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Cleveland State Law Review

Articles 61 - 90 of 175

Full-Text Articles in Medical Jurisprudence

Relationships Of The Medical Examiner, Cyril H. Wecht Jan 1965

Relationships Of The Medical Examiner, Cyril H. Wecht

Cleveland State Law Review

Having set forth these relatively simple definitions, I should like to make a rather bold statement that perhaps will find disagreement among some attorneys and physicians. With all due respect to the many skilled and competent men who are active in various aspects of legal medicine and medical jurisprudence, I would suggest that no one field is so intrinsically and unqualifiedly bound up in the practice of legal medicine as is the work of the medical examiner. Again reverting to definitions, the medical examiner is one who deals on a full-time professional basis with cases that in almost all instances …


Special Law For Medical Specialists, Bernard R. Koehne, James G. Young Jan 1965

Special Law For Medical Specialists, Bernard R. Koehne, James G. Young

Cleveland State Law Review

We do not question the need for, or the benefits of specialization, but rather point to some of the confusion which results, in legal cases involving the medical specialist. The apparent contradiction that appears in proceedings involving specialists is illustrated by two cases where the patient's heart stopped beating while on the operating table.


Hyperbaric Medicine And The Law, Carl E. Wasmuth, John Homi, Donald E. Hale Jan 1965

Hyperbaric Medicine And The Law, Carl E. Wasmuth, John Homi, Donald E. Hale

Cleveland State Law Review

With the construction of such sophisticated facilities as the hyperbaric chamber now contemplated, it might be well to seek out possible legal pitfalls in the application of high pressure oxygen equipment in the treatment of suspected or proved diseases in the human. A comprehensive discussion of the law as it applies to hybaroxia must include design, manufacture, installation, inspection, and use of the facility involved, also, the liability of the manufacturer, of the hospital, and of the physician. Legal literature reveals few cases in which these facets of the law have been discussed with special regard to the hyperbaric facility., …


Hospital Privileges, Bernard D. Herring Jan 1965

Hospital Privileges, Bernard D. Herring

Cleveland State Law Review

Almost daily, judicial decisions are handed down, affecting the practice of medicine. As a consequence the rights and responsibilities of physicians are in a state of flux. We must remain vigilant and view these changes critically but objectively, realizing that there will be a constant need for evaluation of these changing legal concepts, especially as they relate to staff privileges, for such privileges are in no small way associated with such highly volatile subjects as procedural fairness, restraint of trade, religious freedom, and racial discrimination.


Positive Handling Of The Negative X-Ray, Lawrence V. Hastings Jan 1965

Positive Handling Of The Negative X-Ray, Lawrence V. Hastings

Cleveland State Law Review

Defense counsel usually pounce on "negative" x-rays, i.e., ones which show little or no change from before to after the accident. They triumphantly parade admissions from medical witnesses that "the x-rays in the case are totally negative," before a jury which is enormously impressed through abysmal ignorance of what x-rays can and do show. Thus, the problem facing counsel for the injured party is how most persuasively to acquaint the jury with means of properly evaluating x-rays in view of their significant attributes and their deficiencies. Plaintiff's counsel must somehow explain the purpose of x-rays, augment their limited information, and/or …


Compensability Of Non-Traumatic Ulcer, Carl L. Stern Jan 1965

Compensability Of Non-Traumatic Ulcer, Carl L. Stern

Cleveland State Law Review

Titles can be misleading. So, lest the writer be accused of unfair legal merchandising, I must declare at the outset that the non-traumatic ulcer is not compensable, given the present state of the law. I cannot claim that the non-traumatic ulcer has never been held compensable. I can only asseverate that no such holding was uncovered in the course of extended examination of workmen's compensation disputes which have reached courts of review.


