Doctors Who Get Sued Are Likely to Get Sued Again

A New England Journal of Medical study found that one percent (1%) of all doctors account for 32 percent of all paid malpractice claims, and the more often a doctor is sued, the more likely he or she will be sued again.  Researchers poured over ten years of paid malpractice claims using a federal government database, the National Practitioner Data Bank, which includes 66,426 claims against 54,099 doctors.

The study noted that the distribution of malpractice claims among physicians is not well understood.  However, the authors concluded that if physicians who are repeatedly sued account for a substantial share of all claims, then the ability to identify them at an early stage could assist in efforts to improve care.

RESULTS

The study found that among physicians with paid claims, 84% incurred only one during the study period (accounting for 68% of all paid claims), 16% had at least two paid claims (accounting for 32% of the claims), and 4% had at least three paid claims (accounting for 12% of the claims).  Risks of recurrence appeared to vary widely according to specialty.  For instance, the risk among neurosurgeons was four times as great as the risk among psychiatrists, a statistic that makes sense given the nature of the work at hand.

CONCLUSIONS

The study concluded that over a ten year period of time, a comparatively small number of physicians with distinctive characteristics accounted for a disproportionately sizeable number of paid malpractice claims.

Amazingly, a doctor who had two paid claims was twice as likely to have another as a doctor who had one, and a doctor who had six or more paid claims was 12 times as likely to have another.

As noted above, the study found that specialties matter: Neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons were about twice as likely to have a paid claim as internists, while pediatricians were 30 percent less likely to have one.

Additionally, age and sex matter: After accounting for the number of years in practice, doctors under 35 years of age were one-third as likely to have a recurrence as older colleagues, and male physicians had a 38 percent higher risk of recurrence as female physicians.

Importantly, the lead author, David Studdert, found that, “Ninety-four percent of all doctors have no claims, but doctors who accumulate multiple claims are a problem, and a threat to the health care system. Identifying these high-risk doctors is a key first step toward doing something about the problem.”

KEY FINDINGS

  • The average physician spends nearly 11 percent of an assumed forty-year career with an unresolved, open malpractice claim.
  • The long time it takes for a case to be resolved is distressing for both doctor and patient.

RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Malpractice reforms also need to focus on the time required to resolve claims.
  • The think tank, Rand, found that the U.S. malpractice system is widely regarded as inefficient, in part because of the time required to resolve malpractice cases. Analyzing data from 40,916 physicians covered by a nationwide insurer, Rand found that the average physician spends 50.7 months, almost 11%, of an assumed forty-year career with an unresolved, open malpractice claim. Although damages are a factor in how doctors perceive medical malpractice, even more distressing for the doctor and the patient may be the amount of time these claims take to be adjudicated. Rand concluded that this fact makes it important to assess malpractice reforms by how well they are able to reduce the time of malpractice litigation without undermining the needs of the affected patient.

Sources: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1506137; http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP51278.html

What Leads to Medical Malpractice?

Medical technology has evolved in amazing ways that effectively extend our lives.  However, with that technology sometimes comes risk, and there are over 225,000 patients who die while receiving medical treatment due to malpractice.  This renders medical malpractice as one of the top ten causes of death.  There are several types of medical malpractice, as explained below. shutterstock_1772386

Negligence

Medical malpractice cases constitute a specific type of negligence claim. In such cases a plaintiff needs to prove: there was a duty for the medical practitioner to care for the patient; there was a breach of that duty; the actions or non-action of the medical practitioner caused some injury; and damages.  This is true of any normal negligence case, but what sets medical malpractice cases apart is that there are specific written standards of care set forth and required by professional medical boards and other governing bodies.  In medical malpractice cases, the central issue often becomes whether the medical professional adhered to or deviated from the standard of care.  If there is an unwarranted deviation from that standard of care, the breach of duty element will frequently be met.
These standards were created largely to ensure the same processes are followed to keep negligence to a minimum, which has the effect of minimizing the health care professional and the facility administration from litigation in most cases when followed meticulously. These standards give medical care professionals some leeway, because not every patient or case is the same, but many procedures that are performed are now routine and followed by all professionals in the medical field.  The regulations also ensure medical professionals not only do the job correctly, but it also follows that lawsuits may then be dismissed when there is evidence of standard treatment or actions taken during procedures. A successful plaintiff proves that a medical professional deviated from these standards, or made a mistake in diagnosis, treatment, dosage or some technique.  A plaintiff will typically employ a medical expert to explain what the standard of care was, and in what way the medical professional deviated from this standard.

Surgery

It is natural to be nervous and apprehensive about undergoing any surgical procedure, and certainly we have all heard stories from friends and family of procedures gone awry.  No matter how routine, every surgery comes with certain risks. Some patients mistakenly believe that only inexperienced or new doctors make mistakes in surgery.  While it is accurate that experience lowers risks in terms of miscalculations, the truth is that any surgeon can make a mistake at some point during surgery. Again, a successful plaintiff will show a breach in the standard of care; that is, proof that the surgeon made a mistake during the procedure that was unjustified.

