Having been sued question

[cc56]

So I will start by saying I have not been sued and having nothing in the works.    I was talking to some MA's about having to do things that cover your butt so you don't get sued.  Or if you do get sued you win for doing the right thing. 

 

So my question if people are willing to answer.  Does getting sued whether you did everything right or maybe a little wrong really ruin your PA career?   I have seen in every credentialing packet the question on litigation, I can say NO so I don't know what happens if you have to say YES. 

 

I am not talking about crazy malicious stuff that you get sued for but more ......   No fever, mildly agitated child, no meningeal signs ---> dies of meningitis.  You could not diagnosis it, you did everything right, but you still get sued type of stuff.  What does that do to your PA career?  

[sas5814]

So I will start by saying I have not been sued and having nothing in the works.    I was talking to some MA's about having to do things that cover your butt so you don't get sued.  Or if you do get sued you win for doing the right thing. 

 

So my question if people are willing to answer.  Does getting sued whether you did everything right or maybe a little wrong really ruin your PA career?   I have seen in every credentialing packet the question on litigation, I can say NO so I don't know what happens if you have to say YES. 

 

I am not talking about crazy malicious stuff that you get sued for but more ......   No fever, mildly agitated child, no meningeal signs ---> dies of meningitis.  You could not diagnosis it, you did everything right, but you still get sued type of stuff.  What does that do to your PA career?  

The short answer is no. More than anything else people sue because they are angry not because of any malpractice. When the lawyers get involved everyone in 20 square miles gets named. I was named in a suit in the ER when I was supervising all the PAs on a patient I never saw. One of the supervising physicians was named in the same suit because he was on backup call. He wasn't even in the hospital. The circumstances determine if it affects your career. One of the best, most caring and compassionate physicians I ever worked for has been named 7 times. Never successfully. It is a sad fact of life and more so if you work in a higher risk specialty.

[Sunnyn]

What is the best way to avoid being sued?  

[CAAdmission]

What is the best way to avoid being sued?

Never leave your house and never communicate with anyone.

 

Aside from that, be thorough, be kind and document everything.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

Don't forget that finding the right job, with a limited scope of practice, and low care expectations (NOT the patient's PCP) helps immensely.  Helps also that if a pt. gets out of control all you have to do is call administration and report their actions since you all work for the same employer (rude or threatening behavior on phone or while in clinic).

[DAVIDHAMEL]

One of my first physician mentors was a family practitioner from England.

I'll never forget his words of advice:

"Dave, if you want to avoid being sued you must practice the Three R's: Rapport, Recording and Referral."

I retired last years after 30 years of clinical practice. Never got sued.

[EMEDPA]

a senior pa I work with has been sued 3 times and still works, however it's hard for him to get new positions. all 3 "suits" were silly or unavoidable and when investigated new employers see that. one person sued him because they had a first time dystonic reaction when given an antiemetic. his group settled, but it's on his record. another pt had an atypical appy. he had his sp see the pt. they both thought it was not an appy. they sent the pt home and the appy perfed. the pt did fine. this was before the regular use of ct. he used to be a pcp and did vasectomies. one of his pts had a vasectomy, did not do the f/u testing to confirm it worked, and his wife got pregnant. trivial judgement against him. he just got a new state license recently and it took over a year due to these suits.

[cc56]

Being sued is always scary in my mind.  It seems like you can still be A PA after a lawsuit though.   

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

What makes it really exciting is when no one (attorneys) is in a hurry to resolve it so you can get your life back to normal.

[Reality Check 2]

One of my colleagues told me that not having been sued meant I hadn't been in practice long enough.

 

So, I was named in an ortho suit - of course, they waited until the last day of the 2 yrs to file statute and I was served with papers 10 days before Christmas.

I cried.

 

My only fault was being on call that weekend and having set foot in the patient's room during on-call rounding. I was there.

 

So, it is now FIVE YEARS since the patient was in the hospital - I have NEVER been deposed. The plaintiff's lawyer has filed motion after motion after motion at the last minute. Two doctors were let out of the case - now trying to pull them back in. I have 3 experts stating I did nothing out of the standard of care and my documentation is stellar (always has been). The defense attorneys have tried for 3 years to get me released from the case to no avail.

 

I have to report it on everything - every credential form, every licensure app, every bloody damn thing regarding my professional life. It is a case, not a judgment. 

 

The anticipated trial date is summer 2016 - 5 ½ years after the hospitalization. That is how long this has hung over my head and integrity and made me lose sleep and feel persecuted and be angry.

 

I seriously did nothing out of the standard of care and this individual is very angry because a bad complication happened to a bad injury and he wants money - a lot of money. This individual has returned to gainful employment and can do 90% of lifestyle desires. Quite frankly, sometimes &hit just happens.

 

So, it has not ruined my career but has left permanent scars in my professional sense of integrity and well being. I questioned leaving the profession because it didn't seem worth it to put myself out there anymore if folks were going to blame everything on someone else when sometimes stuff just happens. 

 

I am still angry that my name is associated with it and that the plaintiff attorney gets away with just-legal but certainly not ethical or professional behavior and is allowed to drag my life and that of other professionals through HELL for YEARS on end without fruition. 

 

Many of my physician colleagues have told me that they have been sued and it is the price of business. I am just not sure it worth the price any more. Our legal system is not about right and wrong - it is about loopholes and technicalities that favor the wicked and less motivated to do right. 

 

So, some days I don't think about it - but they are few. At some point we will have to go to trial and someone might finally ask me about events that I scarcely remember anymore due to the passage of a great deal of time.

 

Being sued sucks and the reasons people are allowed to file claims is ridiculous and the timelines allotted are counterproductive.

 

My very old sad 2 cents…...

[Maverick87]

One of my colleagues told me that not having been sued meant I hadn't been in practice long enough.

 

So, I was named in an ortho suit - of course, they waited until the last day of the 2 yrs to file statute and I was served with papers 10 days before Christmas.

I cried.

 

My only fault was being on call that weekend and having set foot in the patient's room during on-call rounding. I was there.

 

So, it is now FIVE YEARS since the patient was in the hospital - I have NEVER been deposed. The plaintiff's lawyer has filed motion after motion after motion at the last minute. Two doctors were let out of the case - now trying to pull them back in. I have 3 experts stating I did nothing out of the standard of care and my documentation is stellar (always has been). The defense attorneys have tried for 3 years to get me released from the case to no avail.

 

I have to report it on everything - every credential form, every licensure app, every bloody damn thing regarding my professional life. It is a case, not a judgment. 

 

The anticipated trial date is summer 2016 - 5 ½ years after the hospitalization. That is how long this has hung over my head and integrity and made me lose sleep and feel persecuted and be angry.

 

I seriously did nothing out of the standard of care and this individual is very angry because a bad complication happened to a bad injury and he wants money - a lot of money. This individual has returned to gainful employment and can do 90% of lifestyle desires. Quite frankly, sometimes &hit just happens.

 

So, it has not ruined my career but has left permanent scars in my professional sense of integrity and well being. I questioned leaving the profession because it didn't seem worth it to put myself out there anymore if folks were going to blame everything on someone else when sometimes stuff just happens. 

 

I am still angry that my name is associated with it and that the plaintiff attorney gets away with just-legal but certainly not ethical or professional behavior and is allowed to drag my life and that of other professionals through HELL for YEARS on end without fruition. 

 

Many of my physician colleagues have told me that they have been sued and it is the price of business. I am just not sure it worth the price any more. Our legal system is not about right and wrong - it is about loopholes and technicalities that favor the wicked and less motivated to do right. 

 

So, some days I don't think about it - but they are few. At some point we will have to go to trial and someone might finally ask me about events that I scarcely remember anymore due to the passage of a great deal of time.

 

Being sued sucks and the reasons people are allowed to file claims is ridiculous and the timelines allotted are counterproductive.

 

My very old sad 2 cents…...

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

This is absolutely one of the dangers of practicing medicine and it is something that I think about often. From what I've seen, it seems like the cases that you think about often (the ones that you are unsure about) usually turn into nothing....and the real problems come from the ones that you couldn't even imagine.

 

I'm sorry that you are going through this.