A congressional committee, which has been convened to look at ways to trim the federal budget and reduce budget deficits, has been hearing from physician lobby groups and other representatives of the healthcare industry.According to these people, healthcare costs can be reduced by limiting damages available to patients through medical…
Georgia SC Throws Out $350,000 Cap on Noneconomic Damages in Medical Malpractice Claims It’s been a while coming, but the much-awaited judgment that trial lawyers in Atlanta and victims of medical malpractice have been waiting for, is finally here. The Georgia Supreme Court yesterday threw out the $350,000 cap on…
Georgia’s Medical Malpractice Law Challenged in Supreme Court The Georgia Supreme Court is hearing arguments relating to a key provision of the state’s tort reform laws, which requires plaintiffs in a medical malpractice action to establish that an emergency room doctor was guilty of gross negligence. The hearings revolve around…
It looks like Governor Sonny Purdue’s plans for tort reform in Georgia have hit the speed breakers sooner than he had anticipated.On March 10th, the senate approved a substantially tamer version of a bill that would have made plaintiffs pay in the case of a losing lawsuit. The original bill…
Governor Sonny Purdue is at it again – he has proposed legislation aimed at reducing the number of "frivolous" lawsuits," including measures that are clearly aimed at making it harder for plaintiffs to initiate civil litigation against companies.Purdue’s proposals, which he unveiled at a breakfast meeting of the Georgia Chamber…
The Tort Reform Act of 2005 may be going up on appeal. In 2005 Georgia legislators saw fit to pass a Tort Reform Act that, among other things, gave emergency room doctors virtual immunity from negligence suits. That bill provided that the ER staff cannot be held liable for damages…
Last week, a divided Georgia Supreme Court in Nathans v. Diamond, S07A0738 tightened the rules relating to expert testimony in medical malpractice cases. In 2003, Dr. Andrew Diamond of Northside Ear, Nose and Throat (Northside ENT) performed surgery on plaintiff Nathans to correct his sleep apnea.During the surgery, Nathan suffered…