Hardesty, Tyde, Green & Ashton, P.A. blog

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Doctors in Hospitals May Not Carry Malpractice Insurance

Until recently, most Florida courts had ruled that doctors providing medical services to patients in a hospital had to have at least $250,000 in medical malpractice insurance or other available assets in that amount to pay any medical malpractice judgment against them. If the physician did not have this minimum insurance coverage or an ability to pay at least $250,000 of the judgment, the hospital granting them privileges would be responsible for paying up to $250,000 in damages to the patient. Most Florida courts had felt that requiring the hospitals to ensure financial protection of their patients by ensuring that doctors granted privileges to practice at the hospitals had minimum levels of malpractice insurance was good public policy.

In a decision announced on May 24, 2007, however, the Florida Supreme Court has overruled these courts and held that the hospitals have no such financial responsibility. While the individual physician is supposed to carry this insurance, if he fails to do so or has no other assets from which to pay the damages in a medical malpractice case, the injured patient may be left with nothing. In fact, in the case decided by the Florida Supreme Court, the physician practicing at the hospital was from another country, had no malpractice insurance or other significant assets, and left the United States after his trial. His patient ultimately suffered amputation of her right thumb as a result of the doctor's negligent treatment according to the jury.

From this point forward, patients need to be fully aware that their treating physicians may not have medical malpractice insurance even though it is mandated by state law. Patients need to also fully understand that the hospital is not responsible any longer for ensuring that doctors practicing at the hospital have this coverage.

posted by Attorney Frank Ashton at 1:02 PM

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Warnings for Antidepressants Used by Young Adults Proposed by FDA

The Food and Drug Administration has just announced proposed labeling changes for many popular antidepressants used by adults and children alike. The labeling changes, however, apply only to use of these drugs by young adults (ages 18-24). The FDA is now concerned that recent studies have shown increased suicidal thoughts and behavior in young adults taking these medications and wants the labeling to provide additional warnings about this. These warnings are already required for children younger than 18 who are taking antidepressants. The critical period of time in many of these cases is the first several weeks after the medication is started.

For parents, it is particularly important that you closely observe your children during this period. Any suicidal tendencies must be addressed by the physician promptly. While antidepressants can be very helpful in some cases, they can prove deadly in others. Some of the medications proposed by the FDA for labeling changes include well-known drugs such as: Elavil, Effexor, Lexapro, Pamelor, Paxil, Prozac, Seroquel, Wellbutrin, Zoloft and Zyban.

If your child has injured himself in an attempted suicide or actually committed suicide while taking one of these antidepressants, you may want to speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

posted by Attorney Frank Ashton at 2:59 PM