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How to Survive a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
The Physician's Roadmap for Success
Ilene R. Brenner (Author)
9781444331301, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 23 April 2010
176 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm, 0.227 kg
" This excellent and thorough book on malpractice should be on every practicing physician's bookshelves." (Doody's, 2 March 2012)
Everyone seeks to avoid getting into a lawsuit, but what do you do if this does happen? Getting sued for medical malpractice is one of the most traumatic events of a physician's career. This text will guide doctors and physicians through the process from the moment they receive a summons until the after-trial appeal process. Navigating through what is a mysterious and terrifying process in non-legalese language that is easy to understand including what makes patients angry, strategies for coping, sample questions and tips on answering them to what happens in court and how to continue if there is a bad outcome.
Acknowledgments viii Foreword ix Introduction xi Section 1: The long road to trial 1 1 You’ve been served! Now what? 3 Questions to ask your insurer about your policy 3 What are the options if your employer purchases your insurance policy and dictates the terms? 6 When and how to report a claim 7 A few pitfalls to avoid after you’ve been sued 8 2 What is medical malpractice? 13 The criteria of physician legally defined malpractice 14 EMTALA issues 18 Complaints to the medical board 19 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 20 3 How to choose an attorney 23 Questions to ask your attorney 23 Conflicts of Interest 25 Problems with the Hospital as co-defendant 26 How do you change your attorney? 28 4 Coping with a medical malpractice lawsuit 31 Kübler-Ross five stages of grief 32 Maslow five stages of needs 36 Strategies for coping 39 v vi Contents 5 Before the deposition 40 Differences between federal and state court 41 Addressing the complaint 42 The discovery phase begins 43 Meeting with your attorney 43 The in-house physician review 44 6 Nail the deposition 46 Preparing for the deposition 47 Dealing with co-defendant issues 47 General deposition rules and tips 50 Sample question and answer scenarios 53 7 All about experts 62 Expert qualifications 63 Daubert rules regarding medical expert testimony 64 The defense expert 66 The plaintiff’s expert 67 Using the plaintiff’s expert to help your case 69 What if their expert is lying? 70 8 Pretrial countdown 72 Reviewing your deposition 72 Motions to dismiss the case 73 Should you settle your case? 75 Preparing for trial 77 9 The trial 79 Rules to follow when in court e.g. How you should dress 80 Jury selection 81 The cross-examination with tips and question and answer scenarios 84 Jury Deliberation 94 Damages 95 10 What to do if you lose 97 What are the steps to getting an appeal? 97 Can you get your attorney to file an appeal? 98 Settling in lieu of an appeal 99 Section 2: An ounce of prevention 101 11 Why doctors get sued 103 Bad outcome 103 Should you apologize? 104 What makes patients angry? 105 Methods to prevent patients from becoming angry 105 12 Communication Issues 112 Effective communication 112 Foreign language issues 113 Informed consent 114 13 Good documentation makes a difference 116 Documentation of Informed Consent 117 Destroy your diary or patient log before you get sued 118 Be aware of your electronic footprint 119 14 Liability risk with the use of physician extenders 122 Vicarious Liability 123 How should you run your practice? 125 15 Hospital issues 127 Peer Review 127 Hospital Privileges 128 Risk Management: Does it help you? 129 The Against Medical Advice (A.M.A.) form 130 Suspension of privileges 132 16 Summary 133 Appendix A Expert qualification requirements vary by state 137 Appendix B Arbitration mediation and pretrial screening panels 141 Appendix C Collateral source reform 145 Appendix D I’m Sorry Laws 148 Glossary 150 Index 157
Subject Areas: Medicine: general issues [MB]
