The Washington Court of Appeals ruled in Snyder v. Virginia Mason Medical Center on the limits of doctor-patient and attorney-client privileges in medical malpractice cases. The court determined that former employee-doctors cannot be contacted ex parte by defense counsel, requiring that interviews involve the plaintiff’s lawyer or be conducted as depositions.
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A recent Supreme Court ruling extends psychiatrists’ duty to people harmed by their client even if the client never mentioned a threat. The Washington Supreme Court recently extended the potential duty a psychiatrist owes to people harmed by their outpatient clients. In Volk v. DeMeerleer, 187 Wn.2d 241, 386 P.3d 254 (2016), the Court extended […]
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In 1997, the Bar issued ethics advisory opinion No. 1736, addressing whether a claimants’ counsel could indemnify a settling defendant to protect the defendant from outstanding liens that might encumber the settlement. The Bar concluded that the answer was “no” because that would constitute a form of financial assistance beyond the narrow parameters of the rules of […]
Read More…Learn how Schroeder v. Weighall, M.D. impacts med-mal claims by minors. A minor’s medical malpractice claim has traditionally been subject to the same statute of limitation requirements as that of an adult. However, the recent Washington Supreme Court decision of Schroeder v. Weighall, M.D., et al., has declared RCW 4.16.190(2) unconstitutional.
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