Malpractice and medical liability

1,592 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 21

The double tragedy of medicine’s battlefield mentality

April 3, 2012Apr 3, 201214

The mother of the dead baby sat in her husband's arms and simply asked "why?" over and over through the Vietnamese interpreter. I had no way to answer the question. I didn't know why. There was nothing to point to.…

The mother of the dead baby sat in her husband’s arms and simply asked “why?” over and over through the Vietnamese interpreter. I had no way to answer the question. I didn’t know why. There was nothing to point to. No defect in the child or mother or the actions taken in L&D.

All I could do was say “I am so sorry” … for your baby, for you … for …

Physician voices

The necessary steps healthcare must take for patient safety

Michael Appel, MD

March 24, 2012Mar 24, 20126

Unlike most other industries, safety in healthcare has a unique set of circumstances to overcome: 1) patients die from errors one-at-a-time, and 2) we rarely find out exactly why. The “sensationalism” from a front-page disaster is completely absent. And, due…

As we ride the crest of a current wave of interest in “patient safety,” is the refreshing new focus blinding …

Patient voices

Improving patient safety requires a commitment to transparency

Paul Levy

March 15, 2012Mar 15, 20125

An excerpt from Goal Play!: Leadership Lessons from the Soccer Field. I recently had lunch with one of my soccer alumnae, now aged 28. Tovah said to me, “Do you remember that play I made in the tournament we went…

An excerpt from Goal Play!: Leadership Lessons from the Soccer Field.

I recently had lunch with one of my soccer alumnae, now aged 28. Tovah said to me, “Do you remember that play I made in the tournament we went to in Connecticut? I mean when I mistakenly headed the ball into our own goal and caused us to lose the game.”

“Well, I was devastated and was sitting on the …

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Health policy

Reducing the emotional impact of medical malpractice

Kevin Pho, MD

February 26, 2012Feb 26, 20129

A version of this op-ed was published on January 17, 2012 in USA Today. Ask doctors about what concerns them the most, and chances are they'll say, "medical malpractice." Indeed, most physicians will be sued sometime during their careers. A…

A version of this op-ed was published on January 17, 2012 in USA Today.

Ask doctors about what concerns them the most, and chances are they’ll say, “medical malpractice.” Indeed, most physicians will be sued sometime during their careers. A recent New England Journal of Medicine study found that 75% of doctors who practice psychiatry, pediatrics or family medicine will be …

Physician voices

When is it better for doctors to make mistakes?

Karen S. Sibert, MD

February 24, 2012Feb 24, 20123

Back in the 1990’s, my husband and I spent a year working at one of the largest hospitals in West Virginia. The patients were the nicest people in the world, and the hospital staff was terrific—kind, generous, and hard working. Some of the surgeons were excellent, but others definitely were not. My husband (a cardiac anesthesiologist) and I had to cope with surgical complications the likes of which we had …

Physician voices

Why the civil litigation system is unfair to physicians

Chris Rangel, MD

February 24, 2012Feb 24, 201234

It’s unclear how many non-legal persons actually understand how different civil trials are from criminal proceedings. Most people have heard that juries in criminal trials are told that they can only find a defendant guilty if their belief that the defendant is guilty is beyond a reasonable doubt. Federal courts define this term further as, “proof of such a convincing character that a reasonable person would not hesitate to act …

Physician voices

5 ways to avoid a misdiagnosis

Evan Falchuk

February 13, 2012Feb 13, 20125

Billionaire Teddy Forstmann had been diagnosed with a serious form of brain cancer. There’s a tragic twist to the story: according to Fox Business News, Forstmann believes that for more than a year, he had been misdiagnosed with meningitis. ABC…

Billionaire Teddy Forstmann had been diagnosed with a serious form of brain cancer. There’s a tragic twist to the story: according to Fox Business News, Forstmann believes that for more than a year, he had been misdiagnosed with meningitis.

