Medical malpractice and meningiomas: an analysis of 47 cases

Abstract

OBJECTIVEAmong medical practices, surgical fields, including neurosurgery, are at a high risk for medical malpractice litigation. With meningiomas contributing to 10% of the total neurosurgery litigation cases, the aim of this study was to identify demographic characteristics, reasons for litigation, and surgical complications commonly reported in these cases. This analysis serves to increase neurosurgeons’ awareness of factors associated with medical malpractice litigation.METHODSThe online legal database Westlaw was utilized to query public litigation cases related to the medical management of meningiomas between December 1985 and May 2020. Variables extracted included the following: plaintiff and defendant demographics, litigation category, plaintiff medical complaints, and trial outcomes. The authors compared these characteristics between cases with decisions in favor of the defendant and those with decisions in favor of the plaintiff.RESULTSA total of 47 cases met the inclusion criteria. Failure to diagnose (68.1%) was the most common type of malpractice claim, and surgical complications (19.1%), motor weakness (33%), and financial loss (33%) were cited as the most common postoperative complaints. Individual specialties that most often required defense due to malpractice claims were radiology (21.7%) and neurosurgery (19.6%). The jury verdict was in favor of the defense in 51.1% of cases and in favor of the plaintiff in 27.7% of cases. A settlement was reached in 19.1% of cases. The mean payout for a verdict in favor of the plaintiff was $3,409,650.22, while the mean payout for settlements was $867,555.56. The greatest average payout for specialties was in neurosurgery at $3,414,400, followed by radiology at $3,192,960. Cases with a verdict in favor of the plaintiff were more likely to involve an internal medicine physician as a defendant (p = 0.007).CONCLUSIONSOver one-half of the cases resulted in a defendant’s verdict with failure to diagnose cited as the most common reason for litigation. Radiology and neurosurgery were the most common specialties for legal cases and also had some of the largest average payouts based on specialty. Motor weakness and financial loss were the most common plaintiff postoperative complaints. These findings may inform surgeons on active measures to take, such as increasing focus on diagnostic accuracy and reducing specific postoperative complaints, such as motor weakness, through risk management and prophylactic measures, to reduce unfavorable legal outcomes.

Medical malpractice and epidural hematomas: a retrospective analysis of 101 cases in the United States

“…Furthermore, the highest plaintiff verdict was $8 400 177.00 greater than the most expensive settlement among the cases included in this study. These results are similar to prior studies demonstrating that settlements offer lower payouts compared to jury verdicts 21 , 23 . However, analysis of the factors that may increase the likelihood of entering into a settlement agreement and contribute to the lower costs of settlements compared to plaintiff verdicts is warranted.…”

“…Jury verdicts in favour of the defendant occurred in the majority of cases ( n = 54, 53.5%), with plaintiff verdicts ( n = 28, 27.7%) and settlements ( n = 26, 25.7%) occurring less frequently. These results support prior medicolegal analyses identifying juries to more often rule in favour of medical defendants than plaintiffs 21 , 22 . Comparative analysis revealed that almost every physician specialty listed as a defendant in jury trials was more likely to return a verdict in their favour.…”

Analyst Types of Malpractice In Health Law

“…Malpractice refers to the actions of doctors committed with negligence or misconduct in violation of laws and codes of medical ethics. Mistakes are usually unintentional or malicious, but can still pose a major threat to the health, safety, and security of patients and others involved (Boyke et al, 2020). Therefore, such actions must be subject to sanctions and punishments in accordance with applicable law.…”