BACKGROUND Little information exists describing the incidence of heat-related illness (HRI) among non-military working populations. An analysis of HRI cases utilizing workers' compensation data has not been previously reported. METHODS We used both ICD-9 and ANSI Z16.2 codes with subsequent medical record review to identify accepted Washington State Fund workers' compensation claims for HRI o...

© 2004 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors We applaud the Executive of the Section on Emergency Medicine of the Ontario Medical Association for their call to action. We support many of the points made in their position statement but ultimately believe that a law for the mandatory reporting of gunshot wounds will do more harm than good. Ovens describes the support the position statemen...

BACKGROUND The relative importance of the different factors that cause surgical error is unknown. Malpractice claim file analysis may help to identify leading causes of surgical error and identify opportunities for prevention. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 444 closed malpractice claims, from 4 malpractice liability insurers, in which patients alleged a surgical error. Surgeon-reviewers ...

This Essay explores the largely overlooked relationship between claim construction and patent assertion entities (patent “trolls”) finding that claim construction problems and trends benefit patent assertion entities. First, the Federal Circuit is deeply divided as to the proper approach to claim construction. This split is a significant contributor to uncertain patent scope, which is widely-re...