What your doctor is reading on Medscape.com:
APRIL 29, 2020 — As if the COVID-19 crisis isn’t terrible enough, there are some attorneys who are willing to make it worse for physicians.
At least one national plaintiff attorney malpractice firm has been advising the public to be on the lookout for certain types of medical negligence that could occur during this crisis and that might be grounds for making a claim:
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Alleged failures of hospitals to prepare for and respond appropriately and timely to coronavirus patients;
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The negligent failure of hospitals and other healthcare providers to timely diagnose the coronavirus in patients;
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The negligent failure to take appropriate precautions to prevent or limit the exposure to and spread of coronavirus among patients not infected;
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The negligent failure to timely and appropriately treat coronavirus patients; and
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Negligent failures that result in the delay of unrelated treatments and procedures that cause harm to patients.
Does this mean that physicians and hospitals that are already putting themselves at risk to treat COVID-19 patients are in greater danger of being sued? According to Reza Torkzadeh, Esq, CEO and managing attorney of a personal injury firm in Los Angeles, these types of claims are not out of the question.
“Maybe some creative lawyers will come up with ways to describe willful misconduct in certain ways,” he said. For example, many patients who test positive for COVID-19 but who are not ill enough to be hospitalized are being told to self-quarantine and recover at home.
“If a doctor says, ‘Go home and wait it out,’ I could potentially see some exposure if that individual goes home and does pass away,” Torkzadeh said. Similarly, with shortages of hospital beds and staff throughout the country, hospitals may be accused of negligence, he added.
“Naturally, anytime a family member loses a loved one, they’re going to be looking for negligence — that something fell below the standard of care — but I think it’s going to be a stretch,” he said. “If you read the text of the [emergency declaration] by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it [indicates] it’s going to be very difficult for lawyers and plaintiffs to really prosecute these cases successfully,” said Torkzadeh.
Continued
Although the possibility of being sued by a patient (or a patient’s relative) you risked so much to treat may be the farthest thing from your mind, is this something you should be concerned about?
Physicians Should Put Risk Into Perspective
Despite existing and newly created liability protections for medical providers on the front lines of fighting the pandemic, physicians should not consider themselves immune to litigation arising from the crisis, according to Gita Pensa, MD, an emergency medicine specialist and associate professor and clinician educator with the Brown University Emergency Medicine Residency in Providence, Rhode Island.
“I don’t think that it should be first and foremost in anyone’s mind, but you should take reasonable steps to protect yourself,” said Pensa. Drawing in part on her own 12-year ordeal with being sued, Pensa also hosts a podcast that informs physicians about the legal, financial, and emotional intricacies of malpractice litigation.
“I will say that later, when lawsuits are filed, I can only imagine the psychological impact that it will have on providers who are literally risking their lives to help other people,” said Pensa. “Physicians right now are trying to cope with much larger stressors than worrying about litigation.
“Physicians are worried about keeping safe, about dying themselves,” said Pensa. “They are worried about saving these hordes of patients who are coming, with limited resources. They’re worried about denying people ventilators.