Resident being sued

[meow1985]

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I am a resident and I'm being sued for a patient I treated years ago. Obviously, I can't talk about specifics of the case.

Yes, I've done what I need to do. I'm talking to risk management at my hospital, and will be represented by their malpractice company lawyer. Risk management will help me with answering license board and employer questions. I have been told by my PD that this is unlikely to affect my career adversely. But that is hard to believe.

It's lonely. I can't talk to anyone about the particulars of the case, even though the devil is often in the details.

I am questioning a lot of things, including whether to stay in medicine.

I am depressed and upset. I work hard every day, dealing with patients' emotions and trying my best to solve their problems, and now I get this.

One thing y'all can answer for me: a malpractice case is a civil matter, right? It's not likely to escalate to the criminal matter? Is it likely that having a pending case will cause me to not get a license, or to get only a restricted/conditional license?

 

[splik]

Malpractice is a form of negligence and is typically a civil matter. negligence can be a criminal matter but that would extremely uncommon in psychiatry. For example if you recklessly prescribed astronomical doses of opioids inappropriately you could be charged with criminal negligence and face manslaughter charges. In some states, if you have sex with a patient that can be prosecuted as sexual assault even if consensual.

As an intern you would be held to the standard of care for an intern and not that of an attending. Typically everyone is named as a defendant in the lawsuit (including med students) and this is typically whittled down to the key players. I know plenty of people who not only find jobs, but get promoted to senior leadership positions while involved in lawsuits. It is a nuisance and must be very stressful and lonely, but unless you egregiously departed from the standard of care for a new medical graduate, they are unlikely to be interested in you ultimately, and regardless, this will not significantly affect your career though you obviously have to disclose this when getting licensed and credentialed etc.

 

[Sushirolls]

The good news, is once you are thru this, you will be more 'seasoned' by lawyers.
This won't be the last time you interact with lawyers in your medical career.

Read the Serenity Prayer or actually pray it if inclined.

Serenity Prayer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[meow1985]

This won't be the last time you interact with lawyers in your medical career.

Serenity Prayer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I hate lawyers. I have been traumatized by the legal system in the past. This strikes at the core of all my fears.

If there's likely to be more of this in my future, I'm considering quitting medicine quite strongly.

 

[Jules A]

Is your team offering each other support or doing any debriefing? It would be unfortunate if you aren't being guided and supported during this process by your senior colleagues. I'm sorry you are going through this, it is awful on many levels, but deciding to quit medicine at this juncture would likely be a mistake. You have already felt the sting so might as well hold tight and you will come out on the other side. Best wishes.

 

[Mass Effect]

I'm sorry you're going through this. As @splik said, interns and other junior trainees are usually not involved by the time this thing progresses. ALL are initially named. We were told in med school, that the vast majority of doctors are sued. It doesn't mean they necessarily did anything wrong or that they'll be found culpable. Employers know this. State medical boards know this. No one will hold this against you unless you, personally, did something outside the scope of your practice/knowledge or standard of care.

 

[downwithDTB]

I've been sued (frivolously) for non-medical things. It's super less than fun and very stressful. Have lost more than a night of sleep over it.

My best advice is that this is sadly a part of adult life. Lawyers want your money and when some kid you didn't know was there trips on your perfectly paved driveway, you'll get sued.

Most doctors will get sued at some point. 1 in 3 physicians has been sued; by age 55, 1 in 2 hit with suit

The good news is that you're getting sued when your pockets are shallow and there are many deep pockets above you. You have debt and maybe no assets, so if they were to really try to go after you you'd declare bankruptcy and they'd get nothing. You aren't worth their time as anything more than a potentially harmful witness to your hospital.

Now you know how this BS works. Since so, so many doctors have been sued, and many have been sued several times, clearly most who get sued still practice. Now, you're going to go out an buy a nice big umbrella policy (at least $1-2 million) and make sure that you always have a big malpractice policy. That way, you'll always get the good lawyers and any lawsuit against you will just settle under the policy limit. Annoying but your house will be safe.

