Medical Jurisprudence Commons^™

Betting On The Body: Private Equity Portfolio Funding Of Medical Malpractice Litigation And The Financialization Of Patient Justice, Barry J. Cohen

Journal of Law and Health

Portfolio-level third-party litigation funding in medical malpractice creates conflicts of interest that existing professional responsibility doctrine under Model Rule 1.7 was not designed to address. Unlike single-case consumer funding, which may improve access to justice, portfolio funding aggregates dozens or hundreds of malpractice claims into diversified investment vehicles, optimizing for internal rates of return on the portfolio instead of outcomes for individual plaintiffs. What follows, is the first sustained analysis of this gap.

Drawing on clinical and legal perspectives, the analysis distinguishes a single-case from portfolio funding and identifies four portfolio-specific conflicts under MRPC 1.7: the swing-for-the-fences problem, cross-subsidization, information …

Addressing Health-Related Social Needs With Innovative Healthcare Spending, Kelly Naranjo Ms Ccrc, Eric Rochman Mph, Allyson Schiff Ba, Dorella Walters Mpa, Andrea Zaldivar Ed.D, Ms, Anp

Journal of Law and Health

Key objectives: To address the social determinants of health domains "social and community context" and "neighborhood and built environment" via Medically Tailored Meals, a nutrition intervention that includes home delivery, medical nutrition therapy and education, and frozen medically tailored meals provided by the non-profit partner. This intervention targeted Medicaid members exhibiting high healthcare utilization in conjunction with each individual's risk of developing higher morbidity and mortality of existing disease due to co-existing food and nutrition insecurity. The populations served include people living with Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, HIV/AIDS, and End-Stage Renal Disease, among other conditions, whose burden …

Cracking The Façade: Analyzing Ohio's "Don't Say Gay" Legislation As Disguised Discrimination Under The First And Fourteenth Amendments, Sydni L. Porter

Journal of Law and Health

The Ohio State Legislature is among the growing nationwide trend in attacking LGBTQ+ rights. Chief among these is Ohio House Bill 8, which claims to limit the types of content children encounter in schools. While the drafters cite this noble intent, the bill's actual impact further harms queer students and teachers, who already bear heavier mental health burdens due to such legislation and its societal implications. This type of legislation recently originated in Florida, where it was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 and garnered national media attention. As Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a near-identical bill …

The Ultra (And Nearly Ultra) Locality Rules Persist! Why Continue To Ignore Modern Medicine And Contort The Standard Of Care?, Marc D. Ginsberg

Journal of Law and Health

The use of the locality rule to define or modify the medical standard of care is inconsistent with modern medicine. Nevertheless, various states in the U.S. continue to adhere to a locality rule. This paper revisits this topic, about which I have previously written, by focusing on Idaho, Nebraska, Tennessee and Arkansas. The paper concludes by suggesting that locality rules should be eliminated in favor of a national standard of care.

Cannabis In The Clink: An Argument In Favor Of Medical Marijuana For Disabled Inmates, Sophia Dechurch

Journal of Law and Health

In recent decades, medical marijuana programs have become commonplace, and most states in the United States of America are ready to accept marijuana as a natural alternative to treat symptoms of certain conditions such as chronic pain, cancer, mental illness, multiple sclerosis (MS), HIV/AIDS, and substance use disorder; as such, medical marijuana is readily accessible to those who have a qualifying diagnosis – the exception being those who are incarcerated. Although disability, substance abuse, and mental illness are prevalent among those under state supervision, these individuals are effectively prohibited from enjoying the benefits of medical marijuana. This Note will provide …

Medical Aid In Dying (Maid): A Comparative Analysis Of Domestic And International Approaches To This Controversial Subject, Shaini Gofman

Global Business Law Review

This Note analyzes the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) structures in various countries involving their eligibility criteria, application, and potential consequences. Section II analyzes MAID in the United States. Part A discusses the background and evolution of MAID laws in the United States on both a federal and state level. Part B is a multi-part analysis of the suggested expanded definition of terminal illness. Argument 1 evaluates the concept of the value of and respect for life; this is a threshold matter which will be the basis for the central arguments in this Note. Argument 2 explores the relationship between …

Nonfinancial Conflict Of Interest In Medical Research: Is Regulation The Right Answer, Nehad Mikhael

Journal of Law and Health

Medical research plays a vital role in advancing human knowledge, developing new therapies and procedures, and reducing human suffering. Following the atrocities committed in the name of medical research by German physicians during the Nazi era, the Nuremberg trials were held, and an ethical code was created to establish the limits within which medical research can operate. Consequently, legal regimes built upon this ethical foundation to develop laws that ensure the integrity of medical research and the safety of human subjects. These laws sought to protect human subjects by minimizing conflicts of interest that may arise during the process. Furthermore, …

