Medical Malpractice Basics
This is the legal term for when a doctor fails to meet the standard of care and harms a patient
What is medical malpractice?
This ancient legal code from 1754 BC was one of the first to hold doctors accountable for harming patients. It was a set of laws in the Babylonian society
What is the Code of Hammurabi?
This is the drug that Yale fertility nurse Donna Monticone stole and replaced with saline. OR A powerful synthetic opioid that is used if a patient has severe pain.
What is fentanyl?
These are the "Four Ds" of malpractice — Duty, Damages, Direct Cause, and this
What is Dereliction?
This nationwide crisis was largely fueled by doctors overprescribing powerful painkillers
What is the opioid crisis?
These three groups are historically the most vulnerable to medical malpractice
Who are women, the elderly, and minority groups?
In 1374, this case established that doctors can be held liable for negligence — even if a treatment simply fails
What is Stratton v. Swanlond?
Monticone replaced fentanyl with this substance, which has no pain-relieving properties
What is saline?
This organization, founded in 1847, created the first national code of medical ethics in the world
What is the American Medical Association (AMA)?
This legal barrier requires patients in about half of U.S. states to pay for an expert witness before they can even file a malpractice case
What is the affidavit of merit?
This is the term for when a doctor dismisses a patient's real symptoms as being "in their head" or caused by anxiety
What is medical gaslighting?
From 1932 to 1972, hundreds of Black men with this disease were deliberately denied treatment so researchers could study its progression
What is syphilis? (Tuskegee Study)
Although Monticone faced a maximum of 10 years, the judge gave this relatively lenient sentence, partly citing her status as a single mother
What is 4 weekends in jail, 3 months home confinement, and 3 years supervised release?
This federal law protects patient privacy and regulates how medical records can be shared
What is HIPAA?
Because doctors fear lawsuits, many order unnecessary tests and referrals — this costly practice is called this
What is defensive medicine?