Medical malpractice and the thyroid gland

BACKGROUND: A medical malpractice litigation "crisis" exists in this country. Analyzing litigation trends through verdict summaries may help understand causes. METHODS: Jury verdict reviews from 1987-2000 were obtained from a computerized database. Reviews compile data on defendants, plaintiffs, allegations of wrongdoing, and verdict summaries. RESULTS: Thirty suits from nine states occurred. Plaintiffs were women in 80% of the cases, with a median age of 41. Fifty percent of patients (15 of 30) had a bad outcome, (9 of 30 dead, 4 of 30 with neurologic deficits, 1 blind, and 1 alive with cancer). Thirty percent alleged surgical complications, mostly recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and 75% of cancer patients alleged a delay, either through falsely negative biopsies or no biopsy taken. Respiratory events occurred in 43% and frequently resulted in large awards. CONCLUSIONS: The liberal use of fine-needle aspiration and documentation of surgical risks may help reduce litigation. Complications and bad outcomes do not indicate negligence. Analysis may contribute to risk management strategies or litigation reform.     

Medical malpractice in surgery I: Suspected malpractice and patterns of risks

Medical malpractice is assumed for surgical procedures much more often than for conservative treatment. In a nut shell there can be identified three general problem areas--treatment of patient in inappropriate facilities, inadequate information of patient and lack of documentation. Several examples are given. For the assessment of assumed medical malpractice the expert opinion and consented guidelines are crucial; they both benchmark "good medical practice". Thus these two tools have to be handled and developed carefully.     

Medical malpractice and the standard of care

The reader is introduced to the doctrine of the standard of care as it pertains to the medical profession and how the standard is determined and applied during a malpractice trial or an administrative proceeding. The various techniques utilized to establish the standard of care are reviewed in the context of their application.     

Medical malpractice and cancer of the skin

BACKGROUND: A litigation crisis exists in this country, and it may be better understood through analysis of lawsuits. Verdict summary analysis has been used for this purpose. METHODS: Ninety-nine jury verdict reviews from 1986 to 2001 were obtained from a computerized database. Reviews compiled data on defendants, plaintiffs, allegations of wrongdoing, cancer cell types, sites, outcomes, and case summaries. Data was entered into a spreadsheet for analysis. RESULTS: Failure to diagnose was alleged in 54%; of these, 48% alleged biopsies were inappropriately omitted. Allegations were highest for failure to diagnose in dermatologists and general practice physicians, for misdiagnosis in pathologists, and for complications in surgeons. Young patients and those with poor outcomes received more and larger awards. Trauma appears to have support for a role in causation of skin cancer in some courts. CONCLUSIONS: The study of skin cancer suits may help develop risk management and prevention strategies.