Michigan study above and in anecdotal tales. Personally, I know of a sur-
gery center that had a fire while using an electrosurgical device on a
child. Immediately after the event, the center administrator sat down
with the patient's family and followed the steps above — she explained
what happened, empathized with them and discussed the risks of elec-
trosurgery. They then offered to waive the cost of the surgery and subsi-
dize the costs for additional plastic surgery to treat the burns. In the end,
the family didn't sue, and the entire incident was handled efficiently and
compassionately.
L it t le e x tr a k in d n e ss
These ideas aren't groundbreaking, but they are powerful. And it doesn't
hurt to remind staff and physicians that in your fast-paced facility, treat-
ing patients with a little extra kindness can make all of the difference in
the world. If you still aren't convinced, consider the case of a woman
who went blind after being left in prone position while undergoing
spinal surgery. Though it's a known risk with those cases, she still decid-
ed that she wanted to file a medical malpractice suit.
Both her surgeon and anesthesiologist could have been sued, yet she
only chose to sue the anesthesiologist. When asked in court why she
sued one physician and not the other, though they both were involved,
she had a simple answer — she liked her surgeon.
OSM
Dr. Fleeter (tfleeter@gmail.com) is the chair of the medical liability commit-
tee for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and an orthopedic
surgeon in Reston, Va.
Medical Malpractice
MM
3 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6
[ ]
When asked in court why she sued one physician
and not the other, though they both were involved,
she had a simple answer — she liked her surgeon.
