One of the most common reasons for psychiatric hospitalization is for patients determined to have an elevated risk of suicide. The goal of psychiatric hospitalization is to reduce that risk. Yet quality-assurance reviews of clinical records and analyses of litigated…
The “objective reasonableness standard” of police civil litigation was established by the United States Supreme Court in Graham vs. Conner in 1989. As a police practices expert, I cannot render an opinion as to the objective reasonableness of a police…
One of the first questions I am asked by attorneys as an expert witness is, “what do all those letters behind your name mean?” Nursing is a unique profession with its own designations and regulations, and credentialing is an essential…
It has been more than four years since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 20 children and 6 adults were killed by an outside attacker. Given the scope of this event as well as the national and…
Although most patients can spontaneously expel a kidney stone, nearly 10-20% of adults will ultimately need some type of operative procedure. Here, I’ll discuss common complications of kidney stone surgery that could become a source of medical-legal liability. Surgical Procedures…
Both a long-respected legal doctrine and a core principal of the hospitality industry, the top priority of hotel owners and operators is to protect the safety of their guests. Equally, owners and operators are usually deemed culpable for negligent behavior.…
However, the potential harm surgeons can inflict on patients during spinal surgery depends heavily on when, and if, a surgeon realizes their mistake. In this article, I will discuss the intricacies of wrong-level spinal surgery and considerations for attorneys in…
The majority of medical legal cases involving bodily injury require the expertise of an Orthopaedic Surgeon. Most accidents and industrial injuries involve the musculoskeletal system— including bone fractures, ligament injuries, or soft tissue injuries involving the extremities or spine. With…
Diabetes Mellitus is an extremely common disorder. The incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM2) has exploded in parallel with the rising incidence of obesity: so much so that the colloquial name Diabesity has come to designate the combination of…
News anchors frequently refer to a section of barrier as a barricade, and vice versa. Most people don’t know the difference between the two— however, temporary and permanent traffic control could not be more different. Permanent traffic control includes everything…