“Arguably one of the most overlooked yet incredibly important aspects of your malpractice insurance policy is the Consent to Settle Provision. You’re paying thousands of dollars a year for your malpractice insurance; you should have a say in how …
Category: Malpractice
The criminalization of true medical errors is a step backwards for patient safety
On December 27, 2017, as the result of a medication error, 75-year-old Charlene Murphey died tragically at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The nurse who administered the medication, RaDonda Vaught, was criminally convicted for the mis…
Malpractice: an officer of the court
Tony (not his real name) was one of those patients who came to be a friend. I was his doctor for 11 years, guiding him through some very difficult times with a chronic autoimmune disease. He was a handyman, a fly fisherman, a husband, a father and a ma…
Divided loyalties: A physician testifies against a colleague
Some may think I am a traitor. I testified against one of our colleagues. And his employment was terminated. It feels terrible. The type of gut-wrenching terrible that baits my tear and steals my sleep. I find myself rehashing the testimony, always sta…
In defense of medical errors
I gasped at the guilty verdict that halted my indifferent scroll through the newsfeed. In the course of her duties, a nurse who had accidentally administered the wrong drug, self-reported her mistake and remorsefully admitted her error to a body of her…
The emotional aspect of surviving a lawsuit or disciplinary action
Malpractice claims and disciplinary actions are unfortunate realities for too many physicians. A 2016 survey of physicians revealed that 34 percent of them had been sued, and 16.8 percent had been sued more than once. By the time a doctor is 54 years o…
How a legal injustice changed this physician’s career [PODCAST]
“I do not hesitate to share what I endured. I recognize that there is a code of silence that must be broken when one is involved in legal action. It is imperative that we speak out to patients, legislators, and other physicians against these type…
Understanding consent-to-settle in your malpractice insurance policy
Arguably one of the most overlooked yet incredibly important aspects of your malpractice insurance policy is the Consent to Settle Provision. You’re paying thousands of dollars a year for your malpractice insurance; you should have a say in how your cl…
Strategies to help women advocate for themselves and avoid misdiagnosis
While everyone faces some risk of experiencing a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, some studies have found that the problem is more common for women. Women are 50 percent more likely than men to receive an incorrect diagnosis when they’re having a hea…
Avoiding medical malpractice in the wake of the pandemic
Almost ten years ago, there was a knock at the door. My children and I were playing games as it was only a few days after Christmas. All of us answered the door, and there stood a sheriff with papers. He said those dreaded words, “you are served….
