Causation Issues in Medical Malpractice: A United Kingdom Perspective

In the United Kingdom, the most difficult aspect of proving a medical malpractice claim may be establishing causation-the link between the medical professional\u27s breach of duty and the patient\u27s damages. Because the traditional but for test unfairly burdens the plaintiff, a rule such as the loss of chance doctrine would be more equitable

Identifying patients at risk of late recovery (≥8 days) from acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and COPD

SummaryObjectivesTo identify factors associated with late recovery (≥8 days from exacerbation start) in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis/COPD (AECB/AECOPD).MethodsAn international, observational, non-interventional study in outpatients with AECB/AECOPD who received treatment for their exacerbation with the antibiotic moxifloxacin. Factors analyzed for late recovery included patient demographic characteristics, geographic region and disease severity. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was undertaken to identify factors associated with late recovery.ResultsThe analysis population was 40,435 patients aged ≥35 years, from Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Americas and Middle East/Africa. Most were male (63.1%), mean age 60.4 years and current or ex-smokers (60.6%) with history of ≥2 exacerbations in the previous year. Patients who underwent spirometry (n = 6408, 19.7%) had moderate airflow obstruction (mean FEV1 1.7 L). Both clinicians and patients reported that moxifloxacin provided clinical improvement in a mean of 3 days and recovery in 6 days. Clinical factors significantly associated with late recovery were: age ≥65 years, duration of chronic bronchitis >10 years, cardiac comorbidity, >3 exacerbations in the previous 12 months, current exacerbation type (Anthonisen I/II) and hospitalization in the last 12 months.ConclusionsIn a large cohort of patients, all treated with the same antibiotic for an exacerbation of chronic bronchitis or COPD, the main factors associated with late recovery (≥8 days) were: older age, history of frequent exacerbations, current exacerbation type of Anthonisen I/II, history of prior hospitalizations and cardiac comorbid conditions

Data Protection and Cybersecurity Certification Activities and Schemes in the Energy Sector

Cybersecurity concerns have been at the forefront of regulatory reform in the European Union (EU) recently. One of the outcomes of these reforms is the introduction of certification schemes for information and communication technology (ICT) products, services and processes, as well as for data processing operations concerning personal data. These schemes aim to provide an avenue for consumers to assess the compliance posture of organisations concerning the privacy and security of ICT products, services and processes. They also present manufacturers, providers and data controllers with the opportunity to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements through a verifiable third-party assessment. As these certification schemes are being developed, various sectors, including the electrical power and energy sector, will need to access the impact on their operations and plan towards successful implementation. Relying on a doctrinal method, this paper identifies relevant EU legal instruments on data protection and cybersecurity certification and their interpretation in order to examine their potential impact when applying certification schemes within the Electrical Power and Energy System (EPES) domain. The result suggests that the EPES domain employs different technologies and services from diverse areas, which can result in the application of several certification schemes within its environment, including horizontal, technological and sector-specific schemes. This has the potential for creating a complex constellation of implementation models and would require careful design to avoid proliferation and disincentivising of stakeholders. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Software for the frontiers of quantum chemistry:An overview of developments in the Q-Chem 5 package

This article summarizes technical advances contained in the fifth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program package, covering developments since 2015. A comprehensive library of exchange–correlation functionals, along with a suite of correlated many-body methods, continues to be a hallmark of the Q-Chem software. The many-body methods include novel variants of both coupled-cluster and configuration-interaction approaches along with methods based on the algebraic diagrammatic construction and variational reduced density-matrix methods. Methods highlighted in Q-Chem 5 include a suite of tools for modeling core-level spectroscopy, methods for describing metastable resonances, methods for computing vibronic spectra, the nuclear–electronic orbital method, and several different energy decomposition analysis techniques. High-performance capabilities including multithreaded parallelism and support for calculations on graphics processing units are described. Q-Chem boasts a community of well over 100 active academic developers, and the continuing evolution of the software is supported by an “open teamware” model and an increasingly modular design

Medical Malpractice and Compensation in Germany

This paper offers an overview of the rules under German law for securing accountability and redress in cases of medical injury. It is divided into three main parts. Part I looks at the various legal consequences that may apply in such circumstances, including criminal and professional liability of the doctor, the bases for a private law claim by the patient, and the existence of pockets of non-fault based liability for injury from medical products. Part II then considers in greater detail the elements to be satisfied in respect to the two key forms of private law malpractice claim, namely faulty treatment and faulty information disclosure. Also examined is the underlying system of medical liability insurance, as well as the workings of medical arbitration boards that facilitate settlements in appropriate cases. Finally, in Part III, there is an evaluation of the current compensation rules, including their continued viability, in the light of available empirical data. The emergent patient safety movement in Germany is also discussed

Causation Issues in Medical Malpractice: A United Kingdom Perspective

In the United Kingdom, the most difficult aspect of proving a medical malpractice claim may be establishing causation-the link between the medical professional\u27s breach of duty and the patient\u27s damages. Because the traditional but for test unfairly burdens the plaintiff, a rule such as the loss of chance doctrine would be more equitable

Medical Malpractice and Compensation in Germany

This paper offers an overview of the rules under German law for securing accountability and redress in cases of medical injury. It is divided into three main parts. Part I looks at the various legal consequences that may apply in such circumstances, including criminal and professional liability of the doctor, the bases for a private law claim by the patient, and the existence of pockets of non-fault based liability for injury from medical products. Part II then considers in greater detail the elements to be satisfied in respect to the two key forms of private law malpractice claim, namely faulty treatment and faulty information disclosure. Also examined is the underlying system of medical liability insurance, as well as the workings of medical arbitration boards that facilitate settlements in appropriate cases. Finally, in Part III, there is an evaluation of the current compensation rules, including their continued viability, in the light of available empirical data. The emergent patient safety movement in Germany is also discussed