Conspiracy Of Silence, Richard M. Markus Jan 1965

Conspiracy Of Silence, Richard M. Markus

Cleveland State Law Review

The requirement that independent expert medical testimony establish the proper standard of care and the defendant's failure to meet that standard imposes an almost insurmountable obstacle in many cases. The so-called conspiracy of silence has been recognized, as a matter of judicial notice, by courts in New Jersey, California, and elsewhere. The use of that phrase to describe the unavailability of medical witnesses has particularly dramatic force which impresses a court and jury. However, no apt phrase could detract from the reality of this practical problem which faces an attorney representing a client seeking damages from a physician for professional …


Is It Error To Discuss Conspiracy Of Silence In A Malpractice Trial, Robert L. Starks Jan 1965

Is It Error To Discuss Conspiracy Of Silence In A Malpractice Trial, Robert L. Starks

Cleveland State Law Review

There is a need in most malpractice suits to impress the jury with the operation and effect of the conspiracy of silence,and in most jurisdictions, to do so would apparently not, and certainly should not, result in reversible error if done in a reasonable and temperate manner.


Diseases Of Obscure Etiology: Legal Aspects, Paul D. Rheingold Jan 1964

Diseases Of Obscure Etiology: Legal Aspects, Paul D. Rheingold

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this note is to gather and analyze legal cases which have involved diseases characterized by the courts or medical witnesses as being of obscure etiology or in which the role of trauma is uncertain. Basic to this discussion is an understanding of the concepts of causation, precipitation and aggravation as they are used both legally and medically.


Malpractice In Dental Anesthesiology, Allen L. Perry Jan 1964

Malpractice In Dental Anesthesiology, Allen L. Perry

Cleveland State Law Review

Cases invovlving dental anesthesia reveal that breaches of the duty to use proper skill and care have occurred in selection of the type of anesthetic, method of administration, failure to examine the patient, use of unsterile instruments, failure to use safety devices, and failure to properly care for patients under the influence of anesthesia. Persons practicing dental anesthesiology, like those pracing medicine and surgery, must be duly able and careful. This rule is elementary and is founded on considerations of public policy. Whenever the behavior of a dentist or dental anesthesiologist has been of a nature such that a dereliction …


Outpatient Injuries Of The Hand, Frank W. Masters, David W. Robinson Jan 1964

Outpatient Injuries Of The Hand, Frank W. Masters, David W. Robinson

Cleveland State Law Review

All hand injuries, regardless of superficiality, may result in crippling loss of function if treatment is inadequate or mishandled. The essential elements of diagnosis, examination, approach to therapy and after-care are constant. The major difference between an injury requiring hospitalization and one amenable to outpatient management is the extent of the trauma. This article reviews the major outpatient injuries with respect to method of management, choice of definitive procedure, and preservation of function.


Finger-Tip Injuries, D. C. Robertson Jan 1964

Finger-Tip Injuries, D. C. Robertson

Cleveland State Law Review

Finger-tip injuries are among the most common injuries which have to be dealt with in emergency departments.They present a variety of problems which can be treated in different ways. This paper will present a variety of these injuries and discuss the treatment of each of them.


Anesthesia For Minor Surgery In The Office Or Outpatient Department, P. C. Lund Jan 1964

Anesthesia For Minor Surgery In The Office Or Outpatient Department, P. C. Lund

Cleveland State Law Review

The various current methods of anesthesia utilized for surgery in the office or outpatient department are described. The hazards and various complications that may be encountered when dealing with these ambulatory patients are discussed in detail. Suggested methods of treatment and management of these complications are also outlined. It is pointed out that the availability of adequate equipment for resuscitation is essential for the over-all safety and welfare of the ambulatory patient


Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers: Medicolegal Aspects, Carl E. Wasmuth, John Homi Jan 1964

Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers: Medicolegal Aspects, Carl E. Wasmuth, John Homi

Cleveland State Law Review

The installation and utilization of the hyperbaric facility for the administration of oxygen to patients under increased atmospheric pressures presents several legal problems.


