Law Commons^™

Hospitals Suing Patients: How Hospitals Use N.C. Courts To Collect Medical Debt, Barak Richman, Sara Sternberg Greene, Sean Chen, Julie Havlak

Faculty Scholarship

From January 2017 through June 2022, North Carolina hospitals brought 5,922 lawsuits to collect medical debt against 7,517 patients and family members. These actions were brought in small claims court, state district, and state superior courts, and generated 3,449 judgments for hospitals totaling $57.3 million, or an average of $16,623 per judgment.

Hospitals took advantage of North Carolina’s allowance of 8% annual interest on judgments, including by refiling actions to sustain judgments issued ten years earlier. These interest charges and other additional fees totaled an estimated $20.3 million, or 35.4% of the judgments awarded. Some patients faced more than a …

When Desperate Patients Go To Court For Unproven Treatments - The Battle For Hospital Independence, Christopher Robertson, Margaret Houtz

Faculty Scholarship

As the Covid-19 pandemic wears on, patients have asked courts to compel hospitals to administer unproven therapies, with mixed legal results. Although talk radio hosts, politicians, and social media users have promoted various treatment approaches, they have given particular attention to ivermectin. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ivermectin for use in humans for treating onchocerciasis (river blindness), intestinal strongyloidiasis, certain other parasitic worms, head lice, and skin conditions such as rosacea. Although this approval facilitates legal offlabel use for prophylaxis against or treatment of other conditions, both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Into The Hands Of Strangers, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

Movie critic David Denby has asserted that American theatergoers are a "professional avant-garde audience" who "cannot be shocked by what others would find unintelligible... [and] have lost the capacity for outrage."' This analysis of American theater can be aptly applied to clinical medical education.

I assume almost every nonmedical professional reading "Death at a New York Hospital" will be horrified and outraged at the "treatment" Ms. Hewitt was subjected to in the hospital. Many physicians will too; but it is likely that more will be as understanding of the actions of the intern and residents as was Dr. A, the …

Reconciling Quinlan And Saikewicz: Decision Making For The Terminally Ill Incompetent, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most perplexing problems in the medicolegal field concerns the criteria on which decisions not to treat terminally ill incompetent patients should be made. These decisions traditionally have been made by physicians in hospitals-sometimes with the assistance of the patient's family-on the basis of their perceptions of the patient's "best interests." Recently, two state supreme courts have ruled on this question. The New Jersey Supreme Court, in the Quinlan case, developed a medical prognosis criterion, and permitted the patient's guardian, family, and physicians to apply it with the concurrence of a hospital "ethics committee." The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial …

When You Enter The Hospital Check Your Rights At The Door, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

Civil libertarians have little difficulty appreciating the plight of prisoners or mental patients. But tell the average civil libertarian that there are significant and unnecessary restrictions on the individual rights and liberties of patients in general hospitals, and you are likely to encounter a blank stare. There are a number of reasons for this lack of attention to hospitals. One is the general misconception that the problems are minor, or that certain temporary restrictions on individuals are essential if hospitals are to treat sick people properly. An unconscious desire not to perceive ourselves as being at risk may be another …