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In this episode, we explore the emotional impact of medical malpractice lawsuits on physicians and how they can navigate the process. Attorney Christine Zharova shares her insights on how these lawsuits can affect relationships with colleagues, staff, …
Navigating the emotional impact of a medical malpractice lawsuit [PODCAST]
In a medical malpractice lawsuit, your defense is completely in the hands of the malpractice carrier, and, make no mistake of it, its interests come first. However, the medical malpractice insurance contract is more instrumental in the defense of a doctor than insurance companies realize. There are clauses in the contract that, at first glance, seem to benefit carriers. However, there is a flip side to each clause.
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The prevailing party contract is not the only contract that can protect a doctor in medical malpractice litigation. There is also the doctor-defense counsel contract.
Because of the risk of litigation, doctors often have a contract with a medical malpractice insurance carrier. The carrier offers to cover litigation costs in exchange for premiums, limits on liability, and other terms of coverage. The insurance company is then obligated to appoint and pay …
The importance of a clear contract with your defense counsel in medical malpractice cases
There are 50,000 medical malpractice lawsuits filed per year. Each doctor has a 5 percent chance of being sued each year, and every doctor will be sued at least once in 20 years. 70 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits are non-meritorious and are dropped. These represent 35,000 frivolous lawsuits. Until now, there is no way to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit.
America is a litigious society. The medical liability …
How to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit
An excerpt from The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication.
Team building is a popular trend in health care. It promotes cooperation, trust and respect, improves communication, and enhances patient outcomes. Most of the time.
But the camaraderie and familiarity of working with the same group of people …
Communication protocols exist for a reason
Time of death: unknown.
It was around 6 p.m. on April 21, 2013.
My mom saw my grandfather dying slowly in the hospital bed.
She had pressed the nurse call button frantically over the last 20 minutes.
She rushed to the nurse station only to find out nobody was there.
She went back to my grandfather and spent the last three minutes with him.
She was the one who saw my grandfather’s bpm (beats per minute) …
Don’t lie about medical errors. Apologize.
A medical malpractice process is a lot like running a marathon.
The analogy makes it easy to understand why physicians are emotionally unready to go through years of litigation and often find themselves struggling.
To successfully make it through the grueling 26.2 miles, a runner has to be well-prepared.
It’s common for runners to join a running group. Sometimes, engage a coach who can help to train smart.
Runners will spend months building up …
Medical malpractice is a lot like running a marathon
In response to a medication administration error that led to the death of a 75-year-old patient, RaDonda Vaught, a registered nurse working in Tennessee, was recently found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross negligence of an impaired adult.
As a result, she was sentenced to three years of probation with the promise that her criminal record would be expunged if she successfully completes the sentence.
Months after this …
What hospitals can learn from the RaDonda Vaught case
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“The worry and anticipation of getting sued are heightened more than ever in the wake of the pandemic. It is in all physicians’ minds. I recently did a quick poll in some of my physician groups on …
What to do if you’re involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit [PODCAST]
Lawsuits are conventional in medical practice.
An unhappy patient hires a malpractice attorney, who hires a medical expert, who interprets the standards of care and generalizes a departure from the standards of care and proximate cause. The preponderance of evidence is 50% certainty plus an ill-defined scintilla, which needs to be only 0.01% to be good enough.
The lawyer sues the doctor, who notifies the malpractice carrier, hires a defense counsel, and …
Breaking the vicious cycle of medical malpractice lawsuits
Medical mistakes are as old as the practice of medicine itself, but it wasn’t until 1999 that the United States started paying more attention to them.
Over twenty years later, we may be reducing medical errors — a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found significant decreases in mistakes in cases of pneumonia, acute myocardial infarction, heart …
We’re reacting to medical errors the wrong way
That health care in the United States is wildly expensive is beyond debate — but the actual numbers are almost beyond belief. In 2010, for example, health care costs amounted to $2.6-trillion. By 2020, those costs had risen to $4 trillion — an increase of more than 50%. Worse, such increases show no signs of slowing.
Health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket expenses, and direct government expenses all add up to a nearly …
Denying essential medical care doesn’t save money — or lives
It’s 4 a.m. when a 17-year-old awakens at home with severe left shoulder pain that his worried parents call 911. By the time he reaches the emergency room (ER), he has pain all the way to his wrist.
“Any recent injuries?” asks the doctor.
“Yeah, about three days ago, I was lifting about 200 pounds at the gym and noticed that my shoulder was really sore.”
When questioned further, he admits that he’d …
Teen dies when blood culture protocol botched: What can we learn from this tragedy?
“Your worst enemy cannot hurt you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”
– The Buddha.
On her 44th birthday, Dr. Maya Williams took in all she had accomplished: her recent partnership in her radiology practice, two beautiful middle-school daughters, and the enduring marriage to her medical school sweetheart.
It was devastating when she opened a registered letter outlining a malpractice case against her later that day. Allegedly, she had failed to communicate …
Using inquiry-based stress reduction to treat medical malpractice stress syndrome
When most health care professionals hear the word “malpractice,” they want to run the other way. This is understandable—but also a missed opportunity. We can leverage malpractice data to target and drive investment in patient safety efforts. Malpractice data shows us that good communication and teamwork are vital to preventing adverse events and malpractice claims—while dramatically improving working conditions and enhancing patient safety.
Malpractice data shows that communication-related factors contribute to …
Malpractice may be negative, but its data can generate positive results
I recently wrote a letter to the Davidson County, TN judge who will sentence RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse convicted on two felony counts in the 2017 death of a patient. RaDonda faces up to 12 years in prison for her role in a complex chain of events that led to the death of Charlene Murphey. I shared my belief that incarcerating Ms. Vaught will not …
Why a nurse should not go to jail
Medical-legal consulting is a great way to use your medical training in a non-clinical field that helps people. Physicians all over the country are now doing medical-legal consulting as a rewarding part-time gig.
One service out of many we provide is to give our opinions regarding the causation of traumatic injuries. Some attorneys ask us to provide opinion letters regarding a particular injury caused in a work-related situation, a personal injury …
An example of medical-legal consulting
“Arguably one of the most overlooked yet incredibly important aspects of your malpractice insurance policy is the Consent to Settle Provision. You’re paying thousands of dollars a year for your malpractice insurance; you should have a say in how your claims are handled, don’t you think? Today we’re going to talk …
Understanding your medical malpractice insurance policy [PODCAST]
On December 27, 2017, as the result of a medication error, 75-year-old Charlene Murphey died tragically at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The nurse who administered the medication, RaDonda Vaught, was criminally convicted for the mishap and the case ultimately caught the attention of the entire global health care community.
Unfortunately, medical errors are not an uncommon occurrence in health care. In fact, they are believed to be the third leading …
The criminalization of true medical errors is a step backwards for patient safety
Tony (not his real name) was one of those patients who came to be a friend. I was his doctor for 11 years, guiding him through some very difficult times with a chronic autoimmune disease. He was a handyman, a fly fisherman, a husband, a father and a man of deep faith.
His condition was difficult to control, but he always offered a smile as he patiently and hopefully waded through …
Malpractice: an officer of the court
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