Articles related to MALPRACTICE

The Unseen Gender Gap: Male Physicians Face Higher Malpractice Claims In the realm of medical practice, malpractice claims are an unfortunate reality. Navigating the landscape of medical malpractice claims reveals a complex interplay of factors. Age, medical specialty, and gender emerge as significant determinants of a physician’s likelihood to face such a claim. Did You Know? When claims do advance to trial, the jury finds in favor of the physician defendant in nearly 90% of cases.

Unpacking the Financial Implications of Medical Malpractice Understanding the financial environment of medical malpractice is essential for physicians. How might the costs associated with medical malpractice cases affect your business? Discover significant takeaways and risk-management techniques from a recent, high-profile case.

The case involves a 73-year-old patient, Ms. B, who had a history of rheumatoid arthritis and was taking prednisone for adrenal insufficiency caused by a pituitary tumor. She was treated by an internist, Dr. R, for various ailments over a period of four years. In November 2016, Ms. B was diagnosed with severe community-acquired pneumonia and admitted to the hospital, where she was treated with levofloxacin. After being discharged, she continued taking levofloxacin and suffered an acute rupture of the gluteus medius tendon, resulting in significant disabilities. Ms. B filed a lawsuit against Dr. R, alleging negligence and failure to inform her about the risks and contraindications of the medication. Dr. R sought a summary judgment to have the case dismissed but was denied by the court. The court ruled that a Boxed Warning on a medication, such as the one associated with levofloxacin, can create a triable issue of fact regarding a physician’s departure from accepted medical practice. Dr. R claimed he was unaware of the risks and relied on the hospitalists’ choice of medication, but the court found that he should have been knowledgeable about the specific risks and suitability of the medication for his patient. The case […]

An Idaho man received $13.5 million after a nearby hospital missed his stroke diagnosis by more than 12 hours. The jury’s finding that the emergency physician engaged in “reckless misconduct” allowed this case to exceed the usual Idaho cap on judgments for cases of this nature of $400,000.00.

“There have been a handful of cases which have now held, for one reason or another, that a third party can pursue a claim against a health care practitioner if they were injured as a result of that health care practitioner’s negligence to his or her own patient. What does this mean practically speaking? It opens the door for more lawsuits, lawsuits from people who were never your patient, but who may be impacted by a prescribing decision you make for your patient.”

Medical malpractice lawsuits are extremely common: Almost 50% of physicians aged 55 and older have been sued. Of the 7% of the medical liability claims that eventually did go to trial, 88% were won by the defendants. In other words, suits are common but wins by plaintiffs are uncommon. What are most doctors being sued for? Here is a list of the seven top causes of medical malpractice lawsuits.