How to Survive a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
BMJ Books (Verlag)
9781444331301 (ISBN)
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.
Containing valuable information that physicians need to know to prevent making critical mistakes that can hurt their case
With strategies explained to maximize their chances of a defendant's verdict.
Including vital information on how to change your attorney, act at the deposition and dress for court,
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.
Ilene R. Brenner, MD, Adjunct Professor, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 23.4.2010 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | How To |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 140 x 216 mm |
| Gewicht | 227 g |
| Themenwelt | Medizin / Pharmazie ► Gesundheitswesen |
| Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht | |
| Recht / Steuern ► Privatrecht / Bürgerliches Recht ► Besonderes Schuldrecht | |
| ISBN-13 | 9781444331301 / 9781444331301 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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