tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post317353539111166139..comments2024-01-02T02:45:17.328-06:00Comments on Notes from Dr. RW: I’ll take $67 million to go with that, please!Robert W Donnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16944231400440786271noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-57631841551219408642008-03-14T04:38:00.000-05:002008-03-14T04:38:00.000-05:00speaking of cardiology:http://adventuresincardiolo...speaking of cardiology:http://adventuresincardiology.wordpress.com/Dan Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090712003224914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-47028120104043999712008-03-14T01:01:00.000-05:002008-03-14T01:01:00.000-05:00I have read a number of medical issue blogs, and I...I have read a number of medical issue blogs, and I must compliment those that wrote before me. Rather than the usual hysteria that I have seen (such as a year and a half ago when drug eluting stents seemed to be causing problems, and the number of patients and their relatives were screaming that the docs were just there to make money and if anything happened, their estates would sue everybody), Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-88805934171634761672008-03-06T20:05:00.000-06:002008-03-06T20:05:00.000-06:00If celebrities expect perfection and universal goo...If celebrities expect perfection and universal good outcomes, then threaten our very livelihood with huge lawsuits that go beyond our malpractice coverage when they don't get it, why should we want to take care of them at all? How about this line: "I'm sorry Mr. Celebrity, I can't be your doctor. I am not adequately insured in the event you have an adverse outcome." The reward isn't any greater Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-88985235434599990102008-03-04T16:56:00.000-06:002008-03-04T16:56:00.000-06:00It is interesting. A family seeks $67 million for...It is interesting. A family seeks $67 million for lost future earnings. What if Ritters life was saved? Should the docs involved be compensated in kind for preserving such a valuable life? Why is a leg lost to negligence worth millions when a leg preserved due to medical skill be worth a few thousand or less?<BR/>BillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-64700834263164919472008-02-24T10:20:00.000-06:002008-02-24T10:20:00.000-06:00This from Dr. Lisa Sanders, NYThttp://www.nytimes....This from Dr. Lisa Sanders, NYT<BR/><BR/>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/magazine/24wwln-diagnosis-t.html?ref=todayspaperDan Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090712003224914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-152837784989601002008-02-23T00:56:00.000-06:002008-02-23T00:56:00.000-06:00John Ritter initially presented with nausea/vomiti...John Ritter initially presented with nausea/vomiting and a normal ECG, then developed chest pain after arrival in the ER and after the initial examination. A second ECG showed evolving ischemia and that's when the cardiologist Dr. Lee was immediately called and arrived 10 minutes later. A CT chest angiogram, if ordered, would have taken at least 60 or more minutes to obtain. A portable chest Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-36189497402793736212008-02-14T17:00:00.000-06:002008-02-14T17:00:00.000-06:00Bravo to the docs and happy hospitalist's comments...Bravo to the docs and happy hospitalist's comments. You clearly know what you are talking about.<BR/><BR/>I suspect that the actual facts of the case will be posted.<BR/><BR/>What we do know from the AP, is that the Defense attorneys will provide evidence that Ritter had failed an insurance exam 3 years prior to the incident for "incredibly abnormal" blood levels. Triglycerides were 7 times Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-67730316128496825742008-02-13T22:07:00.000-06:002008-02-13T22:07:00.000-06:00Plaintiff's lawyer here (though I don't do med-mal...Plaintiff's lawyer here (though I don't do med-mal-- because I don't want docs to hate me, and because I think so few of the claims are meritorious). I found the physician comments here very interesting and informative and stopped in to offer my $0.02.<BR/><BR/>I can't speak to the medical facts asserted but would like to add a bit of a lawyer's perspective without a dog in this fight. <BR/><BR/>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-25926442385906177062008-02-06T10:31:00.000-06:002008-02-06T10:31:00.000-06:00Well, "nearly killed" doesn't convey it all. What ...Well, "nearly killed" doesn't convey it all. <BR/><BR/>What happened was that the "attending physician" had let a trainee perform a pulmonary vein ablation procedure. The attending is on record as telling colleagues that at teaching hospitals such as Johns Hopkins, "the attending shows up to be there during the burn." (Which came as news to my wife and me).<BR/><BR/>So the trainee manipulates a Dan Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090712003224914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-5556474120895440272008-02-06T08:33:00.000-06:002008-02-06T08:33:00.000-06:00" My wife nearly died. ... we were not compensated..." My wife nearly died. ... we were not compensated for very real losses."<BR/><BR/>I nearly died in a traffic accident some 20 years ago. I can't think of any real losses because the keyword is "nearly".<BR/><BR/>What losses does a person suffer when something almost happens.<BR/><BR/>I wonder not only because of your statement, but because of the mega-suit filed by the famous celerity couple Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-1325464121222850992008-02-05T17:26:00.000-06:002008-02-05T17:26:00.000-06:00The happy hospitalist is right on the money.A lot...The happy hospitalist is right on the money.A lot of doctors practice defensive medicine.Obtaining ct scans and MRI when the patients have no clinical findings.These tests lead to more tests and causes anxiety to the patient.It is time to fine the attorneys who bring lawsuits that are not justified.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-53089463858737524242008-02-05T14:10:00.000-06:002008-02-05T14:10:00.000-06:00Well put.Well put.Dan Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090712003224914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-42601404189078942712008-02-05T13:34:00.000-06:002008-02-05T13:34:00.000-06:00What's happening here and thousands of times a yea...What's happening here and thousands of times a year all throught out the country is lawyers and families are suing a differential diagnosis.<BR/><BR/>Aortic dissection is but one of many possible diagnosis that can present in very similar ways, both clinically and often times objectively. <BR/><BR/>It is not rare that treatment of one condition of high suspicion can cause harm if another The Happy Hospitalisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14392872203166584371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-21574010503637635592008-02-05T08:45:00.000-06:002008-02-05T08:45:00.000-06:00I agree with you doc. Seems to me that the the phy...I agree with you doc. Seems to me that the the physicians acted in good faith - unlike what happend to my wife at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Hugh Calkins told us HE was going to do a procedure. But he let a trainee perform the procedure without our knowledge or consent. My wife nearly died. We're not rich or famous, so we were not compensated for very real losses.Dan Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090712003224914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14743001.post-75345517475692352662008-02-04T22:54:00.000-06:002008-02-04T22:54:00.000-06:00There is not enough information to judge whether e...There is not enough information to judge whether errors were made and, if so, how substantial they were. Whether there was a quick palpation of carotid, radial, and femoral pulses is not noted. This takes seconds and should be done in virtually all patients with chest pain. Marked pulse deficits may provide a strong indication that dissection may exist. Was heparin begun before this simple Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com