Penicillin allergy; negligence, and standard of care.
Question: A 56-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. He had told the triage nurse on initial presentation he was allergic to penicillin, but the hospitalist subsequently administered ampicinin. Shortly after receiving the first dose, the patient developed progressive respiratory distress and required intubation. At trial, the...

Standard of care.
Question: A 56-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. He had told the triage nurse on initial presentation that he was allergic to penicillin, but the hospitalist subsequently administered ampicillin. Shortly after receiving the first dose, the patient developed progressive respiratory distress and required intubation. At trial,...

Medical malpractice.
Policies provide professional liability coverage for physicians and other medical professionals against lawsuits alleging negligence or errors and omissions during the care of patients. [GRAPHICS OMITTED] Top U.S. Writers Direct Premiums Written 2007 ($ Millions) Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group [00811] American international Group Inc [18540]...

'A Principled Approach to Medical Mistakes' To Be Addressed at 54th Annual International Congress for Respiratory Therapists.
DALLAS, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Timothy McDonald, physician, attorney and chief safety and risk officer for Health Affairs at the University of Illinois Medical Center, will give the keynote address titled "The Legal and Ethical Pitfalls in Respiratory Care," at the 54th Annual American Association for Respiratory Care...

Hospitals Now Able to Analyze Medical Mistakes without Fear of Lawsuits.
Government creates a safety reporting system similar to the one used by U.S. commercial airlines to collect and share data on errors and near misses. MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing concern over preventable harm to patients due to medical error has inspired a government agency...

Good Samaritan acts.
Question: During a flight from Los Angeles to Newark, a passenger developed acute chest pain and diaphoresis. A flight attendant put out an emergency call, but Dr. Brown, a general internist nearing retirement, failed to respond because he was concerned about potential litigation. Unfortunately, the passenger sustained a massive...

Doctors Perform Delicate Surgery on Funny Bone.
Procedure Successful; Patient in Stitches RICHLAND, Wash., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- -- Would a restaurant owned by a psychiatrist be called Oral Fixation? -- Does the term "GI series" refer to military ballgames? -- If an orthopedist owned a saloon, would its name be The...

Exposing hospitals' forgotten liability: why some hospitals choose not to book incurred-but-not-reported workers' comp claims and alternative strategies for reporting the liability.
Summary * Hospitals continue to overlook incurred-but-not-reported workers' comp claims. * On average, $99.44 of IBNR is needed for every $100 of known case reserves when a hospital retains $1,000,000 per occurrence. Only $2.79 of the $99.44 is for pure IBNR. * There...

TIPAAA Selects Darwin to Present Competitive, Top-Quality Health Care Solutions to TIPAAA Membership.
FARMINGTON, Conn., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Darwin National Assurance Company, a member company of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd , announced today that it has been selected by The IPA Association of America (TIPAAA) to offer health care professional liability coverage to its membership of more than 300,000...