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Cleveland State Law Review

Articles 121 - 150 of 175

Full-Text Articles in Medical Jurisprudence

Book Review, Carl E. Wasmuth Jan 1960

Book Review, Carl E. Wasmuth

Cleveland State Law Review

Reviewing Paul David Cantor, Traumatic Medicine and Surgery for the Attorney; Vol. I - The Traumatic Problem, Central Book Co., 1959


An Appraisal Of Competency, Henry Davidson Jan 1960

An Appraisal Of Competency, Henry Davidson

Cleveland State Law Review

Competence is the ability to handle business affairs with ordinary prudence. It is a legal not a medical formula, and in a sense, it must be defined negatively. Every one is assumed to be competent. If you think some one is incompetent, you must prove it. He does not have to prove that he is competent. Therefore, the formula is a criterion of incompetency not competency. To declare a person incompetent, these findings must coexist: 1. He has a mental disorder. 2. This causes bad judgment. 3. Because of the bad judgment, the patient either: (a) Squanders his money or …


Hospital Privileges Revisited, Irwin N. Perr Jan 1960

Hospital Privileges Revisited, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

It is the opinion of this writer that the laws relating to hospital privileges basically are sound and in the public interest.There is no clear reason to overthrow the accumulated wisdom of the last hundred years. American hospitals have become the best in the world because of the freedom with which they have been allowed to function. This does not militate against the constant march for improvement. As can be seen, there are cases where individuals are handicapped in their use of hospitals.These situations reflect social problems, not defects in existing laws which, like our Constitutional rights, sometimes are somewhat …


Res Ipsa Loquitur In Hospital And Malpractice Cases, Julien C. Renswick Jan 1960

Res Ipsa Loquitur In Hospital And Malpractice Cases, Julien C. Renswick

Cleveland State Law Review

Most legal texts state as a matter of law that in order to apply the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur it is required that plaintiff show that the instrumentality causing his injury was in the continuous and exclusive control of one defendant. This general proposition has been stated in Ohio on several occasions. However, in the last few years some exceptions to this general rule have been established in several jurisdictions.


Epilepsy - Post-Traumatic Or Not, Irwin N. Perr Jan 1960

Epilepsy - Post-Traumatic Or Not, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

This article discusses the legal issues presented in Muscarello v. Peterson. The case presents clearly the medical aspects in ascertaining whether epilepsy is a result of injury or is a result of independent factors. As the court stated, the decision rests basically on medical evidence and its evaluation by the jury.


Suicide Responsibility Of Hospital And Psychiatrist, Irwin N. Perr Jan 1960

Suicide Responsibility Of Hospital And Psychiatrist, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

The problem of suicide is a prominent public health problem in this country. Physicians and hospitals have an obvious concern, as do the law courts, where actions for wrongful death and negligence may involve suicide as a result of a tortious act. This paper will restrict comment to the principles and application of present law as to the responsibility of the psychiatric hospital and the psychiatrist and a discussion of some of the applicable psychiatric factors.


Medical Aspects Of Chemical Tests For Intoxication, Philip Jones Jan 1959

Medical Aspects Of Chemical Tests For Intoxication, Philip Jones

Cleveland State Law Review

Three chemical tests are most frequently used. These are the estimation of the alcohol content of the (1) blood, (2) urine, and (3) breath. Each of these shows a reasonably accurate estimation of the degree of intoxication provided certain precautions are observed. Unfortunately, under some circumstances the results of these tests may be misleading and be invalid in evidence. In order to appreciate these limitations it is necessary to understand the physiology of the absorption and excretion of alcohol in the body.


Optometrists' Tort Liability, Gerald F. Sweeney Jan 1959

Optometrists' Tort Liability, Gerald F. Sweeney

Cleveland State Law Review

The question "Do you need glasses?" should be answered in the affirmative by many people, nowadays. Most of us, at some time, find it necessary to visit one of the many establishments for the correction of defective vision. When the time does arrive, we are confident that our chosen "professional" will fill our needs adequately, yet, mistakes and oversights occur. What happens when a serious injury occurs as a result of this possibility? This article attempts to answer that question briefly.


