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Monday, May 17, 2004California physicians are bracing for what they fear could be a whirlwind of lawsuits making claims for punitive damages that will be exempt from the state's nationally recognized tort reform protections. The California Supreme Court recently decided that the strict rules that plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases have to follow to ask for punitive damages don't apply in cases alleging wrongdoing under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. ....The ruling has doctors especially concerned because a state appellate court in 2003 defined a dependent adult to include any person between 18 and 64 years who is admitted as an inpatient to a 24-hour health facility. It may seem silly thing to worry about. Malpractice, after all, is a very different animal than abuse. But it's happened before. Not to mention the growing tendency to blur the distinction between malpractice and crime. posted by Sydney on 5/17/2004 06:22:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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