Posted by: euser
December 04, 2008
Topic: Medical Malpractice

As Dr. Peter B. Angood stated, "It is the healthcare equivalent of road rage", when doctors act in an arrogant and obnoxious fashion and acting in a such a fashion not only affects their own conduct, but the conduct of the support staff around them who provide care to the patients. A survey of hospitals found that 67% of those responding to the survey believed that there was a connection between disruptive behavior by doctors and medical mistakes. 18% of the persons said that they specifically knew of a mistake that had occurred because of an obnoxious doctor. Another survey showed that a large percentage of hospital staff members were so intimidated by a doctor that they did not share their concerns about orders for medications that appeared to be incorrect which may have resulted in medication errors to the patient. There has even been thinking that when the wrong body part is being operated on in the operating room that the persons around the surgeon who knew differently did not feel empowered to speak up.

Not only should healthcare professionals such as nurses, operating techs and others who care for patients not have to be subjected to such treatment, the evidence that such attitudes by doctors may lead to medical errors helps us understand that many medical errors are avoidable, and that the high cost of medical care itself is contributed to by such attitudes. When injuries occur additional medical expenses are incurred. We certainly believe that there are many good, kind and caring physicians, but when medical errors occur because of arrogant attitudes, doctors should be held accountable.

Web Resources

Legal links:

• Christian & Davis, LLC's main website
• South Carolina Bar Association
• American Association for Justice
• South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
• Findlaw
• Lawyers.com

Consumer and workers info links:

• Workcompcentral.com
• Home Safety Council
• People Over Profits Grassroots Action Center

Governmental links:

• South Carolina Judicial Department
• United States Judicial Department
• South Carolina Legislature
• Food and Drug Administration
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission

Nursing Home links:

• South Carolina LTC Ombudsman
• National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
• Member of the Family - Nursing Home Quality Trends & Staffing

Medical Resources:

• Lectric Law Library Lawcopedia's: Medical Malpractice
• New England Journal of Medicine
• Agency for Quality Health Care and Research
• Anatomy of the Human Body
• Workers Compensation Agencies
• National Library of Medicine
• Physician Profiles - Healthcare Choices
• AMA - Physician Sheet Health Grade
• Hospital Report Cards
• Merck Manual of Diagnosis & Therapy
• Merck Manual of Medical Information
• National Health Law Program HealthTouch
• Prescription Drug Information MedExplorer
• Medical Dictionaries