If you really can't stand malpractice, don't quite medicine, get a job at the VA where you have zero liability as long as you don't intentionally murder someone. Even if you do quit medicine, all it takes is being close to someone who has an accident and an injury (not necessarily real causation) to get sued. Better to be prepared and accept the nonsense knowing that your policy is big enough that everything will settle under it then to change your life out of fear. I doubt many physicians ever pay our personal money for malpractice cases, and very, very few lose their ability to practice. A small number of lawsuits against you doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on you. Finally, you've chosen one of the least sued medical specialties, so rejoice.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

The vast majority of cases get settled when the lawyers get together to hash out the actual details.

like they said above about half of all doctors get sued at some point in their lives. Remember that anyone can sue anyone else for basically anything if they have a lawyer willing to take the case and time/money. Doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or a bad doctor. I bet if you asked around the attendings in your program, quite a few of them have had lawsuits attempted against them at one time or another. Particularly on the inpatient side where people are pissed that you admitted them involuntarily or that you gave them some med or discharged them too early but they were still so depressed and ruined their lives yada yada.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Think of it as just being an American citizen. You can be sued for anything. I’ve already been to court for something non-medical that was completely ridiculous and a waste of time. I had to pay $$$ to have my attorney make the other person look silly. I’m sure it won’t be the last time this happens.

I’m planning to get an attorney involved for another matter - not medical either.

You can’t escape it. Just a part of life. It’ll pass.

 

[meow1985]

Is your team offering each other support or doing any debriefing? It would be unfortunate if you aren't being guided and supported during this process by your senior colleagues. I'm sorry you are going through this, it is awful on many levels, but deciding to quit medicine at this juncture would likely be a mistake. You have already felt the sting so might as well hold tight and you will come out on the other side. Best wishes.

Well, I was told not to discuss the particulars of the case with anyone, including my attending at the time because he's also named as a defendant, and defendants talking to each other = info they could be forced to disclose in a subpoena. My PD and chief resident were nice and supportive, and I was allowed to take a few days off, but I still don't know what to do with my feelings.

I know the nuclear option of quitting medicine is not the answer. But I am not sure I can go through this once, twice, many times.

 

[psych md jd]

I hate lawyers.

Even the ones who are going to defend you?

See:

Medical malpractice stress syndrome: The ignored side of litigation

When a physician is sued, regardless of whether or not the allegations have merit, it is a personal assault on his or her honor.

www.kevinmd.com

Coping With the Stress of Being Sued

Malpractice accusations can be emotionally devastating. Here's how to withstand the pressure.

www.aafp.org

Five Doctors Tell 'How I Survived After Being Sued'

For a physician, getting sued for malpractice is extremely personal. Physicians who were sued describe the range of emotions they felt, and how it changed their lives and the way they view patients.

www.medscape.com

 

[TexasPhysician]

I know the nuclear option of quitting medicine is not the answer. But I am not sure I can go through this once, twice, many times. I've been through the legal system before for unrelated reasons, and I am still not over it. It's a loss of control that is a recipe for psychological disaster.

Need to change the way you view the legal system. Whether medicine or anything else, lawsuits are a way of life. I know businessmen that literally send monthly cease and desist letters and aim to file a lawsuit every year. It is their goal and something to look forward to - they win more than they lose. More high earning or successful people will get hit with a lawsuit. Take the blows and continue growing on your success.

 

[Mass Effect]

Even if you do quit medicine, all it takes is being close to someone who has an accident and an injury (not necessarily real causation) to get sued.

What does this mean?

 

[downwithDTB]

What does this mean?

I mean that anyone can file a lawsuit against you for anything that may or may not be your fault and the damages that they sustain don't actually have to have been caused by the injury *in reality.* Someone falls next to you and they think they can convinve a jury thatit was your fault, they can take you to court. The only thing that matters is what is the maximum that the insurance company could lose and is there any chance in hell that a sympathetic jury would buy the story of fault and causation and award it. If yes, settle for max x % and call it a day to save on litigation costs knowing that it all evens out in the end. The lawyers always win.

 

[PikminOC]

Lots of hungry lawyers out there

 

[Ironspy]

It sounds like this is a stressful time. Agree with the above advice but also recommend self care +/- therapy to help support you.

 

[PikminOC]

Wait until med board comes sniffing around

 

[NewmansOwn]

It sounds like you're acutely anxious about this, and maybe could benefit from a little bit of perspective.