ABC News wonders, “How could such a misfortune befall a billionaire —- a man able to afford the best doctors, best technology and the most sophisticated diagnostic tests?”

They’re missing the point. …

Read more…

5 ways to avoid a misdiagnosis

Conditions and diseases

Avoid malpractice while treating minor head trauma in children

Maxwell S. Kennerly

February 10, 2012Feb 10, 20128

In October 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 60% increase in “emergency department visits for sports– and recreation–related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents” over the past decade. That’s good news: as the CDC’s press release said, they believe the increase was due in part to “growing awareness among parents and coaches, and the public as a whole, about the need for individuals with a suspected …

Physician voices

The fear of malpractice will always be in the back of my mind

Mandy Huggins, MD

February 6, 2012Feb 6, 201226

“I wouldn’t hesitate to sue you.” I’m sorry, what? That is what I heard from the mother of one of my patients. I was evaluating a high school athlete who had recurrent stingers (nerve injury that affects an upper limb,…

“I wouldn’t hesitate to sue you.”

I’m sorry, what?

That is what I heard from the mother of one of my patients. I was evaluating a high school athlete who had recurrent stingers (nerve injury that affects an upper limb, usually resolves with time) and a possible episode of transient quadriparesis (affecting all limbs this time). I wasn’t on the sidelines for these injuries, so I had to go on the reports …

Physician voices

Patients will understand an honest mistake if the doctor tells the truth

Neil Baum, MD

January 28, 2012Jan 28, 20124

It was 1976 and I was a junior resident in urology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. I was assigned to a rotation in pathology where my job was to process specimens taken at surgery, dictate a gross description of the specimen and then place the specimens into the cassettes that would be used to make the permanent sections. I was transferring a prostate biopsy, approximately 0.5mm x …

Health technology

Solving distracted doctoring from smartphones and tablets

Kevin Pho, MD

December 15, 2011Dec 15, 20115

Imagine that your neurosurgeon, during surgery, was talking on his cellphone using a headset. Unthinkable? Well, no. A recent article in the New York Times cites a case where a patient was left paralyzed and the neurosurgeon was sued, in…

Imagine that your neurosurgeon, during surgery, was talking on his cellphone using a headset.

Unthinkable?

Well, no. A recent article in the New York Times cites a case where a patient was left paralyzed and the neurosurgeon was sued, in part, for being distracted. He made 10 personal calls during the operation.

The proliferation of portable electronic devices, smartphones, tablets, and the …

Health policy

Health reform that offers relief from fear and greed

Ernie Vesta, MD

December 9, 2011Dec 9, 20115

What if we had considered the following items within health care reform? What if physicians were able to practice medicine with reduced fear of malpractice litigation? Some estimates believe the cost of defensive medicine approaches 30%. What if patients were…

What if we had considered the following items within health care reform?

What if physicians were able to practice medicine with reduced fear of malpractice litigation? Some estimates believe the cost of defensive medicine approaches 30%.

What if patients were to be offered a different process for conflict resolution before litigation, one that is partially driven by greed? What if this process provided a remedy which met all our future financial and …

Physician voices

The culture of medicine needs to change

Sharon Bahrych, PA-C, MPH

November 23, 2011Nov 23, 20117

I’ve been involved in clinical medicine for more than 20 years and during this time I’ve come across numerous situations that created stress, or emotional upheaval within myself, and even times of burnout. At one point, I came close to permanently leaving my chosen profession. The culture of medicine is not geared towards allowing health care providers to de-stress, acquire emotional support, or discuss in an encouraging environment various conflictive …

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The culture of medicine needs to change

Patient voices

Protecting patients from medical apology programs

Gabriel H. Teninbaum

November 20, 2011Nov 20, 20116

To deal with the aftermath of medical errors, an increasing number of providers are encouraging injured patients to participate in "medical apology programs." The idea, proponents say, is for patients to meet with facility representatives to learn what happened and…

