TL-DR
The systems are different and hard to compare but one definitely can sue the NHS, just as one can US healthcare providers. And just like US healthcare providers the NHS trusts donât noticeably change their behaviour as a result.
Well, negligible by US standards, yes. But not because of any specific protection given to the NHS or doctors generally.
Thatâs just due to the way we award damages here. We donât tend to go in for punitive damages (and when we do they are done very differently). Damages in the UK setting are generally restitutionary only.
Thatâs in fact what makes medical negligence claims in the UK one of the areas where damages awarded are highest - the difference in care expenses, loss of earnings, etc. between say damages for injuries suffered by a 50-year old man in a car accident and catastrophic injuries caused at birth by a negligent obstetrician is vast.
See for example -
And bear in mind, those figures are in a context where the NHS and other services will be providing a significant amount of care and support free of charge.
That also has an impact on damages awards if one is trying to compare with the US.
Claimants in the UK often donât need to claim for things that US claimants have to include (or at least not to the same level of funding, in our case itâs often having to top up rather than fund from scratch).
Also once awarded, our damages awards donât tend to get knocked down on appeal to anything like the extent US damages do. So our figure tends to be the figure the claimant actually receives whereas for a US claimant once the damages are awarded, thatâs often where the next round of legal battles start, leading up to either a reduced (and much less publicised) award or at the least a further whopping legal bill.
But in both systems, the prospect of having to pay out damages doesnât work terribly well to improve outcomes.
Itâs almost as if that invisible hand is not just invisible but also intangible.
I have images of a disembodied hand drawn like Susan Storm in invisible mode, flailing about madly, mostly phasing through solid objects unnoticed but occasionally being solid enough to knock over and smash Aunt Mavisâs prized Ming (reproduction) vase.
Safe May Day
With the May Day holiday fast approaching, officials around the country have appealed to the public to observe restrictions on gatherings of more than ten people.
The Kuopio-based Savon Sanomat reports that local police are prepared to enforce the rules and will be keeping an eye on spots that usually see crowds celebrating in Kuopio, Pieksämäki, Iisalmi and Varkaus. It reports that a group of young people held a party in Kuopio last weekend, despite the ban on large gatherings, and the same has happened in other towns and cities.
The daily Iltalehti notes that picnics with are a regular part of May Day tradition for many people, but are not a good idea this year.
Instead, the paper provides readers with a list of alternative ideas, and advice.
Top of the list is organising an online, virtual picnic or spreading a blanket and setting out food and drink the back yard, on the balcony, or in the living room.
One advantage of picnicking with friends and family from home via video link is that no one will cancel because of the weather.
If you do attend a small, under-10 person picnic, Iltalehti suggests you bring your own food and drink and maintain strict social distancing - and do your best to eat your doughnuts without touching your face.
The City of Helsinki is urging residents to spend the holiday at home. The Helsinki traditions of putting a student cap on the Havis Amanda statue and holding a May Day eve concert will go ahead - but streamed online. The City is also this year offering streams on May Day of concerts by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the a cappella jazz ensemble Rajaton.
They but up a fence around Havis Amanda.
I really hope drunken students have some senseâŚ
One of the early cases in Toronto was at the big mining convention in March.
where I went for a meeting, yay 
He seemed pretty unfazed about how the money was being distributed until he found out it might go to a black person.
Yes, youâre right, technically Indiana is part of the Midwest regional alliance. However, as our governor put it:
At his daily briefing, Pritzker described the Midwest deal as âa formal partnershipâ to work together. The decisions made by each of the seven states will not necessarily be identical.
Whatâs most important is that the states have agreed to use âsimilar criteriaâ in making decisions about reopening their economies and to act to âprotect workers and customersâ when they do, he said.
Basically, Indiana is part of the group because NW Indiana is literally part of the greater Chicagoland area (many people live in NWI and cross the border every day to work), but they never really followed the same distancing guidelines, and theyâre not about to start now. Thereâs a lot of prejudice against city types (donât get me started), so they are not going to do what has been shown to work in cities.
Oh no, if we develop a heightened sense of having to look into peopleâs eyes because so much of the face is obscured, that will not work well for those on the autism spectrum. One of the nicest aspects of our current situation is that people donât know how to show emotion with masks on, and so everyone is much more understanding that we just do what we need to do and not waste time emoting in public. Itâs so much less mental work!
No, I actually envy you that you didnât know who those two self-hating Aunt Jemima opportunists are⌠I sure wish I still didnât.
Hoo boy.
Thread:
Gosh, it sure would be terrible if the one guy in this group who refused to wear PPE in a hospital in the midst of a pandemic somehow ended up bringing the virus back to his workplace.
This was today? I havenât seen an elbow bump since early March. Weâve all learned even that is too close. To say nothing of doing it WHILE TALKING with no mask on.
As far as Iâm concerned, this is an example of attempted negligent homicide.
