Lean on Me: A Physician\u27s Fiduciary Duty to Disclose an Emergent Medical Risk to the Patient

This Article has two purposes. The first is to establish that physicians owe their patients a fiduciary duty. Courts and commentators have widely acknowledged that this duty exists because of the nature of the special relationship between a physician and a patient. Application of this duty has been sparse, however, in part because its jurisprudential foundation has received virtually no attention. This Article explores that foundation and establishes the strong basis for recognizing and applying this doctrine. The second purpose is to apply this doctrine to an issue that has generated considerable attention, both within and outside the medical profession: the concern that some physicians are failing to disclose medical errors and other emergent medical risks (collectively referred to as EMRs) to patients who are unaware of these developments. There is widespread recognition that patients want and need to trust their doctors and the hospitals to which they turn for help in times of sickness and injury. This Article asserts that physicians\u27 fiduciary duty to patients encompasses a duty to disclose EMRs to patients who are unaware of them. Although most physicians and professional organizations agree that such disclosures should be readily provided, these disclosures are not always forthcoming. Recognizing a fiduciary-based duty to disclose will encourage physicians to share crucial information with patients, which in turn will enable patients to avoid or mitigate potential harm. By routinely disclosing this information, physicians will deepen the trust of their patients in them and thereby facilitate the partnership between patients and physicians that should be the hallmark of health care

Beware Those Bearing Gifts: Physicians' Fiduciary Duty to Avoid Pharmaceutical Marketing

This is the published version

Last Stand? The Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

As more psychologically scarred troops return from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, society\u27s focus on and concern for these troops and their psychological disorders has increased With this increase and with associated studies confirming the validity of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and the genuine impact of PTSD on the behavior of war veterans, greater weight may be given to the premise that PTSD is a mental disorder that provides grounds for a mental status defense, such as insanity, a lack of mens rea, or self-defense. Although considerable impediments remain, given the current political climate, Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans are in a better position to succeed in these defenses than Vietnam War veterans were a generation ago. This Article explores the prevalence and impact of PTSD, particularly in war veterans, the relevance of this disorder to the criminal justice system, and the likely evolution of related mental status defenses as Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans return from combat