scholarly journals The medico-legal implications in medical malpractice claims during Covid-19 pandemic: Increase or trend reversal?

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clio Bilotta ◽  
Stefania Zerbo ◽  
Giulio Perrone ◽  
Ginerva Malta ◽  
Antonella Argo
Keyword(s):  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Medical Liability ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Extended Care ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a marked increase in admissions to intensive care units. The critically ill patients’ condition from the infection resulted in their deaths. The healthcare facilities have got into trouble because of the pandemic. In fact, they had to create additional beds in a very short time and to protect health workers with personal protective equipment. Healthcare professionals fear that there will be an increase in complaints and medico-legal malpractice claims and hence they have urged politicians to discuss this. The Italian Parliament recently debated the topic of medical liability and passed the Decree-Law no. 18 of 17 March 2020 (DL – so called Cura Italia) by which they want to extend the concept of “gross negligence” to healthcare facilities. Several Extended Care Units have suffered from outbreaks of Covid-19, so the Prosecutor’s Office of several cities initiated investigations against them. This situation has reached Sicily, where the Prosecutor’s Office of Palermo has opened an inquiry against an Extended Care Unit. Simultaneously, the Covid-19 pandemic may change patients’ attitudes towards healthcare professionals, who are risking their lives daily. So the Italian medico-legal community is debating these questions, with one last pending question remaining: is the number of medico-legal claims likely to increase or trend down?

The Medical Review Panel in Louisiana Neurosurgery and Beyond

Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. E992-E1001
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kosty ◽  
Bowen Jiang ◽  
Devon C LeFever ◽  
Jared R Brougham ◽  
Frederick White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Liability ◽  
Medical Review ◽  
Review Panel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
States Data ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims

Abstract For the past several decades, medical malpractice claims in the state of Louisiana have been screened by a pretrial medical review panel (MRP). Composed of 3 physicians and 1 attorney, these panels are a method of filtering nonmeritorious lawsuits while expediting creditable claims. Currently, 14 jurisdictions in the United States require medical liability/malpractice cases be heard by an MRP or screening panel prior to trial. In this article, we review the MRP process in Louisiana and compare it to those in other states. Data are presented for the past 10 yr of malpractice claims in Louisiana with an emphasis on the neurosurgery specialty. Finally, the benefits and challenges of pretrial screening panels are discussed.

scholarly journals Medical Liability: Review of a Whole Year of Judgments of the Civil Court of Rome

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6019
Author(s):  
Michele Treglia ◽  
Margherita Pallocci ◽  
Pierluigi Passalacqua ◽  
Jacopo Giammatteo ◽  
Lucilla De Luca ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Medical Liability ◽  
Medical Law ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Civil Court ◽  
Specialized Section ◽  
Liability Costs ◽  
Reported Data

Background: Complaints about medical malpractice have increased over time in Italy, as well as other countries around the world. This scenario, perceived by some as a “malpractice crisis”, is a subject of debate in health law and medical law. The costs arising from medical liability lawsuits weigh not only on individual professionals but also on the budgets of healthcare facilities, many of which in Italy are supported by public funds. A full understanding of the phenomenon of medical malpractice appears necessary in order to manage this spreading issue and possibly to reduce the health liability costs. Methods: The retrospective review concerned all the judgments drawn up by the Judges of the Civil Court of Rome, XIII Chamber (competent and specialized section for professional liability trials) published between January 2018 and February 2019. Results: The analysis of data concerning the involved parties showed that in 84.6% of the judgments taken into account, one or more health facilities were sued, while in 58.2% of cases, one or more health workers were present among the defendants. When healthcare providers are the only ones to be summoned, it is dentists and aesthetic doctors/plastic surgeons who undergo most of the claims. In the overall period analyzed, the amount paid was 23,489,254.08 EUR with an average of 163,119.82 EUR. Conclusion: The evidence provided by the reported data is a useful tool to understand medical malpractice in Italy, especially with regard to the occurrence of the phenomenon at a legal level, an aspect still hardly mentioned by existing literature.

The resolution process and the timing of settlement of medical malpractice claims

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Bielen ◽  
Peter Grajzl ◽  
Wim Marneffe
Keyword(s):  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Medical Liability ◽  
Factual Information ◽  
Malpractice Claim ◽  
Resolution Process ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
Regression Framework ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims

AbstractWe draw on uniquely detailed micro-level data from a Belgian professional medical liability insurer to examine how different procedural and legal events that take place during the unfolding of a medical malpractice claim influence the timing of its settlement. Utilizing the competing risks regression framework, we find that settlement hazard is all else equal statistically significantly positively associated with the completion of those procedural and legal events that most effectively reveal factual information about the underlying medical malpractice case. Consistent with theory, settlement hazard is either unassociated or even negatively associated with the completion of other procedural and legal events. Our analysis, therefore, provides policy insights into which aspects of the resolution process could be emphasized, and which de-emphasized, in order to reduce the often excessive duration of medical malpractice claims and its adverse effects on the healthcare system.

scholarly journals Lawsuits against plastic surgeons: Does locale affect incidence of claims?

