Charpentier Law Firm Blog

According to a recent article (AARP Magazine, September/October 2010) three classes of medications of a anti-coagulant (Warfarin, Aspirin, Colpidogrel), anti-diabetic agents (insulin, Metformin, Glyburide, Glipizide, Chlorpropamide), and narrow therapeutic agents (Digoxin, Phenytoin, Lithium, Theophylline, Valproic Acid)-account for almost 50% of all emergency-room visits for adverse drug events in older individuals. Other medications that cause problems for seniors include barbiturates Meprobamate and Amitriptyline.

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USA Today-June 16, 2010-Naci Hellmich-According to this article approximately 2/3 of adults and 1/3 of children in the United States are overweight or obese. An advisory committee on dietary guidelines for Americans Recommends four major ways to lose weight:

1. Cut calorie intake and increase physical activity

2. Shift to a plant-based diet, increase the intake of seafood and consume only moderate amounts of meats, poultry and eggs

3. Significantly reduce the intake of foods containing added sugars and solid fats

4. Meet minimum physical activity guidelines

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1. 32 million more Americans get insurance

2. Pre-existing medical conditions will be covered

3. Basic benefits are guaranteed for everyone in Medicare

4. Sets up a temporary plan to help people with pre-existing health conditions (denial of pre-existing medical coverage for adults does not go into effect until 2014)

5. Provides additional benefits such as coverage for adult children until age 26

6. Leaves medical decisions in your hands

7. Requires most people to have insurance coverage by 2014

8. Creates State-run insurance exchanges

9. Offers immediate tax credit to help small business

10. Keeps Medicare financially sound and reduces the U.S. deficit by estimated 143 billion dollars

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AARP Bulletin-April 2010 Volume 51 #3-Florida medical schools graduated 436 doctors in 2008. By comparison California medical schools graduated 1,060 doctors, South Dakota medical schools graduated 53 doctors and Alaska medical schools graduated zero doctors for the same year.

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AARP Bulletin-April 2010 Volume 51 #3-Florida medical schools graduated 436 doctors in 2008. By comparison California medical schools graduated 1,060 doctors, South Dakota medical schools graduated 53 doctors and Alaska medical schools graduated zero doctors for the same year.

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Florida Today-March 25, 2010-Jeff Sheweers-According to this article M.I.M.A. and former radiation oncology chef Dr. Todd Scarbrough have agreed to pay the government 12 million dollars to settle a whistle blower’s claim that M.I.M.A. bilked Medicare out of millions dollars in unnecessary, unsupervised and inflated cancer radiation treatments.

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AARP Bulletin-Volume 51- #2-March 2010-According to this article a retiree lost his right leg, part of his left foot, a kidney and much of hearing as a result of MRSA (a form of staph infection) after having a pace maker implanted in 2004. Apparently, doctors implanted a pace maker in the patient, hoping to stabilize him after he suffered a heart attack. But within weeks, the patient was suffering from MRSA. Apparently doctors later removed golf-ball-size masses of infection. Lawsuit was filed and a jury determined the doctors were negligent and in 2008 awarded 2.6 million dollars, more than half of which was to compensate for non economic damages, including pain and suffering of the patient and his wife. Unfortunately, because of caps on medical malpractice awards (such as we have in Florida) judge later reduced the award on a cutting the non economic share of money allocated by the jury to $350,000 for a state statue the capped such damages. The plaintiff and his wife appealed to the Supreme Court of that state and the case drew national attention. Similar caps on non economic awards are being challenged in other states alleging that persons injured by negligence of others should not be deprived a full compensation for their injuries. According to the article lost earnings alone don’t adequately compensate older people, who are near their end of their careers or retired and those with low incomes. Simply stated caps on non economic damages mean that no matter how aggresses an injury victims suffers because of another’s negligence the cost to the responsible party for pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, emotional harm and other non-dollar items will never exceed a previously set specified amount of money. The plaintiff in this article, like most people, stated that getting his life back would mean more to him than any amount of money. A lawsuit is simply a way to hold the responsible people accountable. Non economic damages such as pain and suffering are more difficult to measure than economic losses such as medical bills or loss wages. However, the article points out, “it is vital that this sort of personal, intimate harm is addressed, even it is harder to measure.”

The article closes by stating “Ultimately, older people are devalued by these caps. They can not be made whole, no matter how much pain and suffering they have endured.” “Medicine, especially hospital medicine and procedures, is a huge business with lots of sloppiness, and it needs to be held accountable.”

We will wait and see what the Supreme Courts of various states have to say in this regard.

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Florida First District Court of Appeal Rules that an Emergency Medicine Doctor Does Not Qualify as an Expert for Purposes of Per-suit Affidavits in a Claim Against a Cardiologist Physician. Oken V. Williams-34 FLWD 1967 (Fla 1^st DCS 9-30-09)

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Journal of the Florida Justice Association-November/December 2009-No. 541-Not withstanding the legislature’s expressed intent to the contrary, retroactive applications of part of the 2003 medical malpractice changes {766.118 (4, Fla. Stat.} limiting the liability of negligent practitioners providing emergency medical services and care to the plaintiff whose cause of action accrued before the effective date of the legislation can not be enforced because to do so would result in an unfair and impermissible impairment of the patients subsiditive and vested rights to justice. Case site is Raphael V. Shecter, 18 So. 3^rd 11-52 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2009).

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AARP Bulletin-October 2009-Volume 50, #8-Prescription drugs consume a big chunk of health care costs-more than 10%. Here are some of the 50 drugs that doctors prescribed most in 2008:

1. Hydrocodone – pain

2. Lisinopril – hyper tension

3. Simvastatin – high cholesterol

7. Lipitor – high cholesterol

20. Oxycodone – pain

40. Prevacid – ulcer/reflux

50. Trimethoprim – bacterial infections

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