New Podcast Reveals 3 Strategies On How Doctors Can Survive a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Exciting New Interview With Author, Ilene Brenner, MD Gives Critical Money Saving Suggestions for Physicians To Avoid & Survive Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Bloomington, MN: It's said that physicians today spend more than 10% of their career fighting medical malpractice lawsuits. That is hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars spent by the average physician in fighting medical malpractice cases over the course of their career. In this new eye-opening podcast, Dr. Ilene Brenner & David Denniston, CFA reveal 3 keys to how doctors can survive medical malpractice lawsuits. 

Dr. Brenner said, "What I discovered was after that, time had passed, I had [physician] friends who got sued and they were asking me all these questions and they didn’t even know the most basic things... And it occurred to me that these really intelligent people are completely clueless when it comes to medical malpractice and that inspired me to start writing."

As a matter of fact, this insidious problem is getting bigger and bigger. A recent report on medical malpractice payouts by Diederich Healthcare noted that
there were $3.6 billion in payouts over 12,142 cases.

This is the equivalent of one payout every 43 minutes. However, only 5% of those were from judgements and 93% from settlements.

In the interview at DoctorFreedomPodcast.com,  Dr. Brenner talks about her own journey and why being prepared is incredibly important. In the interview, she talks about the first thing to do when a doctor gets served with a medical malpractice lawsuit.

First, she suggests that you call your lawyer if you have one, and if you don’t call your insurance company so you can get one. It certainly would be ideal if doctors had their own malpractice attorney ready to go. For example, their friends or colleagues may have someone to recommend.

She goes on to say that if that lawyer is not on the insurance company panel, you may not be able to get them. If you are going through the trouble of locating an attorney prior to getting sued, make sure they are on your insurance company panel. If not, you could petition your insurance company to add them, but that might not work. You have to take someone approved by your insurance company.

In the podcast, she talks about why doctors seem to lose no matter whether they actually win the lawsuit. She said, "The problem is and I have a whole chapter dedicated to the psychology of lawsuit in my book, the moment we’re sued we’ve lost, even if we win the case, we’ve lost."

"Something has been taken from us that may never come back and that’s why a lot of doctors are in denial... The problem is is my book is most valuable if you read it before you get sued and doctors are in denial. We don’t want to hear about the worst that can happen to us, we don’t want to deal with that possibility because once we acknowledge that then a part of us gets lost."

She further notes that there some great privileges in getting an attorney as soon as possible due to the nature of the attorney/client relationship. Basically, you are allowed to do research for your attorney to help them with some aspects of the case, and that research is privileged. This is extremely important because later when it comes down to depositions, the opposing attorney will start asking you questions. These will be tough questions, probing questions and you don’t want to be caught on the wrong side of the fence having researched your case on your own without having an attorney.

Denniston noted, "Apply these simple principles and you will be well on your way to enjoying what you do best- treating patients and making a difference in the community without worrying about lawsuits."

He further stated that, "Doctors today are under so much pressure to perform and they are under a lot of strain. The kind of financial pressure cooker that they are contained in is incredibly difficult for the average person to understand. The good news is with this podcast and Dr. Brenner's book, that there are a lot of great resources available for them to acquire and understand how they can obtain freedom and work through these difficult situations."

Dave Denniston, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), is an author and authority for physicians providing a voice and an advocate for all of the financial issues that doctors deal with. He is the financial planning for physicians expert and author of 5 Steps to Get out of Debt for Physicians, The Insurance Guide for Doctors, The Tax Reduction Prescription, and his new book, The Freedom Formula for Physicians. He hosts a podcast for doctors and the issues they face at www.DoctorFreedomPodcast.com and can be reached at his website www.daviddenniston.com/physicians.

Ilene Brenner, MD is an ER doctor and the author of How to Survive A Medical Malpractice Lawsuit- The Physician’s Road Map to Success. You can find her blog online at http://drbrenner.blogspot.com/

You can find the rest of her podcast with Dave Denniston on The Freedom Formula for Physicians Podcast.