NH Medical Malpractice News

What Makes New Hampshire's Medical Malpractice Laws Unique?

2011-06-24T16:19:00.000-04:00

Each state has unique laws specifically governing medical malpractice and medical liability trials, so it is important for your lawyer to be fully experienced in the laws and the courts in the state where your injury occurred. What is unique to NH's med mal laws? Most notably in NH, the state has no limits or caps on damage awards. In addition, the state requires any claims filed to be reviewed

Is NH State Medical Board Failing To Discipline Bad Doctors?

2011-03-29T20:54:00.001-04:00

According to an analysis by Public Citizen of data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, state medical boards have failed to discipline 55 percent of the nation’s doctors who either lost their clinical privileges or had them restricted by the hospitals where they worked. In New Hampshire, 54.9% of physicians with one or more clinical privileges suspended or limited received no licensure

NH Medical Liability/Malpractice Laws

2011-03-17T22:26:00.000-04:00

The National Conference of State Legislatures website summarizes the medical liability and malpractice laws by state. The chart is updated as of September 2010. It documents: Damage Award Limits or Cap Statute of Limitation Joint and Several Liability Limits on Attorney Fees Periodic Payments Patient Compensasion or Injury Fund Doctor Apologies/Sympathetic Gestures Pre-trial Alternative Dispute

NH Screening Panels Scrutinized

2011-02-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

Some interesting numbers are included in the NHBR report on New Hampshire's review of medical malpractice review panels. In The jury's still out on malpractice panels, Cindy Kibbe writes that according to figures from the state's Medical Malpractice Panel and Insurance Oversight Committee... "... there have been some 387 cases brought to the attention of screening panels since 2007, with 147

Trend in Medical Malpractice Claims Paid in New Hampshire

2011-02-03T10:59:00.006-05:00

According to data from StateHealthFacts.org, a website of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, New Hampshire had 47 medical malpractice claims paid in 2009 for total of $12,368,750 — that's an average of $263,165 per claim. New Hampshire ranks 37th in dollars paid. The chart below shows the trend in medical malpractice claims paid in New Hampshire from 2003 to 2009. View interactive chart on

Four New Hampshire Hospitals Join Together for Insurance Coverge

2011-01-24T07:55:00.000-05:00

The New Hampshire Business Review reports on four New Hampshire healthcare providers — LRGHealthcare, Concord Hospital, Elliot Health Systems of Manchester and Wentworth-Douglass Hospital — have joined to create Granite Shield Insurance Exchange. NHBR writes: "With the establishment of Granite Shield, LRGH ends its longstanding relationship with the New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Joint

Portsmouth Hospital Makes Changes for Hearing Impaired Following Federal Lawsuit

2011-01-18T17:00:00.001-05:00

Seacoastonline.com reports on January 18, 2011, that Portsmouth Regional Hospital is making improvements to "enhance communications with deaf and hard-of hearing patients as a result of an out-of-court agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Attorney's office." A lawsuit claimed the hospital discriminated against deaf patients... and the hospital agreed to make payments to several

New Hampshire Ranks 3rd in Nation for Healthiness

2010-12-10T07:05:00.003-05:00

American Health Rankings® has ranked New Hampshire as 3rd in the nation for overall healthiness, up from 4th in that nation last year. Every state has its successes and every state has its challenges. New Hampshire's strengths include a low percentage of children in poverty at 10.5 percent of persons under age 18, a low violent crime rate at 160 offenses per 100,000 population, a low rate of

NH Gets New Chief Justice

2010-12-09T17:26:00.000-05:00

New Hampshire's Executive Council has unanimously confirmed state Supreme Court Justice Linda Dalianis as New Hampshire's first female chief justice. She fills the position left bly retired chief justice John Broderick. This as reported by The Concord Monitor on December 9, 2010.

Submit Your NH Medical Malpractice Verdicts and Settlements

2010-10-21T13:34:00.004-04:00

Please submit your news releases on recent medical malpractice verdicts and settlements for consideration in NH Medical Malpractice News. We aim to document significant wins in the state. Names are not necessary, but the result, type of case, and interesting specifics are encouraged. The date and court are also required for verification, but will not necessarily be published. Click here to submit.

