Medical Jurisprudence Commons^™

New Differences Between Negligence And Strict Liability And Their Implications On Medical Malpractice Reform, Noam Sher

ExpressO

The present article seeks to explore previously undiscussed differences between the negligence and strict liability rules and thereby examine the required medical liability reform, if such reform is indeed required. Our main thesis is that negligence as a basis for liability entails a unique mechanism, which is essentially different than the strict liability mechanism, and is more efficient for several reasons, related to the legal function of resolving partial information problems which cause partial failure in the healthcare market. Among other things, the negligence mechanism (1) motivates the parties to a potential damages claim to invest in information gathering; (2) …

Hepatitis C In Prisons: Evolving Toward Decency Through Adequate Medical Care And Public Health Reform, Andrew Brunsden

Articles & Chapters

Hepatitis C (HCV) in prisons is a public health crisis tied to current drug policy's emphasis on the mass incarceration of drug users. Prison policy acts as a barrier to HCV care by limiting medical care for the infected, especially drug users, and by inhibiting public health measures addressing the epidemic. This Comment argues that courts mistakenly limit prisoners' Eighth Amendment right to basic medical care when they defer to prisons that apply HCV policies as categorical rules of treatment. Where current standards of care mandate individualized patient evaluation for treatment, prison policies that eschew this principle exhibit deliberate indifference …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Brain Imaging And Privacy: How Recent Advances In Neuroimaging Implicate Privacy Concerns , David P. Finn

ExpressO

This paper deals with recent advances in neuroimaging technologies which could begin to implicate privacy concerns in the near future.

Biopolitics At The Bedside: Proxy Wars And Feeding Tubes, Joshua E. Perry

ExpressO

In the aftermath of Terri Schiavo’s dramatic final weeks of life, George Annas speculated that proponents of “culture of life” politics might “now view [themselves] as strong enough to generate new laws . . . to require that incompetent patients be kept alive with artificially delivered fluids and nutrition.” Indeed, Professor Annas’ prescience has been demonstrated by the post-Schiavo introduction in two dozen state legislatures of over fifty different bills making it more onerous to remove a patient’s artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH). With minor exception, however, most of the proposed legislation has either stalled or been watered down, prompting …

Hedonic Damages, Hedonic Adaptation, And Disability, Samuel R. Bagenstos, Margo Schlanger

ExpressO

This article contributes to the broad debate over “adaptive preferences” in law, economics, and political philosophy by addressing an important ongoing controversy in tort law. Hedonic damages compensate for the lost enjoyment of life that results from a tortious injury. Lawyers seeking hedonic damages in personal injury cases emphasize their clients’ new status as compromised and damaged persons, and courts frequently uphold jury verdicts awarding hedonic damages to individuals who experienced disabling injuries based on a view that disability necessarily limits one’s enjoyment of life. This view is consonant with a general societal understanding of disability as a tragedy and …

Extended Work Duration And The Risk Of Self-Reported Percutaneous Injuries In Interns, Dean M. Hashimoto, Najib T. Ayas, Laura K. Barger, Brian E. Cade, Bernard Rosner, John W. Cronin, Frank E. Speizer, Charles A. Czeisler

Dean M. Hashimoto

Context: In their first year of postgraduate training, interns commonly work shifts that are longer than 24 hours. Extended-duration work shifts are associated with increased risks of automobile crash, particularly during a commute from work. Interns may be at risk for other occupation-related injuries.

Objective: To assess the relationship between extended work duration and rates of percutaneous injuries in a diverse population of interns in the United States.

Design, Setting, and Participants: National prospective cohort study of 2737 of the estimated 18 447 interns in US postgraduate residency programs from July 2002 through May 2003. Each month, comprehensive Web-based surveys …

In Sickness, Health, And Cyberspace: Protecting The Security Of Electronic Private Health Information, Sharona Hoffman, Andy Podgurski

ExpressO

The electronic processing of health information provides considerable benefits to patients and health care providers at the same time that it creates serious risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data. The Internet provides a conduit for rapid and uncontrolled dispersion and trafficking of illicitly-obtained private health information, with far-reaching consequences to the unsuspecting victims. In order to address such threats to electronic private health information, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted the HIPAA Security Rule, which thus far has received little attention in the legal literature. This article presents a critique of the Security …

Why It Is Time To Eliminate Genomic Patents, Together With Natural Extracts Doctrine That Have Supported Such Patents, Allen K. Yu

ExpressO

The constitutional purpose of intellectual property is to “promote the progress of science and useful arts.” Given the utilitarian basis of patents, it is critical that policies and laws must be continually adjusted to reflect the needs of new technologies. When the law tries to shield itself from rather than confront the realities of underlying technologies, patents end up actually subverting rather than promote technological progress. This paper explores why the natural extracts doctrine belongs to the class of doctrines that subvert progress. The doctrine, established over a century ago to enable the patenting of purified compounds for use as …

Drugged, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Gonzales v. Oregon, like its decision last year in Gonzales v. Raich (the "medical marijuana" case), again raises questions about the bioethical consequences of the Controlled Substances Act. When, in 1970, Congress passed that act, it placed problematic drugs in one of five "schedules," and it authorized the U.S. attorney general to add or subtract drugs from the schedules. Drugs in schedule II have both a medical use and a high potential for abuse. Doctors may prescribe such drugs if they "obtain from the Attorney General a registration issued in accordance with the …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Recombinant Proteins Containing Repeating Units, Qi Wang, Zhonghon Guan, Brendan O. Baggot, Kristen Hadfield, Jianmin Zhao, Janice Edwards

Brendan O. Baggot

Methods for the production of recombinant proteins containing repeating units are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for the production of degenerate polynucleotides encoding said recombinant proteins. In addition, polypeptides and polynucleotides produced by the methods of current invention are also disclosed.

