12 Questions to Ask Before Taking a New Medication
A patient advocate friend, who I met at the PSAN Summit, has made an excellent list of questions to ask about new... Read More
12 Things to Ask When Your Doctor Wants Your Consent to Use a Medical Device
Not every patient wants to be fully informed about his or her medical options. For the rest of us, the problem is sifting through the... Read More
Who does juror bias favor in medical malpractice cases? Not the patient.
I stumbled today onto a great article from 2009 that tried to look empirically at the issue of whether jurors should be... Read More
Bravo to Tacoma for Joining Everett in Fight Against Opioid Makers
I think it’s the only way to make these companies pay attention: confront them with the *true* scope of the harm they... Read More
Why did doctors in California block the law requiring them to disclose misconduct to patients?
An editorial in the LA Times last Thursday needs you to read it. It explains the demise of a recent bill that... Read More
Financial disclosure rules for researchers are awesome, and not enough.
Since I started representing people injured by medical devices, one of the most useful tools I’ve found is the Open Payments website.... Read More
My take on the House’s newest (slightly less horrible) version of Medical Malpractice “reform.”
A friend of mine on twitter asked me today what I think of the House republicans’ latest version of “fixing” medical malpractice... Read More
The Broken Bones of Tube-Fed Kids: The Problem of Neocate
Some kids have very little luck, and I recently met the moms of three such kids. All three kids have “trach” (tracheostomy)... Read More
What 5 things does Consumer Reports say patients should ask before EVERY test, treatment, or procedure?
Last night I got to see a presentation at the Mercer Island Public Library in Washington state. The presentation was jointly put... Read More
Medtronic Issues Two Recalls Related to Its “HeartWare” Ventricular Assist Device
Medtronic Mechanical Circulatory Support is recalling its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD), a device that helps the heart deliver blood to the... Read More
“Half of U.S. doctors paid by drug, device industries”
Another great article on the topic of doctors getting money from drug and device companies. Here’s the part that rings most true... Read More
FDA Issues Class I Recall for Newport HT70 and HT70 Plus Ventilators
The FDA recently issued a Class I recall, the highest level of a recall, on the Newport HT70 and HT70 Plus ventilators.... Read More
My Take on the Recent JAMA Study about Sales Reps and Docs’ Prescription Decisions
One of the great myths of medicine is that our physicians are uniquely resistant to attempts by drug and device sales reps... Read More
Get the Word Out: Recall on Mislabeled Drug Used to Treat Seizures in Kids
Phenobarbital is a drug used to treat seizures in kids with epilepsy. One supplier of the drug is recalling one lot of... Read More
Does a surgeon have to tell you if she’s never performed this surgery before?
This is a topic I’ve been wanting to write about for a while. Then, the other day, I learned I don’t have... Read More
Declassified Documents Tell Story of Intuitive Surgical’s Recklessness with da Vinci Instruments
Our firm has brought several cases against the maker of the da Vinci robot: Intuitive Surgical, Inc. The cases I have... Read More
FDA Issues Urgent Recall for Lifesaving Defibrillators Kept in Homes and Workplaces
Physio-Control Inc. recently recalled its LIFEPAK 1000 Defibrillator after the company discovered an electrical problem could stop the device from working. The... Read More
Very Bad MedMal Law Part 2: Shrinking the Statute of Limitations
As I wrote earlier, your congress is currently considering a very bad bill, which would drastically remove patients’ ability to be compensated... Read More
Your Congress is considering a very bad law.
Your congress is currently considering House Bill 1215, which is a really terrible proposal related to medical malpractice cases. The most important things... Read More
Under 50 colon cancer rates are increasing while over 50 are decreasing, and we don’t know why.
There is a fantastic story from our local public radio station (KNKX.org) about a confounding trend in the rates of colon cancer for... Read More
Over 3,600 Shoulder Replacement Devices Recalled
Zimmer Biomet is recalling its “Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder” hardware, which is used in shoulder replacements. According to the FDA, the shoulder pieces... Read More
What is “QI Privilege,” and why does it make people injured in hospitals want to tear their hair out?
Imagine your lawyer failed to get you a necessary expert, and your case got thrown out of court. You’re horribly injured, but... Read More
Washington Supreme Court orders new trial in our wrongful death suit against Intuitive Surgical, maker of the da Vinci robot.
In 2013, our firm teamed up with Otorowski Johnston to hold Intuitive Surgical accountable for the death of Fred Taylor. Our lawsuit chronicled... Read More
Tip #3 for preventing medical device injury: “Who all will be in the operating room?”
Here is Tip #3 protecting yourself from harm caused by medical devices in operating rooms. (See video below for context on what... Read More
Why do we force our newest doctors to work in intolerable conditions and then lament about medical errors?
We lament about medical errors in hospitals, but we force our newest doctors to work in intolerable conditions: sleep deprived and hungry.... Read More
Drug and device companies fear Trump, but none of the changes they fear will make patients more safe.
Whenever I see medical device and drug companies oppose something, my default setting is to support that thing. That’s because, as I’ve noted... Read More
Surgical instrument “caked with old blood and brown ooze” delivered as “sterile” for pediatric surgery
Kudos to the Detroit News, which has continued to expose the use of dirty surgical instruments at Detroit Medical Center. For context,... Read More
When a City Takes on a Drug Manufacturer
I call this great news. The City of Everett, Washington (not far from Seattle) is considering filing its own lawsuit against Purdue... Read More
One firm’s solution to the PTFE guidewire crisis
We’ve been watching the recalls on the PTFE guidewires closely, as set out previously. The problem, in broad summary, is that the PTFE... Read More