In litigation, the term venue means “the location where an action or proceeding may properly be brought and tried under the rules regulating the subject.” In other words, for each suit, there is a particular court where the plaintiff should file based on the situation’s unique facts. The Louisiana Code…
More than 98,000 people are killed each year as a result of medical errors. The rights of the deceased are protected in court through what is called a survival action, which allows the relatives to file a claim in place of the deceased for conscious pain and suffering, damage to…
Almost every person who is admitted at a hospital has had to deal with a nurse at some point. Nurses, like doctors, are responsible for providing medical care to patients and can be subject to liability if they deliver treatment that falls below the standard set forth by the law…
A recent Louisiana Court of Appeals decision does a good job of explaining the elements of a medical malpractice claim and some pitfalls that might be encountered along the way. In this case, Jessica Parker of Beau Bridge filed a suit against University Medical Center after she underwent two gall…
A patient visiting Lake Charles Hospital, located in Calcasieu Parish, filed a lawsuit against his treating physician alleging the doctor was negligent while diagnosing his symptoms. After the patient was hospitalized, the doctor ordered a stress test. Just minutes after the start of the test, the patient began to suffer…
Many people believe that the term “medical malpractice” means a doctor can be sued any time a doctor harms or makes a mistake while treating a patient. Like most states, Louisiana’s Medical Malpractice Act protects doctors from frivolous, or meritless litigation, meaning incidental harm or minor mistakes made by a…
Medical malpractice claims and recovery based on those claims are regulated by Louisiana statute. As such, the law places limits on the time an injured party has to file a claim. Once a claim is filed, the review process is subject to intermediate deadlines. As the following case demonstrates, a…
A 2004 Louisiana Supreme Court case provides a good explanation of the difference between Medical Malpractice and ordinary negligence. Not every negligent act of a qualified health care provider falls within the Medical Malpractice Act (MMA), La.Rev.Stat. 40:1299.41(1). In Williams v. Hospital Service of Jefferson, the plaintiff was injured as…
In October 2009, as Congress was caught up in the health care reform debate that is still raging on Capitol Hill, Merlyna Adams of LaPlace took a trip to Washington, D.C. to show legislators that she is not frivolous. Worried about proposals to limit patients rights in health care, Merlyna…