When there was a trial, the verdict was likely to be in favor of the defendant, similar to most malpractice claims. That case also went to a trial, and it was decided in favor of the defendant. However, the majority of the claims were dismissed and did not result in an indemnity payment. In summary, although reported in the literature to be an infrequent complication of cataract surgeries, over 12% of cataract-related closed claims during a 21-year period were found to be associated with the complication of retained lens fragments. Start here to find personal injury lawyers near you. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. Careers. Medical liability claim frequency: a 20072008 snapshot of physicians. Physicians with higher frequency of patient complaints may indicate less attention to interpersonal or technical aspects of patient care.2,8691 Interestingly, a physicians credentials, such as board certification, ranking of medical school attended, and foreign medical school graduate vs US graduate, did not have a significant impact on whether a physician was more likely to get sued or not.4 However, various studies indicate that the risk of being sued appears to be related to patients dissatisfaction, which may be related to their physicians ability to establish rapport, provide access, administer care consistent with expectations, and communicate effectively and in a timely fashion.4, 8791 Other physicians who subsequently manage the patient may also have a role in the patients decision to bring a claim.91. CLAIMS WITH A DOCUMENTATION OF INTRAOPERATIVE MANIPULATION BY THE CATARACT SURGEON DURING MANAGEMENT OF POSTERIOR DISLOCATION OF LENS FRAGMENTS. Hickson GB, Clayton EW, Githens PB, Sloan FA. This study was carried out for a number of reasons: (1) the absence of published studies addressing the legal outcomes for this complication despite the number of cataract surgeries being performed in the United States; (2) tremendous interest in the management and outcomes of this potentially visually devastating complication based on the large number of published studies on this topic; (3) the relevance of study findings to both the anterior and posterior segment specialists; and (4) a potential to improve patient outcomes. Practice styles and preferences of ASCRS members1994 survey. Indemnity payments totaling more than $3,586,000 were made in 32 (30%) of the claims (median payment, $90,000). Even when an IOL has been inserted by the cataract surgeon, the retinal surgeon should be prepared to manage subsequent complications of dislocated or malpositioned IOL, as was the case in some of the claims in this study. WebCataract Surgery Error: $1.15M Settlement Lawsuit claims anesthesiologist not properly trained or vetted by ophthalmologist results in right eye vision loss following cataract The third claim alleged decreased vision following negligent vitrectomy surgery to manage retained lens fragment. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Among the 108 cases in this study, the final dispositions of the claims were as follows: 12 cases (11%) were resolved by a trial, of which 2 cases (17%) resulted in a verdict in favor of the patient plaintiff and 10 cases (83%) cases with a verdict in favor of the physician defendant; 30 cases (28%) were settled; and 66 cases (61%) were dismissed. Lu H, Jiang YR, Grabow HB. Victims of cataract surgery negligence may experience loss of vision, blindness, or other serious complications. In this analysis, the following factors were found to be statistically significant for more severe legal outcome: logMAR preoperative visual acuity, logMAR final visual acuity, preoperative to postoperative change in logMAR visual acuity, development of glaucoma or elevated intraocular pressure, time to referral, and the duration between opening and closing of a case. Clinical features and outcomes of pars plana vitrectomy in patients with retained lens fragments after phacoemulsification. Furthermore, the insured failed to recognize and treat appropriately a normal occurring complication of cataract surgery, i.e., rupture of the posterior capsule with vitreous prolapse and resulting vitreous in the wound which has contributed to development of retinal detachment and subsequent blurring of the vision despite retinal reattachment surgery. Plaintiff files a medical negligence lawsuit in Worcester County, alleging that the Defendants violated the standard of care by failing to calculate properly the The median payment was $90,000. There has been a large interest over the years in clinical outcomes and management of retained lens fragments as evidenced by the substantial number of articles continuing to be written on this topic.1978 The incidence of retained or dropped lens fragments during cataract surgery is estimated to be between 0.1% and 1.6% of cataract surgeries.18,19,23,29,45,54,64 There are numerous articles to indicate that a capsular tear with retained lens fragment is a well-known complication of cataract surgery.2049 Studies show that reasonably favorable visual outcome can be obtained with intervention usually in the form of pars plana vitrectomy.2049,7477 Therefore, encountering this complication in itself would not be a malpractice. Although there were no cases involving residents, there was one claim against a policyholder ophthalmologist who was overseeing a colleagues attempt at learning cataract surgery. The median time to referral was 1 week in this study. WebFor us at UCLA, its a nonissue, he said, noting that in the departments 40 years, theres never been a wrong-site cataract surgery. The difference between the mean and median payment reflects the right-skewed payment distribution. The claim was reported 2 years after the cataract surgery and closed 1 year later. Note that time to referral was log2-transformed, so an increase of one unit means doubling of time. WebThe plaintiff, a 56-year-old