Determination of legal responsibility in shared airway management between anesthesiology and otolaryngology

Abstract

Background Malpractice litigation remains an important point of contention in the United States. Airway management often sees multidisciplinary teams of anesthesiologists and otolaryngologists. This report analyzes lawsuits affecting both teams in airway management. Methods The Westlaw legal database (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN) was used to search for malpractice cases involving failed airway management, where both anesthesiology and otolaryngology were involved. Results Among the 28 cases analyzed, otolaryngology and anesthesiology were most commonly sued together (46.4%). When sued together, defendants were less likely to win and average award amounts ($4, 558 716) were higher. These cases most commonly occurred in the operating room (78.6%), involved a difficult/improper intubation (39.3%), alleged a failure to follow standard of care (57%), and resulted in death (60.7%). Conclusion These cases primarily cited failure to follow standard of care and communication failures. Efforts should be directed toward multidisciplinary airway management protocols and effective communication.

Predictive value of difficult airway identifiers for intubation‐related complications in the emergency department

“…13 A study by Ideker et al found that lawsuits following intubation complications primarily found either a failure to follow standards of care or a breakdown in communication. 14 In our study, multiple intubation-related metrics were compared between the criteria cohort and the non-criteria cohort. Results show that the criteria cohort had a worse view during intubation and tended to require a smaller-caliber endotracheal tube.…”

“… 13 A study by Ideker et al found that lawsuits following intubation complications primarily found either a failure to follow standards of care or a breakdown in communication. 14 …”

Editorial‐Airway Team Dynamics and Risk Reduction

“…The article” Determination of legal responsibility in shared airway management between Anesthesiology and Otolaryngology” by Chaaban and coauthors is a well‐written significant contribution to the literature and enhances our understanding of malpractice litigation for cases when Anesthesiology and Otolaryngology are jointly involved. I highly recommend this article as an excellent reference for understanding the major concepts in this very challenging topic.…”