title: Monetary lessons from litigation involving laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
abstract: Limited information exists on the relationship between adverse events associated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and subsequent litigation. Out of 104 suits concerning LC, 18 cases were settled for 628,138 dollars; 48 cases resulted in a plaintiff's verdict with the plaintiff receiving 2,891,421 dollars; and 18 cases resulted in a surgeon's verdict. However, when multiple defendant cases were excluded, there was <20,000 dollars difference between a negotiated settlement and plaintiff's verdict. Given the minimal monetary differences between a settlement and a plaintiff's verdict, when a surgeon is the sole defendant in a malpractice case concerning LC, the surgeon should encourage their carriers not to settle before trial; as only a trial will exonerate the surgeon. However, this encouragement should be tempered when there are "red flags" that favor the plaintiff, including multiple defendants (especially a hospital), male plaintiffs, bile duct injuries, knowledgeable and well-financed plaintiff's attorneys, and certain plaintiff's venues.
authors.affiliation: Third Millennium Consultants, LLC, Shawnee, Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: McLean
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000379:methods; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016365:Liability, Legal / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States