Blunt Injuries Of The Abdomen, Chester C. Guy Jan 1964

Blunt Injuries Of The Abdomen, Chester C. Guy

Cleveland State Law Review

Management of closed abdominal injuries, produced by blunt violence, is one of the most challenging problems that the surgeon has to meet. It is usually made difficult by presence of associated injuries of the head, chest, or extremities, and the obvious severity of these may largely or completely mask the early evidences of abdominal visceral injury. It should be emphasized that, in general, injuries of the head and chest take precedence over those of the abdomen, and it is in the "multipleinjury" cases that intra-abdominal injuries are most frequently overlooked or undertreated. Blows to the abdomen received in sports or …


Statute Of Limitations In Malpractice Actions, Ernest A. Cieslinski Jan 1964

Statute Of Limitations In Malpractice Actions, Ernest A. Cieslinski

Cleveland State Law Review

The ill-treated patient has sought redress for medical malpractice by actions that sound in tort, in contract, or in fraud. As with other actions, the underlying policy of "peace and repose" of all statutes of limitations dictates that these actions be timely. In Ohio, for example, the time limit for an action for malpractice is one year.


Nature And Effects Of Narcotics For Pain, Ralph K. Davies Jan 1964

Nature And Effects Of Narcotics For Pain, Ralph K. Davies

Cleveland State Law Review

The dictionary defines a medicine as a drug that is used to treat diseases, or to relieve pain. This term includes materials that act upon various tissues, organs and systems of the anatomy. Upon further inquiry one finds that the term narcotic refers to those preparations which produce profound sleep, lethargy, and relief of pain. This article will deal primarily with the sensation called pain, and the use of narcotics to relieve that sensation.


Defense Against Res Ipsa In Medical Malpractice, Howard M. Rossen Jan 1964

Defense Against Res Ipsa In Medical Malpractice, Howard M. Rossen

Cleveland State Law Review

In a res ipsa loquitur case the injured party is deemed in no position to explain the cause, while the party charged may begin a position to show himself free from negligence. If the plaintiff has equal or superior means of information, the doctrine does not apply. The question is really one of duty on the part of the defendant. Res ipsa loquitur leads only to a possible (not mandatory) inference that the defendant has not complied with his duty to use skill and care, and is not in itself proof that he was under a specific duty. This question …


Book Review, Robert J. Bogus Jan 1964

Book Review, Robert J. Bogus

Cleveland State Law Review

Reviewing Harvey Sarner, Dental Jurisprudence, W.B. Saunders Co., 1963


Statute Of Limitations In Cases Of Insidious Diseases, Elmer I. Schwartz, Byron S. Krantz Jan 1963

Statute Of Limitations In Cases Of Insidious Diseases, Elmer I. Schwartz, Byron S. Krantz

Cleveland State Law Review

The industrial revolution and technological development have brought concomitant legal problems unheard of at the common law. Fundamental principles of law evolved to incorporate the changes necessary to rule over a new way of life. Some of the problems of industrialization have been solved, others are in a state of flux, while myriad others are as yet unknown. This article concerns itself with one of the incidents of complex industrial progress-insidious disease, as viewed in the light (or dark) of the statute of limitations.


Traumatic Miscarriage, Beryl W. Stewart Jan 1963

Traumatic Miscarriage, Beryl W. Stewart

Cleveland State Law Review

Attorneys are confronted by an ever increasing amount of litigation concerning miscarriage occasioned by physical and physic trauma. The proof and evaluation of the proximate cause of miscarriage is perplexing. The subject of miscarriage is not a matter of common knowledge, hence the members of the jury are not competent to determine, without expert testimony, whether trauma is the proximate cause of the miscarriage. To add to the burden of proof, the courts have not always adhered to correct medical terminology. But it is particularly important that the correct terms be employed, and expert testimony must be given by competent …


Contibutory Negligence In Medical Malpractice, W. David Alderson Jan 1963

Contibutory Negligence In Medical Malpractice, W. David Alderson

Cleveland State Law Review

Three categories of cases have been noted out of the mass of factually individualistic ones concerning medical malpractice and contributory negligence. The first, where a breach of duty owed the patient by the physician is lacking, involves an injury produced by the patient's own negligence. In the second, the patient's negligence directly contributes to the severity of an injury already present because of the physician's negligence. The plaintiff-patient's damages are not mitigated but rather entirely precluded in light of his acts. Thus a plea of contributory negligence is a complete defense. The third category includes those cases where a time …


