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Who We Are 
We are a medical-legal review and referral firm based in Los Angeles with experts and clients nationwide. We offer medical and biomedical experts in virtually all specialties and sub-specialties. We also can provide paramedical experts such as dentists, EMTs, podiatrists or registered nurses.

Our experts will serve as consultants and expert witnesses
for nearly every legal proceeding requiring medical or similar expertise. Our clients include attorneys, both plaintiff and defense, insurance companies and HMOs, government agencies and private individuals in every state and several foreign countries.

We specialize in referrals of experts in hard to find specialties or with highly specialized clinical or research experience. We represent panel experts that are contracted with us and independents who deal directly with our clients.

       
        We also offer a preliminary review at a reduced price for those lawyers and individuals that are
        uncertain about the merits of their case. Medical reviewers are all board-certified and many experts do
        both expert consultation and medical review. For fees and additional information, please click on the
        memorandum for attorneys in the left-sided column.

Contact Us
Contact us by telephone (local or toll-free), fax, e-mail or regular mail. We will respond quickly. We offer a free of charge discussion of your case and expert requirements with our executive director. He has been an expert witness for more than 25 years and is uniquely qualified to assist you in evaluating your case.

                                            MedicoLegal Consultants          Toll-Free: 1-888-661-3593
                                            11041 Santa Monica Blvd. #719          Tel: (310) 444-7960
                                            Los Angeles, CA 90025                         Fax: (310) 444-7912
                                                                     E-mail: experts@mlegal.com

      Medical-Legal News & Comment*
          Important articles and reports affecting the medical-legal community and the public at large.

        Malpractice Links
● The Urgent Need for U.S. Malpractice Reform
Another discussion of what's wrong with the current U.S. medical malpractice
system and why it needs overhaul. According to the authors, led by Dr. James Dove
and published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, some 70% of
malpractice cases are without merit or negligence and lay juries are not
equipped to analyze complex medical decisions. Thus the cost of defensive medicine continues to rise.
● Your Malpractice Risk When Your Hospitalized Patient Has a "Never Event."
               A guide to possible legal questions and answers when a so-called "never event" occurs in your hospitalized
         patient: such things as falls, post-surgical infections, erroneous surgery and many other topics are included.
         The difference between the governments refusal to pay for these and actual substandard care is discussed
         in this Medscape article.
         ● Is Your Malpractice Defense Lawyer Working Against You?
         This interesting article suggests that your defense lawyer in a malpractice case may have divided loyalties   
         and be subject to pressure from your malpractice carrier.
         ● Must You Still Practice Defensive Medicine to Avert a Malpractice Lawsuit?
           All the pros and cons of defensive medicine: is it to avoid malpractice, protect the patient or pad the bill?
         ● Professional Liability Risk
              This compendium of the elements of medical malpractice and risk management
         is required reading for physicians, attorneys and patients contemplating legal action.
         ● Ten Ways Lawyers Kill Their Own Experts
         Here are ten ways in which lawyers work against their own experts and how to avoid them.
           ● The Perils of Being an Expert Witness
           Pitfalls and liability exposure for being an expert witness in medical malpractice cases, licensing
         board proceedings and professional organization membership.
           ● Malpractice Dangers in Patient Complaints
         Listen to the patient; he is telling you what's wrong with him...and you!
         ● An Anti-Lawsuit Tactic That's Gaining Ground
         How to avoid a lawsuit? Try binding arbitration. Still there are some pitfalls and care is required.  
           ● Five New York City Hospitals Embark on Pilot Program to Cut Malpractice Costs
           A new agreement "to reduce medical malpractice insurance premiums and related costs by divulging
         medical mistakes promptly, by making settlement offers swiftly, and by utilizing specialized "health courts"
         to resolve disputes and negotiate settlements before litigation is commenced."

        Legal Sites
● Attorney
Attorney.org offers the latest news and information in the legal world.
● Laws
Laws.com covers state and federal laws, while also featuring recent legal news.
● Legal Directory        
NewLawyer.com provides users with free legal advice by connecting them with
attorneys through phone to phone consultations.
         
          Noteworthy Articles 2010         

Texas Physician  Charged by the Medical Board in Whistleblower Case
Medscape Medical News 07-15-10
The Texas Medical Board has charged a family physician at the center of a case
involving 2 nurses who notified the Texas Medical Board of Dr. Rolando Arafiles' poor medical judgment, non-therapeutic prescribing, failure to maintain adequate records
                                   overbilling, witness intimidation, and other violations. The nurses were acquitted of a
         criminal charge of misuse of information but they were fired from their hospital jobs.

           Diagnostic Adverse Events Mostly Caused by Human Error
           Medscape Medical News 07-01-10
           Diagnostic adverse events (DAEs) account for 0.4% of all hospital admissions and 6.4%
         of all adverse events according to a study in Netherlands hospitals. Of these DAEs,
         human error was responsible in 96.3%. Patient and organizational errors contributed in
         many cases. Compared with other types of adverse events, the consequences of DAEs were more severe,
         with a mortality rate of 29.1% vs. 7.4%.

           June
           Medical Ethics Lapses Cited in Interrogations
           The New York Times 06-06-10
         Did physicians that participated in CIA terrorist interrogations violate medical
         ethics? The claim of the Massachusetts-based Physicians for Human Rights is
         that prisoners were used a research subjects without informed consent, a violation of the Nuremberg
         Code and the American Common Rule which ban such practice. The CIA vigorously denies these charges.

           May
           High Court Rulings on Pleading Standards Trip Up Dentists' Class Action
           The National Law Journal 05-18-10
         The ghost of two prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions has come to haunt a RICO class action suit by
         the American Dental Association accusing Cigna Corp. and MetLife, Inc. for alleged failure to pay the
         providers. In Bell Atlantic v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbalt he high court required plaintiffs to present       
         claims that reasonably supported an inference of liability. These rulings have been a great boon to the  
         defense bar. A three judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the dentists' case
         finding that it did not meet the higher pleading standards required by the two supreme court rulings.

           Medical Liability: A World of Difference
           amednews.com 05-03-10
         Medical liability claims in the U.S. make up 10 percent of all tort cases, with half of the expenses for
         such cases going to pay off legal costs. Some authorities believe that the fate of medical liability cases
         resting with juries and not judges plays a significant role in how doctors approach their jobs, according to
         American Medical News. The U.S. is the only major country in the world where physicians are personally
         financially liable for mistakes," said Richard Jackson, chairman and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, which
         conducted a web-based survey in March 2009. "This is a systemic problem that needs to be addressed at
         state and national levels." 
          
           April
           Who's to Blame When Flawed Health Products are Sold?
           The New York Times 04-20-10
           "Who should be held accountable when a company sells a flawed product that can injure or kill patients?
         Is it the company or the people who run it?" Two Minnesota cardiologists have raised this important
         question when one of their patients died due to a malfunction of an implantable heart defibrillator
         manufactured by Guidant (now a division of Boston Scientific). Short circuits and failure of the device have
         resulted in at least six deaths. The legal question that arises from the cases is whether the company
         should just pay a fine of nearly $3 million or whether individual officers of the company should be held
         accountable.

          
         *See Medicolegal News for additional links. Some of the links require registration or may be removed.