12 Medical Malpractice Traps

1 First, know why patients sue.; 2 Apologize when things go wrong.; 3 Take informed consent seriously.; 4 Credential carefully.; 5 Don't indemnify subcontractors.; 6 Charting is key to self-preservation.; 7 Keep your emotions out of your documentation.; 8 Don't act like a victim.; 9 Avoid the blame game.; 10 Audit your charts.; 11 Take a timeout.; 12 Prevent patient falls.; Watch your step; America; Anesthesia Associates; Apologize; Arrest Case; Associates; Association; Audit; Avoid; Caesarian Case; Cardiac Arrest Case; Case; Charting; Credential; Credentialing; Doctor; Epidural Case; Facilities; Follow; Gafner; Guide; Houston-based; Insurers Association; JCAHO; Judgment; Juries; Lack; Lorne; Montclair Anesthesia Associates; Ms. Gafner; Oftentimes; PIAA; Participation; Patients; Physician Insurers Association; Prevent; Protocol; Rest; Secrets; Subcontracting; Victims' Guide; Web; Win! Victims' Guide; ability; accessible; accompanied; account; accrediting; accused; act; acting; action; actions; active; actively; acts; additional; address; adds; adequate; adherence; administration; administrator; admitting; advice; affirm; agent; agree; agreements; airline; allegations; allowed; alternatives; ambulatory; amount; anesthesia; anesthesiologist; anger; answered; anxieties; apologize; appears; approving; arrive; ascertain; assured; astonished; atmosphere; attempt; attention; attorney; audit; author; avoid; avoiding; award; awarded; aware; babies; back; bad; bank; beginning; benefits; benign; blame; blown; bolster; book; booking; bring; bringing; build; burden; care; carefully; careless; carriers; carries; cars; case; case-by-case; case-specific; cases; center; chance; characterize; chart; charted; charts; check; circulating; claim; claims; clauses; clear; clear-cut; client; close; co-defendants; collides; comfort; commitment; committee; common; communication; company; completely; complex; complication; complied; comply; component; computerized; conclude; condition; confuse; consent; consequences; consistent; contractor; control; controlling; correct; correctness; cover; creating; credential; credentialed; credentialing; credentials; critical; cut; dealing; declined; defendants; degree; delivery; demonstrate; depends; designed; detail; detailed; develop; developed; develops; dictates; differences; difficult; diffuse; direct; directly; disclosure; dividends; doc; doctor; document; documentation; documented; double; dropped; easily; economic; education; emergency; emotions; employee; employer; empower; end; ensure; entered; entries; equally; equate; escort; establishment; evaluated; event; examples; excuse; existing; expectation; expected; expert's; experts; explain; explaining; explanation; facilities; facility; fact; failed; failure; fall; familiar; families; feel; feet; find; fingers; flawed; focus; form; found; free; freestanding; frequently; front; frustrated; fussy; gave; general; generally; give; goal; good; greatest; happen; happened; harmed; he'll; healthcare; heavy; held; helps; high; high-quality; higher; hire; hit; hold; human; identifiable; improper; inadequate; include; inconsistencies; inconsistent; indefensible; indemnify; independent; indicating; information; informed; injured; inserts; insurance; insure; insurers; interjecting; internal; involve; judge; judgments; juries; jurors; jury; kevinmd.com; key; knowledge; lack; last-minute; late; law; lawsuits; lawyer; lawyers; lay; leaving; liability; liable; licensed; lift; likes; litigated; log; long; loss; lot; machine; made; make; making; mal; malpractice; management; meant; mechanism; med; medical; medically; medicine; member; men; minor; mitigate; money; monthly; named; names; national; nature; negligence; negligent; newsletters; note; nurse; nurses; nursing; objective; obtain; obvious; occurred; occurs; open-ended; operating; operative; opinion; opportunity; organizations; other's; overestimate; package; page; parallels; part; participation; parties; party; pass; patient; patient-selection; patients; pay; payments; peer; percent; perform; performed; performing; perioperative; person; personal; personnel; pertinent; physician; physicians; pioneer; place; plaintiff; plausible; pointing; policies; policy; poor; position; posting; potential; practice; practicing; precisely; present; president; prevail; prevent; prevention; prevents; pride; private; privileges; problem; procedure; procedures; process; professional; prominently; proper; protect; protection; protocols; prove; provide; provider; providers; providing; provision; prudent; psychological; public; publishes; punish; put; qualified; question; quick; rankles; rates; rattles; reason; reasoned; recommend; records; recovering; recovery; reduce; redundancy; refers; regional; regulations; relies; relieve; remember; remove; reputation; requiring; research; reservation; responsibility; responsible; result; resulting; retribution; reviews; rise; risk; room; root; rules; runs; safety; satisfaction; scheduling; screening; screens; secrecy; selection; self-serving; senior; service; settle; settles; shield; shoulder; show; showing; shown; shows; sign; signature; significant; signify; signifying; signs; similar; site; situation; sloppy; soon-to-be-published; specializes; sponge; staff; standards; start; statements; status; stick; stop; strong; strongly; subcontractor; subject; substantial; sue; suggesting; suits; sum; supposed; surcharge; surgeon; surgeons; surgery; surgical; suspect; system; takes; talked; tells; tend; theory; thing; things; thought; time; times; training; trauma; treat; treating; treatment; trial; triple; truck; trust; unanticipated; undergo; undergoing; undermine; understand; understanding; understands; validates; veil; verdict; vice; victim; vigilant; visits; volunteer; well-established; win; winning; withheld; word; work; write; wrong; wrong-person; wrong-site; wrongful; years; yes-or-no; yield