malpractice News

Fireman’s Fund Must Defend ‘Lottery Lawyer’ in Fraud Case

As the criminal trial of a New York lawyer charged with bilking lottery winners out of millions of dollars got underway this week in a federal court in Brooklyn, one insurer was likely watching closely as it will be picking …

No Malpractice Coverage Owed to Law Firm Sanctioned for ‘Frivolous’ Lawsuits

A legal malpractice insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify attorneys who were sanctioned for filing frivolous lawsuits against four Ohio school districts, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The appellate panel on Friday affirmed a ruling by …

Connecticut to Pay $9M to Settle Hospital Patient Abuse Suit

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut judge has approved a $9 million settlement between the state and the brother of a man who was abused numerous times at the state’s maximum-security psychiatric hospital, lawyers in the case announced Thursday. The …

Utah Supreme: Denying Claim Over Nude Photos May Cost Insurer Nearly $3M

UMIA Insurance refused to accept an $800,000 settlement in a malpractice suit against a plastic surgeon who shared nude before-and-after photographs of a patient’s body with a Fox News affiliate. The insurer could pay more than three times that amount …

Hospital Must Turn Over Info on Famous Cardiologist, Appeals Court Says

Once a party relinquishes information considered privileged, it cannot then claim that other information about the same subject must remain sealed, a federal appeals court found in a medical malpractice and fraud case that has resulted in three separate rulings …

Court: Hospitals Can be Responsible for Abuse by Employees

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A state appeals court said Tuesday that a Southern California hospital can be held responsible for sexual abuse by an employee, upholding a jury’s damage award of $6.75 million to two elderly patients who were abused …

Nurses: Guilty Verdict for Dosing Mistake Could Cost Lives

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The moment nurse RaDonda Vaught realized she had given a patient the wrong medication, she rushed to the doctors working to revive 75-year-old Charlene Murphey and told them what she had done. Within hours, she made …

8th Circuit: Malpractice Action May Proceed Before Underlying Lawsuit is Resolved

Legal malpractice claims usually aren’t filed until after somebody loses a lawsuit. But what happens when the underlying dispute hasn’t been resolved, but a litigant has to hire new counsel to clean up mistakes that were made during discovery? A …

Calif. Supreme: Malpractice Damage Cap Protects Unsupervised Physician Assistants

California’s $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits applies to actions by physician assistants even if they are not properly supervised by a licensed physician, the California Supreme Court ruled. In a decision Thursday, the high court rejected …

Jury Awards $26M in Malpractice Lawsuit, a Nebraska Record

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Douglas County jury has awarded $26.1 million to a Sarpy County family who sued Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha after their child was sent home following an accidental fall and then suffered seizures …