Do Plastic Surgery Residents Get Sued? An Analysis Of Malpractice Lawsuits
Alexander R. Gibstein, BA1, Sinan K. Jabori, MD1, Arjun Watane, MD2, Iakov V. Efimenko, MD1, Devinder Singh, MD1.
1University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA, 2Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Purpose: Trainees may be implicated in malpractice lawsuits. We examined medical malpractice lawsuits involving plastic surgery trainees.
Methods: Using the LexisNexis legal database, jury verdicts and settlements from appellate state and federal cases between February 1988 and 2020 were queried. A non-representative sample of 300 cases was compiled.
Results: 22 malpractice cases involving plastic surgery trainees were identified. 15 (68.2%) involved claims in which a trainee was named as a defendant. 18 (81.8%) cases were due to procedural-related adverse outcomes, while 4 (18.2%) cases were associated with clinical or diagnostic-related adverse outcomes. Of the procedure-related cases, 5 (27.8%) occurred when the trainee was lead surgeon. Allegations raised included lack of informed consent (12, 54.5%), procedural error (11, 50%), improper trainee supervision(11, 50%), trainee inexperience (8, 36.4%), incorrect diagnosis/treatment (5, 22.7%), delay in evaluation (3 cases, 13.6%), lack of knowledge of resident involvement (3, 13.6%), lack of follow-up care (3, 13.6%), and prolonged operative time (1, 4.5%). Median time from injury to lawsuit resolution was 3.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 3-5 years). Verdicts were ruled in favor of the defense in 9 (40.9%) cases and plaintiff in 6 (27.3%) cases. A settlement was made in 7 (31.8%) cases. The median payout for plaintiff-won cases was $5,100,000 (IQR $1,530,000-$17,500,000), and the median settlement was $2,500,000 (IQR $262,500-$4,410,000).
Conclusion: Procedural error, improper informed consent, improper trainee supervision, and resident inexperience were the most common allegations raised. These factors can lead to financial and psychological burdens early on in a physician's career.
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