Medical malpractice lawsuits – why doctors get sued

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits – Why Doctors Get Sued Medical malpractice lawsuits wherein review of the injured party’s medical records has a significant role to play can be quite distressing.

Here is a look at why doctors get sued.

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Medical malpractice lawsuits such as the one faced by a California physician wherein review of the injured party’s medical records has a significant role to play, can be quite distressing, complicated and time consuming. Illegible and incomplete medical records often contribute to medical negligence and malpractice litigation, and can prove highly damaging to a physician in case of an unfortunate adverse event. In the above mentioned case, the physician is accused of multiple acts of negligence in a complaint filed with the state Osteopathic Medical Board. The main allegations are that the doctor kept unreadable and incomplete medical records and provided treatments that were not medically necessary. For the doctor to be found negligent in his duty, a comprehensive medical records review of the claimant should yield results that support the medical board’s argument.

Here are the activities of the California doctor that could prove damaging to his case. 

Prescribed/supplied dangerous drugs and controlled substances without properly examining his patients.

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Kept inaccurate and insufficient medical records.

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For one particular patient, he maintained two sets of medical records.

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For another patient the doctor administered drugs and vitamins intravenously, but did not keep sufficient documentation to support its medical necessity.

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He did not perform a relevant physical exam for one of his patients. He treated her with opioids, muscle relaxant and antidepressant but never bothered to evaluate the effect they had on her.

Medical Errors May Be the Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S A recent research study published in the BMJ reveals the fact that medical errors in hospitals and healthcare facilities are very common and may now be the third leading cause of death in the U.S. It claims around 251,000 lives every year and supersedes accidents, stroke, respiratory diseases and Alzheimer’s. The professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who led the research pointed out that everything from bad doctors to general issues such as breakdown in communication when patients were being transferred from one department to another had a role to play in medical malpractice.

A Medscape survey on the topic of medical malpractice found 60% of respondent doctors admitting that they have been sued at least once. Shockingly enough, 85% of Ob-Gyn and Women’s Health doctors reported being sued. Next in line were surgeons (83%), orthopedists

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(79%), and radiologists (72%). The survey shows that the top two reasons why doctors get sued are “failure to diagnose” (31%) and “patient suffered an abnormal injury” (31%). Another reason is “failure to treat” (12%). Doctors got sued for the following as well. 

Post-operative infection

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Injury/death during surgery

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Delayed or misdiagnosis of cancer

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Misdiagnosed cardiac emergency

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In-hospital infections

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Falls in hospital room

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Medication errors

Interestingly, the survey found that only 3% of medical malpractice cases go to trial and return a verdict favoring the plaintiff. Most of these lawsuits (31%) are settled before trial, are voluntarily withdrawn by the plaintiff, or are dismissed by the court.

Why Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Are Filed Medical errors may be inadvertent and a lawsuit is traumatic to most physicians. Many of them feel humiliated, incompetent, lonely and isolated and it may even have a negative impact on their marriage and family. Studies on malpractice and medical negligence cases show that often poor communication and the patient perceiving the doctor as uncaring and at fault for the bad outcome are the main reasons that trigger a lawsuit. Communication problems mainly exist in the following forms: 

Abandoning the patient

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Failing to understand the viewpoint of the patient and his/her family

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Providing information poorly or inadequately

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Undervaluing the views of the patient/family

Another thing that sets off such lawsuits is anger on the part of the patient stemming either from the bad outcome or from the perception that the doctor doesn’t care. Sometimes the injury may not even be serious and the claim may lack merit. In such cases, the frustration of the patient with the hospital or physician leads to a lawsuit. Patients often only want their doctor to give them a simple and honest explanation of what really happened, or an apology

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if that is appropriate. When neither of these is forthcoming, they feel hurt and wronged and proceed to file a malpractice lawsuit.

What Physicians Can Do Physicians need to ensure that they listen to their patients, which is the first step in communication. Patients want their doctors to explain to them their health problems and the treatment plans they have for them in clear and simple language.

It is important to remember that when it comes to risk management of medical malpractice claims, the responsibility falls directly on the physician. The risk exists with each physician throughout each moment of providing care to their patients. To minimize malpractice risk, physicians must 

Have a clear awareness of all the high-risk areas

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Take proactive and affirmative measures to manage those high-priority threats

This is the best way to ensure protection for themselves – either by avoiding medical malpractice claims totally, or by being prepared to defend and defeat a lawsuit that may arise regardless of the effective measures taken.

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