ED Legal Letter
RSSArticles
-
Venting to Colleague About Med/Mal Case Can Trigger Subpoena
A more realistic instruction might be: Don’t tell anyone anything about an active lawsuit that you wouldn’t want the jury to hear.
-
Consults, Studies Recommended By Others Carry Med/Mal Implications for EPs
Somewhere in the ED chart, somebody recommends involvement of a particular specialist, or that a specific study should be conducted. When this kind of recommendation is documented but never acted on, it can mean legal trouble for the EP.
-
Study: 1 in 5 EMTALA Settlements Involves Psychiatric Emergencies
One expert says EDs should address mental health emergencies with the same vigor as trauma, cardiac, and stroke episodes.
-
It Was Too Early to Detect Sepsis: Can Defense Team Prove It?
Sepsis is not always diagnosable, or even present, at the time of an ED visit. All testing performed in the ED may provide negative results. Despite these facts, plaintiffs still may prevail in a missed sepsis lawsuit. -
Emergency Medicine Residency Programs Devote Little Time to Malpractice Education
Only 18% of emergency medicine (EM) residency programs offer more than four hours a year of medical malpractice/risk management education, according to the authors of a recent study.
-
Many ED Charts Lack Explanation of EP’s Thought Process
Many ED malpractice claims would be defensible except for one problem: There is nothing in the chart to explain what the EP was thinking at the time of the ED visit.
-
Liability for Hospitals if Security Removes Disruptive Person from Waiting Room
The safest approach is to presume that anyone in the ED waiting area is presenting for evaluation and medical care, unless they indicate otherwise.
-
Texts Can Hurt Defendant EP, Even if Messages Were Sent Off Shift
If a bad outcome happens during a shift, a plaintiff attorney can obtain phone records. This attorney may accuse a healthcare worker of talking on the phone to his or her lawyer instead of seeing patients.
-
ED’s Claim of Unusually Large Patient Volume Could Backfire on Defense
Defense claims that unusually high volumes led to delayed care can result in expanded discovery, including census reports. If admissible, the plaintiff can use staffing data to demonstrate a pervasive pattern of understaffing, among other possibly damaging accusations.
-
Analysis Reveals Slight Decrease in Frequency of ED Claims
ED malpractice claims decreased slightly in frequency over a 10-year period, comprising 8% of total claims, according to the authors of a recent analysis. What follows is a closer look at issues that arise often in these claims.