Original researchTeaching malpractice litigation in a mock trial setting: a center for perinatal medicine and law☆
Section snippets
Materials and methods
The Center for Perinatal Medicine and Law gives four Grand Rounds lectures per year. The inaugural Grand Rounds presentation was an abbreviated mock trial staged with a presiding judge, a plaintiff’s attorney, a defense attorney, and expert witnesses. Time constraints limited the presentation to the plaintiff attorney’s direct examination of his obstetric and neonatal experts and cross-examination of the defense’s obstetric and neonatal expert witnesses (20 minutes for each). In this exercise,
Results
There were 43 attendees who participated as jurors. After the fact pattern was read and the plaintiff’s attorney conducted a direct examination of the obstetrics–gynecology and neonatal expert witnesses, the audience voted on the following issues:
- 1.
Was substandard (negligent) care during labor and delivery a substantial factor in causing this infant’s neurological injuries? Answers: yes, 86%; no, 14%.
- 2.
Was substandard (negligent) care during newborn resuscitation a substantial factor in causing
Discussion
A medical negligence trial often takes a severe toll on all parties.3 Families of the plaintiffs are required to relive the traumatic events over and over. Physician defendants may seriously consider no longer taking care of high-risk patients after the experience.8 Some physicians may consider giving up obstetrics altogether. If this were to happen, there would be fewer physicians to care for pregnant women, especially in rural areas.9
Because of the 2-hour Grand Rounds format, this mock trial
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Cited by (0)
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The authors express their sincere appreciation to Mr. Levin, who undertook the role of defense counsel in this demonstration. We also thank Drs. Lloyd Smith and Anthony Philipps, Professors and Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics, respectively, who served as the plaintiff’s obstetric and neonatal experts. We are indebted to Jan Sherman, RN, PhD, for her critique of the statistical analyses. Lastly, we convey our sincere gratitude to Dean Joseph Silva, whose unwavering support helped establish the Center for Perinatal Medicine and Law.