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Florida Doctors With No Insurance Leave Patients Vulnerable

Eddie Farah — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:43:00 GMT

When you go to the doctor you make an assumption – that they have a license, they are a professional, that they went to medical school and have additional experience in a specialty.

Maybe you assume they have malpractice insurance, just in case something goes wrong. After all doctors do make about one million medical errors a year.

However as the old adage goes, never assume.

The Sun-Sentinel newspaper investigated a Florida physician database and finds that one-third of the physicians in Miami do not have medical malpractice insurance, and nearly one out of four doctors in Broward and Palm Beach counties are going without coverage. It's the highest uninsured doctor rate in the country. Many are being encouraged to opt out by financial advisers who say the doctors will then become a less likely target of trial attorneys.

But what about the patients? Let’s say the doctor cuts off the wrong leg, or leaves a sponge in you. Perhaps he doesn’t read the latest on a controversial drug that’s about to be taken off the market. The damage is bad enough, but without coverage, you are essentially being harmed twice. You can lose the ability to work, an income, and have mounting medical bills that you must cover if the doctor elects to go uncovered.

Most lawyers will tell you to forget filing a lawsuit, there is no insurance from which to collect.

Essentially you are walking a tight-rope without a safety net if you choose one of these doctors.

This is nothing new. For decades doctors in Florida have been able to go without medical malpractice coverage. Doctors must alert customers by posting a sign in their office. And they must promise to pay up to $250,000 if a patient receives a malpractice award, and the doctor does not opt to go bankrupt to avoid a large judgment, which is his option. One can very quickly amass a medical bill of $250,000, following a serious medical injury.

Chiropractor and Florida State Senator Dennis Jones, R- Seminole is trying to require doctors to have coverage. He points out that you need insurance to drive a cab, but not to do brain surgery? BTW- chiropractors, midwives, some nurses and optometrists must still carry coverage.

The state allowed doctors to opt out of coverage years ago to combat the high cost of malpractice premiums that can easily run into the mid-five and even six-figure range for a specialty. Five years ago, the state legislature tried to protect doctors further by limiting a pain-and-suffering award to $500,000 or up to $1 million if a medical error results in death.

Doctors were granted that protection at the same time insurance companies were allowed to charge exorbitant premiums and make record profits of 20 percent in 2006. Did anyone think of asking insurance companies to lower their premiums for doctors? Consumers are the losers here.

Please don't fail to ask your doctor if he or she has medical malpractice insurance- Never assume!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Couple Settles Wrongful Death Suit With NAS Jax

Eddie Farah — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:04:00 GMT

A couple who filed a $15 million lawsuit against the government for the wrongful death of their 15-month-old son, has settled their lawsuit for $900,000.

Thomas and Jessica Hugaboom, who've moved to Virginia, reached the out-of-court agreement last week. They said through their attorney, they did not want to go through a trial.

In 2004, their 7-month-old son, Michael, died of meningitis that was undiagnosed after three trips to the emergency room while his father was stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

In their lawsuit, the couple says they brought Michael to the emergency room in February 2004 because of a high fever. As the fever got worse over the next three days.

Different doctors told them the child had chicken pox, would be fine, and that they shouldn't return because the baby was contagious. No blood work or urine samples were done to determine that the baby had meningitis and an entire body-wide bacterial infection.

Within a week the baby was dead.

This is just the latest in an entire string of medical malpractice incidents at NAS Jax. A $60 million negligence award to the parents of another baby boy born at NAS Jax with severe brain damage.

In August 2005, a judge awarded a blind Jacksonville boy and his parents $5.9 million after finding that his blindness was caused by negligence in the emergency room.

In 2003, a woman claimed she was given an unnecessary hysterectomy after a misdiagnosis. And a Jacksonville woman died of a heart attack there after undergoing elective hip surgery done without a cardiac evaluation.

NAS Jax is the fourth- largest medical hospital in the Navy and serves roughly 200,000 service men and women and their eligible beneficiaries.

Under federal law, the family’s lawyers receive 25 percent of the settlement. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Five More Lawsuits Filed Against Same Georgia Doc

Eddie Farah — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:32:26 GMT

They say that it is the same doctors who make the bulk of medical mistakes.
This story is about one Waycross, Georgia surgeon who seems to fit that profile.

Five more patients of Dr. Najam Azmat have filed lawsuits against him and Satilla Regional Medical Center. They say they were injured by the doctor's incompetence. Among the charges - the doctor allegedly tore one patient's arteries while attempting to insert stents. In another case, he allegedly operated on the wrong leg.

A lawsuit filed in January accuses Dr. Azmat of punching a hole in the artery of a woman while trying to restore blood flow. She later died.

As with that lawsuit, the five new ones assert that Satilla Heath Services Inc., hospital President Robert Trimm and hospital Chief Operating Officer Windell Smith allowed Azmat to continue practicing although they knew he was incompetent to perform the surgical procedures. Three of the lawsuits also name as defendants Harmon Raulerson, supervisor of Satilla Heart Center, and Jonathan Abbott, supervisor of the catheterization lab at Satilla Heart Center.

