Making a Case For New Thinking About Whistleblowing & Retaliation

It is sweet and simple, there are laws designed to protect Whistleblowers. There are laws that reward whistleblowers with lots and lots of money. Yet we hear about people going to jail or being sued for doing what you or I may consider blowing the whistle on some wrong or injustice. The fact is that like most things in our society there are laws which proscribe how something has to be done. Bottom line - if you think you could be a whistleblower, call an attorney first to figure out if you are protected and if so is there any special way you have to do it. http://t.co/MBTml32wTt

Medical Malpractice in the Outpatient Setting

JAMA a well-respected medical journal, recently included a commentary on studies of Medical Malpractice cases filed in one year in Massachusetts. Although not the general focus of the article there was an interesting fact that is consistent with what we have seen in many of the Medical Malpractice cases that we have handled. 72% of medical malpractice claims against general internists and family physicians in Massachusetts are claims of a failure to diagnose. In simple terms almost three quarters of the malpractice claims against the first line of medical defense, the family Doc, are related to a doctor saying don’t worry about that, or not catching something he/she should have caught. The malpractice claims against these Family Docs and Internists were against less than 4% of the Docs. So an individual’s risk is very low.

One way that you can protect yourself from being a victim of Malpractice, is to not only to give a sigh of relief when a Doc tells you not to worry about this or that. Rather if you think it may be bad, seek a second opinion. If possible go to a doctor experienced in that particular issue. You wouldn't trust your malpractice claim to just any lawyer; in the same way you should be careful not to trust your deepest concerns to just any doctor.