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Full-Text Articles in Torts

Emotional Distress Claims, Dignitary Torts, And The Medical-Legal Fiction Of Reasonable Sensitivity, Alessandra Suuberg May 2023

Emotional Distress Claims, Dignitary Torts, And The Medical-Legal Fiction Of Reasonable Sensitivity, Alessandra Suuberg

Journal of Law and Health

Can individuals with a highly sensitive temperament recover in tort for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED)? In 2019, an article in the University of Memphis Law Review raised this question, referring to the "Highly Sensitive Person" (HSP) construct in psychology and asking whether the IIED tort’s 'reasonable person' standard discriminates against highly sensitive plaintiffs. Following up on that discussion, the present article considers how the law of IIED has historically treated plaintiffs with diagnosed psychiatric vulnerabilities that are either known or unknown to the defendant. The article also extends this discussion to the law's treatment of temperaments, such as …


Contract Remedies Need Not Undercompensate Aspiring Parents When Cryopreserved Reproductive Material Is Lost Or Destroyed: Recovery Of Consequential Damages For Emotional Disturbance When Breach Of Contract Results In The Lost Opportunity To Become Pregnant With One's Own Biological Child, Joseph M. Hnylka Dec 2021

Contract Remedies Need Not Undercompensate Aspiring Parents When Cryopreserved Reproductive Material Is Lost Or Destroyed: Recovery Of Consequential Damages For Emotional Disturbance When Breach Of Contract Results In The Lost Opportunity To Become Pregnant With One's Own Biological Child, Joseph M. Hnylka

Journal of Law and Health

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has doubled over the past decade. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most prevalent form of ART. During IVF, a woman’s eggs are extracted, fertilized in a laboratory setting, and then implanted in the uterus. Many IVF procedures use eggs or sperm that were stored using a process called cryopreservation. A recent survey reported that cryopreservation consultations increased exponentially during the coronavirus pandemic, rising as much as 60 percent. It is estimated that more than one million embryos are stored in cryopreservation …


Congress Prescribes Preemption Of State Tort-Reform Laws To Remedy Healthcare "Crisis": An Improper Prognosis?, Jason C. Sheffield May 2019

Congress Prescribes Preemption Of State Tort-Reform Laws To Remedy Healthcare "Crisis": An Improper Prognosis?, Jason C. Sheffield

Journal of Law and Health

Say what you want about the tort-reform debate, but it has staying power. Over the last half-century, legislators and commentators have extensively debated every aspect of tort reform and the litigation "crisis" arguably giving rise to it, without resolving much of anything. Despite this ideological stalemate, tort-reform proponents have managed to push measures through every state legislature. With fifty tries come fifty results, and for the most part, fifty failures. But have all these efforts been in vain? As of yet, no. Although the healthcare system does not appear to be improving, the numerous tort-reform measures states have adopted provide …


The Dark Side Of The Boom: The Peculiar Dilemma Of Modern False Claims Act Litigation, David S. Torborg Jan 2013

The Dark Side Of The Boom: The Peculiar Dilemma Of Modern False Claims Act Litigation, David S. Torborg

Journal of Law and Health

Spurred by treble damages, substantial penalties, and lucrative relator awards, litigation under federal and state False Claims Act (“FCA”) statutes has exploded in recent years. Much of that explosion stems from aggressive and creative legal theories that challenge controversial industry practices or even well-known loopholes or waste in government policy. Evidence from governmental entities can be critically important in litigating these FCA claims. Unique aspects of False Claims Act actions, however, can aggravate the risk of losing this important evidence, leaving the parties, judges, and juries without the evidentiary record necessary to equitably adjudicate these disputes. Defendants can face the …


What's All The Headache: Reform Needed To Cope With The Effects Of Concussions In Football, Erika A. Diehl Jan 2010

What's All The Headache: Reform Needed To Cope With The Effects Of Concussions In Football, Erika A. Diehl

