Lawyers Weekly launches Medical Law Reports for Virginia & Missouri.

Lawyers Weekly, Inc. (LWI; Boston, MA) has begun the publication of two new quarterly newspapers, Missouri Medical Law Report and Virginia Medical Law Report. Both titles have accompanying web sites. The Virginia title will have a controlled circulation of 17,000 doctors and medical professionals with the Missouri edition going to 14,500 health professionals.

LWI said the new publications cover "issues of concern to medical professionals" in the two respective states. They are described as the only newspapers in Virginia and Missouri "presenting unique, law-related issues to medical professionals." LWI said the new titles are designed to cover legal developments that impact how doctors practice from both a risk management erspective and a practice management perspective, assisting subscribers in becoming "better doctors and better business managers."

Content includes two major sections for both titles. A features section for initial issues carry articles on a variety of legal, medical and management issues, including such topics as medical non-compete agreements, serving as an expert witness, tort reform, the legal risks of hosting a medical web site, Medicare reimbursement, and Norfolk's Mental Health Court.

The "Verdict & Settlement Reports" section of the newspapers categorize information into three sections: Verdicts in Favor of Doctors, Settlements and Verdicts in Favor of Patients, and covers such topics as defamation, medical malpractice and misdiagnosis. By publishing case studies (settlements and verdicts) of professional negligence, LWI said it hopes to supply "insight to other doctors on how to avoid litigation in a similar situation."