Tort Liability Of Hospitals, B. Joan Holdridge Jan 1959

Tort Liability Of Hospitals, B. Joan Holdridge

Cleveland State Law Review

In recent years, hospitals have undergone changes both in their financial and physical structures. These changes have resulted in a general alteration of the attitude of the courts toward the liability of hospitals for their torts. From a position of almost total immunity the pendulum is rapidly swinging toward liability generally for their negligence. Since most jurisdictions classify hospitals into three types: private, charitable, and public, when determining their liability or particular acts, this article will discuss each of these classes separately. However, for the sake of convenience, the general rules of liability will be set forth in the discussion …


Torts Of Administrative Personnel Of Hosptials, Rathuel L. Mccollum Jan 1959

Torts Of Administrative Personnel Of Hosptials, Rathuel L. Mccollum

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this article is to review and analyze cases in which torts have been committed by hospital personnel who may be considered as administrative employees.


Physician's Use Of Hospital Facilities: Right Or Privilege, Jewel Hammond Mack Jan 1959

Physician's Use Of Hospital Facilities: Right Or Privilege, Jewel Hammond Mack

Cleveland State Law Review

The issue is clear: Do the hospitals exist primarily as corporations (business entities), of primary concern only as "private preserves" governed solely as their administrators wish?Or do the hospitals exist primarily as facilities for medical aid to the public; as instrumentalities for physicians to use in aiding the public? Put otherwise, the issue is: Do doctors exist for the convenience of hospitals, or hospitals for the convenience of doctors? Should public interests or hospital management interests come first?The answers are obvious. The law as it is now is contrary to the public's interests.


Surgery Of Major Blood Vessels: Standards Of Care, Victor G. Dewolfe Jan 1959

Surgery Of Major Blood Vessels: Standards Of Care, Victor G. Dewolfe

Cleveland State Law Review

This article presents a "technical standards of care." approach to the question of malpractice. The article describes a common disease, its symptoms and proper diagnosis, proper methods of treatment and surgery, and the probable results. The footnotes give briefly the various aspects of liability of the physician for malpractice, which liability may arise due to mistakes, negligence or unexpected occurrences in this type of treatment.


Food Additives Law And Practice, Milton Oppenheim Jan 1959

Food Additives Law And Practice, Milton Oppenheim

Cleveland State Law Review

A decision of the United States Supreme Court on Dec. 15, 1958, interpreting the Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act, has focused attention on the use of coloring and other materials in foods, drugs and cosmetics. This requires a complex study of the effects of the various food additives, contaminants and chemicals upon the individual, whether intentionally added or accidently produced, in foods, drugs and cosmetics. Evaluation of the tremendous group of food additives can best be approached in the light of the benefits intended by the manufacturer or grower using them.


Doctor, Lawyer, And Hosptial Administrator: A New Triangle, Howard L. Oleck Jan 1959

Doctor, Lawyer, And Hosptial Administrator: A New Triangle, Howard L. Oleck

Cleveland State Law Review

Hospitals are deeply invovled in the great majority of medicolegal case problems. Yet surprisingly little attention has been given to the relation of the hospital to doctor lawyer-patient situations as a factor in itself. Most discussions of hospitals and law deal generally with hospital liability for negligence of hospital agents-as though the hospital were a monolithic entity in itself. Lawyers seldom look further into the relation of the doctor to the hospital administration and vice versa; deeming this to be a matter of small concern to them. Doctors, of course, know well the importance of hospital politics and procedures to …


Non-Profit Hospitals And Labor Unions, Esther Weissman Jan 1959

Non-Profit Hospitals And Labor Unions, Esther Weissman

Cleveland State Law Review

This article examins the relationship between non-profit hospitals and labor unions.


Physician-Patient Privilege In Ohio, Naoma Lee Stewart Jan 1959

Physician-Patient Privilege In Ohio, Naoma Lee Stewart

Cleveland State Law Review

Throughout its history the physician-patient privilege has been the subject of controversial discussion, and in recent years these discussions have been dominated by voices of bitter disapproval and severe criticism. Judges, lawyers, textwriters, and teachers have denounced the privilege by characterizing it as everything from a "monumental hoax" to a "clever legerdemain loaned by the law to the parties to suppress the truth." Critics maintain that in the majority of reported cases the patient invoked the privilege, not to protect his privacy or to prevent the disclosure of humiliating personal facts (supposedly the purpose for the creation of the privilege), …


Editors' Preamble, Cleveland-Marshall Law Review Jan 1959

Editors' Preamble, Cleveland-Marshall Law Review

Cleveland State Law Review

Current problems in the law applicable to hospitals, and closely collateral matters, are treated in this Symposium--chiefly in the light of recent trends towards abolition of the legal immunity of voluntary hospitals from liability for the torts of their agents. Emphasis has been placed on some problems not often discussed in legal literature.


