Law Med Blog

Supervision Of CRNAs Does Not Create Liability For Surgeons

April 05, 2012 lawmed 8 Comments

By Greg Stocks, The Law Med Blog

While any author certainly prefers that the reader take the time to read his or her work in its entirety, for those who want a quick answer without the evidence and law explained, here it is: Surgeons do not expose themselves to greater liability when they work with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) alone vs physician anesthesiologists alone. Regardless of what anyone might tell you to the contrary, the courts and the case law are unambiguous and very complete on the matter. But don’t just believe me, read on for the irrefutable facts based in law.

It is worth noting from the outset that due to the incredible record of safety which the administration of anesthesia enjoys (so safe that it is the envy of every other medical and nursing specialty in this regard), concerns from surgeons over their liability exposure for anesthesia … (Continued…)

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MSU Enrolled Anyone With A Pulse For The Money, Fired Non Pulse-Taking Recruiters

April 02, 2012 lawmed No comments

We first turned our attention to West Virginia’s Mountain State University when a former student in their then probationed and now defunct school of nurse anesthesia. Christy Brewer filed suit in Federal Court in the Southern District of West Virginia July 5, 2011. Brewer completed the Spring, Summer and Fall 2007 semesters without ever receiving a syllabus for any class despite requesting one on multiple occaisions. Her requests for graded results of exams were denied. After completion of the Fall term she was told she that she had failed a pharmacology course by 0.2% points, despite not having been counseled that she had any performance issue in the course, per university policy. What followed, according to Brewer, was a bizarre course of events, well worth the read, which we reported in detail HERE.

At the time we had no inkling of the true mess that was, and is, the … (Continued…)

What Killed Whitney Houston: More Questions Than Answers, Murder?

March 22, 2012 lawmed 11 Comments

Law Med has recently been mulling over the idea of starting a dedicated “Celebrity Toxicology” page on this blog. There certainly is enough material to justify it and the first piece is already in place with our evaluation of the toxicology in the Michael Jackson case which even received a passing grade from practicing toxicologists. We now know what the second item would be. The case of Whitney Houston. And while it is early in the ‘public release of toxicology results’ phase of the case, Law Med has concerns over the results. We may never know the real cause of her death.

According to LA Coroner Chief Craig Harvey who held a press conference a few hours ago, drowning is the cause of death. More specifically, she drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel last month. “Drowning” is listed as Whitney’s official cause of death. Whitney Houston drowned … (Continued…)

CA Appeals Ct Says Nurse Anesthetists Can Practice Without Doc Supervision

March 19, 2012 lawmed 11 Comments

The California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco handed down their ruling Thursday that highly trained Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) can continue to practice anesthesia in the state as they always have, and have safely done as a profession for 100+ years….without a requirement that they be supervised by a physician.

Nursing and hospital organizations argued that surgery, obstetrics and emergency care, all dependent on anesthesia, would become more expensive and less available if in-person physician supervision was implemented as a requirement. Doctors suddenly claim that their supervision is a new requirement essential for patient safety. “Physicians are the ones who are most trained and educated to react when anesthesia goes wrong,” attorney Long Do, litigation director for the physicians’ 35,000-member California Medical Association, said Friday. The association has not decided whether to appeal the appeal he said.

An attorney for the California Association of Nurse Anesthetists … (Continued…)

Lawsuits For Unauthorized Release Of Private Medical Information

March 12, 2012 lawmed 18 Comments

We have previously written that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), while requiring private health information be kept private, does not allow for an individual to file a lawsuit based on a violation of HIPAA. While a HIPAA violation does not provide the right for an individual to file a lawsuit when private medical information is released, one may still have the basis for such a suit under the torts of Invasion of Privacy or Breach of Confidentiality.

Invasion of Privacy

State laws vary on the particulars, but in general an Invasion of Privacy lawsuit can be brought under three alternative theories: intrusion of seclusion, appropriation of a name or likeness of another, and publication of private facts. The release of personal medical information falls under the ‘publication of private facts’ category.

Who Can Sue for Publication of Private Facts?

Only actual live human beings, and … (Continued…)

Mountain State University Nursing School Loses State Accreditation

February 22, 2012 lawmed 1 Comment

It has been like watching a train crash in slow motion. The outcome inevitable. The passengers: the nursing students…not sure how injured they would be once their world stopped spinning. And now they know.

