Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

This doctor has post-litigation stress disorder

Maryanna Barrett, MD
Physician
May 10, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

I am sure that I have post-litigation stress disorder. It does not actually exist yet as a recognized disorder, but I definitely have it.

You know what else? Countless other physicians have it too.

We don’t talk about it. Besides the fact that lawyers forbid you to speak of ongoing litigation to anyone, especially colleagues, there is such a culture of shame surrounding this subject. Although we now live in a world where “it’s not if, but when,” we still tell ourselves and each other, subliminally, that being sued means you are a terrible doctor. So we accept this ugly lie as absolute truth, and we bury and internalize the shame.

This is about to get very vulnerable. I will not bury it any longer. It’s not just hurting me, it is yet another institutional barrier between my patients and me, so it is damaging the doctor-patient relationship as well.

I want to share my experience with both my physician colleagues and patients, precisely those from whom we hide this insidious shame.

When I was in medical school, I recall the fear of litigation being a deterrent to doctors entering the field of OB/GYN. As I progressed through OB/GYN residency, I told myself that I didn’t need to worry about that. I was passionate about the field, I was very good at my craft, I was a hard worker who always brought my A-game, and I had a very kind and compassionate bedside manner. I thought I had all the protection I needed against litigation.

Fast forward to a few months shy of 10 years of private practice, and I was served my first summons.

I was in my office (that’s right, the plaintiff’s attorney had it delivered to my office while I took care of my patients) when my manager led a gentleman from the waiting room to my desk because he was “required by law” to speak to me.

At least he was civilian — I know some colleagues have been served in this same manner but by uniformed police. This is the process of demoralization step one. When I realized what was happening, I truly had an out-of-body experience. Thank god for the meditation practice I had started a few years prior. Otherwise, I am not sure how I would have made it through the next few hours and the end of my clinic day.

Demoralization step two is an inch-thick pile of blithering legalese, cut and pasted from an out-of-date, law school template, that is peppered with deeply personal and professional gut punches like “negligence.” My advice: Do not read this. Besides the fact that it is a giant waste of a doctor’s valuable time, in my experience, there is a very vague complaint, very little substance and a great deal of emotional abuse in it — as I said, demoralization step number two. Let your attorney read it and ask them for the cliff notes. Save your emotional energy for believing in yourself and defending your good practice of medicine.

Demoralization step three comes from all directions but sadly may even come from the defense team when they tell you, “This isn’t personal.”

Correction, it is not personal to attorneys. To the doctors who have sacrificed and poured themselves, mind, body, and soul into the lifelong pursuit of their craft and the care of their patients, it is deeply, profoundly personal. To the patient who had a bad outcome and has now been convinced by some greedy ambulance-chaser that their trusted, compassionate doctor maliciously injured them, it is deeply, profoundly personal.

This brings me to pain and suffering. Of course, we all know that for lawyers, pain and suffering are ways to pad a settlement or judgment.

ADVERTISEMENT

But what of the pain and suffering that the patient and their family endure over years of legal back and forth, having their personal medical history become public record through depositions and court proceedings, reliving and retelling their tragedy over and over again.

At the end of the painful, years-long legal process, when they get a settlement or judgment, and their attorney takes 40 percent (after expenses) maybe more, is their lot improved or their pain and suffering alleviated?

And what if they get no settlement or judgment? What about the pain and suffering of physicians who are emotionally broken by the trauma of this process and the impact that this has on their families and their other patients? Or the suffering of patients who cannot find a caring, compassionate physician because of this malignant legal climate?

The demoralization ripples outward.

I am not suggesting that there should be no legal recourse for true medical malpractice.

What I am saying is that not every bad outcome can be predicted or prevented, and not every bad outcome is the result of malpractice.

Launching this malicious, formulaic, yet highly personal attack on doctors and emotionally manipulating patients at a very fragile time in their lives is a perversion. A bad outcome can be investigated without demoralizing doctors and emotionally traumatizing patients. Litigation in this country does not serve to protect patients but, rather, has become yet another billion-dollar industry that commoditizes the doctor-patient relationship.

Concerning my own painful malpractice experience, my conscience is crystal clear with respect to the care I delivered, but I still carry the trauma and the shame heaped upon me by this vile industry. Like most doctors, I think that I have a reasonably iron constitution, but I know that it has affected my family and my relationships with my other patients, which gives me both tremendous sorrow and rage all at once.

The doctor-patient relationship is not served by our current litigation system, and in fact, is deeply wounded by it. Anything that does not serve the patient and supports the doctor-patient relationship has no place in health care. There may be a plaintiff’s attorney on every billboard you pass, but doctors are fleeing this hostile system in droves. Who do you want to deliver your baby’s baby?

Maryanna Barrett is an obstetrician-gynecologist and can be reached at Not a Commodity and on Twitter @CommodityNot and Facebook.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses: A forensic pathologist explains [PODCAST]

May 9, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

Not gone, but nearly forgotten: HIV in youths during COVID

May 10, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Malpractice

Post navigation

< Previous Post
What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses: A forensic pathologist explains [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Not gone, but nearly forgotten: HIV in youths during COVID

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Maryanna Barrett, MD

  • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

    Maryanna Barrett, MD
  • My insurance company is making me sick

    Maryanna Barrett, MD
  • My experience as a clinical research subject

    Maryanna Barrett, MD

Related Posts

  • Osler and the doctor-patient relationship

    Leonard Wang
  • How cartoons can alleviate medical stress

    Dan Rosandich
  • Finding a new doctor is like dating

    R. Lynn Barnett
  • Doctor, how are you, really?

    Deborah Courtney
  • Be a human first and a doctor second

    Sarah Murad
  • The post-baccalaureate pre-health program experience

    Sheindel Ifrah

More in Physician

  • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

    Julian Gendreau, MD
  • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • The dying man who gave me flowers changed how I see care

    Augusta Uwah, MD
  • How market forces fracture millennial physicians’ careers

    Shannon Meron, MD
  • Unity in primary care: Why I believe physicians and NPs/PAs must work together toward the same goal

    Jerina Gani, MD, MPH
  • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

    Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why palliative care is more than just end-of-life support

      Dr. Vishal Parackal | Conditions
    • When life makes you depend on Depends

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Physician
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How denial of hypertension endangers lives and what doctors can do

      Dr. Aminat O. Akintola | Conditions
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Imagining a career path beyond medicine and its impact

      Hunter Delmoe | Education
    • What is professional identity formation in medicine?

      Adrian Reynolds, PhD | Education
    • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

      Julian Gendreau, MD | Physician
    • When recurrent UTIs might actually be bladder cancer

      Fara Bellows, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors should rethink investing compared to the average U.S. investor [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why palliative care is more than just end-of-life support

      Dr. Vishal Parackal | Conditions
    • When life makes you depend on Depends

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Physician
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How denial of hypertension endangers lives and what doctors can do

      Dr. Aminat O. Akintola | Conditions
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Imagining a career path beyond medicine and its impact

      Hunter Delmoe | Education
    • What is professional identity formation in medicine?

      Adrian Reynolds, PhD | Education
    • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

      Julian Gendreau, MD | Physician
    • When recurrent UTIs might actually be bladder cancer

      Fara Bellows, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors should rethink investing compared to the average U.S. investor [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

This doctor has post-litigation stress disorder
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...