CARLISLE, Pa. — Dickinson Law will host “Treating Medical Errors: A Medical-Legal Colloquium” on Thursday, Oct. 20, in the Apfelbaum Family Courtroom and Auditorium, Lewis Katz Hall, in Carlisle. The Penn State community is invited to register to attend this event.
This inter-professional event provides Dickinson Law students and pediatric medicine residents from Penn State Children’s Hospital an opportunity to learn how the legal system treats medical errors while participating in a mock trial. Law students work in teams to teach medical residents about the law of medical negligence, and prepare them to testify as defendants and expert witnesses in medical malpractice litigation. In turn, the residents teach the law students about the relevant medical terminology and concepts in order to strengthen the theory of the case. Sarah W. Arosell (Class of 1990), partner and chair of the Medical Malpractice and Healthcare Practice Group at Thomas Thomas & Hafer LLP, will preside over the trial, which will be presented to a volunteer jury and observers.
The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The mock trial takes place in the morning. Over lunch, the jury deliberates, delivering a verdict immediately afterward. All attendees and participants will have an opportunity to discuss the trial informally over lunch before engaging in a more structured discussion on the tort system’s treatment of medical errors and possibilities for reform.
“This program provides an excellent introduction to medical negligence for students who are new to this area of law; for more experienced students, it demonstrates the powerful influence of factors outside of the law in the outcome of medical malpractices cases,” said Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic Medha Makhlouf. “Most importantly, the colloquium allows students to interact and work cooperatively with physicians and engage in challenging discussions about reform of the health care system — discussions that are typically siloed in the legal and medical professions, respectively.”
The event is organized by Makhlouf and Dr. Steven J. Wassner, professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine and chief of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension at the Children’s Hospital.