1) As others have said, you are almost guaranteed to be dropped from this lawsuit, and relatively quickly. You're about as tantalizing financially as a Blockbuster Video store. The reason, by the way, plaintiffs' attorneys take a scattershot approach in the beginning is to keep their options open for discovery and subsequent deposition. They'd love to get you to say something disparaging about one of your attendings. As a result, your hospital's attorneys (who, if you're at a large training institution, I can guarantee are ruthlessly good) will aim to get you dropped prior to discovery.

2) This is not personal. No one with any experience thinks it's personal. You will come to see this in relatively short order as an attending.

3) This will not affect your licensing or credentialing (so long as you disclose it). If it did, people would be going to Denny's or something to deliver babies instead of to OB/GYNs.

4) I actually agree that if you're long-term terrified of liability/lawyers, you might want to consider the VA, as downwithDTB suggested. While close, though, liability isn't quite zero. VA physicians are covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which in essence states that any lawsuit against a Federal employee is transitioned to a lawsuit against the United States of America (yes, that's the actual named defendant on the filing) and thus defended by the U.S. Attorney General's office, so......yeah, good luck with that. Talk about deep pockets. The VA is also, of late, paying psychiatrists quite well, and the loan repayment was increased last year as a result of the Mission Act and is now one of the most generous you can find.

 

[nonnyyy122018]

It sounds like you're acutely anxious about this, and maybe could benefit from a little bit of perspective.

1) As others have said, you are almost guaranteed to be dropped from this lawsuit, and relatively quickly. You're about as tantalizing financially as a Blockbuster Video store. The reason, by the way, plaintiffs' attorneys take a scattershot approach in the beginning is to keep their options open for discovery and subsequent deposition. They'd love to get you to say something disparaging about one of your attendings. As a result, your hospital's attorneys (who, if you're at a large training institution, I can guarantee are ruthlessly good) will aim to get you dropped prior to discovery.

2) This is not personal. No one with any experience thinks it's personal. You will come to see this in relatively short order as an attending.

3) This will not affect your licensing or credentialing (so long as you disclose it). If it did, people would be going to Denny's or something to deliver babies instead of to OB/GYNs.

4) I actually agree that if you're long-term terrified of liability/lawyers, you might want to consider the VA, as downwithDTB suggested. While close, though, liability isn't quite zero. VA physicians are covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which in essence states that any lawsuit against a Federal employee is transitioned to a lawsuit against the United States of America (yes, that's the actual named defendant on the filing) and thus defended by the U.S. Attorney General's office, so......yeah, good luck with that. Talk about deep pockets. The VA is also, of late, paying psychiatrists quite well, and the loan repayment was increased last year as a result of the Mission Act and is now one of the most generous you can find.

One of my co residents and the attending they were working with got named in a VA lawsuit not too long ago. So I’m actually the second in my class this has happened to.

 

[NewmansOwn]

One of my co residents and the attending they were working with got named in a VA lawsuit not too long ago. So I’m actually the second in my class this has happened to.

Sorry to hear it.

Certainly you can be named initially, but the government should have been substituted for your name(s) formally in the actual lawsuit going forward. This is assuming you were working under VA auspices as a VA employee. If you're a non-VA employee (ie, a local academic institution employee rotating at the VA, as many residents are), your situation may plausibly be different.

 

[meow1985]

Wait until med board comes sniffing around

See, this is why I'd rather have a low-responsibility job for less money and sleep easier at night. Should've gone to nursing school maybe.

Even the ones who are going to defend you?

Let me rephrase that. I hate the legal system. It's kafkaesque and its logic is incredibly twisted.

 

[Candidate2017]

See, this is why I'd rather have a low-responsibility job for less money and sleep easier at night. Should've gone to nursing school maybe.

Professional judgment & responsibility for that judgment is what separates physicians from others in the medical complex. When push comes to shove with non-physicians, the old argument of "my license is on the line/I can be sued" wins out for physicians even though the reality is you're unlikely to lose your license and the ultimate monetary responsibility lies with an insurance corporation.

 

[Monocles]

OP you were an intern!

Typically aren't there layers of other people to sue before the responsibility ever gets to you? (that's why attendings always say "I gotta keep an eye on residents cause its my license on the line hur hur" 😛)

 

[meow1985]

OP you were an intern!

Typically aren't there layers of other people to sue before the responsibility ever gets to you? (that's why attendings always say "I gotta keep an eye on residents cause its my license on the line hur hur" 😛)

I know.