Journal of Law and Health

In order to effectively manage this public health concern, it is imperative to gain an understanding of the issues surrounding head injuries in sporting events. This Note will discuss the increasing frequency and dangers of concussions in amateur and professional football. It will suggest that athletes, schools, coaches, and doctors must become more educated on the causes and dangers of concussions in order to ensure the safety of participants. In order to do so, this Note introduces a medical overview of concussions, while briefly outlining the diagnosis, long-term effects, and management of concussions. Part III discusses the legal theories athletes …


Discretion To Follow The Law: The Collision Of Ohio's Nursing Home Bill Of Rights With Ohio's Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act, Peter Traska Elk & Elk Co., Ltd., Katherine Knouff Jan 2009

Discretion To Follow The Law: The Collision Of Ohio's Nursing Home Bill Of Rights With Ohio's Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act, Peter Traska Elk & Elk Co., Ltd., Katherine Knouff

Journal of Law and Health

The Ohio Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act confers general immunity on political subdivisions. Therefore, government owned homes seek to avoid liability by raising the defenses provided by the Ohio Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act, despite the resident's rights under the Nursing Home Bill of Rights. The result is that residents of government owned nursing homes have inferior remedies for the tortious acts of a county home's employees. The disparate treatment meted out to residents of county owned homes opens the Political Subdivision Act to another challenge: equal protection. The law formerly recognized that government actors taking part in the marketplace …


God V. The Mitigation Of Damages Doctrine: Why Religion Should Be Considered A Pre-Existing Condition, Jennifer Parobek Jan 2006

God V. The Mitigation Of Damages Doctrine: Why Religion Should Be Considered A Pre-Existing Condition, Jennifer Parobek

Journal of Law and Health

According to the 2004-2005 United States Census Bureau Statistical Abstract of the United States, Americans identify with at least thirty-five different self-described Christian religious groups. Of those Christian groups, there are at least four that have special tenets regarding medical treatment that are central to their religious beliefs. Together, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of God, Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church, and Christian Science Church constitute slightly more than four-and-a-half percent of the United State's total population. . . Unfortunately, even though the First Amendment of the United States Constitution was designed on our founders' beliefs that religious freedom …


Taking A Bite Out Of The Harmful Effects Of Mercury In Dental Fillings: Advocating For National Legislation For Mercury Amalgams, Kimberly M. Baga Jan 2006

Taking A Bite Out Of The Harmful Effects Of Mercury In Dental Fillings: Advocating For National Legislation For Mercury Amalgams, Kimberly M. Baga

Journal of Law and Health

Mary Stephenson, a fifty-nine-year-old grandmother, visited dozens of counselors and experienced with an array of antidepressants but nothing worked to curb her suicidal feelings. Janie McDowell, a fifty-six-year-old housewife, suffered from hand tremors, leg-muscle spasms, recurring nausea, chronic bladder and kidney infections, severe depression, short-term memory loss, and slurred speech. Freya Koss, a former event planner, experienced dizziness and double vision. Physicians misdiagnosed Koss with lupus, multiple sclerosis, and, finally myasthenia gravis. The common theme among these medical tragedies is that the above victims all returned to being healthy, active adults after the removal of their mercury amalgam dental fillings. …


The Current State Of Advance Directive Law In Ohio: More Protective Of Provider Liability Than Patients Rights, Marie Ortman Jan 2005

The Current State Of Advance Directive Law In Ohio: More Protective Of Provider Liability Than Patients Rights, Marie Ortman

Journal of Law and Health

Ohio has adopted the Modified Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act which governs the use and execution of written advance directives as expressions of a patient's desire to consent to or refuse future medical treatment. However, the Act also includes a provision that grants both civil and criminal immunity to health care providers who do not comply with a person's written advance directive. Unfortunately, because of the grant of civil and criminal immunity encompassed within the adopted written advance directive statutes, Ohio law today does not afford any greater protection of a patient's right to refuse medical treatment at …


The Doctor Will E-Mail You Now: Physicians' Use Of Telemedicine To Treat Patients Over The Internet, Lisa Rannefeld Jan 2004

The Doctor Will E-Mail You Now: Physicians' Use Of Telemedicine To Treat Patients Over The Internet, Lisa Rannefeld

