Adverse Events, Stress, and Litigation A Physician's Guide

by Charles, Sara C.; Frisch, Paul R.; Bailey, Ronald

• ISBN13: 9780195171488
• ISBN10: 0195171489
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-04-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What is it like to be sued for medical malpractice? Bad medical outcomes traumatize patients but they also traumatize physicians. The litigation that often follows is a profoundly human, rather than just a legal experience. Although every physician's case is different, this book shows howeach case goes through the same judicial stages of complaint, discovery, depositions, motions, and delays that lead to trial, settlement, or being dropped. It also gives doctors an understanding of how lawyers think and work to help defendants. Written by a physician and a lawyer, the bookprovides unique insights - through real-life stories - into the personal experience of litigation as well as recommendations for dealing with each of the legal process. It also includes up-to-date reviews of HIPAA legislation, the controversial subject of disclosure, and recent developments in thelaw affecting medical practitioners. Only about thirty percent of plaintiffs win their cases against doctors, but the journey from bedside to witness stand tests both the personal character and the professional skills of those accused. This well-documented book will help doctors understand andnavigate the legal system while honoring their own ideals and emerging changed but stronger from the experience.

Table of Contents

Prologue---Four Days in the Nineties: The Making of a Defendant	1	(3)
Adverse Events: A Basis for Litigation	4	(15)
Adverse Events: What We Feel and Why	19	(9)
Disclosure After an Adverse Event	28	(23)
Adverse Events: What Physicians Can Say About Them	51	(7)
The Interim: Between the Event and the Lawsuit	58	(23)
The Complaint: A Prelude to Litigation	81	(17)
Meeting the Lawyers	98	(18)
Coping with the Stress Associated with Litigation	116	(28)
Discovery: Gaining a Foothold for the Defense	144	(14)
To Settle or Not to Settle	158	(15)
The Trial	173	(29)
Case Over: What's Next?	202	(9)
Closing Arguments	211	(2)
Appendix 1 Case Histories	213	(4)
Appendix 2 Selection from a Contemporaneous Diary: Plaintiff vs. Cerullo, et al.	217	(18)
Notes	235	(14)
Glossary	249	(10)
Bibliography	259	(2)
Index	261