful birth' trial reached a conclusion for the parents of child who was born with Downs Syndrome claiming doctors for medical negligence in pre-natal care, in the amount of $2.9 million for the lifetime care of the child. See article on OregonLive.com.

This of course stirs debate with anti-abortion forces. The Daily Beast details the conflict rising over The Legal Claims of Wrongful Birth vs. the Right to Lie Over Abortion...

When anti-abortion activists defend mandatory ultrasound rules, they often speak about a pregnant woman’s right to know. “Women have a right to know all the available medical and legal information surrounding the abortion decision before giving legally effective informed consent,” said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell when he signed such a rule into law last week.

In some states, though, anti-abortion activists are pushing legislation to protect doctors who don’t give women all available information about their pregnancies. Arizona and Kansas are considering bills that would ban lawsuits in cases where doctors fail to warn their patients about birth defects.

Read more on The Daily Beast.

 

State Lawmakers Blast House GOP's Medical Malpractice Reform Plan

In today's The Hill's Healthwatch the article — State lawmakers blast House GOP's medical malpractice reform bill - mentions a letter from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), expressing strong, bipartisan opposition to attaching federal medical malpractice legislation to the Medicare accountability bill as a "State's rights issue."

"Medical malpractice, product liability and other areas of tort reform are areas of law that are regulated by the states," says the letter from the NCLS. "Since the country's inception, states have addressed the myriad of substantive and regulatory issues regarding licensure, insurance, court procedures, victim compensation, civil liability, medical records and related matters."

Read more on thehill.com.

Sanjay Gupta Writes Novel on Inside World of Medicial Errors

Every time surgeons operate, they're betting their skills are better than the brain tumor, the faulty heart valve, the fractured femur. Sometimes, they're wrong. At Chelsea General, surgeons answer for bad outcomes at the Morbidity and Mortality conference, known as M & M. This extraordinary peek behind the curtain into what is considered the most secretive meeting in all of medicine is the back drop for the entire book.

Monday Mornings: A Novel, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follows the lives of five surgeons at Chelsea General as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings, often in front of their peers at M & M. It is on Monday mornings that reflection and introspection occurs, usually in private. It is Monday Mornings that provides a unique look at the real method in which surgeons learn — through their mistakes. It is Monday Mornings when, if you're lucky, you have a chance at redemption.