Journal of Law and Health

This article examines the problems currently associated with the practice of telemedicine and suggests that the best solution for this particular field of medicine is a national standard of care. This article also suggests that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current functions are easily expandable to the telemedicine context; therefore, the agency should regulate the implementation of such a standard in the telemedicine field. This article proposes that the FDA use medical practice guidelines in developing the applicable standard. Other agencies, such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and other website alliances, could also aid the FDA in implementing …


True Risk Management: Physicians' Liability Risk And The Practice Of Patient-Centered Medicine, Anand Das, Jack Schwartz, Evan G. Derenzo Jan 2003

True Risk Management: Physicians' Liability Risk And The Practice Of Patient-Centered Medicine, Anand Das, Jack Schwartz, Evan G. Derenzo

Journal of Law and Health

While most physicians understand that a serious deficiency in technical care increases their risk of liability, too often their risk management behavior indicates that they do not fully appreciate the impact that poor interpersonal skills have on patients' motivations to sue. Ironically, many of these physicians have taken risk management steps that have increased, rather than reduced, their exposure to lawsuits. In this paper, we argue that a strong legal and factual claim does not invariably explain patients' decisions to sue. Dissatisfaction with the physician's interpersonal care as well as with the clinical outcome is often a factor. Conversely, patients …


The Latex Allergy Crisis: Proposing A Healthy Solution To The Dilemma Facing The Medical Community, Lynn Cherne-Breckner Jan 2003

The Latex Allergy Crisis: Proposing A Healthy Solution To The Dilemma Facing The Medical Community, Lynn Cherne-Breckner

Journal of Law and Health

The explosion in the number and severity of latex allergies began with the emergence of the AIDS epidemic as the Centers for Disease Control issued universal precautions advising health care workers to use protective barriers to prevent the spread of the infection. This resulted in constant use of the gloves by medical workers and a great increase in demand for cost effective gloves. Essentially, the quality of the glove making process decreased, increasing the amount of allergy inducing proteins excreted to wearers. Afflicted workers include physicians, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, operating room personnel, laboratory technicians and ambulance attendants among others. …


Medical Errors: Causes, Cures, And Capitalism, Keith Myers Jan 2002

Medical Errors: Causes, Cures, And Capitalism, Keith Myers

Journal of Law and Health

This article explores the causes of medical error, the medical profession's responses to errors, and how the legal system responds to medical error through litigation and legislation. Part II discusses the definition of "medical error," the frequency and pervasiveness of the problem, and the causes at the individual and system level. Part III considers how the culture of medicine has largely failed to address medical errors as a systems-based problem, and how the legal culture discourages admitting errors due to the threat of litigation. Focusing on systems, data must be collected and analyzed, and legal guidelines developed to encourage error …


How Reliable Is Medical Malpractice Law? A Review Of "Medical Malpractice And The American Jury: Confronting The Myths About Jury Incompetence, Deep Pockets, And Outrageous Damage Awards" By Neil Vidmar, Jeffrey O'Connell, Christopher Pohl Jan 1998

How Reliable Is Medical Malpractice Law? A Review Of "Medical Malpractice And The American Jury: Confronting The Myths About Jury Incompetence, Deep Pockets, And Outrageous Damage Awards" By Neil Vidmar, Jeffrey O'Connell, Christopher Pohl

Journal of Law and Health

No abstract provided.


Malpractice And Other Legal Issues Preventing The Development Of Telemedicine , Christopher Caryl Jan 1997

Malpractice And Other Legal Issues Preventing The Development Of Telemedicine , Christopher Caryl

Journal of Law and Health

Even though most Americans have not heard of telemedicine, the federal government is already actively involved in "developing a national telemedicine strategy." This note attempts to accomplish the following: demonstrate the urgent need of rural communities to gain access to adequate health care; clarify how telemedicine can provide enhanced health care to rural communities; and analyze the legal obstacles that have prevented, thus far, the most beneficial utilization of telemedicine. In particular, this note will examine how malpractice claims arising from telemedicine consultations might be resolved. An important issue to recognize at the outset, and one that consistently reappears throughout …