The suits say the hospital should not have granted Dr. Azmat the right to practice on patients and name Satilla as well.

The hospital says it is following professional procedures and it accuses lawyers of finding many targets of the lawsuits to circumvent a Georgia law that caps punitive damages to $350,000 per named defendant.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Doctors Want To Protect Their Reputations

Eddie Farah — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:21:00 GMT

We’ve already warned consumers against signing binding arbitration documents when going to the doctor’s office and presented with a pile of paperwork to sign. Binding arbitration means you will never be able to sue a doctor if there is an unfortunate case of medical malpractice.

Now within that same pile of paperwork is another red flag for consumers to watch for. A group out of North Carolina called Medical Justice says its signed up about 2,000 doctors nationwide who present their form to their patients. Once signed, it prohibits you from speaking publicly online about your doctor.

Medical Justice founder and neurosurgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Segal, founded the company a few years ago to prevent so-called “frivolous lawsuits,” a favorite phrase to conger up hate for lawyers while providing blanket of immunity for companies that do wrong.

The company’s “Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy” form promises the patient “will not denigrate, defame, disparage or cast aspersions upon,” the doctor. And you friends and family cannot either.

The prohibition applies to a service like Angie’s List, which launched a health-care rating service in March.

Founder, Angie Hicks told Florida Health News in an e-mail, “As a consumer advocate, I would oppose this practice as nothing short of an attempt to steal the consumers’ right to free speech.”

Whether you put your name on a post or not, make a positive comment or a negative one, the Medical Justice form applies.

“We’re not opposed to free speech,” Segal said to the publication. “The problem is the whole notion of being able to post anything you want. The physician can’t defend himself.”

However, one would presume if a post is public, a doctor would be able to also publish a post in response. Sounds dangerously like the suppression of free speech to me and a very bad public relations move if doctors want the public to have faith in them again.

Bottom line - when you sign up with a new doctor, read very carefully ALL of the paperwork you are asked to sign – if you see a binding arbitration form which keeps you from exercising your right to the courts, or a consent form not to speak, which violates your free speech rights – run the other way. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Woman Sues Naval Hospital For Amputation

Eddie Farah — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:01:19 GMT

June McDowell was supposed to be going in for knee replacement surgery. Instead something went terribly wrong during her 2005 surgery at the Naval Hospital Jacksonville. Now McDowell is suing.

McDowell told Channel 4 the last two years have been a nightmare. She is wheelchair bound and cannot be fitted for a prosthetic device.

"I have a bed that I lay in, you know. I just can't do anything. I can't be by myself," McDowell said. "They've taken my life away from me."

NAS Jacksonville has been the subject of several lawsuits for medical malpractice and had promised changes. This time Commanding Officer Capt. Raquel Bono released the following statement about McDowell's case:

"The McDowell family has my deepest sympathy. The hospital staff and all who were involved in Mrs. McDowell's care share my concern for her situation. We remain available to provide any support or assistance to the McDowell family."

Last year the parents of a little boy sued the hospital for $100 million alleging his delivery caused cerebral palsy.

In November 2006, a woman filed a five million dollar lawsuit alleging that she was operated on with dirty surgical instruments. A couple sued in 2005 alleging the hospital was responsible for their child's death.

And another couple received nearly $61 million after their baby suffered brain injury during delivery. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Who Does Limiting Attorney's Fees Eventually Hurt?

Eddie Farah — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:37:00 GMT

An opinion in the Wall Street Journal this week talks about a bill introduced in the Florida
legislature, HB 903, that would limit the amount a trial attorney could take home in the case of a trial that is brought by the state.

What happens in high profile cases brought by the state Attorney General’s office is that outside firms will be brought in to help with cases. This occurs in mass litigation such as tobacco, pharmaceutical litigation or insurance fraud.

In Florida, the proposed bill would cap attorney’s fees at $50 million, while outside law firms helping with a case would be capped to 24% of the first $10 million, 20% of the next five million and 15 % of the following five million.

The lawyer would be paid at the end of the day. Remember these trials never take a day, or a month, or even a year. Sometimes it takes decades of uncompensated work to finally bring a case to resolution.

Florida already has caps on attorney’s fees. The Florida Constitution limits the contingent fee in a medical malpractice cases.

And the Florida Bar has adopted a maximum fee schedule that attorneys are permitted to charge in personal injury, property damage, product liability and auto accidents. Limits apply in medical malpractice cases if you agree to waive you right to recovery under the Florida Constitution.

And let’s not forget that in November 2004, Florida voters approved Amendment 3, even though virtually every major newspaper editorial recommended voters reject it. The medical lobby was the backer of Amendment 3, so that lawsuits could be reduced. And it’s worked. Many have been unable to find lawyers to represent them in malpractice cases.

The bottom line is that limiting reasonable fees is bad for the consumer because it limits the number of attorneys willing to take their case and limits the time they spend on individual cases. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Make Sure Your Doctor Has Insurance

Eddie Farah — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Florida is facing a health care crisis right around the corner.

