Medical Malpractice in Dermatology—Part I: Reducing the Risks of a Lawsuit

Shah, Vidhi V.; Kapp, Marshall B.; Wolverton, Stephen E.

doi:10.1007/s40257-016-0223-3

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The downward trend in plaintiff-favoring verdicts found in our study parallels the net reduction in paid claims for dermatologists and all specialists over time . Increased implementation of quality improvement interventions (eg, checklists and time-outs) and electronic medical records may play a role in decreasing paid claims for dermatologic malpractice litigation over time …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…3,17 Increased implementation of quality improvement interventions (eg, checklists and time-outs) and electronic medical records may play a role in decreasing paid claims for dermatologic malpractice litigation over time. [18][19][20][21] Male plaintiffs predominated among the cases (57%). The high proportion of male plantiffs may partially be explained by the increased relative incidence of KC among men compared with women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of State and Federal Malpractice Litigation of Medical Liability Claims for Keratinocyte Carcinoma, 1968 to 2018

et al. 2019

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The prevalence of keratinocyte carcinoma (KC) exceeds that of all other malignant neoplasms combined. Despite the steady rise of payments for medical malpractice liability claims over time, data regarding the characteristics of malpractice litigation for KC are scarce.OBJECTIVE To identify state and federal appellate medical malpractice liability cases for KC and determine the factors associated with the verdicts. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis retrospective review of KC-related malpractice litigation under state or federal jurisdiction reviewed the LexisNexis Academic database of state and federal cases, legal reviews, and case law. All appellate medical malpractice cases at the state and federal levels involving basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from January 1, 1968, through December 31, 2018, were identified.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Demographic characteristics of the cases and plaintiffs, verdict, health care specialty of the defendant, setting of the litigation, rationale for the lawsuit and verdict, factors associated with the case outcome, and monetary payout in cases won by the plaintiff.RESULTS In total, 83 cases were included in our analysis (34 BCC cases and 49 SCC cases; 47 [57%] male plaintiffs). Sixty-two cases (75%) were decided in favor of the defendant. More KC-related malpractice cases were won by defendants in more recent years than were won by plaintiffs (mean year, 2004 [SD, 11 years] vs 1998; P = .03). Twenty-five cases (30%) each occurred in the Northeast and the South, and 45 (54%) involved private practices. Most cases involved KCs occurring on the face, head, and/or neck (39 [47%]), the genitalia (22 [27%]), or the extremities (15 [18%]). More than half of defendants were dermatologists (19 [23%]), family medicine physicians (15 [18%]), or oncologists (8 [10%]). Jurisprudence for KC-related malpractice cases most often occurred at the state level (49 [59%]). The most common causes of litigation were failure to diagnose (18 [22%]), misdiagnosis (18 [22%]), and delay in treatment (11 [13%]). More female than male plaintiffs won their malpractice cases (11 of 35 [31%] vs 5 of 43 [12%]; P = .03). More cases involving SCC than BCC led to a decision favoring the plaintiff (13 of 47 [28%] vs 3 of 31 [10%]; P = .05).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of State and Federal Malpractice Litigation of Medical Liability Claims for Keratinocyte Carcinoma, 1968 to 2018

et al. 2019

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“…Similarly, urologists were the most commonly named physician specialty in our study. Although they have a lower risk of being sued compared to physicians in other specialties, dermatologists similarly possess a non‐negligible lawsuit burden 17 . All physicians named in our review were able to successfully defend against litigation with the verdict going in their favor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Although they have a lower risk of being sued compared to physicians in other specialties, dermatologists similarly possess a non-negligible lawsuit burden. 17 All physicians named in our review were able to successfully defend against litigation with the verdict going in their favor. However, there is still a substantial burden to being involved in lawsuits regardless of the outcome.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

5‐Alpha reductase inhibitor related litigation: A legal database review

Low

Hakam

et al. 2021

Andrology

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Background: 5α-reductase inhibitors are commonly prescribed medications with multiple side effects used in the treatment of male pattern hair loss and benign prostatic hyperplasia. These side effects including "post-finasteride syndrome" may result in lawsuits. Objectives:To characterize lawsuits involving the adverse side effects of 5α-reductase inhibitor to better understand drivers of litigation and outcomes.Methods: Legal cases were queried from Nexis Uni using the search terms "5-alpha reductase inhibitor" as well as specific agents "finasteride," "dutasteride" in combination with "malpractice," "negligence," "damage," "loss," "side effect," and "complication."Secondary review was performed with publicly available data on "In Re: Propecia." Relevant cases were reviewed and pertinent characteristics were extracted and summarized using descriptive statistics.Results: Our search yielded 156 unique legal cases in the Nexis Uni database from April 2003 to May 2021. Only 18 of these cases met the inclusion criteria. Adverse events experienced by patients included medication side effects (n = 12, 66.7%), delayed cancer diagnosis (n = 3, 16.7%), and lack of symptom improvement (n = 3, 16.7%). The identity of the plaintiffs were most commonly patients themselves (n = 15, 83.3%). Defendants include pharmaceutical companies (n = 6, 33.3%), a combination of parties (n = 5, 27.8%), and physicians (n = 5, 27.8%) alone. The allegations included sexual side effects such as erectile dysfunction (n = 6, 33.3%) and decreased libido (n = 4, 22.2%). These prescriptions were made for benign prostatic hyperplasia (n = 9, 50%), male pattern hair loss (n = 7, 38.9%), and feminizing hormone therapy (n = 2, 11.1%). Several of these cases involved the same plaintiffs in related cases. No verdicts were against physicians.We noted a largely settled lawsuit involving more than 1000 plaintiffs with limited data on harms alleged and a $4.3 million settled amount. Of the total cases that resulted in a verdict, 9/18 were within the last 3 years.

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“…It presents in 6-30 per million live births, most caused by mutations in KRT5 and KRT14. 1 Standard management strategies include mechanical protection, topical aluminum chloride, high-potency corticosteroids, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medications.…”

Section: Low-dose Botulinum Toxin Improves Disease Activity and Quali...mentioning

confidence: 99%