Guidelines for management of actual or suspected inadvertent intra-arterial injection of sclerosants.

Background: Inadvertent intra-arterial injection of sclerosants is an uncommon adverse event of both ultrasound-guided and direct vision sclerotherapy. This complication can result in significant tissue or limb loss and significant long-term morbidity.

Objectives: To provide recommendations for diagnosis and immediate management of an unintentional intra-arterial injection of sclerosing agents.

A comment on "Height and the standard of living in Puerto Rico from the Spanish Enlightenment to annexation by the United States, 1770-1924".

Using prisoner height data, Moreno-Lázaro (2023) claims that Puerto Rican living standards declined after US annexation and stagnated for decades. This conclusion is not supported by the prisoner data and is inconsistent with other welfare measures that show dramatic improvement, such as per capita GDP, life expectancy, and literacy.

Analysis of Part 1 of the latest Austroads Guidelines, June 2022.

The Austroads Fitness to Drive Guidelines were updated in 2022. Most of the focus to date has been on Part 2 of the Guidelines, which provide guidance as to specific medical conditions. Less attention has been paid to Part 1 of the Guidelines, which cover a medical practitioner's ethical and legal obligations.

Fitness to drive and seizures - Recent medicolegal considerations to tell or not to tell? - THAT IS THE QUESTION!

This paper reviews a Coroner's inquest into the deaths of two people. The deaths were caused when a driver had a seizure, and lost control of his car, which then plowed into a café. The Coroner reviews the roles and responsibilities of primary and tertiary caregivers, with special focus on the question of who has the responsibility to inform the Drivers' Licensing Authority of a patient's unfitness to drive - the patient or the practitioner? The Coroner recommends the establishment of a multi-agency committee to advance work in this area.

Medical certificates attesting fitness to drive.

Few if any sanctions have been imposed on doctors for inappropriate certification of fitness to drive. This paper reviews a recent Tribunal decision on inappropriate certification of fitness to drive. This paper reviews the facts of the case of Medical Board of Australia v Andrew and discusses the legal implications for doctors who certify patients as fit to drive.

Usefulness of Austroads' fitness-to-drive guidelines: lessons from the Gillett case.

Regina v Gillett deals with a man who did not disclose his epilepsy when seeking a drivers licence. Subsequently, he had a seizure while driving, causing an accident in which three people died. He was found guilty but appealed.

A brief primer on Good Samaritan law for health care professionals.

The Good Samaritan law is not found on the statute books, but has been a concept that courts have applied as public policy. However, this has recently changed in all the states and territories in Australia with the codification of Good Samaritan law. This paper is a timely reminder for health practitioners of the doctrine of the Good Samaritan, as well as the relative legal uncertainty of rescue at common law.

Wrongful death claims. Harriton v Stephens. [2002] NSWSC 461. Edwards v Blomeley. [2002] NSWSC 460. Waller v James [2002] NSWSC 462.

Studdert J in all three cases went to great length to summarise the global judicial position of "wrongful life" claims. He did not, however, examine in great length how or whether "wrongful life" claims or "wrongful birth" claims are reconcilable with tort and common law principles. Although the cases identify the difficulty in assessing and quantifying damages, they do not directly address the strict legal principles which apply in the assessment of damages.