Medicine on Trial

Real Malpractice Cases is a series that recounts real-life clinical situations—some of which you or physicians you know may have encountered—that resulted in lawsuits. These cases are intended to offer valuable lessons on how to prevent a lawsuit and what you might expect if you get sued. Articles are from Medicine on Trial, Second Edition , a compilation of more than 80 real-life, litigated cases and the “Case of the Month” online series. Each case study includes commentary from Gordon Ownby, General Counsel of the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc.

• Malpractice Case: Drug Mistakes Can Cause Serious Harm This doctor failed to check the medicine he used during a surgery, resulting in severe injury to the patient. What should he have done differently?
  Cooperative of American Physicians, February 8, 2021
• Malpractice Case: Could an ECG Have Saved This Woman? When it comes to symptoms of uncertain cause, it's important for physicians to use all tools at their disposal to make a diagnosis.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, January 4, 2021
• Malpractice Case: When an Expert's Opinion on a Cardiac Death Isn't Useful An expert's opinion must be based on fact, not hypothesis and speculation.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, December 7, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Black Box Warnings Can Come Back to Bite in Court Disregarding drug dosage recommendations can give rise to liability risks.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, November 9, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Being Passive About Referrals Can Be Risky Overlooking key steps in the patient hand-off can lead to missing information and trigger treatment mishaps.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, October 5, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Social Media Policies to Protect Your Practice Most of your practice members probably use social media, but unless you have a concrete social media policy, you may face legal risks and potentially medical board discipline.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, September 7, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Follow Through on Your First Suspicions Medicine is full of mysteries, but acting diligently until a solution is reached is critical.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, August 10, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Be Wary When Patients Seek Favors Outside Your Expertise Stepping outside your training and clinical knowledge, even as a favor, can result in trouble.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, July 6, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Taking on Too Much Work Can Cause Patient Tragedy When a physician feels that the workload is overwhelming, patient safety should come first rather than trying to take on too much.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, June 1, 2020
• Malpractice Case: Protecting Yourself and Your Patient Getting Pain Meds When it comes to prescribing pain medication, and the possibility of drug dependency and misuse, physicians are wise to discuss their professional limits with patients.
  Cooperative of American Physicians, May 5, 2020

More