Malpractice Claims Following Major Liver and Pancreatic Surgeries: What Can we Learn?

Area of Science:

• Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery
• Medical malpractice litigation
• Surgical oncology

Background:

• General surgery is a high-litigation field, causing surgeon distress.
• Major hepatic and pancreatic surgeries carry inherent risks of complications and mortality.
• The association between these complex procedures and malpractice claims is not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze medical malpractice claims related to major hepatic and pancreatic surgeries.
• To identify trends and outcomes in litigation concerning these procedures.
• To summarize findings from publicly available court records over the past two decades.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive search of the Westlaw legal database was conducted.
• Malpractice claims from the last 20 years were identified and analyzed.
• Eligible cases were systematically reviewed for key details.

Main Results:

• Out of 165 initial results, 30 cases met inclusion criteria.
• Surgeons were named defendants in 70% of cases; 43% also named non-surgeons.
• Delayed diagnosis was the most frequent allegation (40%), followed by claims of surgical negligence (20%).
• 23.3% of verdicts favored the plaintiff, with two resulting in significant monetary awards.

Conclusions:

• Two-thirds of malpractice cases involving major hepatic or pancreatic surgery resulted in a defendant's verdict.
• Delayed diagnosis is the primary claim in hepatopancreaticobiliary lawsuits.
• While plaintiff verdicts are less common, potential financial awards can be substantial.