Medical Negligence Litigation Research Articles

The reform of civil justice and its effect on medical negligence litigation.

The reform of civil justice and its effect on medical negligence litigation.

Book Review: Medical Negligence Litigation: A Practitioner's Guide

Book Review: Medical Negligence Litigation: A Practitioner's Guide

Medical Negligence Litigation: A Practitioner's Guide

Stephen Irwin, Claire Fazan, Richard Allfrey Legal Action Group, pounds sterling35, pp 400 ISBN 0 905099 55 9 Few who are concerned with medical negligence litigation, either as practitioners or as academics, can fail to be struck by the comparative dearth of lawyers specialising in the subject, especially as medical negligence has become “big business” in recent years. Something that goes a long way to explaining this phenomenon is the fact that the language of medical litigation is often perceived as prohibitively esoteric: medical terms are not something with which most lawyers are ordinarily familiar. This linguistic hurdle dissuades many from specialising in medical malpractice. To all …

BOOK REVIEWS

Journal Article BOOK REVIEWS Get access STEPHEN IRWIN, CLAIRE FAZAN and RICHARD ALLFREY, Medical Negligence Litigation: A Practitioner's Guide, Legal Action Group (in association with Action for Victims of Medical Accidents), 1995, 379 pp. £35. John Grace John Grace Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Medical Law Review, Volume 3, Issue 3, AUTUMN 1995, Pages 327–329, https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/3.3.327 Published: 01 October 1995

Medical Negligence Litigation, Claims Handling and Risk Management

From the point of view of a medical defence organisation, the author discusses the British system for civil litigation in relation to health care, assessing the scale of the problem and the factors that bear on it. He outlines the place of the medical defence organisations and of health authorities within the present structure, with particular regard to claims handling and risk management.

Medical negligence litigation in Britain: current flaws and possible alternatives

The increase of litigation against doctors in Britain has drawn attention to the serious deficiencies in the current machinery of litigation as a means of providing a remedy to the iatrogenically damaged individual; nor is the process sufficiently effective, efficient or fair. Consideration of alternative means of dealing with medical injury, as they have been developed in New Zealand and Sweden, lead to the conclusion that serious consideration should be given to the introduction in Britain of a no-fault compensation scheme despite some of its inherent deficiencies.

Medical negligence litigation: the need for reform.

Medical negligence litigation: the need for reform.

Wrongful Birth

In the U.K. there has been a considerable increase in medical negligence litigation. Children born with congenital abnormalities cannot sue for having been allowed to be born but their parents can claim for the costs of their care if they can prove that appropriate care would have led to a termination of pregnancy. Six children who are the subject of such proceedings are described and the alleged faults that led to their neural tube defects not being recognised are detailed. General recommendations for a consistent antenatal approach to the diagnosis and management of neural tube defects are suggested.

Medical negligence litigation. Medical assessment of claims.

Medical negligence litigation. Medical assessment of claims.

Medical negligence litigation in Northern Ireland.

Medical negligence litigation in Northern Ireland.

Medical Negligence Litigation

Medical Negligence Litigation

485 A FAILURE IN MEDICAL AND RESIDENT EDUCATION THE UNSCRUPULOUS EXPERT WITNESS

The exponential increase in malpractice suits and medical negligence litigation has brought an increasing number of physicians into the courtroom as expert witnesses for the plaintiffs and the defense. Analysis of the testimony reveals that medical expert witnesses are frequently confused about their role in court. This confusion occurs for several reasons. Medical students and residents are given no organized or scholarly exposure to the courtroom. Experts frequently believe that they should be active participants in winning a case. Taking on this inappropriate role frequently results in dishonesty and lack of scholarship. The financial remuneration for expert witnesses has reached a level that has made it an attractive area for unscrupulous professional witnesses. It is essential that the quality and accuracy of expert testimony be improved. Although major changes in the judicial process could correct many aspects of this problem, it is unlikely to be forthcoming. The most immediate solution would be to publicize the testimony of expert witnesses so that the entire medical profession can scrutinize the level of an expert witness' scholarship. (HD 630; HD 7075; HD 11038)