New York residents sometimes perform online searches before choosing a physician, but the results provided by search engines like Google and Yahoo do not always tell the whole story. The medical community is rarely eager to share the details of malpractice lawsuits, and a desire to contain this kind of information leads to many such lawsuits being settled with the plaintiffs signing nondisclosure agreements.
New York residents sometimes perform online searches before choosing a physician, but the results provided by search engines like Google and Yahoo do not always tell the whole story. The medical community is rarely eager to share the details of malpractice lawsuits, and a desire to contain this kind of information leads to many such lawsuits being settled with the plaintiffs signing nondisclosure agreements.
While having a medical malpractice lawsuit filed does not necessarily mean that a doctor is negligent or incompetent, patients may have reason to worry when their physicians have faced such litigation on more than one occasion. Data from the National Practitioner Data Bank reveals that, since 1990, about 15 percent of doctors have been sued successfully after making a mistake or acting negligently, but less than 2 percent of the nation’s physicians have had two or more malpractice payouts. Those researching doctors should also understand that some medical malpractice lawsuits are filed because hospitals or individuals other than doctors are alleged to have made a mistake.
While the NPDB keeps track of the malpractice lawsuits filed against American doctors, the information is only available to the medical community and insurance companies. Patients hoping to check the backgrounds of doctors turn to state medical boards instead, but the information may be incomplete or difficult to obtain.
Those who have suffered injury due to hospital or doctor negligence, or the dependent family members of those who have died, will usually face defendants with deep pockets should they decide to pursue civil remedies. Attorneys with experience in representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice litigation may be aware that doctors accused of making mistakes tend to defend their reputations fiercely, and they could call upon experts to establish that accepted medical standards of care were not followed.
