After all the answers to the medical malpractice complaint have been served by all parties to the lawsuit and filed with the court, the discovery begins. This is the formal process of exchanging information between the parties about the witnesses and evidence they’ll present at trial. It’s designed to prevent “trial by ambush,” where one side doesn’t learn of the other side’s evidence or witnesses until the trial, leaving no time to obtain answering evidence. So, in theory, each side knows what the other side’s evidence is before trial. Occasionally, however, surprises do arise at trial.
Perhaps the most crucial aspect in the defense of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the deposition of the defendant physician. The deposition is the first and best opportunity to directly influence the ultimate outcome of the case, as the majority of malpractice lawsuits are settled before trial. The deposition is a trial before the trial, but without a judge. This in turn allows each party to review the strengths and weaknesses of their opponent’s case. For this reason, it is essential that the physician involved is familiar with the deposition process and fully prepared to testify. Thorough preparation is key to lessening the anxiety that is part of the process. That preparation can transform the deposition from a harrowing process into one that solidifies the defense’s position. You will spend several hours reviewing all medical records, notes and entries in the chart. If your attorney prepares you adequately for your deposition, you will likely gain confidence and perform well. The importance of this preparation cannot be overstated, especially if this is your first time going through this process.
The next entry will describe the procedural aspects of a deposition.
Family Practice Management. The power of apology
Personal consequences of malpractice lawsuits on American surgeons
Take a post-test and get CME credits
Please log in to ObGFirst to access the 2T US Atlas
OBG Project CME requires a modern web browser (Internet Explorer 10+, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge). Certain educational activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of their content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft PowerPoint, Windows Media Player, or Real Networks Real One Player.
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.
The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information
presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.
Jointly provided by