First there was the failing grade for access to Florida’s emergency rooms. Then there was a forecast of a doctor shortage with the word that the majority of the state’s doctors are over the age of 45.

The latest report came in December when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a ten-year high for mass layoffs in health care in the state. Mass layoffs are defined as a staff reduction of at least 50 people. Florida only trails California and Indiana in layoffs with more projected for the next few months.

What’s interesting is that layoffs are happening at a time when medical care is one of the few growth industries - so look to the next round of cuts in administration functions that do not involve direct patient care.

With a doctor shortage in the making added to reports that 13 percent of state doctors plan to reduce or leave medicine altogether in the next five years – who will take care of our population?

Florida could use 755 providers immediately, and more doctors accepting Medicare. Currently just two doctors have 100 Medicare beneficiaries in Florida.

What might help is a lowering of our high medical malpractice insurance- reported to be the highest in the country. With doctors paying from $50,000 to $200,000 a year, some doctors are opting out of carrying any medical malpractice insurance at all. And your doctor may not have a sign on his wall advising you of that fact.

Reportedly the trend of going without medical malpractice insurance is rising, with one-quarter to one-third of South Florida and one-eights statewide opting out of malpractice insurance under a state law that provides a loophole.

It would be wise to think twice about visiting any doctor who does not carry malpractice insurance and wiser still to have our state legislature revisit the insurance giants' medical malpractice premiums in Florida that is creating a costly situation that no one can afford. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Uninsured Benefit From Right To Know Act

Eddie Farah — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:15:00 GMT

Beginning January 1, 2009, the Health Care Consumer’s Right to Information Act will provide medical consumers with reliable and understandable information about health care charges so a patient can make an informed decision.

The law is aimed at helping the uninsured patient who is seeking doctor or hospital services. Generally they are charged the full retail rate, not the lower rate presented to an insured patient whose insurance company has negotiated.

This puts the uninsured at a distinct disadvantage. The uninsured are more likely to be sued by a medical provider and have liens placed against their property and their wages garnished.

This Act requires that an uninsured patient receive a reasonable estimate of charges whether from a hospital, ambulatory center, osteopath, or allopathic physician for any planned nonemergency health care.

In addition, the consumer must be told about the discounts available for the uninsured they may be eligible for. The language must be written in clear and concise way to be understood by the ordinary layperson.

The estimate must be the average that is charged for that type of diagnosis or for that specific procedure.

This requirement applies to facilities not operated by the state. Within seven days after the patient notifies the facility they are uninsured, they must be provided with the estimate.

In the reception area of the facility, information about discount or charity policies must be posted. To fail to do so subjects the facility to a $500 fine.

A patient who wants to know what the standard retail rate is for 150 of the most commonly performed inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic, or preventive adult and pediatric procedures, can check with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which must publish that information on its Web site.

It’s ironic that people who have the least ability to pay are the ones preyed on by the medical establishment. A hospital can be very aggressive about collecting an overdue bill and many people are forced into bankruptcy as a result. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Growing Number of Floridians Without Health Insurance

Eddie Farah — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:14:48 GMT

Here are the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.

They tell us that Floridians are increasingly opting to go without health insurance. The latest count -- one in four residents, under age 65, did not have health insurance coverage last year. In terms of numbers, that translates to almost four million Floridians.

Back in 2002, one in five Floridians lacked health coverage.

Those numbers underscore that the delivery of medical care is broken and needs to be fixed. So Friday, a panel that advises insurance companies will meet in Orlando to consider what to do.

There is some optimism that the numbers of people enrolled in commercial health insurance rose slightly last year.

The board's report painted a mixed picture of health insurance coverage in the state, pointing out the number of persons covered in the commercial health insurance market also been increasing recently, from 4.2 million covered lives in 2005 to 4.5 million covered lives in 2006. However, that was the first yearly increase in total enrollment since 2001, when there were 5.1 million covered lives.

Part of the picture has to be to make premiums reasonable for everyone to pay. And the group will discuss making insurance more affordable for businesses with fewer than ten employees. Look at parents being able to include their children up to the age of 30 to be covered as well as some sort of coverage for all college students.

One in four going without costs us all too much.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Infant Son's Death Case Settled With Naval Hospital

Eddie Farah — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 23:19:08 GMT

Thomas and Jessica Hugaboom say they just didn't want to go to trial.

Instead, the couple has settled their 7-month old son's death with the Jacksonville Naval Hospital for $900,000.

The court records show the Hubagooms visited the hospital's emergency room three times with their infant son, Michael, while Thomas was stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

While the baby's condition worsened, doctors misdiagnosed him as suffering from bronchitis, then chicken pox. They told the Hugabooms not to return to the emergency room because their son was contageous.

The baby later died of undiagnosed meningitis.

The couple had filed a $15 million federal claim alleging negligence led to their son's death.

A separate $15 million claim filed by the parents of Justin Shantz, who died of Meningococcal sepsis in June, 2005, is still pending as is the $150 million lawsuit filed earlier this year by an Orange Park couple, suing the Naval hospital for improper care of their son, born with cortical blindness.

For more information on this subject matter please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah