Lawsuits Against Residents
Can residents be sued for medical errors?
Answer: Absolutely.
There is a common misconception that residents are somehow protected from litigation. Unfortunately this is not completely true. Even though residents are considered learners and are working under the supervision of an attending physician, the law does not necessarily shield trainees from lawsuits.
Several notable exceptions exist. Florida gives immunity to trainees, assuming they are functioning within their scope.
This week we’ll take a look at a recent study from Myers et al, titled “An Examination of Medical Malpractice Claims Involving Physician Trainees”. It’s a great read for medical students, residents, and anyone who trains them.
The authors searched through thousands of medical malpractice cases. They identified 581 cases involving trainees, and 2,610 (not involving trainees) that were used as controls.
Here are the top 3 lessons:
1) Procedural Complications
The most common cause of litigation against trainees was a puncture or laceration during a procedure. Surgical residents obviously have the highest risk.
2) Emergency Department Risk
Lawsuits against residents were more likely to occur as a result of an event in the ED, as opposed to an event in any other hospital location or department.
These ED events include residents of all specialties, not just EM residents.
3) No “July Effect”
When a bad medical outcome led to a lawsuit in July, the case was just as likely to include a resident as it was an attending alone.
There has been a lot of discussion about patient safety in July, when new interns start. The most recent evidence has disproven this risk, and this study did not show any increased risk in litigation.
Understanding the risks to residents is important. It can help trainees and attending physicians know where to focus our energy in averting bad outcomes that lead to lawsuits.
We’ve covered several lawsuits involving residents before. Check out these cases if you’re interested in reading them:
Involves multiple residents: OB/GYN intern and senior resident, critical care resident
37-year-old woman at 17 weeks gestation
Delays in septic abortion diagnosis and treatment lead to death
Confidential settlement
Unresponsive patient diagnosed with stroke
Unresponsive patient found down in yard
Radiology resident reads non-contrast CT as normal, attending agrees
Diagnosed with stroke, tPA given within 4.5 hours
Radiology resident and attending sued for “missing” hyperdense MCA sign
Ongoing lawsuit
Bile Leak [Subscriber Content]
Surgery resident performs cholecystectomy
Patient develops bile leak, suffers multiple complications
Attending named in lawsuit, resident not named
Ongoing lawsuit
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