The California Supreme Court has wrested back into the workers’ compensation system a claim of medical malpractice by a worker who alleged injury from a utilization review decision. The case overrules a lower court decision handed down in 2016. 

In a new opinion addressing allegations of elder abuse, the Court of Appeal explains how evidence of simple “negligence” differs from “recklessness” in a nursing facility setting.

Physicians are hard-wired to help their patients. But in doing so, there may come a time when “tough love” is required. A 53-year-old telecommunications analyst began treating with Dr. I, an internist, and gave a history of allergies, skin concerns, and pterygium surgery 22 years earlier.

A California appellate court has ruled that an expert’s declaration that a hospital followed a physician’s orders to monitor two troubled young patients was not enough to establish that the facility met its duty to a patient who claimed he was sexually assaulted by his roommate.

When reporting their findings, it is common to see consulting physicians recommend further testing. Absent such an explicit recommendation, a patient’s decision to bypass conservative measures can spell trouble for all.