Post-Traumatic Epilepsy And The Law, Irwin N. Perr Jan 1959

Post-Traumatic Epilepsy And The Law, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

Post-traumatic epilepsy is a condition of great importance to the lawyer in personal injury work in that it can result from injury. In any specific case, it must be differentiated from epilepsy resulting from other causes. In addition, it is an unusual entity in that it may develop long after the injury. Therefore the probability or improbability of such a complication may be an important medicolegal consideration. This paper analyzes many of these factors and illustrates how present knowledge can be better used in the legal handling of such problems.


Medicolegal Aspects Of Alcoholism, Naoma Lee Stewart Jan 1959

Medicolegal Aspects Of Alcoholism, Naoma Lee Stewart

Cleveland State Law Review

Since the passage of three centuries has seen the explanation for excessive drinking progress from a vice to a disease, it is pertinent to have a brief study of the recent findings about alcoholism in order to compare these newer medical concepts with some of the legal principles on drunkenness which have been long and firmly established in the law.


Paternity And Prolonged Pregnancy, Irwin N. Perr Jan 1959

Paternity And Prolonged Pregnancy, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

The question of paternity and prolonged pregnancy is a subject not only of great professional interest to lawyers and physicians, but is one that all of us find sometimes intriguing, sometimes humorous, and sometimes tragic.


Medical Malpractice Suits: A Physician's Primer For Defendants, Miley B. Wesson Jan 1959

Medical Malpractice Suits: A Physician's Primer For Defendants, Miley B. Wesson

Cleveland State Law Review

This paper is a primer for physicians and their counsel, outlining ways of avoiding a malpractice suit and what to expect in court. My first county medical society appointment in 1912 was as chairman of the legislative committee, and in the years intervening I have had wide experience advising doctors, helping defense attorneys, appearing in court many times as an expert witness, and as a defendant. So I speak from experience. The suggestions as to technique are, in the main, from the recordsm of three cases (containing photostatic copies of all office and hospital records, pyelograms, detective reports, etc.), loaned …


Hospital Records As Evidence, Robert B. Dunsmore Jan 1959

Hospital Records As Evidence, Robert B. Dunsmore

Cleveland State Law Review

Court decisions are not in harmony as to the admissibility of hospital charts and records as evidence in a court of law. At common law they are not recognized as valid evidence. In the absence of a statute requiring hospitals to keep clinical charts or records, many courts adopt the view that such a chart or record is admissible as evidence only under some exception to the Hearsay Rule and after a proper foundation has been laid for bringing the case within the particular exception. If such a foundation is laid, a hospital chart or record is, according to the …


Medical Evidence And Testimony, Robert V. Lamppert Jan 1959

Medical Evidence And Testimony, Robert V. Lamppert

Cleveland State Law Review

It is the purpose of this article to explain the various ways in which medicine becomes involved in the law and to point out the problems and difficulties involved. Since this article is written for both medical doctors and attorneys, the detailed explanations and terminology of each profession will necessarily be kept at a basic level. It is hoped that a forthright demonstration of the basic factors involved, along with an attempt to explain the problems complicating the points of controversy and misunderstanding, will help somewhat in creating a better understanding between the two professions and enable them to better …


Psychosomatic Disease And The Law, Carl E. Wasmuth Jan 1958

Psychosomatic Disease And The Law, Carl E. Wasmuth

Cleveland State Law Review

There are fundamental differences between the standard of probabilities in law upon which a jury must deliberate, andthe standard of certainty in the scientific laboratory of medicine which an investigator must respect. This conflict is nowhere more evident than in the field of psychosomatic disease. This area of medicine has long been recognized but it was only in recent years that it has become the target for intense research. This lack of medical interest in what was considered a fringe area has caused the legal profession to substitute law for medicine. Eventually, however, science will progress in the field of …