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L Kaplan ◽  
Warren C Hammert ◽  
James E Zin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Plastic Surgery ◽  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Absolute Number ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims ◽  
Geographical Locations

Background Physicians continue to practice in a very litigious environment. Some physicians try to mitigate their exposure to lawsuits by avoiding geographical locations known for their high incidence of medical malpractice claims. Not only are certain areas of the United States known to have a higher incidence of litigation, but it is also assumed that certain areas of the hospital incur a greater liability. There seems to be a medicolegal dogma suggesting a higher percentage of malpractice claims coming from patients seen in the emergency room (ER), as well as higher settlements for ER claims. Objective To determine if there is any validity to the dogma that a higher percentage of malpractice claims arise from the ER. Methods An analysis of common plastic surgery consults that result in malpractice claims was performed. The location where the basis for the lawsuit arose – the ER, office (clinic) or the operating room (OR) – was evaluated. The value of the indemnity paid and whether its value increased or decreased based on the location of the misadventure was evaluated. Results According to the data, which represented 60% of American physicians, there was a larger absolute number of malpractice claims arising from the OR, not the ER. However, the highest average indemnity was paid for cases involving amputations when the misadventure originated in the ER. Conclusions The dogma that a greater percentage of lawsuits come from incidents arising in the ER is not supported. However, depending on the patient's injury and diagnosis, a lawsuit from the ER can be more costly than one from the OR.

scholarly journals A detailed analysis of pediatric surgical malpractice claims in Germany: what is the probability of a pediatric surgeon to be accused or convicted?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Mahler ◽  
Emilio Gianicolo ◽  
Oliver J. Muensterer
Keyword(s):  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Pediatric Surgeon ◽  
Technical Errors ◽  
Surgical Technical ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
Incorrect Diagnosis ◽  
Calculated Risk ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims ◽  
Observation Period

Abstract Aim of the study Pediatric surgeons treat a vulnerable population in which unfavorable outcome can lead to substantial long-term costs, placing them at risk for malpractice claims. This study aims to characterize the frequency and circumstances in which malpractice claims were successfully brought against pediatric surgeons in Germany over the last 5 years. Materials and methods Anonymous data on medical treatment errors and payments were acquired from the Federal Chamber of Physicians from 2014 through 2018 and analyzed for most frequent diagnoses and circumstances that resulted in accusation or conviction. Those claims that were successfully rebutted were compared to as controls. Lifetime risk for being involved in litigation and its outcome was calculated. Results There were 129 medical malpractice claims over the 5-year observation period. Medical error was confirmed in 56 cases (43%); the rest were successfully appealed. The risk of the prototypical German pediatric surgeon to be accused was 5.24% and to be convicted 2.27% per year in practice. The most common reasons for conviction (alone or in combination) were surgical-technical errors (23%), treatment delay (21%), insufficient workup (17%), incorrect diagnosis (17%), and incomplete consent (16%).The most frequent circumstances leading to a conviction were trauma (27%), inguinal hernia (7%), circumcision (7%), testicular torsion (7%), acute abdomen (7%), and appendicitis (5%). Conclusion Over a 40-year career, pediatric surgeons in Germany face an average calculated risk of 2.1 to be accused and 0.9 to be convicted of malpractice claims. Certain circumstances pose higher risks for litigation than others. Knowledge of these patterns may help practitioners avoid medicolegal confrontation.

Oncologic Errors in Diagnostic Radiology: A 10-Year Analysis Based on Medical Malpractice Claims

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Rosenkrantz ◽  
Dana Siegal ◽  
Jillian A. Skillings ◽  
Ada Muellner ◽  
Sharyl J. Nass ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Diagnostic Radiology ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical Malpractice Litigation: Do the British Have a Better Remedy?

1986 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-463
Author(s):  
Frances H. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Medical Service ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Malpractice Litigation ◽  
American System ◽  
Malpractice Claims ◽  
Medical Malpractice Claims

AbstractMedical malpractice claims are filed nearly ten times more frequently in America than they are in Great Britain. British patients generally adopt a less adversarial stance toward medical malpractice than do American patients. This Article examines the British malpractice system, as compared with the American system, and explores the differences between the two, in terms of costs and fees, liability rules, statutory provisions, and judicial attitudes toward malpractice litigation. The Article also discusses British social and institutional factors, such as the “taint” of litigation and the National Health Service, and evaluates how these factors affect British malpractice litigation. The Article presents the alternative forums available to British patients in seeking satisfaction for their medical service complaints. The Article concludes with an evaluation of how these factors achieve the three societal objectives of malpractice litigation: reparation, emotional vindication and deterrence.

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