For a study, researchers sought to differentiate between the many elements of medical negligence cases involving trainees to avoid further litigation.
The period from January 1, 1988, through December 31, 2020, was retrospectively examined for malpractice cases involving urology interns, residents, or fellows in the online legal research database LexisNexis, which contains court documents from the United States.
There were a total of 16 cases, 7 (43.8%) of which had urological allegations and 9 (56.2%) non-urological allegations. Five of the instances involving unfavorable non-urological outcomes resulted in death. In addition, procedure error was alleged in 12 (75.0%) cases; negligence in 7 (43.8%); delayed evaluation in 6 (37.5%); lack of informed consent regarding the procedure or complications in 5 (31.2%); failure to pursue treatment in 4 (25.0%); inexperienced trainee in 2 (12.5%); failure to supervise trainee in 2; lack of informed consent regarding trainee involvement in 1; and prolonged operating time in 1 case.
Training programs should emphasize malpractice education, rigorous monitoring, alertness during perioperative care, and extensive communication between patients and doctors.
Reference: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(22)00078-4/fulltext
