Medical malpractice in heart transplantation from 1994 to 2019

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Transplant Surgery
• Medical Law

Background:

• Heart transplantation involves two parties, increasing legal liability for heart teams.
• No prior research analyzed the causes of medical malpractice litigation in heart transplantation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the etiology of medical malpractice litigations in heart transplantation.
• To identify factors associated with litigation outcomes in heart transplantation cases.

Main Methods:

• A review of US Westlaw legal database for heart transplantation malpractice cases (1994-2019).
• Analysis of 41 included litigations for legal and clinical data.
• Statistical analysis using Fisher exact and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Main Results:

• Female recipients were younger and received larger awards than males.
• Failure to diagnose was linked to settlements; failure to obtain informed consent led to defendant verdicts.
• Stroke and infection were associated with non-defendant verdicts.

Conclusions:

• Emphasize documenting informed consent from all parties to limit litigation.
• Clinicians should understand legally sound practices to manage increased transplant volumes and reduce legal exposure.