Actuarial tables put the life expectancy of a 31-year-old male at 46.5 more years. But when Christopher McDaniel died at 31, allegedly as a result of medical negligence, the court calculated his life expectancy at no more than six years and set damages accordingly. What’s the explanation? According to the …
$4 Million Liability for Bad Legal Advice to a Chiropractor
June 5, 2017 Leave a Comment
Allstate Insurance has won a judgment of nearly $4 million against a NY lawyer and Calif. consultant who guided a NJ chiropractor in structuring a medical practice designed to appear to meet the requirements of the state Insurance Fraud Protection Act (Act) while actually violating them. The defendants owned a …
Broadening of Indiana Collateral Source Statute
November 8, 2016 Leave a Comment
The issue comes up a lot in personal injury cases: may the defendant introduce the discounted amount the provider actually accepted for medical services as evidence to be weighed against the undiscounted bill the plaintiff introduces? In the case before the Indiana Supreme Court the two amounts were miles apart: …
DOJ Antitrust Head Remains Focused on Health Care in Era of Consolidation
November 16, 2015 Leave a Comment
Speaking at an industry conference on November 13, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer reiterated the government’s focus on competition concerns in the health care industry. According to Baer, head of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, while the Affordable Care Act (ACA) “promotes …
Health Facilities May Be Insuring Doctors without Knowing It
October 7, 2015 Leave a Comment
A September 29 ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court effectively makes a health facility liable for the professional negligence of a medical staff member who doesn’t have malpractice insurance or who has insurance that doesn’t cover the acts in question. Dr. Kaul performed a spinal fusion on Jim Jarrell at …
Third Cir. Holds Hospitals May Sue Health Insurers Directly
September 14, 2015 Leave a Comment
Before September 11 the Third Circuit Court of Appeals had been out of step with its sister federal circuits when it came to the right of hospitals, physicians and other health providers to sue health insurers that failed to cover patient obligations. So back in 2014 when North Jersey Brain & Spine Center …