Medical Jurisprudence Commons^™

Suicide And Euthanasia: The International Perspective On The Right To Die, Zachary A. Feldman

Cornell Law Review

Several countries across the globe have weighed their interests in preserving life, in preventing suicide, and in allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives at their own discretion with, or without, the help of a physician. This Note will highlight the inconsistencies in jurisdictions that treat suicidal ideations both criminally and medically, and ultimately argues for a uniform system of laws that govern mental illness internationally.

Explaining The Absence Of Surgical Procedure Regulation, Jonathan J. Darrow

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

Systematic evaluation of both existing and innovative surgical procedures is needed to make important safety and efficacy data available to surgeons, facilitating optimal treatment decisions. High quality risk-benefit data is also essential if the healthcare system is to honor its obligation to inform patients of relevant benefits and risks prior to obtaining their consent to treatment.

Yet for a variety of reasons, surgical procedures are not subject to direct regulation. As a result, surgeons consulting the available literature may find it inadequate to answer fundamental questions about optimal treatment choices. This failure of information increases the chance that, for years …

Defensive Medicine And Obstetric Practices, Michael Frakes

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Using data on physician behavior from the 1979–2005 National Hospital Discharge Surveys (NHDS), I estimate the relationship between malpractice pressure, as identified by the adoption of noneconomic damage caps and related tort reforms, and certain decisions faced by obstetricians during the delivery of a child. The NHDS data, supplemented with restricted geographic identifiers, provides inpatient discharge records from a broad enough span of states and covering a long enough period of time to allow for a defensive medicine analysis that draws on an extensive set of variations in relevant tort laws. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, I find no evidence …

Human Genetics Studies: The Case For Group Rights, Laura S. Underkuffler

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Legal And Political Future Of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Larry Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Genetic Health And Eugenics Precedents: A Voice Of Caution, Larry Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Disease Management And Liability In The Human Genome Era, Larry I. Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The completion of a rough draft of the Human Genome presents both tremendous potential for improvements in health care delivery and challenges to providing appropriate incentives that will bring forth new treatments while protecting individuals and groups from genetic discrimination. As "genetics" becomes an integral part of health care delivery, there are no existing coherent legal doctrines for balancing the risks and benefits of this technological and scientific achievement. Developing a coherent legal approach to these risks and benefits requires a reexamination of the purposes of the liability doctrines that govern the management of disease processes. At the moment, a …

Patient Safety, Risk Reduction, And The Law, Larry I. Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

"Patient safety" has come of age. With the publication of several empirical studies of medical injuries and the recent Institute of Medicine Report, To Err is Human: Building a Safe Health System, scholars from a variety of disciplines are advocating "systems thinking" as a way of preventing medical accidents. These scholars have been influenced by efforts to reduce accidents in other high risk industries such as aviation and scholarship in law proposing "no fault systems" for compensating medical accident victims. This article proposes that in order to incorporate "systems thinking" about medical error reduction, legal scholarship on the health care …

Institutional Analysis And Physicians’ Rights After Vacco V. Quill, Larry I. Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Persistent Vegetative State: A View Across The Legal Divide, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Praise for Fred Plum can take many forms: for pedagogical dynamism, for depth and breadth of contributions to neurology and neuroscience, for sure-handed guidance of a department that has infused neurology with today’s and tomorrow’s leaders, and for a truly uncanny ability to fan a drive to excel in those he has touched. Mindful of his admonition to be substantive in what one says and does, my praise will embody a few reflections on the enduring legal and social impact of the “point of view” he and Bryan Jennett authored for the journal Lancet in 1972.

Paying For Suffering: The Problem Of Human Experimentation, Larry I. Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Who Are The Parents Of Biotechnological Children?, Larry I. Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Rejoinder, Larry I. Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Implications Of Epilepsy, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Physicians who care for patients with epilepsy may function as agents or targets of social control. As agents, they may assist in the identification and control of epileptic drivers, may provide information that enables fair and appropriate job placements for epileptic persons, and give testimony that helps the legal system resolve issues relating to the liability of epileptic persons for harm attributed to seizures or interictal behavioral disturbances. As targets, they may be charged with negligent failure to diagnose, treat, or inform about epilepsy or its associated problems, with failure to exercise due care in protecting persons harmed by their …

Agreements Changing The Forum For Resolving Malpractice Claims, James A. Henderson Jr.

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of Health Law Research And An Annotated Bibliography, Richard A. Danner, Claire M. Germain

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Severe Neurological Impairment: Legal Aspects Of Decisions To Reduce Care, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Decisions to reduce care for patients with severe neurological impairment may raise legal questions. The laws of most states now authorize physicians to stop care for those who have suffered irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain (“brain death”). Where state law is not explicit, it is nevertheless probably lawful to regard brain death as death for legal purposes so long as currently accepted criteria are satisfied. Several courts have ruled that it is lawful to reduce care for patients in vegetative states, but have prescribed differing standards and procedures for implementing such decisions. The issue of whether parents …

Scope Of The Physician’S Duty To Reduce Risks Posed By Epileptic Drivers, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cognitive Death: Differential Problems And Legal Overtones, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Judges In Life/Death Decisions For The Neurologically Impaired, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has recently ruled that decisions about withholding care from hopelessly ill, legally incapacitated patients must be made by judges. It clearly rejected the view that families and attending physicians should be empowered to make such decisions. In this respect, the ruling contrasts with that of the Quinlan case and highlights the issue of whether judges or physicians and families are better able to make medically and morally sound decisions respecting this class of patients.

Expanding The Negligence Concept: Retreat From The Rule Of Law, James A. Henderson Jr.

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of Medical Treatment Programs, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Issues Relating To Electroconvulsive Therapy, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

A survey of 54 psychiatric units disclosed that 49 (91%) were using electroconvulsive (ECT), principally for major depressive illnesses. During the five-year period 1964 to 1968, fractures and other complications of ECT were uncommon. Sudden death was reported in seven cases. During this period, none of the respondents or their affiliated physicians had been involved in lawsuits relating to the use of ECT. In general, suits for injuries occasioned by the use of ECT seem to be declining. Possible remaining problem areas are the performance of ECT without the prior consent of the patient; the failure to have facilities and …

The Teaching Of Legal Medicine In Medical Schools In The United States, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.