Main description:

Being served with a lawsuit wouldn't just ruin your day. It could ruin a clinician's professional and personal life. Written for physicians by physicians, this important book concisely and pragmatically answers many of the questions surrounding medical malpractice. With an emphasis on clinical matters and a minimum of "legalese", this book shows ophthalmologists how to avoid law suits in the first place. It also examines what happens should litigation occur and provides insights into both defendant and plaintiff perspectives. Covering the legal issues for all of ophthalmology, here at last is a book that provides the busy clinician with the tools necessary to reduce the risk of lawsuits.

Contents:

Definitions of medical malpractice and examples (Allegations * Maloccurence) * Causes of litigation (* Poor communication * Physician-patient relationship * Informed consent * Poor result) * Physician-patient relationship: practical and philosophical considerations * Informed consent (* History * Theory * Rationale * Procedure) * Poor results (* Cataract surgery * Retinal detachment * Prescribing & drugs * Glaucoma * Trauma & Intraocular foreign bodies * Medical retina * Retinopathy of prematurity * Anesthesia * Oculoplastic * Strabismus * Tumors * Neuro-ophthalmology * Miscellaneous) * Why patients sue (Plaintiff attorney author MD/JD) * The plaintiff's attorney (plaintiff attorney author MD/JD) * The defense attorney (defense attorney author MD/JD) * Ophthalmic malpractice lawsuits with large monetary awards * Medical records (* Office chart * Hospital record) * The four most effective risk prevention techniques (* Good result * Physician-patient relationship * Informed consent * Documentation) * Identifying and managing the litigious patient * Natural history of a medical malpractice claim (* Request for records * Summons and complaint * Narrative interview * Hiring your own attorney * Selection of an expert witness * Discovery * Interrogatories * Examination before trial (deposition) * Consideration of settlement * Trial testimony and courtroom behavior * Damages * Appeal * Countersuit) * Testifying as an expert witness.