 

[meow1985]

No one will hold this against you unless you, personally, did something outside the scope of your practice/knowledge or standard of care.

I don't think my attending or I did anything wrong or outside of the scope of usual practice. I also never acted outside of my scope as a first year resident.

Also, can the medical board discipline you or revoke your license if you settle too many malpractice suits?

 

[NewmansOwn]

I don't think my attending or I did anything wrong or outside of the scope of usual practice. I also never acted outside of my scope as a first year resident.

But the thing is, since this is an ongoing case, and discovery hasn't even happened yet, I'm betting all the license board and job will get to see are the allegations, which look bad. I won't be able to explain what actually happened clinically, because that's "evidence" I can't share with anyone but my lawyer. I know allegations are just allegations, but I worry they will assume the worst. Like, how bad would it look if I actually did what I'm accused of and they licensed me?

Also, can the medical board discipline you or revoke your license if you settle too many malpractice suits?

One important thing to remember is that both licensing and credentialing are formal processes done according to legal standards. A job can choose to not hire you for any reason. But your issue will only come to light in privileging. Denying a license or privileges is not taken lightly. It is not capricious. There is a defined standard of evidence. Unlike applying for a job, in these processes you have legal rights. There needs to be concrete evidence of your unsuitability to warrant an adverse action. (Let the picayune anecdotes to the contrary fly...)

People who end up with license discipline after multiple malpractice suits usually suffer such because it comes out that they're impaired. The suits themselves are a symptom of poor health, not the coup de grace.

And further, you’re concerned about the ‘allegations.’ But as you say, the case is being litigated. So tell me this...who’s going to spew forth these salacious incriminations?

Any interested body will simply want to know - was this resident going rogue and being reckless, and that resulted in a lawsuit?

I’m going to bet dollars to donuts your PD’s reference can reassure them on that one, no?

 

[meow1985]

A job can choose to not hire you for any reason.

Any interested body will simply want to know - was this resident going rogue and being reckless, and that resulted in a lawsuit?

I’m going to bet dollars to donuts your PD’s reference can reassure them on that one, no?

Well, yeah...

And further, you’re concerned about the ‘allegations.’ But as you say, the case is being litigated. So tell me this...who’s going to spew forth these salacious incriminations?

The legal paperwork lists what the patient is alleging the doctors (including myself) supposedly did.

 

[PikminOC]

I'm not sure he will be dropped quickly. He works for the hospital, and the hospital is the deep pocket, not just one person specifically

 

[PikminOC]

It may take longer to get licensed. As they may have to look into this, not just do the regular checks

 

[PikminOC]

Law cases and med be cases are usually not about everything being done right. If there's any bad outcomes, lawyers will get a hired expert to say everything was done wrong

 

[PikminOC]

I don't think my attending or I did anything wrong or outside of the scope of usual practice. I also never acted outside of my scope as a first year resident.

But the thing is, since this is an ongoing case, and discovery hasn't even happened yet, I'm betting all the license board and job will get to see are the allegations, which look bad. I won't be able to explain what actually happened clinically, because that's "evidence" I can't share with anyone but my lawyer. I know allegations are just allegations, but I worry they will assume the worst. Like, how bad would it look if I actually did what I'm accused of and they licensed me?

Also, can the medical board discipline you or revoke your license if you settle too many malpractice suits?

I have seen med board reprimands for settled cases. Depending on the case. With deaths I have seen some suspension

 

[meow1985]

I have seen med board reprimands for settled cases. Depending on the case. With deaths I have seen some suspension

You're not being very helpful. I am literally living my worst nightmare right now.

 

[wysdoc]

You're not being very helpful. I am literally living my worst nightmare right now.

Just talked to my lawyer. They say the case likely will not go very far and has no merit.

Next time you meet with your lawyer, ask for help with wording a brief, factual statement on this lawsuit which you can use in your future credentialing/licensing applications. You will have to list this many times, so getting help with the wording will let you not have to think about it each time. I know the case is still open but as you said, this is the time when you will be applying for many things.

 

[whopper]

The bulk of the legal responsibility of residents' practicing is on the attendings. There are exceptions. E.g. if the resident did an order or some other action without the attending's permission, or goes against an attending then it's completely on the resident.

