Malpractice litigation in the endovascular era

Abstract

Key issues were identified regarding malpractice litigation involving the specialties that commonly perform endovascular procedures. Despite the increasing number of ICs doing peripheral interventions, a large majority of IC cases were related to coronary treatments. A surprisingly large percentage of VS cases were related to seemingly minor cases. There were significant interspecialty differences in the primary underlying allegations. As the scope of endovascular procedures broadens and deepens, it is important for clinicians to be aware of legal considerations relevant to their practice.

An Analysis of Malpractice Litigation of Vascular Surgeons in Cases Involving Aortic Pathologies

“…9,10 Overall, aortic pathology is the cause for litigation in about 11% of malpractice claims in the US and 6% of claims in the UK; most followed open repair, similar to our study. 6,[11][12][13] The Physician Insurers Association of American medical professional liability (MPL) claims also notes that litigation secondary to aneurysms/dissections are infrequent (the 10 th most common diagnosis in their analysis of malpractice in cardiovascular medicine between 1985 and 2007). However, it resulted in a higher percentage of paid claims and the highest average indemnity paid amongst other diagnoses, similar to our study.…”

“…8 Westlaw has been used in similar studies in specialties such as ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and otorhinolaryngology. [5][6][7] A search was conducted using the Boolean-based search engine of Westlaw's database between the dates of January 1 st , 2000 and December 31 st , 2017 of jury verdicts containing the keywords 'vascular', 'surgery', 'endovascular', 'stent', 'aortic', 'aneurysm', and 'dissection'. Cases related to aortic valve replacement, coronary angiography, iatrogenic aortic injury, or other nonvascular surgery were excluded.…”

“…3 Although most suits do not result in a payout, knowledge of the factors that lead to malpractice lawsuits is crucial for limiting future litigation. 1,4 The rates of malpractice litigation across specialties is well documented, 5,6 the overall rate and claims leading to litigation for aortic pathology (aneurysms, trauma, dissection and occlusive disease) remains unknown. 7 We analyzed medical malpractice claims for aortic pathologies and assessed if there has been a change in operative litigation with evolution of endovascular therapy.…”

It's time to eliminate tort from the management of medical mishaps in the National Health Service

“…Multiple authors have argued that NHS Resolution, as it currently operates, may not best serve the needs of its stakeholders and, without reform, its cost might threaten the sustainability of the NHS itself [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The numbers themselves are sobering.…”

Could no-fault compensation for medical errors improve care and reduce costs?

“…Surgery is one of the principle areas attracting an increase in both claims volume and damage costs within the NHS (4).…”