Death By Detox: Substance Withdrawal, A Possible Death Row For Individuals In Custody, Dorothea R. Carleton

Journal of Law and Health

Suffering through substance withdrawal is a major problem for the majority of individuals in custody, yet there are no guidelines or standards to ensure their safety. Instead, individuals in custody are having their Constitutional rights violated and many die at the hands of the justice system. When their families seek accountability for the lack of adequate care provided by correctional facilities and employees, families are faced with a lack of consistency from one circuit to the next for knowing as to the correct standard to have a successful claim. Strain v. Regalado was a chance for the Supreme Court to …

O-High-O: A Policy Note On Ohio's Current Push For Recreational Marijuana Legislation And How Other States Have Created Successful Recreational Marijuana Laws, Alexander M. Stewart

Et Cetera

Many states have gone on to pass comprehensive recreational marijuana laws that have greatly benefitted their economy, public health, and criminal justice system. Ohio currently allows for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and there has been past attempts to enact legislation that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but the past proposals failed to gain the widespread support required to become law. This Note seeks to analyze and understand other states’ legislation in an attempt to understand what successful recreational marijuana legislation looks like. This Note concludes with a comprehensive proposal that contains all the essential elements …

Don't Tread On My Ip Rights: A Law And Economics Analysis Of "March-In Rights" Under The Bayh-Dole Act, Caitlin Grow

Cleveland State Law Review

The Bayh-Dole Act has been imperative to the development of the United States’ dynamic pharma-biotech sector. However, the use of march-in rights under the Bayh- Dole Act has remained controversial. On the one hand, there is the idea of market equilibrium with a need to secure health care for the public. Many believe march-in rights should be used to create this balance by regulating the pricing of drugs that were developed using federally funded research. On the other hand, some advocates recognize that the current relationship between public-sector institutions and business as the developers of basic research, and private-sector biotechnology …

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 …

International Law And The Legalization Of Abortion In Northern Ireland, Emily Uterhark

Journal of Law and Health

On July 24, 2019, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed an act that included an amendment requiring Northern Ireland to implement recommendations from the Committee on the Elimination on Discrimination Against Women. The amendment required Northern Ireland to repeal the 1861 abortion act and requires the decriminalization of abortion. The law went into effect on October 22, 2019, since the Northern Ireland power-sharing government (Stormont) did not reconvene before October 21, 2019. Since the law did go into effect, it gave women the right to obtain abortions under the CEDAW recommendations; however, when the Northern Irish government (Stormont) reconvenes, …

Hacking Hipaa: "Best Practices" For Avoiding Oversight In The Sale Of Your Identifiable Medical Information, Riyad A. Omar

Journal of Law and Health

In light of the confusion invited by applying the label "de-identified" to information that can be used to identify patients, it is paramount that regulators, compliance professionals, patient advocates and the general public understand the significant differences between the standards applied by HIPAA and those applied by permissive "de-identification guidelines." This Article discusses those differences in detail. The discussion proceeds in four Parts. Part II (HIPAA’s Heartbeat: Why HIPAA Protects Identifiable Patient Information) examines Congress’s motivations for defining individually identifiable health information broadly, which included to stop the harms patients endured prior to 1996 arising from the commercial sale of …

The Public Health Demand For Revoking Non-Medical Exemptions To Compulsory Vaccination Statutes, Emma Tomsick

Journal of Law and Health

In 2019, the United States saw the single largest outbreak of measles in recent history. The measles crisis has prompted state legislative bodies to face a seemingly impossible dilemma: eliminate both religious and philosophical exemptions to mandatory school vaccination statutes or sit by idly and allow measles to continue to run its course. As of June 2019, five states have neither religious nor philosophical exemptions to their mandatory vaccination statutes. This Note argues that states should remove all religious and philosophical exemptions to compulsory vaccination statutes. The 2019 measles outbreak demonstrates that the anti-vaccination movement poses a legitimate risk to …

Should A Physician Apologize For A Medical Mistake? – The Controversy Over The Effectiveness Of Apology Law Statutes, Samuel D. Hodge, Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

There are two approaches that health care providers can pursue in handling a medical error. Is it better for a physician not to admit a mistake and aggressively defend the claim or apologize and try to amicably resolve the matter? There has been a growing movement for physicians to offer words of sympathy or to apologize for a medical mistake as a way of minimizing the impact of a medical error and reducing the chances of a malpractice claim. There are a number of benefits to this approach but critics maintain that an apology is a useless gesture with an …

Parens Patriae And Parental Rights: When Should The State Override Parental Medical Decisions?, Elchanan G. Stern

