Lack of informed consent in medical malpractice and product liability cases: the burden of presenting evidence.

Legal briefing: informed consent in the clinical context.

This issue's "Legal Briefing" column covers recent legal developments involving informed consent.1 We covered this topic in previous articles in The Journal of Clinical Ethics.2 But an updated discussion is warranted. First, informed consent remains a central and critically important issue in clinical ethics. Second, there have been numerous significant legal changes over the past year. We cate...

The impact of the Texas Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act on informed consent recovery in medical malpractice litigation.

Characterizing liability for cranial nerve injuries: a detailed analysis of 209 malpractice trials.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The potential for adverse events with lasting functional effects makes cranial nerve (CN) injury a target for litigation. Our objective was to comprehensively examine records of malpractice trials and detail issues influencing outcomes. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis. METHODS The Westlaw database (Thomson Reuters, New York, NY) was searched for jury verdict report...

From the operating room to the courtroom: a comprehensive characterization of litigation related to facial plastic surgery procedures.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Malpractice litigation has increased in recent decades, contributing to higher health-care costs. Characterization of complications leading to litigation is of special interest to practitioners of facial plastic surgery procedures because of the higher proportion of elective cases relative to other subspecialties. In this analysis, we comprehensively examine malpractice li...

Dyshormonia Iatrogenica: crossroads of medicine, malpractice law, and professional ethics in clinical endocrinology.

OBJECTIVE To present 2 challenging cases of patients who request endocrine therapies that their physician considers to be outside of the standard of care. METHODS With these complex cases as a backdrop, we explore the constructs of medicine, malpractice law, and professional ethics that guide physicians' medical decision-making processes. RESULTS These cases illustrate a common conundrum fo...