Law Commons^™

The Treatment For Malpractice – Physician, Enhance Thyself: The Impact Of Neuroenhancements For Medical Malpractice, Harvey L. Fiser

Harvey L. Fiser

No abstract provided.

Congress Takes A Look At A No-Fault Proposal For Medical Malpractice: Some Observations, David E. Beitzel

Akron Law Review

EVEN A CURSORY GLANCE at the news media in the recent past indicates that problems in the area of medical malpractice are rising to turbulent heights. For example, newspapers are increasingly printing long and passionate letters-to-the-editor dispraising numerous circumstances and individual types, which are allegedly the cause of the problem. The primary development, which caused the initiation of this storm, is the rising premium rate for medical malpractice insurance.' The pinch on the physician's pocketbook has resulted in outcries of frustration and anger from the medical community. Objects of these attacks have included the insurance industry, the legal profession, and …

Wrongful Life, Turpin V. Sortini, Janet A. Laufer

Akron Law Review

In the past fifteen years, several state appellate courts have considered wrongful birth and wrongful life causes of action. While the modern trend is to allow wrongful birth causes of action, few courts have permitted wrongful life actions to be maintained. On May 3, 1982, the California Supreme Court, in Turpin v. Sortini became the first state high court to allow a wrongful life cause of action. This casenote will examine the reasoning of the Turpin court in allowing the wrongful life claim. While Turpin appears to signal a new trend in this area of tort law, there is little …

Ohio's Statute Of Limitations, Baird V. Loeffler, Amy L. O'Neil

Akron Law Review

The decision in Baird v. Loeffler is another victory for physicians and medical malpractice insurers. It will not be well accepted by plaintiff's attorneys or by others who advocate the rights of patients, especially minors, to be compensated for injuries sustained by them due to a physician's negligence. The case focuses on an amendment to the Ohio Medical Malpractice Statute which became effective July 28, 1975. The issue in Baird is the proper statutory construction that should be given to the statute where a minor's cause of action arose prior to the effective date of the statute. In effect, the …

The Unconstitutionality Of Ohio's Medical Malpractice Statute Of Limitations: Minors And Equal Protection, Eric A. Brandt

Akron Law Review

As with all laws, statutes of limitations must apply equally to all persons unless reasonable grounds permit the legislating body to make distinctions between classes of persons affected by the law. Laws that operate unequally, unfairly and unreasonably when applied to the public are unconstitutional. The Ohio Supreme Court addressed was the constitutionality of an Ohio medical malpractice statute of limitations in Schwan v. Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Managed Care Organizations Manage To Escape Liability: Why Issues Of Quantity Vs. Quality Lead To Erisa's Inequitable Preemption Of Claims, Patricia Mullen Ochmann

Akron Law Review

In evaluating patients’ potential legal remedies, this Comment explores 1) the emergence of managed care organizations in the United States; 2) the creation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and how it impacts patients’ claims against their MCOs; 3) the question of “quantity” versus “quality” in evaluating whether ERISA preemption exists; 4) three theories (direct liability, breach of fiduciary duty, and vicarious liability) used to hold MCOs liable for injuries resulting from malpractice or the wrongful denial of benefits; 5) state legislative attempts to circumvent ERISA’s inequitable preemption of claims; and 6) why, given ERISA’s failure …

The Imposition Of Federal Caps In Medical Malpractice Liability Actions: Will They Cure The Current Crisis In Health Care?, Adam D. Glassman

Akron Law Review

This article seeks to uncover the truth behind America’s current health care emergency. In so doing, the causes behind escalating medical malpractice premiums over the past decade will be examined; attention will be focused on the issue of whether caps on non-economic damages have been successful in reducing insurance premiums in states where they have been implemented. Finally, an alternative approach than that taken by President Bush, Congressional Republicans, the American Medical Association, and the insurance industry, will be propounded.

Universal Health Care And The Continued Reliance On Custom In Determining Medical Malpractice, James A. Henderson Jr., John A. Siliciano

John A. Siliciano

No abstract provided.

Wealth, Equity, And The Unitary Medical Malpractice Standard, John A. Siliciano

John A. Siliciano

No abstract provided.

Modernizing The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act To Harmonize With The Affordable Care Act To Improve Equality, Quality And Cost Of Emergency Care, Katharine A. Van Tassel

Faculty Publications

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal statute passed almost 30 years ago which was designed to ensure equal access to emergency treatment and to halt the practice of “patient dumping.” Patient dumping is a situation where some patients—typically uninsured, disabled, and minority individuals—receive inferior emergency medical care or are denied emergency medical treatment altogether. The goal of EMTALA is to ensure that everyone coming to the emergency room will receive equal care.

Unfortunately, despite EMTALA, the practice of patient dumping has continued to this day. The most recent case in the news is the …

Rethinking The Childhood-Adult Divide: Meeting The Mental Health Needs Of Emerging Adults, Barbara L. Atwell

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this article describes ADHD and explores the extent of ADHD medication abuse, especially among young adults. Part II discusses the characteristics of emerging adults, who may be more likely than their older counterparts to make unwise decisions about medications and other life choices.34 While we protect minors by requiring parental consent for their medical treatments, emerging adults are effectively able to obtain any drug on the market if they convince the doctor that they have the requisite diagnosis. Part III explores HIPAA, the medical malpractice standard of care and the challenges associated with a society that is …

Should Patient Responsibility For Costs Change The Doctor-Patient Relationship?, Christopher Robertson

Faculty Scholarship

Copays, deductibles, coinsurance, and reference prices all now expose patients to increasingly larger shares of the costs of health care. Extant research on cost sharing has primarily focused on its impact on patients, their health care spending, and their health outcomes. Scholars have paid much less attention to the question of how patient exposure to health care costs may impact physicians and their relationships with their patients. This Essay is given on the occasion of a symposium motivated by two recent books by David Schenck, Larry Churchill, and Joseph Fanning that highlight the relational aspects of health care ethics. Accordingly, …