Combating The Traumatic Effects Of Industrial Noise, W. F. Scholtz Jan 1958

Combating The Traumatic Effects Of Industrial Noise, W. F. Scholtz

Cleveland State Law Review

Today's increased interest in factory noise is partly created by the fact that exposure to sound under certain conditions may cause hearing impairment. This interest has been reflected in both management and labor circles. The seriousness of the problem is evidenced by a sudden increase in the number of claims filed for industrial hearing loss, presumably caused by exposure to high intensity sound. Unfortunately, major uncertainties exist, making the establishment of standardized tests and measurements difficult. Allison Chalmers Manufacturing Company and competent medical authorities have done a great deal of valuable preliminary study, making it possible to set tentative standards …


A Study Of Fatal Trauma, Earl B. Sanborn Jan 1958

A Study Of Fatal Trauma, Earl B. Sanborn

Cleveland State Law Review

Treatment of the complications of the injured patient is frequently more important than the injury itself. Such complications as shock, traumatic wet lung, atelectases, etc., are a direct result of the injury. Patients may suffer obvious severe trauma, only to die of the unrecognized and untreated complication. Postmortem examinations establish the nature, extent and effect of trauma-i.e., causation, from the lawyer's as well as the physician's point of view.In all cases of death following traumatic accident, the lawyer should investigate the unapparent as well as the obvious injuries; ordinarily by use of autopsy. In a surprising number of cases inadequate …


Frontal Injuries Of The Skull, Paul H. Crandall Jan 1958

Frontal Injuries Of The Skull, Paul H. Crandall

Cleveland State Law Review

Results of injuries to the frontal parts of the skull are often serious but treatable by prompt surgery. Various types of fractures are common. Most dangerous is the possibility of infection in the interior cavities of the skull. X-ray study of such injuries is practically mandatory. Failure to give prompt and proper treatment often results in serious complications later. Any injury to the frontal parts of the skull should be viewed by attorneys as serious, with strong probability of future complications except perhaps when prompt medical attention of highly modern character has forestalled some of the possible complications.


Secondary Effects Of Trauma: (Pain) Sympathetic Dystrophies, Louis W. Lewis Jan 1958

Secondary Effects Of Trauma: (Pain) Sympathetic Dystrophies, Louis W. Lewis

Cleveland State Law Review

Sympathetic Dystrophy or causalgia (pain) is a disability following traumatic injury. It consists of burning pain, glossy sweating, skin changes, and exquisite tenderness caused by tissue damage involving the sympathetic nervous system. Treatment consists of "blocking" the sympathetic nerves to the area by injecting drugs or by surgical repair. As the item of "pain and suffering" always is a major factor in a lawyer's estimate of the proper amount of a damage award, the medical analysis here presented is of wide interest and utility to lawyers as well as to physicians.


Medicolegal Aspects Of Industrial Noise, Meyer S. Fox Jan 1958

Medicolegal Aspects Of Industrial Noise, Meyer S. Fox

Cleveland State Law Review

Occupational hearing loss may be defined as a hearing impairment in one or both ears, partial or complete, arising in, during the course of, or as the result of one's employment. It can occur suddenly as the result of one's employment. It can occur suddenly as the result of a traumatic injury, intense blasts or explosions, or gradually due to prolonged exposure to excessive noise levels. Hearing losses resulting from blows, blasts, or explosions, as well as from foreign objects and burns, have usually been compensated under schedule of accidental injuries. Industrial noise hearing loss is the accumulative loss of …


Relation Of Trauma, Disease, And Law - Panel Discussion, Joseph A. Cox, Alfred Koerner, S. Charles Franco, Kenneth H. Macgregor Jan 1958

Relation Of Trauma, Disease, And Law - Panel Discussion, Joseph A. Cox, Alfred Koerner, S. Charles Franco, Kenneth H. Macgregor

Cleveland State Law Review

A symposium on "Relation of Trama, Disease, and Law." The symposium took place under the auspices of the Amerian Board of Legal Medicine Inc., in conjucntion with the sesquicentennial meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York.