Inside Medical Malpractice

This month on ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’, the third in our ‘best of the best’ podcast series!  Chris Rokosh ends almost every episode with the question “What is the most important thing you’d like doctors, nurses, lawyers, and the public to know about medical malpractice?” The answers are as different as our guests’ unique perspectives….but always astute, insightful, and thought provoking. This episode includes a doctor, a mother who lost her son due to a medical error and 4 lawyers, one of whom shares her birth story. Listen in as guests Duncan Embury, Lelani Schweitzer, Richard Halpern, Paul Cahill, Maia Tomljanovic and Dr. Danielle Ofri share their thoughts. You’re going to really enjoy this one!  For more medical legal education, visit our newly updated website at https://www.connectmlx.com/. 

This month, on Inside Medical Malpractice, part three of a 4-part series on Trauma Informed Lawyering. Listen in as lawyer Sonia Nijjar, associate lawyer and director of business development and knowledge management at Neinstein Personal Injury Law Firm in Toronto tells us how dealing with medical malpractice clients at a very difficult time in their lives affect her.  Knowing how very wrong things can go in healthcare led to a hypervigilance during her own pregnancy and opened her eyes to significant challenges her clients experience when interacting with the healthcare system.  There’s insight on how healthcare access is affected by diversity, equality and inclusion highlighting the need for cultural competence in the presence of power and privilege.  Sonia shares how learning about trauma informed lawyering broadened her perspective and changed her practice, now giving credence to the experiences and trauma experienced by her clients.  Sonia also shares some of the greatest insights of the trauma informed workshop, one of them being that every lawyer, at times, has felt ill equipped to deal with trauma.  Additional insights? Learning to meet clients ‘where they’re at’ and offering a safe place to tell their story.  My favorite quote; “We’ve got to name what we’re looking at.  We’re looking at trauma.” This is another great episode in a fabulous series.  Listen to it, talk about it, and share it!

In this short, but highly personal episode, lawyer Sonia Nijjar tells us how she spends her time when she’s not working,  the challenge of Toronto winters, her life as a curious, independent child, her favorite foods, her all time favorite show, her greatest joy (her son!) and so much more. Learn what this intelligent, articulate lawyer would love to do if she weren’t lawyering.  Her strategy for happiness?  The balance of “not letting any part of me become all of me.” This is a great episode.  Don’t miss it!

This informative presentation features Dr. Sharon Dore, principal author, and Clinical Associate Professor at McMaster University. The goal of Guideline No. 441 is the early identification of potential fetal decompensation, allowing for interventions that support fetal well-being, or expedite delivery. Changes around assessment of fundal height, fetal movement, amniotic fluid measurement and fetal health surveillance affect the nursing and medical standards of care, as well as the analysis of medical legal matters. 

This month, on Inside Medical Malpractice, part two a 4-part series on Trauma Informed Lawyering. Listen in as Kara Hardin former lawyer, psychotherapist, mental health educator and co-owner of The Practice Lab talks about how our childhood search for safety, security, connection and belonging continue to shape our actions as adults.  Learn to notice how and when trauma response shows up and deciding how to move forward with compassion. There’s a fascinating discussion on how the ways we learn to survive as children, are the very things that can hold us back in adulthood.  Discover skills to help others feel believed, supported, and trusted, and safe to speak in difficult situations that involve the telling of their trauma stories. One of my favorite quotes?  “To be human and alive is to be exposed to grief and loss.”  You will love her insightful answers to the most important things we should all know about trauma in healthcare.  This is a great episode, and a key part of the Trauma Informed Lawyering series!