Often times when one is named in a suit, it's simply because the plaintiffs are trying to involve as many names as possible to cash in because insurance has limits. More people, higher limits because the limits paid by insurance are PER PERSON. E.g. $1 million per doctor? "What if 5 doctors touched the patient. NOW 5 MILLION!" is what goes through the head of a lawyer. What often times happen are many of those people in the lawsuit are dropped but the process takes possibly years which is another legal strategy. The defendants get frustrated and feel they can't move on with their lives and the plaintiff lawyer tries to capitalize on this frustration hoping for a settlement.

 

[Monocles]

Just talked to my lawyer. They say the case likely will not go very far and has no merit.

From a pure economic perspective, one of the reasons why psychiatrists have some of THE lowest malpractice costs is because we are rarely sued, and if sued, cases tend to be in the provider's favour unless there is blatant deviation from standard of care or malicious intent.

 

[PikminOC]

You're not being very helpful. I am literally living my worst nightmare right now.

Just talked to my lawyer. They say the case likely will not go very far and has no merit.

So no one died. Good

 

[meow1985]

So no one died. Good

Far from it.

 

[PikminOC]

Welcome to the US of lAwyers! It's such a tenuous medical degree. After all that training, it can be taken away in an instant. Good you learned this now.

 

[birchswing]

Very hard to lose a license from what I've seen. Look up board disciplinary decisions and it's usually "Take a course on why you shouldn't do that anymore." Never heard of a medical degree being revoked.

 

[meow1985]

Law cases and med be cases are usually not about everything being done right. If there's any bad outcomes, lawyers will get a hired expert to say everything was done wrong

Which state do you even practice in @TikiTorches? Florida?

 

[meow1985]

Very hard to lose a license from what I've seen. Look up board disciplinary decisions and it's usually "Take a course on why you shouldn't do that anymore." Never heard of a medical degree being revoked.

My contract with my employer says that if I get any action against my license higher than a reprimand, I lose my job. 🙁

But I just talked to my employer today and they said that from an HR standpoint just having the lawsuit on my record is not an issue, just report it to licensing and credentialing.

 

[Mass Effect]

I have seen med board reprimands for settled cases. Depending on the case. With deaths I have seen some suspension

Yes, if they did something wrong. But I have yet to hear of a case where a doctor followed the standard of care (even with off-label use of common meds) and was held accountable by a medical board. If you know of some, please cite the court case so the rest of us can read up on it.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Yes, if they did something wrong. But I have yet to hear of a case where a doctor followed the standard of care (even with off-label use of common meds) and was held accountable by a medical board. If you know of some, please cite the court case so the rest of us can read up on it.

Bingo, there's a reason every settled/lost lawsuit doesn't result in a board sanction.

 

[downwithDTB]

I have seen med board reprimands for settled cases. Depending on the case. With deaths I have seen some suspension

Of course medical boards reprimand for settled cases sometimes. Cases settle when both sides can agree on the value of the case (i.e. % chance that a lay jury will award money x most likely value of the award). That means that if both sides agree there is a 10% chance of plaintiff winning (even a bad case with a sympathetic plaintiff and good lawyer can be won) $1,000,000 then you settled for $100k and call it a day. If there is a 90% chance of plaintiff winning, the case settles for $900k.

Cases that don't settle are usually either very low probability of plaintiff winning and defendant wants to use their deep pockets to have the plaintiff incur legals fees to discourage future bad lawsuits OR a plaintiff that thinks they can win a ton of money with a sympathetic case.
----

So I wanted to make you feel better, so I reviewed a random month of medical board actions. Here, you get a jury of peers, not lay people. I estimate that approximately 0.3% of physicians will have a medical board case against them/year. I found a total of 24 cases in that month, with one being a vacated suspension due to new evidence and one was procedural and not punitive... so 22 negative actions. Only one likely applied to you. In my state, you can only have an action against you for REPEATED negligence (or 1 gross negligence). Here is a summary:

1 resident is not longer allowed to practice their original specialty and has to complete a new residency in a new specialty after repeated negligence involving NINE patients

3 Physician Substance Use Disorder (2 failed treatment programs, 1 practiced intoxicated)
3 Fraud (1 felony conviction, 1 allegation, 1 minor lying on license applicant with small fine)
6 Controlled substance issues (i.e. rx to family, rx high doses of multiple subs with no medical records, ect)
1 e prescribing violation
2 sex with psych pts (1 also had controlled substance rx with no medical record)

3 people voluntarily gave up their license pending a hearing (no info available)
1 license revoked for unknown reason
1 censure for unknown reason
1 license revoked for unknown gross & repeated negligence

Basically, in my state (which is probably on the strict side) *even if you were negligent just this once* the board couldn't even take an action against you (unless you were grossly negligent, which your attorney has said you were not). Moral of the story: don't f&&% your psych patients, document on controlled substances, don't commit felonies, don't do drugs at work or DUI and learn from your first 8 mistakes... and you're totally fine.

