Ophthalmic malpractice lawsuits with large monetary awards
M. F. Kraushar and J. H. Robb
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark 07090, USA.
Malpractice claims against ophthalmologists that were closed with patient
indemnification of at least $250,000(18% of all eye claims closed with
payments to patients) were analyzed for risk prevention. The incident of
alleged malpractice occurred within 1 month of the initial
physician-patient encounter in 43% of claims and on the initial encounter
in 17%. Cataract was the most frequent problem for which these patients
sought treatment. Eighty-four percent of these patients sustained injuries
resulting in legal blindness or worse. The most frequent complication of
treatment (25%) was failure or delay in diagnosis of detached retina, or
negligent treatment resulting in a retinal detachment. The most frequent
factors influencing the decision to seek a settlement included altered
records, poor documentation, informed consent problems, failure to see the
patient promptly, and failure to obtain or follow the advice of a
consultant.
