Physician Risk Management 2013-08-01

A growing number of lawsuits involve poor communication — multiple MDs involved

It's an increasingly common scenario in a malpractice suit: A primary care physician refers a patient to a specialist, and each assumes the other is communicating the need for follow-up or further testing.

MD got dismissed due to this documentation

The MRI result and response fell through the cracks, she says, and the documentation showed a path directly to the neurosurgeon.

Suit alleged failure to follow up on result

After a hospitalized patient was discharged, an abnormal lab result was sent to her primary care provider. That provider apparently filed the lab result in the patient's chart without recognizing the abnormality.

Radiology misreads are tough to defend

Radiology errors are difficult to address in medical malpractice claims because at that point in time, everyone, including the jury, knows the patient's injury.

When a radiology finding is missed, make case defensible

Did a radiologist contact the ordering physician about a finding? If so, it is important for the radiologist to document why the call was made, when the conversation with the ordering physician occurred, and the substance of any conversation had.

Patient can't hear you? Legal risks abound

If a hearing-impaired patient asked you for a sign language interpreter, would you readily agree or ask that the patient communicate with written notes instead?

Residents make more errors when they work shorter shifts

While many believe that legal risks would be reduced as a result of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's reduction in resident shift lengths from 30 to 16 hours, two recent studies suggest that the opposite is true.

Will med/mal suit be filed? Here's how attorneys decide

Did the physician act as a reasonably careful professional? If not, did the failure to act in this manner cause a significant injury

Consent refused? Take appropriate action

In 2002, a police officer took custody of a 5-week-old febrile infant girl after her parents refused to consent to a spinal tap to rule out meningitis.

Physician Legal Review & Commentary: 16-year-old male awarded $450,000 for failure to diagnose appendicitis 6 days later, primary care doctor finds infection

A 16-year-old male was awarded $450,000 for his doctor's failure to diagnose appendicitis before the appendix ruptured.

Physician Legal Review & Commentary: Case involved controversial procedure: manipulation under anesthesia

A man and his two daughters were awarded $38.6 million against two doctors for their negligence in conducting a controversial procedure under anesthesia on the patient.

Physician Risk Management – August 1, 2013

August 1, 2013