Appointed Member Of The Advisory Board On Science And Technology Of The Flaschner Judicial Institute, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

Stealing What's Free: Exploring Compensation To Body Parts Sources For Their Contribution To Profitable Biomedical Research, Jo-Anne Yau

ExpressO

It is undisputed in the biotechnology industry that human body parts play a vital role in research. The body parts donors, referred to as "Sources" in this article, are subjected to physical and financial exploitation. Forbidding the explosion of profits from trickling down to the Source presents an irrational inequity. Despite established law, it is evident from case analysis, prevailing social practices, and constitutional interpretation that Source compensation is a plausible solution.

This article proposes a model of compensation for Sources, whereby Sources are compensated based on a proportionate share of the research profits set aside for the Source as …

Bridging The Relational-Regulatory Gap: A Pragmatic Information Policy For Patient Safety And Medical Malpractice, William M. Sage, Joshua Graff Zivin, Nathaniel B. Chase

Faculty Scholarship

The Article distinguishes and explores three categories of information use: Helping patients understand and participate in their care; Improving patient safety, including analyzing medical errors and identifying unsafe health care providers and practices; and Assessing the performance of the medical liability system in its many dimensions including deterrence, compensation, justice, administrative efficiency, and stability.

For each category, the Article comments on existing laws or programs for information reporting or disclosure, points out major tensions or ambiguities, and suggests pragmatic improvements.

Judging Scientific Evidence At The Cutting Edge, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Medical Treatment Guidelines In Workers’ Compensation, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

Fluconomics--Preserving Our Hospital Infrastructure During And After A Pandemic, Vickie Williams

ExpressO

Influenza pandemics occur regularly. The deadly Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 infected more than 25% of the United States population, and killed 2.5% of those infected. Virtually all experts agree that it is not a question of if another influenza pandemic as deadly as the Spanish flu will occur, but a question of when. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the direct and indirect medical costs in the United States associated with a “medium-level” influenza pandemic would range from $71 billion to $167 billion.

Although public health officials are rapidly implementing pandemic preparedness plans on both the …

Global Pharmaceutical Patent Law In Developing Countries- Amending Trips To Promote Access For All, Angela J. Anderson

ExpressO

This comment will analyze the need to amend and revise the current global pharmaceutical patent system under TRIPS to take into account the needs of developing countries and overall public health. This comment will emphasize that the current international trade rules, which although administered by the WTO, are dictated by developed country governments and powerful pharmaceutical companies, and therefore, without reform will further diminish the access of poor people in developing countries to vital medicines. Part II of this comment will provide a general overview of the international trade law governing patents on pharmaceuticals focusing specifically on the development of …

Japanese American Internment, Korematsu, And Its Continuing Impact, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

Race, Resistance, And Reconciliation: Japanese American Resisters From World War Ii, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Legal Causation Requirement In Tort Litigation And Regulation Involving Indoor Air Quality Problems, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

“It’S The [Tort System], Stupid:” Consumer Deductibles; How To More Equitably Distribute The Risks Of Medical Malpractice And Adequately Compensate Victims Without Statutory Damage Caps., Bradford Luke Ledbetter

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Should The Patients' Bill Of Rights Include Affirmative Action?, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

No abstract provided.

“A Modest Proposal”: Universal Cesarean Section To Reduce Professional Liability Costs, James A. Greenberg, Katherine E. Economy, Andrew W. Beckwith, Jeffrey L. Ecker

ExpressO

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To model the effect of universal cesarean delivery on professional liability costs.

STUDY DESIGN: We examined all obstetric professional liability claims covered by a single insurer between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2000. We reviewed each case to determine if an alternate route of delivery might reasonably have prevented the lawsuit. Costs were calculated by adding the cost of processing the claim, the legal defense, the settlement payments and/or the actuarially derived adjustments. Using a 20% cesarean rate as our baseline, we modeled the effect on liability costs of cesarean delivery in all patients.

RESULTS: There were …

Physicians As Researchers: Difficulties With The "Similarity Position", David Wasserman, Deborah Hellman, Robert Wachbroit

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

While Federal Lawmakers Try, States Fill Elder Justice Gaps, Daniel Koen

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

All Kids: As Illinois Becomes The First In The Nation To Offer Universal Healthcare For Children, Some Express Concern That The State Has Made Promises It Can't Keep, Brendan Moore

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Apparent Authority And Healthcare In Illinois - Revisited, 27 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 11 (2006), Marc Ginsberg, Patricia C. Nowak

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Transsexuals And The Family Medical Leave Act, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 315 (2006), Charles Thomas Little

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article examines the implications for transsexuals seeking sexual reassignment surgery (“SRS”) under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). Currently, the scant case law pertaining to the FMLA suggests that the statutes and regulations will likely fail to provide even minimal protection to transsexuals. If applied literally, the FMLA may present barriers to transsexuals seeking SRS in opposition to the true purpose behind the Act, which is to allow employees the opportunity to take reasonable leave from work by mandating more medical leave than the employers might otherwise be willing to grant for things such as the adoption or birth …