Medtronic V. Lohr: State Lawsuits May Proceed Against Medical Device Manufacturers, Robert A. Gerberry Jan 1996

Medtronic V. Lohr: State Lawsuits May Proceed Against Medical Device Manufacturers, Robert A. Gerberry

Journal of Law and Health

This comment discusses the Medical Device Amendments of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and its effect on the marketing of medical products. Part II examines the statutory language of the MDA and its regulatory impact on medical devices. Part III explores the history of the preemption doctrine established by the Supreme Court Cipollone. Part IV delineates the facts and procedural history of Medtronic v. Lohr and analyzes the effect of this case on the federal preemption of state common law suits. Finally, Part V assesses the impact of this decision on the medical device industry and the expansiveness …


Clark V. Southview Hospital: Ohio Follows The Nationwide Trend Of Using Agency By Estoppel To Impose Strict Liability On Hospitals , Colleen Moran Jan 1995

Clark V. Southview Hospital: Ohio Follows The Nationwide Trend Of Using Agency By Estoppel To Impose Strict Liability On Hospitals , Colleen Moran

Journal of Law and Health

In Clark, the Ohio Supreme Court set forth a test a plaintiff must meet in order to hold a hospital vicariously liable under the doctrine of agency by estoppel. The court based its test on numerous such decisions from jurisdictions across the country. However, the legal soundness of Clark and the decisions on which it relied is questionable, as many of these jurisdictions misapplied the legal doctrines underlying agency by estoppel theory. This article analyzes the legal doctrines on which agency by estoppel is based, how this theory of vicarious liability has evolved in Ohio, and how state courts across …


Doctors, Nurses And Superseding Cause: The Demise Of The Last In Time Defense, Charles Lattanzi Jan 1995

Doctors, Nurses And Superseding Cause: The Demise Of The Last In Time Defense, Charles Lattanzi

Journal of Law and Health

The question which naturally arises is whether the determination of superseding cause in this context is a question for the jury. Ohio case law has long held, as a matter of law, that the aggravation of an injury by the subsequent malpractice of a physician never breaks the chain of causation. Assuming that the original tortfeaser was negligent and that his actions caused the original injury, the only question left for the jury is whether the plaintiff herself exercised reasonable care in seeking treatment by a qualified physician. This rule was affirmed and given its common appellation, "the subsequent tortfeasor …


A New Predicament For Physicians: The Concept Of Medical Futility, The Physician's Obligation To Render Inappropriate Treatment, And The Interplay Of The Medical Standard Of Care, Eric M. Levine Jan 1994

A New Predicament For Physicians: The Concept Of Medical Futility, The Physician's Obligation To Render Inappropriate Treatment, And The Interplay Of The Medical Standard Of Care, Eric M. Levine

Journal of Law and Health

Part II of this article discusses the concept of futility and reviews various proposed approaches to defining "futility". This article then shows how personal value judgments play an integral part in determining futility under virtually all of these approaches. Part II concludes that a decision that treatment is futile should not be based on the individual values of only the patient or physician under the shared decisionmaking model of the physician-patient relationship. Part III tackles the issue whether a physician must offer or continue treatment deemed "medically and ethically inappropriate." Part III first reviews common law doctrines governing the physician-patient …


Recovery Of Limited Damages In Wrongful Pregnancy Action: Johnson V. University Hospitals Of Cleveland, Liza F. Cohen Jan 1989

Recovery Of Limited Damages In Wrongful Pregnancy Action: Johnson V. University Hospitals Of Cleveland, Liza F. Cohen

Journal of Law and Health

The birth of a healthy, normal child in American society is generally considered a "blessed event." This is not always so when the pregnancy is unwanted or unplanned. Joy is not always followed by the birth of a child whose mother's pregnancy resulted from a failed sterilization or a failed abortion because of a physician's negligent act. The abortion or sterilization may have been sought because of the fear that a pregnancy would result in a child who might threaten the mother's physical wellbeing or would put a financial strain on the family. Such negligence on the part of a …