man, suffered permanent right eye vision loss following cataract surgery. The majority of eyes developed one or more ocular complications following surgery, many of which contributed to poor visual outcome. Malpractice trends: viewing the data and avoiding the hot seat of litigation. The incidence of closed claims for retained lens fragments peaked in 1997, but the actual number of closed claims was the highest for years 2001, 2003, and 2004. The average insurance company payment - mostly settlements -- in these cases were $112,000. The mean and median indemnity payments for this group of claims were similar to mean and median of all ophthalmology-related claims combined for this single specialty insurance company. There were 25 cases of retinal detachment, 21 cases of corneal edema or corneal decompensation, and 18 cases of cystoid macular edema. Best bet is to get a second medical opinion, and have a local Palestine malpractice lawyer order your records to investigate. Use Avvo's lawyer fin The mean age was 69 years (range, 4090 years). Available at: Slora EJ, Gonzales ML. Stenkula S, Byhr E, Crafoord S, et al. Abbott RL. If you've suffered an adverse outcome after cataract surgery, you might be wondering if you can or should sue your eye doctor for Development of corneal edema was associated with an indemnity payment (OR, 3.50; P=.037). Web7031 Koll Center Pkwy, Pleasanton, CA 94566. The .gov means its official. The aims of this study were to review information available on claims data to highlight associated factors from exemplary cases among claims related to cataract surgery complicated by retained lens fragments, and to analyze factors that are associated with legal outcomes of trial, settlement, dismissal, and indemnity payment in order to identify ways to improve patient outcome and risk management. National Library of Medicine Retained lens fragments can be successfully managed by the retina specialists in most cases. He also damaged the film over the Over twice the amount was spent on cases that eventually went on to an indemnity payment compared to those that did not end up with a payment. All 3 claims were dismissed due to lack of prosecution and closed without payment. My father had cataract surgery two years ago. In addition to alleged negligent cataract surgery with retained lens fragments, placement of the wrong IOL was cited as a contributing negligence in 3 cases: (1) placement of wrong-powered IOL handed to the surgeon by a nurse; (2) not having the correct type of IOL to insert in the setting of capsular rupture, resulting in increased likelihood of subsequent dislocation of IOL; and (3) placement of wrong-powered IOL due to incorrect transfer of A-scan data by a technician. The last variable was not included in the predictive model because it is not a preclaim covariate, but rather a type of outcome. National costs of the medical liability system. There was a posterior dislocation of nucleus in all except 4 cases, in which the retained lens material was in the anterior segment. The number of policyholders doubled between years 2000 and 2009. If you've suffered an adverse outcome after cataract surgery, you might be wondering if you can or should sue your eye doctor for medical malpractice. In these early referral cases, the claim was more likely to be dismissed. At this time, some bleeding was noted to arise from below the lens nucleus and the defendant elected to stop at this point. Benson JS, Coogan CL. Data from PIAA, which is another large multispecialty insurance carrier that includes ophthalmologists, indicate median indemnity payment of $200,000 for settled claims and $375,000 for tried claims. Socioeconomic Characteristics of Medical Practice 1990/1991. On 5/20/14, the patient was admitted to Cataract & Laser Center West, in W. Springfield, Massachusetts, for right eye phacoemulsification with implantation of posterior chamber intraocular lens. Given this time lag between the cataract surgery and beginning of litigation and the long duration to resolve a claim, the documentation is the most important supporting material to any case. AC IOL, anterior intraocular lens; OD, right eye; OMIC, Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company; OS, left eye; PC IOL, posterior intraocular lens; VA, visual acuity. FOIA The mean defense costs per claim were $30,692. Early vitrectomy was considered to be between days 3 and 7 after the cataract surgery in their study. In the univariate analysis the P values for continuous variables were calculated based on nonparametric tests: Wilcoxon rank sum test for two groups (indemnity payment vs no indemnity payment) and Jonckheere-Terpstra trend test for multiple groups (trial vs settlement vs dismissed). Other studies also found that good visual outcomes do not prevent legal actions.10,92. Yang CS, Lee FL, Hsu WM, Liu JH. Vilar NF, Flynn HW, Jr, Smiddy WE, Murray TG, Davis JL, Rubsamen PE. Of the 12 claims resulting in a trial, 30 claims resulting in a settlement, and 66 claims resulting in a dismissal, the male-to-female physician defendant ratios were 12:0, 25:5, and 57:9, respectively. The time between the date of cataract surgery and the date of evaluation by a specialist to further manage the complications of retained lens fragments was a median of 7 days (range, same day to 15 months) in this study. Most cases of elevated intraocular pressure can be managed with medication or be resolved with pars plana vitrectomy.2024,2834,50,51 However, there were claimants in this study who required glaucoma surgeries to lower intraocular pressure and others who had suffered permanent visual field loss despite improved visual acuity. Week in this study in these cases were $ 30,692 of one unit means doubling of time be between 3. Successfully managed BY the cataract surgery and closed without payment cataract surgery and without! 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