This month, on Inside Medical Malpractice, the first of a 4 part series on Trauma Informed Lawyering.  Whether you’re a lawyer, a healthcare provider, a family who has experienced medical trauma, or someone who knows some who has, I promise there is something valuable here. This series will focus on the personal and vicarious trauma experienced during pregnancy and birth. Listen in as Olivia Scobie, Co-Founder of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Training and Registered Social Worker starts with key phrases and terms, and learning how to recognize trauma in others and ourselves.  Olivia will teach us about theories of trauma, how our brains remember and respond to traumatic experiences, the multiple sites of birth trauma, self regulation, co-regulation, and the window of tolerance.  Lawyers, learn how to better support your clients by understanding why they act the way they do in difficult situations, and how their own trauma can become yours. Olivia offers insight into how the impact of birth trauma can keep clients with potentially viable lawsuits from seeking legal counsel. She also has great advice on the most important things we should all know about trauma in healthcare.  Don’t miss this episode and the entire series!

 In this short, but personal episode, Olivia Scobie offers fun and surprising insights into her pastimes, favourite food at an Egyptian brunch, the very particular music she dances to, the TV show “Naked and Afraid” and the alternate career path she might have chosen. Olivia shares two strategies for happiness (first of all, don’t focus on happiness) and offers her younger self some really heartfelt advice. Who is it that influenced Olivia the most and what do people must often get wrong about her? Listen and find out! 

Here it is! Part 2 of the open and honest conversation with former Tennessee RN RaDonda Vaught. On March 25, 2022, a jury found RaDonda guilty of criminally negligent homicide for her part in a fatal medication error at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. If you haven’t heard part one of this conversation, go back and listen.  It opens on the fateful day RaDonda accidently injected a paralyzing drug into Charlene Murphey and ends with her tearful meeting of Mrs. Murphey’s grandson in the Tractor Supply Store. Part two picks up the story after the nursing board had completed their investigation, leaving RaDonda with both her reputation and nursing licence intact. Then, an anonymous tip, a surprise inspection, state and federal investigations, sanctions to the hospital, and a criminal indictment. The story of how this medication error ended up in a criminal courtroom 4 ½ years after Mrs. Murphey’s death is one you’ll never forget.  The trial was watched around the world and has left a resounding impact on healthcare.  This is an important conversation for anyone who might ever end up in the hospital.  Don’t miss it.

On this episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’, an interview like you’ve never heard before.  Listen in as Chris Rokosh talks to former Registered Nurse RaDonda Vaught. On March 25, 2022, a jury found RaDonda guilty of criminally negligent homicide for her part in a fatal medication error at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Criminal prosecution of a nurse is rare, but it happened.  And, when things go wrong, it’s easier to talk about a bad nurse than to examine a flawed system.  RaDonda will tell us a story which, she says, is so much bigger than herself. She reminds us that she only has a story because someone lost their life. Part one of this podcast starts on the fateful day RaDonda incidentally administered a paralyzing drug and ends with the touching story of how she met Mrs. Murphey’s grandson in the Tractor Supply Store. This interview is open.  And honest. And real. Don’t miss it.

This episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ is the fourth in a series exploring the top 5 issues in medical malpractice:  Assessment, Medication Errors, Communication, Unsafe Use of Equipment and Infection Control and Infection Control.  Nova Scotia Lawyer Ray Wagner tackles the fascinating subject of Equipment Errors, which can result in individual malpractice cases or class action lawsuits. Specialized equipment is used all through the spectrum of healthcare delivery;  to make the original diagnosis, decide on and provide correct treatment, to monitor and assist in a successful recovery, and in some cases, to sustain life.  A product defect, maintenance or repair problem, or operator error, can lead to injury or even death. Listen in as Ray presents several cases from his own practice where the use of medical equipment or implants resulted in injury which led to lawsuits.  He offers solid advice to healthcare providers and the public on how to avoid equipment errors and advice to lawyers considering litigating these tough cases.  Don’t miss this episode!

In this brief, but personal episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ Nova Scotia lawyer Ray Wagner talks about his day-to-day life, his busy mind, and the honourable motivation behind everything he does.  He shares how his lifetime love of the nature, and the great outdoors provides joy and distraction from the hard work of running his own firm, and the surprising alternate career path he might have chosen if he weren’t a lawyer. Learn about Ray’s strategy for success, the advice he’d offer his younger self and the people who have influenced the way he lives his life.  Ray speaks about himself with an openness and honesty that feels like sitting down with a long time friend. Relax, settle in, and enjoy.