To deal with the aftermath of medical errors, an increasing number of providers are encouraging injured patients to participate in “medical apology programs.” The idea, proponents say, is for patients to meet with facility representatives to learn what happened and why. It gives the patient a chance to ask questions and it gives providers a chance to apologize, and as appropriate, offer compensation. These programs are promoted as humanitarian, and, …

Patient voices

A few more minutes with Andy Rooney

Pat Mastors

November 16, 2011Nov 16, 201112

"I died last week, just a month after I said goodbye to you all from this very desk. I had a long and happy life - well, as happy as a cranky old guy could ever be. 92. Not bad.…

“I died last week, just a month after I said goodbye to you all from this very desk. I had a long and happy life – well, as happy as a cranky old guy could ever be. 92. Not bad. And gotta say, seeing my Margie, and Walter, and all my old friends again is great.

But then I read what killed me: ‘serious complications following minor surgery.’

Now what the heck …

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A few more minutes with Andy Rooney

Physician voices

When doctors have to be reminded how to act like human beings

Linda Burke, MD

November 5, 2011Nov 5, 201112

It’s a sad commentary when human beings have to be reminded how to act like human beings, especially when they’re in the helping profession. Loni Hildebrandt was a 29-year old certified nursing assistant who was pregnant with her first baby.…

It’s a sad commentary when human beings have to be reminded how to act like human beings, especially when they’re in the helping profession.

Loni Hildebrandt was a 29-year old certified nursing assistant who was pregnant with her first baby. Make that two babies because she was pregnant with twins. Hildebrandt considered her pregnancy miraculous because she had infertility and was a diabetic since the age of one. Together, she and …

Physician voices

Physicians who cash in on a woman’s desire to be beautiful

Linda Burke, MD

October 24, 2011Oct 24, 201114

Three young mothers under the age of 40 are dead because they wanted to be beautiful. Kellee Lee-Howard wanted a slimmer body. Ditto Maria Shortall and Rohie Kah-Orukatan. Shortall worked as a housekeeper; Lee-Howard was the mother of six kids and Kah-Orukotan died at the same place where she received manicures. What do these women have in common besides being minorities? They had liposuction procedures performed by men who offered …

Physician voices

It’s time for a VBAC court

Amy Tuteur, MD

October 18, 2011Oct 18, 201110

We understand the problem: the VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) rate is too low. It's time for a bold solution. We need a "VBAC Court." VBAC is a safe option for most women, and almost 3/4 of women who opt…

We understand the problem: the VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) rate is too low. It’s time for a bold solution. We need a “VBAC Court.”

VBAC is a safe option for most women, and almost 3/4 of women who opt a VBAC will deliver vaginally and avoid another C-section. But we also know that approximately 0.8% of women attempting VBAC will end up with a ruptured uterus, a catastrophic complication …

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It’s time for a VBAC court

Health policy

Tort reform and integrated systems in health reform

Mitchell Brooks, MD

October 17, 2011Oct 17, 20115

Here are my next two principles of affordable healthcare reform. First, healthcare reform cannot occur without tort reform. Anything less is akin to a drunk leaning up against a lamppost for support but insisting it is for illumination. It is…

Here are my next two principles of affordable healthcare reform.

First, healthcare reform cannot occur without tort reform. Anything less is akin to a drunk leaning up against a lamppost for support but insisting it is for illumination.

It is well known that fear of malpractice suits accounts for defensive medicine; e.g., performing tests and procedures and making unnecessary referrals to assure staying out of the court room. We are all …

Physician voices

Lawsuits are more of an emotional issue than a financial one

Richard Young, MD

October 3, 2011Oct 3, 20117

Doctors love to talk about tort reform – states passing laws to put limits on awards such as non-economic damages for harms such as pain and suffering, and on the legal process of suing a doctor for malpractice. They speak of defensive medicine – the practice of ordering extra tests, treatments, and days in a hospital to cover their medical-legal butts.

Texas passed a comprehensive tort reform law in 2003 …

Malpractice and medical liability

Articles, page 21

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