Would you go to a doctor that was sued for malpractice?

[disneysteve]

Unless my google-fu is weak, the surgeon doesn't have any lawsuits.

I'm not sure but I think only suits that went to trial will show up in a search because court records are public. The vast majority of cases don't get that far. They are either dropped, dismissed, or settled and I don't think you can find those records but I could be wrong.

Bottom line is that 60-90% of doctors are sued at least once in their career. 85% of cases that go to trial, which is only a fraction of the total cases, are won by the doctor because the vast majority of cases are total and complete BS.

One of my malpractice cases was filed by the 3rd law firm that the patient consulted with. The first 2 told her she had no case and they refused to accept her. She eventually found a lawyer to file the suit and it was dropped soon after the deposition process when he also realized there simply wasn't anything real to the claim.

[FLA]

if the doctor works for a hospital system, does the hospital provide the lawyer? they usually do for nurses but that's not necessarily your best choice. They just want to win, they don't care if your career is decimated by things said at a trial. I was always told to have my own malpractice insurance but it's expensive so I never did it. I was a witness in a case twice, I didn't need a lawyer

[StormRichards]

For me it depends on what the malpractice was for.

It was a wrongful death lawsuit. One of the documents I found was a written statement from a doctor for the plaintiff that stated that in his professional opinion the care given was unusual.

I wasn't able to find the outcome.

[disneysteve]

It was a wrongful death lawsuit. One of the documents I found was a written statement from a doctor for the plaintiff that stated that in his professional opinion the care given was unusual.

I wasn't able to find the outcome.

That is pretty much meaningless. Wrongful death lawsuits are filed every day. Two of my three suits were for that reason.

And expert statements are hugely suspect because they are hired guns being paid enormous amounts of money to testify against the doctor being sued.

[StormRichards]

That is pretty much meaningless. Wrongful death lawsuits are filed every day. Two of my three suits were for that reason.

And expert statements are hugely suspect because they are hired guns being paid enormous amounts of money to testify against the doctor being sued.

To be totally honest with you, it makes me very uncomfortable knowing this doctor was sued because someone feels he was responsible for their loved one's death.

I guess I have been fortunate thus far. I googled all of my past PCPs and didn't find any court documents for malpractice lawsuits.

[creditcardfree]

To be totally honest with you, it makes me very uncomfortable knowing this doctor was sued because someone feels he was responsible for their loved one's death.

I guess I have been fortunate thus far. I googled all of my past PCPs and didn't find any court documents for malpractice lawsuits.

I would be uncomfortable too. It is your right to pick another doctor. At least for now we still have a choice.

[disneysteve]

To be totally honest with you, it makes me very uncomfortable knowing this doctor was sued because someone feels he was responsible for their loved one's death.

I can certainly understand seeing that claim would be disturbing. But you need to realize that probably greater than 90% of malpractice cases are totally frivolous and without any merit. People get upset when something bad happens and they feel somebody must be to blame. It's no different than law suits in any other realm. Look at personal injury cases. Somebody trips and falls in a parking lot and they sue the store and the property manager even though there is zero evidence that anything was wrong.

No matter how advanced medical treatment gets, patients are still going to die. It doesn't mean anything was done wrong. It doesn't mean anything could have been done to save them. But when somebody dies, there's often someone there who just sees dollar signs and takes it as an opportunity to sue everyone who came in contact with that patient with a wrongful death claim. It's sad but that's how the system works.

[StormRichards]

I can certainly understand seeing that claim would be disturbing. But you need to realize that probably greater than 90% of malpractice cases are totally frivolous and without any merit. People get upset when something bad happens and they feel somebody must be to blame. It's no different than law suits in any other realm. Look at personal injury cases. Somebody trips and falls in a parking lot and they sue the store and the property manager even though there is zero evidence that anything was wrong.

No matter how advanced medical treatment gets, patients are still going to die. It doesn't mean anything was done wrong. It doesn't mean anything could have been done to save them. But when somebody dies, there's often someone there who just sees dollar signs and takes it as an opportunity to sue everyone who came in contact with that patient with a wrongful death claim. It's sad but that's how the system works.

Although I do not doubt your percentages, how is anyone to know if a doctor is one that is truly at fault. A case being dismissed or a not guilty verdict does not necessarily mean there was no fault. Just means the plaintiff couldn't prove it.

Also, I almost lost a loved one due to a doctor's negligence so it does have me leery. There was nothing frivolous about that lawsuit that resulted in a 7 figure settlement.

[disneysteve]

Although I do not doubt your percentages, how is anyone to know if a doctor is one that is truly at fault. A case being dismissed or a not guilty verdict does not necessarily mean there was no fault. Just means the plaintiff couldn't prove it.

Also, I almost lost a loved one due to a doctor's negligence so it does have me leery. There was nothing frivolous about that lawsuit that resulted in a 7 figure settlement.

Great question. As with all lawsuits, it comes down to burden of evidence. The plaintiff's attorney needs to be able to document fault. They need to show that the doctor did something wrong, didn't follow standard of care, missed something obvious, etc. They need to be able to get an expert witness to agree and testify to that. And then they need to convince a jury.

Certainly, malpractice occurs. In no way do I want to imply otherwise. Doctors are human. They make mistakes. In some cases, those mistakes result in harm to a patient. But most of the time, malpractice cases are brought simply due to an unfavorable outcome that wasn't actually anyone's fault. That's why I, personally, wouldn't cross a doctor off my list just because he or she had been sued.

[FLA]

I was with hospice for 11 yrs. When you put your parent on that program it is made abundantly clear that they are going to die. I can't tell you the number of families who sued the doctor, the hospice doctor, etc after their loved one passed. It was either extreme grief and they weren't thinking clearly or it was a money grab. None of the lawsuits found either doctor had performed malpractice.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Ob/gyn have extremely high malpractice and I'm guessing when they are sued it's likely because something traumatic happened. It's driving so many out of business.

[disneysteve]

Ob/gyn have extremely high malpractice and I'm guessing when they are sued it's likely because something traumatic happened. It's driving so many out of business.

Ob has the highest rate of malpractice suits. Surgery is #2. It has caused many Ob-Gyn docs to give up the Ob part (delivering babies) and just limit their practices to gynecology. Many, many great doctors have been lost because the cost of insurance is simply insane, and by insane, I mean 6-figure amounts per year. Even if you are making $300,000/year, who wants to spend $100,000 or more of that on malpractice insurance?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

my ob/gyn who delivered both kids used to practice with midwives. They ended up shutting that practice down because of the costs. They were so awesome. seems so unfair that so many dr are chased out because of so many lawsuits.

[disneysteve]

seems so unfair that so many dr are chased out because of so many lawsuits.

It isn't just the lawsuits. It's primarily the malpractice insurance cost. As I said, Obstetricians pay upwards of $100,000/year for insurance. That's even if they have never personally been sued. It's unsustainable.

[StormRichards]

It isn't just the lawsuits. It's primarily the malpractice insurance cost. As I said, Obstetricians pay upwards of $100,000/year for insurance. That's even if they have never personally been sued. It's unsustainable.

What do you think is the solution?