Logan S D'Souza1, H Ray Jalian2, Chris Jalian3, Murad Alam4, Daniel B Eisen5, Mathew M Avram6, Omar A Ibrahimi7. 1. Department of Dermatology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington. 2. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts3Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston4Division of Dermatology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). 3. Paul Hastings LLC, New York, New York. 4. Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. 5. Department of Dermatology, University of California Davis, Sacramento. 6. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts3Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. 7. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts3Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston8Connecticut Skin Institute, Stamford.
Abstract
IMPORTANCE: Few studies specifically address lawsuits involving Mohs surgery. OBJECTIVE: To better characterize the types of medical professional liability claims involving Mohs surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective legal document review of an online national database. Any legal proceeding involving the search words Mohs and cancer was included. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Number of medical professional liability claims involving Mohs surgery for factors including year of litigation, location, physician specialty, injury sustained, cause of legal action, and verdict. RESULTS: Forty-two cases were identified, which occurred from 1989 to 2011. Of the cases identified, 26 involved non-Mohs surgeons as the primary defendant, mostly due to a delay of or failure in diagnosis (n = 16), cosmetic outcome issues (n = 8), lack of informed consent (n = 7), and a delay of or failure in referral to a Mohs surgeon (n = 6). Common causes for litigation against Mohs surgeons as the primary defendant (n = 16) were lack of proper informed consent (n = 5) and cosmetic outcome issues (n = 4). Only 1 case against a Mohs surgeon was judged for the plaintiff. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The most common lawsuits pertaining to Mohs surgery list non-Mohs surgeons as the primary defendants. Closer coordination between non-Mohs surgeons and Mohs surgeons may help minimize risk to both parties and lead to better patient care. Small sample size is the primary limitation, in part owing to exclusion of out-of-court settlements from the database.
IMPORTANCE: Few studies specifically address lawsuits involving Mohs surgery. OBJECTIVE: To better characterize the types of medical professional liability claims involving Mohs surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective legal document review of an online national database. Any legal proceeding involving the search words Mohs and cancer was included. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Number of medical professional liability claims involving Mohs surgery for factors including year of litigation, location, physician specialty, injury sustained, cause of legal action, and verdict. RESULTS: Forty-two cases were identified, which occurred from 1989 to 2011. Of the cases identified, 26 involved non-Mohs surgeons as the primary defendant, mostly due to a delay of or failure in diagnosis (n = 16), cosmetic outcome issues (n = 8), lack of informed consent (n = 7), and a delay of or failure in referral to a Mohs surgeon (n = 6). Common causes for litigation against Mohs surgeons as the primary defendant (n = 16) were lack of proper informed consent (n = 5) and cosmetic outcome issues (n = 4). Only 1 case against a Mohs surgeon was judged for the plaintiff. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The most common lawsuits pertaining to Mohs surgery list non-Mohs surgeons as the primary defendants. Closer coordination between non-Mohs surgeons and Mohs surgeons may help minimize risk to both parties and lead to better patient care. Small sample size is the primary limitation, in part owing to exclusion of out-of-court settlements from the database.
Authors: Raghav Tripathi; Harib H Ezaldein; Krithika Rajkumar; Jeremy S Bordeaux; Jeffrey F Scott Journal: JAMA Dermatol Date: 2019-07-01 Impact factor: 10.282
Authors: Heather Kornmehl; Sanminder Singh; Brandon L Adler; Alexander E Wolf; Dean A Bochner; April W Armstrong Journal: JAMA Dermatol Date: 2018-02-01 Impact factor: 10.282