NH Could Save 93 Hospital Deaths

2010-10-13T09:24:00.003-04:00

According to analytical studies of comparative health care performance data by The Commonwealth Fund, 93 fewer premature deaths (before age 75) might occur from causes that are potentially treatable or preventable with timely and appropriate health care. This is according to the Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard, 2009, which lists state-specific rankings and results compared to industry

Sulindac Verdict is $21 Million

2010-09-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

Here's the link to the highly anticipated Sulindac products liability case in NH. On September 8, 2010, the federal jury awarded a woman $21 million for injuries including blindness after taking the anti-inflammatory drug Sulindac. To read the Boston Globe article, click here.

Sulindac on Trial in Products Liability Case

2010-09-05T12:55:00.002-04:00

A products liability case is now in the hands of a Concord, NH jury for a 45 year old plaintiff who took the drug Sulindac for shoulder pain and quickly developed complications leading to blindness. The plaintiff seek more than $24 million in damages. The lawsuit is reported here by the AP in Bloomberg Businessweek.

NH Couple, Hospital Settle in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

2010-08-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

The Boston Herald reports on a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a failed kidney transplant. Plaintiffs are a New Hampshire couple who have agreed to a $1.25 million settlement in a lawsuit against three doctors and a nurse at a Boston teaching hospital. Plaintiffs claimed that understaffing, rookie doctors-in-training and chain-of-command breakdowns at the teaching hospital led to the

N.H. Malpractice Premiums Unchanged

2010-08-16T12:55:00.002-04:00

NHBR reports that ProSelect Insurance Company has announced it will not be increasing medical liability insurance premiums for New Hampshire providers. See the full article and accompanying podcast here:Firm keeps N.H. malpractice premiums unchanged

NH Supreme Court Finds Negligence Should Be Left for Jury To Decide in Medical Malpractice Trial

2010-04-13T20:17:00.005-04:00

CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Supreme Court overturned the trial court's decision in a medical malpractice lawsuit, Beckles v. Madden, agreeing with Lubin & Meyer attorneys for the plaintiff in finding that the burden of proof for causation, an element of negligence, should be left for the jury to decide. Attorney Benjamin Novotny, presented the oral argument before the court. The opinion was

Med Mal Panels in NH Working According to N.H. Medical Society’s Palmer Jones

2010-04-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

A NHBR interview with N.H. Medical Society’s Palmer Jones includes a question on how New Hampshire's medical malpractice panel has worked (which he a says in helping settle cases quicker). What follows is an excerpt from that interview... (Read the full interview here: NH Medical Society, Palmer.)"Five years ago, the Medical Society worked with a group of legislators to create these panels. This

Medical Malpractice Panel Changes Move Forward

2010-01-19T21:02:00.006-05:00

The New Hampshire Business Review reports on a bill proposing changes to the state's medical malpractice panels in an article: House OKs med malpractice panel changes. According to the story..."The New Hampshire House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow those in front of a medical malpractice screening panel to give “offers of proof” – documentary evidence – about the charges, as opposed to

NH is One of Fourteen States To Sue Amgen over Aranesp Promotion

2009-11-03T17:57:00.002-05:00

According to this Thompson report, 14 states, including New Hampshire, and the District of Columbia have filed suit against Amgen for alleged use kickbacks in the promotion of anemia drug Aranesp. Other states named in the report as also participating in the suit are California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Tennessee and

UnionLeader.com - Study: NH has high quality, high costs for health care

2009-09-10T16:52:00.003-04:00

Manchester, NH — Friday, Aug. 21, 2009NH has high quality, high costs for health careA few facts from the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies:18.1 of the gross state product goes to health care spendingOverall health care spending per person was $8,235Family health insurance premiums average $12,686About 6.5 percent of children in the state have no health insuranceState sees more

