Lawsuits for Surgeons: Common, Often Preventable, Almost Always Winnable – Experts Say Documentation Is Best Defense
12/13/2011
General Surgery News (December 2011)
Several attorneys and surgeons weigh in on the challenges associated with medical malpractice claims – litigation faced by 15.3 percent of general surgeons, on average, each year. The experts note that the most commons claims against surgeons arise from informed consent issues and from intraoperative and postoperative complications. Informed consent claims are almost entirely preventable and all three categories of complaints are effectively handled with two basic strategies: 1) appropriate management of patient expectations – balancing the discussion of risks along with the discussion of benefits, and 2) use of a detailed consent form documenting the potential complications and surgical risks along with a supplemental note to the patient’s medical record.
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