FBMJ Partner Sarah Cherry was recently invited to speak with Radiologists at the American Osteopathic College of Radiologists about medical malpractice lawsuits as a part of their continuing education.

Radiologists are one of the top six specialties that are sued for medical malpractice. In fact, approximately 70% of radiologists will be named in a medical malpractice lawsuit and 50% of malpractice cases involve radiology images in the Emergency Department.

Radiology lawsuits usually involve one or more of the following allegations:

– reports that fail to identify important findings (diagnostic errors);
– failure to timely report critical findings (communication failures);
– failure to identify risks of procedures (informed consent); and
– reports that fail to document the technical limitations of the study; and  
– reports that omit follow-up recommendations.

Sarah also spoke with the group about the anatomy of a medical malpractice lawsuit, how to defend yourself before getting sued, and what to do when you get sued. She also discussed real cases and how better charting could have helped the radiologist defend themselves in a lawsuit.

Sarah has devoted her career to defending medical professionals. For any questions, please contact Sarah at scherry@fbmjlaw.com.