New Hampshire Appeals Ruling Denying Malpractice Fund Claim

2009-08-10T08:42:00.003-04:00

By NORMA LOVE 08.05.09, 04:55 PM EDT CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire has appealed a lower court ruling denying its claim to a $110 million surplus

Lawsuit targets hospital in 2007 hostage incident

2009-05-29T18:11:00.003-04:00

UnionLeader.com - Lawsuit targets hospital in '07 hostage incident - Wednesday, May. 27, 2009DOVER, NH — According to this Union Leader article, Leeland Eisenberg has filed suit against Frisbie Memorial Hospital for failure to treat his mental illness. Eisenberg later held hostages at Hillary Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, NH."The suit, filed this month in Strafford County Superior

In NH, Governor Eyes Medical Malpractice Insurance Fund Surplus to Balance Budget

2009-02-13T09:11:00.003-05:00

Sourced from the Keene Sentinel's full text of Gov. John Lynch's remarks to Legislature on Feb. 12, related to Medical Malpractice Insurance Fund."Today, I am recommending three steps to fill the remaining budget gap. First, the federal Medicaid increase expected this year will reduce that shortfall by approximately $50 million. Second, in the 1980s, the legislature established a medical

New Hampshire Lawmakers Debate Repeal of Medical Malpractice Screening Panels

2009-01-18T20:44:00.003-05:00

New Hampshire lawmakers working to repeal a 2005 medical malpractice reform law that they deem to be a failure "face stiff opposition from the law's supporters, including doctors, hospitals and members of the insurance industry." This according to a report in The Union Leader, on Jan. 11, 2009, "Rep. Robert Rowe, R-Amherst, has filed legislation to repeal the law mandating three-member panels

Avg. Amount of Medical Malpractice Claims Paid in New Hampshire Is $400K

2009-01-12T16:38:00.005-05:00

The average amount for a medical malpractice claim paid in the state of New Hampshire is $405,915. This according to statistics compiled by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, whose statehealthfacts.org web site lists this 2007 number for New Hampshire. It also lists the total paid in 2007 NH claims as $16,642,500, so we can deduce that there were 41 paid claims in New Hampshire in 2007.The

NH Attorney Weighs in on Screening Panel Debate

2009-01-05T18:25:00.005-05:00

Recent attention to New Hampshire's law on medical malpractice screening panels, including recent pieces in the Concord Monitor, seems to feature a "he said-she said" debate between doctors and lawyers, leaving out the most important parties: the victims of malpractice.Read the editorial by Attorney Dugan here: What about the victims?To understand the opposing viewpoint, read this previously

Largest Medical Malpractice Verdict in NH

2008-12-29T18:38:00.001-05:00

The jury award of $1.75 million to a New Hampshire man blinded by improper care while in the emergency department appears to be the largest verdict of the year in NH for a medical malpractice lawsuit for 2008.The article was reported on by the Union Leader and Boston Globe. For more information on this trial, click on: Largest medical malpractice verdict NH on the attorney's web site.If you have

NH Medical Malpractice Screening Effectiveness Panel Needs More Time

2008-12-09T11:37:00.003-05:00

New Hampshire doctors and their lawyers claim that state's medical malpractice screening panels save "money and time by encouraging lawsuits to settle but also keep meritless claims from juries," according to this Concord Monitor report.Medical malpractice attorneys who represent injured patients counter that it's the other way around."But all those arguments are based on little more than

New Hampshire Hospitals Not Required To Report Medical Errors

2008-10-23T17:47:00.005-04:00

MANCHESTER, NH — The Union Leader recently ran a two-part report on medical errors in New Hampshire.The first article, In-hospital errors kill thousands in U.S., but go unreported in New Hampshire, reports that as of Oct. 1, Medicare stopped reimbursing hospitals for some medical errors, or "never events," also referred to as "adverse medical events." Never events have become an insurance/

NH Medical Malpractice News

2008-08-22T12:27:00.000-04:00

Just getting started setting up this blog to track news, verdicts, settlements, trends and discussion on medical malpractice law topics specifically focused on New Hamsphire. Say hello to NH Medical Malpractice News.