Criminal penalty for false data in cancer drug research

Writing in The Conversation today, Odile Gotts & Reema Rattan report:A British scientist convicted of scientific fraud last month for falsifying research data has been sentenced to three months jail. Steven Eaton is the first person to serve time under the UK’s Good Laboratory Practice Regulations, 1999.Eaton had tampered with data from pre-clinical trials of an …

Appeal allowed in obesity surgery case

The New South Wales Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal brought by Dr Varipatis, against a judgment previously obtained against him by Mr Almario. In Varipatis v Almario [2013] NSWCA 76, the Court of Appeal held (quoting from the summary provided by the Court):   1. A general practitioner may be obliged, in taking …

Blood transfusion order: 17 year old, Jehovah’s Witness faith

Whilst an adult may refuse life-saving treatment and there are a number of examples where a court has ordered treatment of a young child against a parent's religious preferences, this matter deals with the situation of a 17 year old, in a position to express his own wishes. Such persons are sometimes called 'mature minors'.The …

New edition: Ethics & Law for the Health Professions

Ethics and Law for the Health Professions by Ian Kerridge, Michael Lowe and Cameron Stewart is a cross-disciplinary medico-legal book published by Federation Press.The new 4th edition has been extensively revised and updated to take account of developments in law, biomedical science, healthcare delivery and bioethics. Sections dealing with critical reasoning, problem solving, professionalism, negligence, standards of …

3% of doctors draw 49% of all complaints

Released today by BMJ Quality & Safety onilne is a fascinating and novel research report by Marie Bismark & others, entitled Identification of doctors at risk of recurrent complaints. The research results arguably hold significant implications for the health complaints commissions, the Medical Board and the medical indemnity insurers. The authors explain: The distribution of …

Health care rights of pregnant women

The AMA today released its Position Statement on Maternal Decision-Making.The Position Statement highlights the AMA’s policy on maternal decision-making, where a pregnant woman has the same right to privacy, body integrity, and to make her own informed, autonomous health care decisions as any competent individual. 

Canadian birth trauma case: Ediger v Johnston

Ediger v Johnston is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which addresses causation of bradycardia by an attempted mid level forceps delivery.The doctor did not take precautions to ensure that, in the event of bradycardia, the child could have been delivered by Caesarean section without injury.  He took no steps before beginning the mid‑level forceps …

National Disability Insurance Scheme – An interview

In podcast interview by Dr Annette Katelaris for Medical Observer newspaper, former AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce speaks about aspects of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, The interview covers:The interplay between the NDIS and litigationThe intergovernmental stalemate about the proposed NIISBirth injuries

Chiropractic treatment damaging breast implant

Jurkovic v Hubbard was a successful claim for medical negligence against a chiropractor, before the NSW District Court. The patient asserted that the chiropractor did not take a medical history from her before performing treatments for neck and shoulder pain. The court found that the manner of treatment was not appropriate as a chiropractic procedure and that …

The Vanishing Trial

A development not confined to the medical litigation sphere of course, but many have noted the reduction in the number of disputes requiring a trial for finalisation of the dispute. AIHW data from 2010-2011 suggests only 3% of medical indemnity claims finalise through a court decision.An article by John Langbein in the Yale Law Journal …