The specter of medical malpractice lawsuits looms large for many clinicians, but according to Mark Brown, MD, JD, this anxiety may be disproportionate to the actual risk. In this discussion, we explore the contrasting nature of law and medicine, the unpredictable and capricious nature of legal proceedings, the systemic elements that fuel the high number of medical malpractice lawsuits in the United States, and several practices to reduce the risk of lawsuits.

Guest Bio:

Mark W. Brown, M.D., J.D., holds a JD from Harvard Law School (1970), and an MD from Dartmouth Medical School (1982). His career includes roles in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, criminal defense practice, and teaching law at Southwestern School of Law. In medicine, he completed his internship and residency in Emergency Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital, San Francisco, and UCLA and is currently an emergency physician at Antelope Valley Medical Center and clinical faculty member at UCLA School of Medicine.

Awake + Aware | Our 2025 Live Event

⭐ Join us at Awake and Aware 2025, a game-changing 3-day workshop from May 5-7 in Bend, Oregon. Learn how to stay cool when the pressure’s on and lock in the mindset you need to flourish. Space is limited.

🖱️ Website: Awakeandawarebend.com

🎓 P.S. Yes, this is a CME event!

The Flameproof Course

The hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets

For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website

We Discuss:

The Fundamental Difference Between Law and Medicine
Should you be worried about the National Practitioner Data Bank?
Can Getting Sued Lead to Getting Sanctioned by the Medical Board?
The Odds of Getting Sued
Three Reasons Why The US Has So Many Malpractice Suits
Should You Push For Settling a Lawsuit?
The Plaintiff's Attorney Is Not Your Friend, Even If They Act Like It
When the Doctor's Med Mal Fear Supersedes the Patient's Risk Tolerance
What's Really Happening in a Deposition
High Yield and Low-Cost Ways to Reduce Med Mal Risk and Anxiety
There's a Big Ticket Item That Your Documentation Doesn't Capture
What to do About Hindsight Bias

(262) Decision Making

WB-40

Introduction

The AI-powered Podcast Player