Physician Risk Management 2013-04-01

Did MD fail to give new treatment? It might be just the evidence patient needs to sue

A plaintiff attorney successfully argued that a teen-ager with a head injury, who was admitted to the neurological intensive care unit at a Level One Trauma Center in Washington, DC, should have had continuous intracranial monitoring as this was the legal standard of care, despite some compelling evidence to the contrary.

Avoid successful suits alleging prescribing errors

Paper-based prescribing errors are common with primary care practices, according to a recent study which found that 27.8% of 9,385 prescriptions had at least one prescribing error.

‘Never events’ resulted in $1.3 billion in settlements

Nearly 10,000 cases of never events occurring during surgery and totaling $1.3 billion in settlements were reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank between 1990 and 2010.

Med students inadequately supervised? Suits likely

Do you need to obtain coverage to defend against their ‘experts’?

Did a physician testify against you falsely in court or during a deposition?

Receiving transferred patient? Chart injuries — Timing is key in event of lawsuit

Healthcare reform might lead to a greater number of handoffs and interfacility transfers, as regions establish Centers of Excellence for oncology, cardiology, orthopedics, neurology, and other specialized areas of care, says Justin Keith, vice president of Hiscox, a Hamilton, Bermuda-based international insurance provider.

Vendor’s advice could result in medical malpractice suit

There are several disparate areas in which following a vendor or consultants recommendations could lead to liability for an individual physician or physician practice, warns Henry C. Fader, JD, an attorney at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia. Here are some scenarios that carry legal risks for physicians:

Physician Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to order follow up on recommendations from radiologist leads to $150,000 award

News: A 64-year-old man was seen for a CT scan in January 2004. The gastroenterologist who ordered the CT scan failed to follow through in ordering further radiology studies based on the radiologists recommendation for the same.

Physician Legal Review & Commentary: $1.5 million award in suicide malpractice case

News: A jury awarded a 51-year-old mans family $1.5 million following a finding that the defendant primary care physician was negligent and committed malpractice in treating the patient with antidepressants.

Physician Risk Management – April 1, 2013

April 1, 2013