Medical Arsenal Of A Personal Injury Lawyer, Albert Averbach Jan 1963

Medical Arsenal Of A Personal Injury Lawyer, Albert Averbach

Cleveland State Law Review

It is amazing how little attention is paid by the trial lawyer to the enormous impact of traumatic injuries upon the human body. Generally, the trial lawyer is content with a woefully inadequate knowledge about the body, and the meaning of but a few medical terms. It is the purpose of this article to arouse the interest of those previously immune to the suggestions of the importance of a fuller knowledge of this subject and to point the way toward those wonderful repositories of information that should beknown by all. [Appended to these remarks is a bibliography of recommended books, …


Traumatic Neurosis As A Distinct Cause Of Action, David S. Lake Jan 1963

Traumatic Neurosis As A Distinct Cause Of Action, David S. Lake

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this article is: (1) To define traumatic neurosis on a medico-legal basis. (2) To determine when damages may be recovered for traumatic neurosis through a review of recent cases.


Subjective Complaints V. Objective Signs, David I. Sindell, Irwin N. Perr Jan 1963

Subjective Complaints V. Objective Signs, David I. Sindell, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

The word "versus" in the title presents what we think is one of the most important problems of plaintiff trial lawyers today. After years of preparation, we submit our case to a jury; our medical witnesses offer testimony based on long time observation, treatment and evaluation. Then, in walks the defendant's doctor and proceeds to plunge a dagger into our case by calling our client either a malingerer or a neurotic, or just a plain liar. He testifies that he saw none of the objective signs that our medical examiners found, and concludes that all of the subjective complaints are …


Legal Relation Of Trauma To Cancer, Isidore Halpern Jan 1963

Legal Relation Of Trauma To Cancer, Isidore Halpern

Cleveland State Law Review

When a lawyer attempts to discuss the subject of cancer, he finds himself in the position of the nursery rhyme figures, Winken, Blinken and Nod, who attempted to sail a stormy, turbulent sea in a frail washtub. How does the lawyer feel with respect to the medical questions presented by the problem of relation of an isolated trauma to cancer? My legal colleagues disagree violently amongst themselves. I approach the entire subject with humility.


Whiplash Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion And Hemiplegia, Harry A. Gair Jan 1963

Whiplash Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion And Hemiplegia, Harry A. Gair

Cleveland State Law Review

When an apparently normal healthy individual, engaged in a business, trade or profession, within a week following an automobile collision in which his neck experienced the hypermotility and torsional force known as "whiplash," suffers a "stroke" and is left permanently hemiplegic, it would be naive to suppose that those affected by such an affliction would meekly ascribe it all to pure coincidence, and not concentrate their fullest attention on the possible connection between the two events.


Semantics Of Traumatic Causation, Richard M. Markus Jan 1963

Semantics Of Traumatic Causation, Richard M. Markus

Cleveland State Law Review

Sometime before the trial of every personal injury case, each lawyer involved must make sure that the physicians whom he will call to testify understand the legal meaning of certain medical words. Counsel have not sufficiently prepared their case from a medical viewpoint, when they have ascertained the trauma sustained and its medical consequences. The lawyer must also educate the doctor about legal technicalities which will control the significance of the doctor's testimony. Among the most important formal requirements on the physician's testimony are those which relate to the language of causation. This article will discuss the views of various …


Ocular Effects Of Whiplash, James Jay Brown Jan 1963

Ocular Effects Of Whiplash, James Jay Brown

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this article is to show how one may establish a cause of action for eye damages caused by whiplash trauma by presenting current medical literature which proves a cause and effect relation. Considering the vast complexity of the ocular mechanism, and its connection with the cervical spine region, a neuro-muscular-skeletal explanation of these areas will precede the medical documentation. Court decisions supporting petitions for this type of eye damage are unavailable. However, in order to show that whiplash trauma has, in the past, included some ocular disturbances, a few cases will follow the documentation in support of …


Recent Traumatic Disease Claims, Henry B. Fischer Jan 1963

Recent Traumatic Disease Claims, Henry B. Fischer

Cleveland State Law Review

Claimants over the years have alleged a causal relation between trauma and almost every conceivable disease. Medicolegal literature abounds with articles concerning the relation between trauma and the more commonly occurring diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, bursitis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy. Numerous books wholly devoted to the relation of trauma and disease, have been written.This article is primarily concerned with cases wherein an allegation is made that a single trauma caused a disease.