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ERCPs, the CDC, the FDA, & You 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

ERCPs, the CDC, the FDA, & You

Before doing medical malpractice work, I took for granted that doctors and hospitals would only use clean instruments and tools on patients.  That naivete is long since gone, and FDA Safety Communications like this reaffirm why.   A bit of medical background: Gastroenterologists and their staff who help with procedures called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)…

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Non-Competes Are Bad For The Little Guy and Bad for the Larger Economy 150 150 Dan Frith
  • Dan Frith

Non-Competes Are Bad For The Little Guy and Bad for the Larger Economy

Not my title but my sentiments exactly.  This title comes from an article recently published in Fortune magazine. Non-competes are employment contracts that prevent a departing employee (departing voluntarily or involuntarily) from working for a competitor for one year…or two years…or even three years.  The agreements are not only bad for individual workers but they are bad…

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5 Ways to Make Hospitals Safer 150 150 Dan Frith
  • Dan Frith

5 Ways to Make Hospitals Safer

I read with interest an op-ed letter in this week’s Wall Street Journal (May 18, 2016). The letter was written by James Lieber, a lawyer in Pittsburgh.  He noted the recently released studies revealing an astonishingly high number of Americans lose their lives each year due to preventable medical negligence.  His suggestions to improve patient care include:…

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Medical Errors are now the third leading cause of death in America 150 150 Dan Frith
  • Dan Frith

Medical Errors are now the third leading cause of death in America

Johns Hopkins researchers estimate that medical error is now the third leading cause of death in America.  The numbers are shocking: 1.  Heart Disease kills 614,348 each year 2.  Cancer kills 591,699 each year 3.  Medical Errors kill 251,454 each year Do the math.  That translates to 689 people die every day (365 days a year)…

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Dangerous Drug Combinations 150 150 Dan Frith
  • Dan Frith

Dangerous Drug Combinations

I read with interest today an article written by Joe and Teresa Graedon (The People’s Pharmacy) about dangerous drug combinations. The article described a patient who was taking an ACE inhibitor for high blood pressure who soon thereafter was prescribed Bactrim (an antibiotic).   Within days the patient reported almost passing out due to very low…

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The feds chime in on non-competes – part II – White House Report Podcast 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

The feds chime in on non-competes – part II – White House Report Podcast

Just a few days ago my partner Dan and I were discussing the Dept. of Treasury luke warm report on non-compete agreements.. and Dan asked, why are they doing this? It was a fair question. Why is Treasury spending time and money looking into the economic impact of restrictive covenants, and why be so luke…

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Dept. of Treasury Office of Economic Policy – Position paper on Non-Compete Agreements. My two cents. 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Dept. of Treasury Office of Economic Policy – Position paper on Non-Compete Agreements. My two cents.

So there is a new Report out on the economic costs of non-compete agreements. It upsets me a little. Okay, so it upsets me more than a little. It would be like a report, funded by tax payer dollars, that has the following conclusion: People who make and sell video games think they enhance brain…

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A hard conversation worth having: Dementia + Pain 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

A hard conversation worth having: Dementia + Pain

In about four weeks I will be leaving on a jet plane to Music City, to participate in the American Association for Justice Nursing Home Damages Seminar.  Yes, I plan to attend the event but also have been asked to speak about Dementia patients, and pain.  It isn’t the easiest topic to talk about, or…

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“Routine Procedure” anything but routine 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

“Routine Procedure” anything but routine

For years we have heard the following from families across western Virginia: My sister went in for a routine procedure, and now she is in ICU on a ventilator. I don’t know what happened, but something did.  We hear the phrase routine procedure, and we, as patients think – risk free. safe. no likelihood of complication.…

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Is Your Hospital Treating You Right? 150 150 Dan Frith
  • Dan Frith

Is Your Hospital Treating You Right?

It is not my question…but it is a great question.  Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz are asking the question.  The doctors have a syndicated newspaper column and website which are well worth the time to read.  The Roanoke Times ran the article today on whether your hospital is just offering you a big screen TV in…

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Let’s Move to the United Kingdom 150 150 Dan Frith
  • Dan Frith

Let’s Move to the United Kingdom

Let’s go.  Right now! The British government is investigating banning or severely restricting the use of non-compete clauses that specify where and how employees can work when they leave a business.  A government official is quoted as saying, “I am clear that I want to see more enterprising start-ups and greater productivity in a free and…

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Blue Pencil Provisions in Virginia Contracts 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Blue Pencil Provisions in Virginia Contracts

Lawyers come up with some strange names for things. It’s true. We plead. We allege. We say things like Notwithstanding, and aforementioned. We like funny words.  One name I am constantly explaining to clients is the working definition of ‘blue pencil provision.’ In contracts, a blue pencil provision allows the court, as a third party,…

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