FBMJ Attorneys Present Medical-Legal Issues in Emergency Medicine
On January 29, 2026, FBMJ attorneys Brian Whitelaw and Sarah Cherry presented a number of medical-legal issues to Emergency Medicine attendings and residents at the University of Michigan Health West.
Brian and Sarah defend a significant number of emergency medicine lawsuits each year and have successfully obtained many dismissals and defense verdicts on behalf of their clients. Emergency medicine physicians are among the top medical providers named in medical malpractice lawsuits. Studies show that over 75% of emergency medicine physicians will be named in a medical malpractice claim at some point in their career.
During their presentation, they provided the attendings and residents with information on the anatomy of a medical malpractice lawsuit and discussed current trends driving nuclear verdicts, including economic and social inflation, reptile theory, and other social and legal factors. Brian and Sarah also discussed how emergency medicine physicians can protect themselves through medical charting and how to handle difficult patients and scenarios. Throughout their presentation, they used various examples taken from actual cases and trials to demonstrate that even excellent medicine and good charting can still lead to being a defendant in a medical malpractice case.
The attendings and residents must have enjoyed their presentation, as the program’s evaluation forms came back with a resounding “excellent” grade in every category and comments that they “love when [Brian and Sarah] come speak” at their Grand Rounds.