This month, Inside Medical Malpractice returns focus to one of the 5 top issues in malpractice litigation:  communication.  Listen as repeat guest Dr. Danielle Ofri MD, PhD ,one of the most thought provoking and influential voices in healthcare today, discusses her book ‘What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear’. Dr. Ofri says that the doctor patient interview remains the single most powerful diagnostic tool in medicine. But what patients say and what doctors hear are often two very different things. Listen as Dr. Ofri highlights just how powerful the doctor patient relationship is and talks honestly about the disclosure of medical error. There’s a great conversation about the power imbalance that exists between doctors and patients and suggestions to avoid the underlying commonality in almost all lawsuits; a breakdown in doctor-patient communication. Listening and communicating not only makes patients feel cared for, it can improve the accuracy of the information offered, reduce the risk of medical error and result in few lawsuits. There’s something valuable in this episode for everyone!

The Holidays are almost here!  So, this month on ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ we’re taking a break from talking about the 5 most common litigation issues, to bring you a story about the birth of a beautiful baby boy. In this episode, Chris Rokosh welcomes back Maia Tomljanovic. Her 2020 podcast ‘A Medical Malpractice Lawyer Has a Baby’ was, and still is, one of the top 5 downloaded episodes of all time.  It’s not only a great story with a happy ending, but a personal, insightful, and inspiring story about how the combination of medical and legal knowledge shaped Maia’s hopes, fears, and expectations. Well, in the spring of 2022, Maia welcomed another baby boy. There was another set of complicated circumstances. But luckily, another happy ending. So, I invited her back to share this new story, and tell her my small (but exciting!) part in it.  With 2 more years down the road of experience as a mother, a patient, and a malpractice lawyer, Maia tells how she used the knowledge she learned from her first baby and shares some shining moments by the doctors and nurses who cared for her. Maia also offers her perspective on the most important thing we should all know about malpractice.  Don’t miss this episode.  It’s a great one!

This episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ is the second in a five-part series exploring top issues in medical malpractice:  Assessment, Medication Errors, Communication, Infection Control and Unsafe Use of Equipment.  Repeat guest Paul Cahill tackles the tough subject of Medication Errors, which are so pervasive they make up 3 of the 15 “Never Events’ in healthcare.  There are 10 ‘rights’ to medication administration which are considered basic knowledge for all healthcare providers.  If followed correctly, these ‘rights’ are meant to prevent errors. But listen in as Paul presents several cases from his own practice that involve nurses, doctors and pharmacists giving the wrong drug, or the wrong dose, at the wrong time, without any follow up.  This episode offers solid advice to healthcare providers and the public on how to avoid medication errors, and Paul offers his own advice to lawyers who litigate these cases.  Once again, the big take-away?  Never, ever get complacent.

This episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ is the first of a five-part series exploring some of the top issues in malpractice;  Assessment, Medication Errors, Communication, Infection Control and Unsafe Use of Equipment.  Repeat guest Richard Halpern tackles the topic of Assessment, a skill considered fundamental for healthcare providers and a critical element of patient safety.  Many malpractice cases include allegations that assessments weren’t completed often enough, thoroughly enough, or at all.  Listen in as Richard shares a case study on one of the most tragic and potentially under reported adverse events of all; a mother who dies from hemorrhaging after childbirth.  The issues in this case are many, but the focus is on the lack of nursing and medical assessments in the early hours after the baby was born.  The biggest takeaways from this episode?  Stay vigilant.  Remain diligent.  Never, ever get complacent.

