A midwifery law that was passed inadvertently last year when obscure language was slipped into a bill gets to stand according the the state's supreme court. A circuit court had thrown out the language on constitutional grounds. Read more.
The state supreme court has ruled that chiropractors may adjust limbs when treating problems related to the spine. This finding overturns an appellate court decision and restores the New Jersey State Board of Chiropractic Examiners' regulation permitting such adjustments. Read more. See also The Star Ledger.
An Arizona appellate court says the law setting qualifications for expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases violates the doctrine of separation between the branches of government and is unconstitutional. Read more.
A Texas-based real estate broker operating nationally did not meet licensing requirements established by either the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations or the California Department of Real Estate. The broker sued for relief from these requirements and a district court enjoined Florida and California from enforcing their requirements on the Texas firm. Now, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed and dismissed with prejudice this finding on the basis that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the defendants. Case Number: 05-20803, Stroman Realty, Inc. v. Antt.
For more than a decade, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) tried unsuccessfully to gain specialty board approval from the Medical Board of California. The basis for the denial was the medical board's determination that ABCS’s requirements for board certification were not equivalent to those of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which is its evaluation standard. A trial court ordered the medical board to approve the application, but California's 3rd District Court of Appeals has reversed that decision, saying that the board's decision was "rationally related to the regulatory requirements" and did not abuse its discretion. Read Case C054718.
Ruling that a teaching credential is necessary in order to home school children, the 2nd District Court of Appeal says that courts have upheld the position that parents do not have a constitutional right to educate their children. An estimated 166,000 children are currently home schooled in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger quickly issued a statement saying "This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will." Read more from The Mercury News.
Denying pleas for charitable immunity, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that malpractice cases against physicians employed by a health services foundation should proceed. The Virginian Pilot reports an appellate lawyer's suggestion that a different ruling could have ended medical malpractice litigation in Virginia, allowing professionals to escape liability by working for nominal non-profit groups.
A judge who voluntarily recused from a legal malpractice case is not precluded from assigning another judge to the case. Read opinion 06-0055.
The plaintiff appealed a case in which she alleged race discrimination and deprivation of property in the form of her medical license without due process. District court had dismissed the case on the grounds of absolute judicial immunity, statute of limitations and failure to state a claim. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's finding, writing "Absolute judicial immunity attaches to a state medical review board's disciplinary proceeding where, as here, the individual charged has the right to be represented by counsel, to present evidence and to cross-examine witnesses, and where the board articulates its findings and conclusions in a binding order under a preponderance of the evidence standard." U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals: Applewhite v. Briber, Case Number: 06-1923-cv
The plaintiff appealed a trial court's dismisal with prejudice of his malpractice suit. He said that the court erred by ordering him to reveal his health care professional report author's identity. Once identity was disclosed, it was determined that in 1990 the author lost his Illinois license to practice medicine and in 1999 had allowed his New Mexico license to lapse. Fourth District Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed the earlier decision because the health report required under the Code of Civil Procedure was not written by a person licensed to practice medicine. Read Crull v. Sriratana (Case Number 4060952).