 

[meow1985]

Of course medical boards reprimand for settled cases sometimes. Cases settle when both sides can agree on the value of the case (i.e. % chance that a lay jury will award money x most likely value of the award). That means that if both sides agree there is a 10% chance of plaintiff winning (even a bad case with a sympathetic plaintiff and good lawyer can be won) $1,000,000 then you settled for $100k and call it a day. If there is a 90% chance of plaintiff winning, the case settles for $900k.

Cases that don't settle are usually either very low probability of plaintiff winning and defendant wants to use their deep pockets to have the plaintiff incur legals fees to discourage future bad lawsuits OR a plaintiff that thinks they can win a ton of money with a sympathetic case.
----

So I wanted to make you feel better, so I reviewed a random month of medical board actions. Here, you get a jury of peers, not lay people. I estimate that approximately 0.3% of physicians will have a medical board case against them/year. I found a total of 24 cases in that month, with one being a vacated suspension due to new evidence and one was procedural and not punitive... so 22 negative actions. Only one likely applied to you. In my state, you can only have an action against you for REPEATED negligence (or 1 gross negligence). Here is a summary:

1 resident is not longer allowed to practice their original specialty and has to complete a new residency in a new specialty after repeated negligence involving NINE patients

3 Physician Substance Use Disorder (2 failed treatment programs, 1 practiced intoxicated)
3 Fraud (1 felony conviction, 1 allegation, 1 minor lying on license applicant with small fine)
6 Controlled substance issues (i.e. rx to family, rx high doses of multiple subs with no medical records, ect)
1 e prescribing violation
2 sex with psych pts (1 also had controlled substance rx with no medical record)

3 people voluntarily gave up their license pending a hearing (no info available)
1 license revoked for unknown reason
1 censure for unknown reason
1 license revoked for unknown gross & repeated negligence

Basically, in my state (which is probably on the strict side) *even if you were negligent just this once* the board couldn't even take an action against you (unless you were grossly negligent, which your attorney has said you were not). Moral of the story: don't f&&% your psych patients, document on controlled substances, don't commit felonies, don't do drugs at work or DUI and learn from your first 8 mistakes... and you're totally fine.

Thanks. I tried to look this up for the state where I am going, but they do not list specific things people did, just general descriptions like "practiced outside of the prevailing standard of care," "behavior that is sexual or can reasonably be interpreted as sexual," "inadequate record keeping." But the numbers and consequences are similar.

 

[Merely]

Thanks. I tried to look this up for the state where I am going, but they do not list specific things people did, just general descriptions like "practiced outside of the prevailing standard of care," "behavior that is sexual or can reasonably be interpreted as sexual," "inadequate record keeping." But the numbers and consequences are similar.

Also, in my case the plaintiff is representing themselves. So no lawyer.

the plaintiff doesn’t have a lawyer? Wut

 

[downwithDTB]

Can I ask if the people all got their licenses *revoked* of if they got otherwise disciplined? Because I lose my job if I get conditions or restrictions on my license. 🙁

Of those 22 actions, ~50% were license revoked, the rest were about half "charges" with outcome TBD and punishment less than revoked (ranging from no controlled substance prescribing to a censure letter).

The take home message is that everyone who was punished did something that was SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY bad or SERIOUSLY BAD MANY MANY times. Also, it's almost all sex, drugs and fraud that gets people in trouble, not bad medicine.

Also, in my case the plaintiff is representing themselves. So no lawyer.

LOLZ -_- dude you are so fine. unless this person happens to be a lawyer who graduated from a top school or maybe an MD, there is no way that they have the ability to navigate the immense storm of paperwork that your hospitals legal team will toss at them or make a coherent argument that you committed malpractice. The bad news is that there is no reasonable legal team to agree to get you off the case after your deposition.