Journal of Law and Health

Alfie Evans was a terminally ill British child whose parents, clinging to hope, were desperately trying to save his life. Hospital authorities disagreed and petitioned the court to enjoin the parents from removing him and taking him elsewhere for treatment. The court stepped in and compelled the hospital to discontinue life support and claimed that further treatment was not in the child’s best interest. This note discusses the heartbreaking stories of Alfie and two other children whose parents’ medical decisions on their behalf were overridden by the court. It argues that courts should never decide that death is in a …

A Surging Drug Epidemic: Time For Congress To Enact A Mandate On Insurance Companies And Rehabilitation Facilities For Opioid And Opiate Addiction, Alanna Guy

Journal of Law and Health

This Note begins with a discussion of both the national opioid problem as well as the specific epidemic in Ohio as an example of how it has grown within all of the states. Part II discusses the differences between prescription opioids and opiates, how they can be obtained, what effects they have on the human body, and why the government has an interest in this growing problem. Next, this Note explains how and why there was an increase in access and addiction to prescription opioid pain medication. Following this explanation, the steps the government has taken to try to rectify …

Depression: The Often Overlooked Sequela Of Head Trauma, Samuel D. Hodge Jr., Jack E. Hubbard

Cleveland State Law Review

Depression is a common sequela of head trauma. Approximately half of all individuals with a cranial injury will experience depression within the first year, regardless of the severity of the injury. The ailment is characterized clinically as a mood disorder, often associated with intense feelings of sadness. However, depression is more complex than mood disorders, as many mental and bodily complaints—such as insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, appetite changes, aches and pains, and lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities—are associated with depression. These intense feelings, particularly when combined with despair and hopelessness, can lead to suicide, a dreaded potential complication of …

Germ-Line Gene Editing And Congressional Reaction In Context: Learning From Almost 50 Years Of Congressional Reactions To Biomedical Breakthroughs, Russell A. Spivak, J.D., I. Glenn Cohen, J.D., Eli Y. Adashi, M.D., M.S.

Journal of Law and Health

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law a policy rider forestalling the therapeutic modification of the human germ line. The rider, motivated by the science’s potential unethical ends, is only the most recent instance in which the legislature cut short the ongoing national conversation on the acceptability of a developing science. This essay offers historical perspective on what bills were proposed and passed surrounding four other then-developing scientific breakthroughs—Recombinant DNA, in vitro fertilization, Cloning, Stem Cells—to better analyze how Congress is, and should, regulate this exciting and promising science.

Analysis Of The Proposed Tpp-Related Patent Linkage System In Taiwan, Ping-Hsun Chen

Journal of Law and Health

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement mandates member states to implement a patent linkage system vested in Article 18.53. To successfully join the TPP Agreement, Taiwan has begun the legislation of a patent linkage system by proposing an amendment for the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Article 18.53 requires a member either to adopt a notification mechanism under Paragraph 1 or to stay the issuance of marketing approval under Paragraph 2. But, Taiwan’s proposal includes both measures. Taiwan’s patent linkage system allows a pioneer drug company to register patents claiming (a) a material, (b) a combination or formula, or (c) pharmaceutical use. The …

In The "Best Interests" Of The Disabled: Legislating Morality And The Power To Initiate Support Orders For Disabled Adults In Ohio, Kalynne Proctor

Cleveland State Law Review

Today’s reality is that many families have children who are faced with disabling conditions that prevent them from relinquishing their dependency on others. Often, the need for specialized treatment and care does not terminate once a severely disabled child reaches adulthood. While typically parents are relieved of their legal parental obligations to their adult-aged children, this is not the same case for parents with severely disabled children. In some respects, Ohio has recognized the financial difficulties divorced parents face when they are the sole caregivers of disabled adult children. Although Ohio law requires that the noncustodial parent in a divorce …

A Healthy Amount Of Privacy: Quantifying Privacy Concerns In Medicine, Ignacio N. Cofone

Cleveland State Law Review

With recent developments in e-health, concerns have been raised regarding the privacy of patients who are monitored with such treatments. I propose a simple method to incorporate these concerns into a standard health impact evaluation, based on quality-adjusted life years and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. This method provides a way to objectively value privacy concerns and balance them with health benefits. Hence, it can guide doctors and policymakers into incorporating privacy considerations and making better choices regarding e-health programs. This method can also be tested on existing economic evaluations to compare outcomes and gauge the extent to which privacy issues …

Bioprospecting Legislation In The United States: What We Are Doing, What We Are Not Doing, And What Should We Do Next, Emily J. Stolfer

