The Lindsay Clancy trial raises a difficult question at the intersection of medicine and law: Was she experiencing postpartum psychosis, or did she understand and plan her actions? In this episode of Dr. Lawyer Breakdown, Dr. Joseph Ramos and host Bradford Keaty examine the evidence both sides are asking the jury to believe.

Dr. Joseph Ramos, a Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physician and the owner/lead attorney of Ramos Law Firm, explains the differences between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis, including the hallucinations and delusions that can accompany a break from reality. They also discuss Clancy’s mental health history, the medications found in her system, the competing interpretations of that evidence and the role expert witnesses may play in the jury’s decision.

From the legal side, the conversation explores premeditation, criminal responsibility, the differences between first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter, and what the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. They also consider the broader implications of the case for maternal mental healthcare, medical providers and mothers who may be afraid to ask for help.

This episode was recorded before the jury reached a verdict. Listen for a doctor-lawyer perspective on one of the most medically and legally complex trials in the national conversation.

Content warning: This episode discusses the deaths of children, suicide and severe maternal mental illness.

Roblox has become one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world, especially among children. But a growing number of lawsuits are raising serious questions about what can happen when young users enter an online world with millions of strangers.

Bradford Keaty and Dr. Joseph Ramos break down the lawsuits facing Roblox and the allegations that the platform has failed to adequately protect children from online predators and other potential dangers. They discuss how children can be targeted through online gaming platforms, what responsibility companies have to protect their users, the role parents play in monitoring their children’s online activity, and when a company could potentially be held legally responsible when its safety measures fail.

The episode also explores the larger challenge of protecting children online and how the law is attempting to keep pace with technology and platforms that have become an increasingly significant part of everyday life.

In this episode:

• Why Roblox is facing lawsuits over child safety
• How online gaming platforms can expose children to potential dangers
• What responsibility Roblox has for protecting young users
• The role parents play in keeping children safe online
• When an online platform could potentially be held legally responsible
• How these lawsuits could affect the future of online gaming and child safety

Who should ultimately be responsible for keeping children safe on platforms like Roblox: parents, the companies that operate them, or both? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Subscribe for more episodes of Dr. Lawyer Breakdown, where Bradford Keaty and Dr. Joseph Ramos explore everything from the mundane to the arcane through the worlds of law and medicine.

For decades, the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit has been treated as proof that people can sue over anything. But the actual facts of Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants tell a very different story.

Bradford Keaty and Dr. Joseph Ramos revisit the case that changed how Dr. Ramos viewed attorneys. They discuss Stella Liebeck’s third-degree burns, the hundreds of prior burn complaints, why McDonald’s served its coffee at approximately 180 to 190 degrees, how comparative fault affected the verdict, and why the widely repeated $2.7 million figure does not reflect what she ultimately received.

The episode also opens with a listener question about how to find a trustworthy hormone replacement therapy provider and closes with the story of how Dr. Ramos’s first instructional flight ended in a plane crash.

In this episode:

• What the public gets wrong about the McDonald’s hot coffee case
• How becoming an attorney changed Dr. Ramos’s perspective
• What punitive damages and comparative fault mean
• Why a judge can reduce a jury’s verdict
• Questions to ask when choosing an HRT provider
• The story of Dr. Ramos’s first plane crash

What famous lawsuit, medical question, or story from the intersection of law and medicine should we break down next? Leave your question in the comments.

Subscribe for more episodes of Dr. Lawyer Breakdown, where Bradford Keaty and Dr. Joseph Ramos explore everything from the mundane to the arcane through the worlds of law and medicine.