No one serious represents themselves in a civil suit. if you have any approximation of a chance in hell of a settlement or win celino and barnes types (800-888-8888) will take your case on contingency if you can't afford a retainer.

 

[Mass Effect]

LOLZ -_- dude you are so fine. unless this person happens to be a lawyer who graduated from a top school or maybe an MD, there is no way that they have the ability to navigate the immense storm of paperwork that your hospitals legal team will toss at them or make a coherent argument that you committed malpractice. The bad news is that there is no reasonable legal team to agree to get you off the case after your deposition.

No one serious represents themselves in a civil suit. if you have any approximation of a chance in hell of a settlement or win celino and barnes types (800-888-8888) will take your case on contingency if you can't afford a retainer.

Unrelated, but in residency, we filed for commitment on a schizophrenic gentleman who was acutely psychotic and extremely ill. Just before the commitment hearing, he fired his attorney and represented himself. Shortest commitment hearing there ever was.

 

[PikminOC]

Of course medical boards reprimand for settled cases sometimes. Cases settle when both sides can agree on the value of the case (i.e. % chance that a lay jury will award money x most likely value of the award). That means that if both sides agree there is a 10% chance of plaintiff winning (even a bad case with a sympathetic plaintiff and good lawyer can be won) $1,000,000 then you settled for $100k and call it a day. If there is a 90% chance of plaintiff winning, the case settles for $900k.

Cases that don't settle are usually either very low probability of plaintiff winning and defendant wants to use their deep pockets to have the plaintiff incur legals fees to discourage future bad lawsuits OR a plaintiff that thinks they can win a ton of money with a sympathetic case.
----

So I wanted to make you feel better, so I reviewed a random month of medical board actions. Here, you get a jury of peers, not lay people. I estimate that approximately 0.3% of physicians will have a medical board case against them/year. I found a total of 24 cases in that month, with one being a vacated suspension due to new evidence and one was procedural and not punitive... so 22 negative actions. Only one likely applied to you. In my state, you can only have an action against you for REPEATED negligence (or 1 gross negligence). Here is a summary:

1 resident is not longer allowed to practice their original specialty and has to complete a new residency in a new specialty after repeated negligence involving NINE patients

3 Physician Substance Use Disorder (2 failed treatment programs, 1 practiced intoxicated)
3 Fraud (1 felony conviction, 1 allegation, 1 minor lying on license applicant with small fine)
6 Controlled substance issues (i.e. rx to family, rx high doses of multiple subs with no medical records, ect)
1 e prescribing violation
2 sex with psych pts (1 also had controlled substance rx with no medical record)

3 people voluntarily gave up their license pending a hearing (no info available)
1 license revoked for unknown reason
1 censure for unknown reason
1 license revoked for unknown gross & repeated negligence

Basically, in my state (which is probably on the strict side) *even if you were negligent just this once* the board couldn't even take an action against you (unless you were grossly negligent, which your attorney has said you were not). Moral of the story: don't f&&% your psych patients, document on controlled substances, don't commit felonies, don't do drugs at work or DUI and learn from your first 8 mistakes... and you're totally fine.

I think state boards can be a little different in punishment. Some states are more punitive, like Ohio.

 

[PikminOC]

Of those 22 actions, ~50% were license revoked, the rest were about half "charges" with outcome TBD and punishment less than revoked (ranging from no controlled substance prescribing to a censure letter).

The take home message is that everyone who was punished did something that was SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY bad or SERIOUSLY BAD MANY MANY times. Also, it's almost all sex, drugs and fraud that gets people in trouble, not bad medicine.



LOLZ -_- dude you are so fine. unless this person happens to be a lawyer who graduated from a top school or maybe an MD, there is no way that they have the ability to navigate the immense storm of paperwork that your hospitals legal team will toss at them or make a coherent argument that you committed malpractice. The bad news is that there is no reasonable legal team to agree to get you off the case after your deposition.

No one serious represents themselves in a civil suit. if you have any approximation of a chance in hell of a settlement or win celino and barnes types (800-888-8888) will take your case on contingency if you can't afford a retainer.

He doesn't need to be a lawyer from a top school to bring a suit. Most lawyers are not from top schools and file suits.

Some people file nuisance suits just to get quick payouts