Cleveland State Law Review

Bioprospecting is a growing worldwide effort to protect knowledge and the environment. With its potential economic benefit and technological advancements, bioprospecting will continue to grow as the world advances. Other nations have begun to protect the information available and continue to develop legislation. However, the United States has been hesitant to ratify international treaties or implement its own legislation. This Note examines both domestic and international efforts to protect both indigenous people and the environment. It analyzes the legislation the United States currently has in place but also examines where the United States is lacking. Regarding the United States’ failure …

A Deliberate Departure: Making Physician-Assisted Suicide Comfortable For Vulnerable Patients, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article is divided into four parts. Part I discusses the history and evolution of the "right to die movement" in the United States. The current legal landscape in the United States is examined in Part II. In Part III, I analyze some of the relevant ethical concerns caused by the availability of physician-assisted suicide. My analysis primarily focuses on the Oregon statutes because it is the oldest physician-assisted suicide law in the United States and has served as a model for laws in the United States and abroad. For example, Lord Falconer's Bill, which was defeated by the British …

Mending Invisible Wounds: The Efficacy And Legality Of Mdma-Assisted Psychotherapy In United States' Veterans Suffering With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jonathan Perry

Journal of Law and Health

Though Veteran Affairs has provided crucial life sustaining—and often lifesaving—treatments to returning soldiers, the substantial and ever-increasing rates of veteran suicides, drug addictions, and criminal behavior indicate a need for broader options in treatment. One of the most profound discoveries uncovered through MDMA-assisted psychotherapy research is MDMA’s facilitation of the alleviation of addictive behavior in subjects, and, as a result, an alleviation of addictions in general. Addiction is one of the key symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and drug abuse plays a large role in the other afflictions suffered by veterans, namely criminal activity and a high rate of …

Quintavalle: The Quandary In Bioethics, Lisa Cherkassky

Journal of Law and Health

The case of R. (Quintavalle) v. Human Fertilisation Embryology Authority (and Secretary of State for Health) presents a handful of legal problems. The biggest legal query to arise from the case is the inevitable harvest of babies, toddlers and very young children for their bone marrow. This article unpacks the judicial story behind Quintavalle to reveal how the strict provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 - namely ‘suitable condition’ under schedule 2 paragraph 1(1)(a) and ‘treatment services’ and ‘assisting’ under section 2(1) - were widely misinterpreted to introduce the social selection of embryos into law. The legal …

Expansion Of Employee Wellness Programs Under Ppaca Creates Additional Barriers To Healthcare Insurance For Individuals With Disabilities, Amy B. Cheng

Journal of Law and Health

There are many barriers to healthcare for the general population that has been documented throughout the years, with one particularly affected group being individuals with disabilities. One identified healthcare barrier for individuals with disabilities is the inability to gain access to the healthcare system through health insurance. While many attempts have been made to resolve this issue, serious problems have yet to be resolved. The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) attempted to solve the issue by expanding Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996’s (HIPAA) current regulations on employee wellness programs. The relevant regulations govern employee wellness programs …

Save Thousands Of Lives Every Year: Resuscitate The Peer Review Privilege, Alan G. Williams

Journal of Law and Health

Doctors make mistakes—preventable medical mistakes—that kill or seriously injure patients. The best way to reduce these preventable errors is through a medical peer review process typically referred to as a "morbidity and mortality conference." However, over the past twenty years, federal and state courts, state legislatures, and state voters have effectively gutted the morbidity and mortality conference (M&M) as a remedial and preventative tool, resulting in tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths every year. Doctors need our help restoring the effectiveness of M&Ms. Congress has created the means to do so; now, all the courts need do is use it. …

Healer, Witness, Or Double Agent? Reexamining The Ethics Of Forensic Psychiatry, Matthew U. Scherer

Journal of Law and Health

In recent years, psychiatrists have become ever more prevalent in American courtrooms. Consequently, the issue of when the usual rules of medical ethics should apply to forensic psychiatric encounters has taken on increased importance and is a continuing topic of discussion among both legal and medical scholars. A number of approaches to the problem of forensic psychiatric ethics have been proposed, but none adequately addresses the issues that arise when a forensic encounter develops therapeutic characteristics. This article looks to the rules governing the lawyer-client relationship as a model for a new approach to forensic psychiatric ethics. This new model …

Introduction: Issues Of Reproductive Rights: Life, Liberty & The Pursuit Of Policy, Lauren Orrico, Gordon Gantt Jr.

Journal of Law and Health

On March 7, 2014, the Journal of Law and Health of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law hosted a symposium entitled “Issues of Reproductive Rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Policy” in response to recent developments in the regulation of women’s reproductive rights. The discussion about women’s reproductive rights has expanded far beyond the morality of abortion and right to privacy, established by the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, and has been complicated by new technology, statutory developments, and case law discussing the nature of a corporation. The symposium presenters addressed key legal developments in each stage of …