Four Ways to Prevent Malpractice Lawsuits

MARY KREBS

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Four Ways to Prevent Malpractice Lawsuits

MARY KREBS, MD, FAAFP

FPM. 2025;32(5):7-11.

Author disclosure: no relevant financial relationships.

This content conforms to AAFP criteria for CME.

Prevention requires a multifaceted approach that includes an understanding of malpractice criteria, excellent patient care, clear communication, and meticulous documentation.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are extraordinarily common, and even the most conscientious physicians are statistically likely to face a claim at some point during their career. According to one large study, 75% of physicians in “low-risk specialties” and 99% of physicians in “high-risk specialties” had a malpractice claim filed against them by the time they reached age 65.¹ The good news is most malpractice suits do not result in payouts to plaintiffs. Anyone can file a lawsuit, whether their complaint has merit or not. Most suits do not go to trial, and in those that do, studies show that juries tend to favor doctors over plaintiffs.²

Still, being served with a suit is stressful. Even if you win the case, you may lose time, emotional well-being, legal expenses, and more.

Although there is no way to guarantee you will not face a malpractice claim during your career, there are ways to lower your risk. Preventing malpractice lawsuits for family physicians involves a multi-faceted approach centered on an understanding of malpractice criteria, excellent patient care, clear communication, and meticulous documentation.

KEY POINTS

Medical malpractice suits are extremely common, but there are ways to lower your risk.
To prevent a malpractice lawsuit, it helps to understand the legal criteria for a claim: a physician with a professional duty to a patient failed to meet the standard of care in a way that injured the patient.
If a patient refuses a test or treatment that you recommend, make sure to document that refusal and that you fully informed the patient of the risks.

1. UNDERSTAND MALPRACTICE CRITERIA

Lawyers evaluate potential malpractice lawsuits based on the following criteria: whether the physician (or other clinician) had a professional duty to the patient, whether they failed to meet the standard of care, and whether the patient was injured due to the failure to meet the standard of care. Understanding your legal responsibilities is the foundation of avoiding lawsuits.

Professional duty owed to the patient. This is the easiest element for the plaintiff and their attorney to establish. When you treat a patient, you establish some level of professional responsibility for their health outcomes. The key thing to know is that this professional duty exists in many different circumstances. It applies not only for your regular patients but also when you cover patients for a colleague, work in a free clinic, or provide emergency services to an accident victim by the roadside (though in this last instance your professional responsibilities are likely governed by “Good Samaritan” laws that differ by state³). A professional duty is not automatically established if you provide advice to someone you encounter in a non-professional setting outside the hospital or clinic, such as in a social gathering or when talking to family or friends. This is legally murky, so it is safer to avoid providing informal care.⁴

Dr. Krebs is a family physician in Dayton, Ohio, and medical director of strategy for Cohere Health. She teaches residents and medical students at Wright State University. She is a speaker on a variety of medical topics, a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Delegation to the American Medical Association, a member of the FPM Editorial Advisory Board, and president of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians.

Send comments to fpmedit@aafp.org, or add your comments to the article online.

Author disclosure: no relevant financial relationships.

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