title: It finally happened to me.
abstract: It finally happened to me: I was sued for malpractice by the family of a patient who had died suddenly. My inner turmoil in the aftermath of this traumatic event affected me deeply. While I was an experienced family doctor dedicated to patient-centered medicine, the event challenged my customary approach to my patients. I share three vignettes from my practice that describe my inner dialogue both "preprosecution" and "postprosecution" and explain how I acted in each case.
authors.affiliation: Hebrew University, Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel rkannai@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kannai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003645:Death, Sudden; D005194:Family Practice / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008297:Male; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics
keywords: bioethics; legal liability; medical errors; patient-centered care; physician-patient relations; primary care