Elective Procedures

Some believe that elective surgery is harmless, but all surgery carries risks and potential dangers.  Severe injury can occur when undergoing elective procedures, such as breast augmentation or reduction, bypass surgery, lap band and even liposuction.

Litigation

As noted above, a plaintiff will typically use a medical expert to help establish a deviation from standard procedure and negligence.  These medical experts can help strengthen medical malpractice claims by determining where errors occurred, such as incorrect dosages, techniques used during surgery, or understaffed hospitals that led to delayed diagnosis or other problems.

Contact an Attorney

When any type of malpractice is suspected, it is best to contact a lawyer immediately. Due to the statute of limitations, injured parties have a specific period of time in which to file a claim or the claim can be barred from bringing brought to court. Contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick today to discuss your claim.
Source: http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=26470

New Study Examines Malpractice in the E.R.

Last month, a new study on emergency room malpractice came out and examines why ER doctors are sued so often in misdiagnosis suits.  One of the top claims against emergency physicians was failure to diagnose, which was also a leading cause of patient injury.

The study was conducted by The Doctors Company, a large insurer in the healthcare industry.  Their conclusions may be biased as their aim is to protect the healthcare industry, but the bare data is fascinating.

The Doctor’s Group studied 332 ER malpractice claims.  Of those 332 cases, there were generally four types of claims:

Misdiagnosis, or diagnostic-related issues: 57%

  • Improper Management of Treatment: 13%
  • Improper Performance of Treatment or Procedure: 5%
  • Failure to Order Medications: 3%

Clearly, misdiagnosis is the biggest issue.  Misdiagnosis includes the failure to make a differential diagnosis and the failure to consider all available clinical information.  Top physicians reviewed the data and concluded that inadequate patient assessment, to include not using available clinical information, found in 52% of cases, was the leading contributor in failure to diagnose cases. Other factors that were identified as contributing to patient injury included:

Patient factors, such as obesity, which could delay delivery of care due to lack of adequate equipment for treating or evaluating obese patients: 21%

  • Communication errors, to include the failure to read the medical records: 17%
  • Communication between patient/family and provider, to include inadequate follow-up instructions or other language barriers:13%
  • Insufficient documentation, including inadequate documentation about clinical findings: 13%
  • Staffing issues, to include workflow and workload concerns: 12%

Misdiagnosis is often compounded by miscommunication or other communication errors.  Moreover, improper documentation could possibly be characterized as a communication error.   The study notes that emergency room doctors face a wide range of clinical problems that increase risks and also underscores that it is critical to take regimented steps, such as completing a “thorough differential diagnosis for each patient.” The study concludes that emergency medicine doctors are “more prone to be sued for diagnosis-related issues than many other specialists, because they treat patients who are unknown to them and who have a broad range of clinical problems.” The study hopes that this information will help doctors “focus on specific quality measures that will reduce exposure to malpractice claims and improve patient care.”

To schedule a free medical malpractice case evaluation in Bethesda, Rockville or the greater areas of Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., call (301) 251-1286 today.

 

Do I have a Medical Malpractice Case?

If you have been injured because of the negligence of your doctor or other medical professional, then you may have a medical malpractice case. Simply being dissatisfied with the treatment you received is not enough to amount to an actionable claim.

Common malpractice claims include:

  • Delayed or missed diagnosis
  • Wrong site surgery or other surgical errors
  • Prescription errors
  • Birth injuries
  • Hospital and Prescription errors, including those that lead to infection or dangerous side-effects

A doctor must fail to perform up to the medical standard that is acceptable in that community and therefore these types of cases are difficult to prove and almost always require a medical expert in the same field to provide testimony that your doctor did something wrong. In addition, if no injury of consequence results from your doctor’s error there may be no claim as well. You should consult a medical malpractice attorney as soon as you realize that an injury has occurred because of the malpractice of your health care providers.

If you have suffered injuries at the hands of your doctor or other medical professional, please call 301-251-1286 today or contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC for your consultation with an experienced Bethesda medical malpractice attorney. Our office is conveniently located in Rockville, Maryland.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Most of us trust that doctors and other medical professionals have our best interest at heart and will perform as they need to in order to help us find our way back to health. However, too often medical professionals commit medical malpractice because they let their standard of care fall below the accepted standards in our Rockville community.

Common types of medical malpractice include:

Any of these can cause significant harm to the patient and leave them much worse off than they were when they sought medical assistance. No one should suffer injuries at the hands of their physician or medical staff.

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries at the hands of a medical professional, please call 301-251-1286 today or contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC for your consultation with an experienced Rockville medical malpractice attorney.