This month on ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ something different! This episode has something for everyone! Listen in as Chris Rokosh has an amazing conversation with Kevin Weekes, a former NHL Goalie and currently an on-air ESPN Hockey analyst! The subject is ‘Get Ready. Stay Ready’ and it’s a conversation about how to think ‘on your feet’. Kevin’s ability to read the room, stay cool under pressure, and react with calm amid chaos is a wonder. There’s a great discussion on how to always be on your game, with a lesson on being ready and able to communicate in a way that gets your audience, whoever they are, to respond with enthusiasm, emotion and understanding. Listen in as Chris Rokosh interviews the fast thinking, fast talking, always engaging, ready for anything, Kevin Weekes. It’s an inspiration! 

In this episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ Chris Rokosh has a conversation she’s been wanting to have for almost 10 years.  Stanford University Hospital Patient Liaison Leilani Schweitzer tells the story of how her 20-month-old son Gabriel died at after a series of medical errors.  The story of Gabriel’s death is heart breaking.  But the story of how transparency, compassion and truth can heal in the aftermath of medical error, is a gift.  Leilani now works in risk management at the same hospital where her son died, using her own painful experience to help others through theirs. One of the most thought-provoking quotes from this episode?  “Pretending a bad thing didn’t happen is not going to make it go away, it likely is going to make it worse.” Take the time to watch Leilani's TEDx talk 'Transparency, Compassion, and Truth in Medical Errors'. To see the beautiful art inspired by Gabriels’ life and death, www.verachroma.com. This is the last episode of Season 2, and may just be one of the best yet!

In this brief, but personal episode of ‘Inside Medical Malpractice’ Leilani Schweitzer talks about day-to-day life, which starts with an early morning and some quiet moments.  She shares how her lifetime love of art helped her heal after Gabriel’s death and provides a joyful outlet for her creativity.  Hear about what it’s like to give a TED talk (she gave two!), the way it changed her life and the surprising alternate career path she might have chosen. Learn what gets her up in the morning,  keeps her up at night, and the best and worst jobs of her life. Leilani offers a lovely shout out to the people in her life who paved the way for opportunity – including the staff at Stanford University. For a look at the beautiful art inspired by Gabriels’ life and death, www.verachroma.com. This is the last episode of Season 2, and maybe one of the best yet!

In this timely and fascinating episode of Inside Medical Malpractice Toronto plaintiff’s lawyer Duncan Embury talks about the incredible challenges of litigating Florence v. Benzaquen. This case involves a 26-year-old woman who was prescribed fertility drugs in 2007, and quickly became pregnant with triplets. As often happens with multiple pregnancies, preterm labor and prematurity were a real threat. The babies, two boys and a girl, were delivered more than 3 months early, on New Year’s Day by emergency caesarean section.  They have all been diagnosed with moderate to severe cerebral palsy and neurological impairment. Listen in as Duncan Embury and Chris Rokosh discuss some of the important issues in this case including, does a doctor owe a duty of care to the not-yet-conceived child, a patient who doesn’t exist?  Was this young woman advised of the risks of conceiving multiples and the associated risks of preterm birth and neurological injury? And, if she had been properly advised, would she have chosen to take the drugs? This episode will leave you with much to think about and talk about!

Chris Rokosh ends almost every episode of Inside Medical Malpractice with the question “What is the most important thing you’d like doctors, nurses, lawyers, and the public to know about medical malpractice?”. The answers came from healthcare providers, plaintiff and defense lawyers, and a supreme court judge.  The responses are as different as their perspectives….but always honest, insightful, and thought provoking. In this episode, listen in as Dr. Michael Narvey, Former Chief Supreme Court Justice Beverly McLaughlin, Ob/Gyn Dr. Colin Birch, Internist Dr. Danielle Ofri, and lawyers Virginia May, Barb Legate and Michael Waite offer up their advice. You’re going to love this episode! If you missed Part 1 of this episode, go back, and have a listen to the ‘best of the best’ of Inside Medical Malpractice.  For more medical legal education, visit our website! https://www.connectmlx.com/education/connect-to-education.