On the heels of a visit from representatives of the Higher Learning Commission sent to campus to decide whether the institution should remain accredited as a whole, Mountain State University in Beckley, West Virginia, received more bad news signaling the end of its nursing school. On Thursday, February 18th, the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Nurses announced effective August 31, 2012, the MSU school of nursing will no longer be accredited by the state.

The board placed the university’s nursing program on provisional accreditation in November 2010, and in December 2011, the board reviewed the accreditation after four nursing faculty members headed for the exit. Without such accreditation, the school cannot produce graduates eligible … (Continued…)

Lawsuit: Sisters Have Hospital Kill Multi Millionaire Father For Inheritence

February 10, 2012 lawmed No comments

Victorino Noval, 78, entered a Kaiser hospital in Southern California on April 28, 2010, with a diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia. He was intubated, placed on a mechanical ventilator, and sedated. His medical history included early stages of Parkinson’s, and COPD. Noval was totally independent prior to his hospitalization. He lived in his own home, drove his own car, performed his own daily living activities, managed his own finances and investments, and had an annual income of $3 Million. He was worth an estimated $60 Million.

On May 7th, 2010, despite exhibiting improvement in his pneumonia and having a positive prognosis for recovery, Kaiser staff removed Noval from his ventilator, extubated him, and then administered large doses of morphine with the sole intention being to bring about his death. They succeeded. And this was all done without consulting his son, Hector Nova, despite the fact that Kaiser had an executed durable … (Continued…)

Full Circle: Winkler County Atty Tidwell Has License Suspended

February 04, 2012 lawmed No comments

Things have been coming full circle in the extraordinary case of the Winkler County Texas Nurse Whistleblower Case over the past year and that circle may just have closed. The last bit of justice seems to have been served with the suspension of former Winkler County Attorney Scott Tidwell’s license to practice law in the state of Texas.

It all began in 2009 when Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle, two nurses working at Winkler County Memorial Hospital who were responsible for Quality Assurance, Risk Management and Medical Staff privileges advised hospital administrator Stan Wiley that one of their physicians, Dr. Rolando Arafiles, had violated the standard of care, hospital policies and made some serious medical errors. Wiley refused to take any action and told the two they were prohibited from reporting Arafiles to any outside agency without his approval, in violation of state law.

Concerned over the safety of their … (Continued…)

Pfizer (Akrimax) Recalls 1 Million Packets Of Birth Control Pills

February 01, 2012 lawmed No comments

Pfizer pharmaceuticals has recalled 1 million birth control pill packets because they “may not prevent pregnancy”, which is certainly an undesirable property in a birth control medication. From their press release issued last evening:

Pfizer Announces Voluntary Nationwide Recall Of Lo/Ovral®-28 And Norgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets Due To Possibility Of Inexact Tablet Counts Or Out Of Sequence Tablets

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc. announced today that it has voluntarily recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral®-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol)Tablets and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (generic)for customers in the U.S. market. An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence. The cause was identified and corrected immediately.

These products are oral contraceptives indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use oral contraceptives as a method of … (Continued…)

Green Tea Protects Liver In Acetaminophen Overdose

January 20, 2012 lawmed No comments

This is a bit of a departure from the usual content found on the Law Med Blog. Ten years ago I worked for a year or two at the Georgia Poison Center in Atlanta as a Poison Specialist taking calls that came into the center and advising on treatment. Calls were received from the public and also physicians and emergency rooms. One call sticks out and I have always regretted not publishing the event which occurred shortly before I left the center for another position. It involved a case of Tylenol poisoning which presented unlike any other reported case in the literature, or even known to the toxicology community in this country. A few toxicology blogs took notice of this Blog after our coverage of the toxicology in the Michael Jackson case. They may find this piece of some interest. We welcome any comments!

The call was from an … (Continued…)

Felon Dr. Norberg Defense Of Propofol Use On Wife FAILS [Video]

January 08, 2012 lawmed 1 Comment

In what can only be described as a pathetic attempt to justify what was at best gross medical negligence and unethical behavior, and at worst chemical incapacitation for the purpose of committing serial rape, Dr. Jon Norberg, 41, of Fargo N.D. went on camera Friday, days after pleading guilty to lesser charges of felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor sexual imposition.

If the public learned anything about propofol from the Michael Jackson case , it is the fact that it should NEVER be administered in someone’s home under ANY circumstances, and that it is a very dangerous drug in untrained hands. The good Dr. Norberg would have us believe that he is somehow qualified and even experienced in the administration of propofol and that a reasonable physician might inject his wife with it over and over to treat an illness. There is not an ounce of truth in this. Not an … (Continued…)

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