How to Check if Your Doctor Has Been Sued for Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice has always been a sensitive issue. In fact, many patients prefer to jump ship if they get the slightest report of a medical malpractice claim being filed against their doctor. 

However, before you jump to conclusions, you must get your facts straight. Accordingly, statistics show that Americans file an estimated 17,000 medical malpractice suits annually. 

Moreover, according to reports, 75 percent of doctors in low-risk practices have faced a medical malpractice suit at some point in their careers. The number is significantly higher for doctors in high-risk practices (99 percent). 

That said, how do you check if your doctor has been sued for a medical malpractice claim? 

Checking If Your Doctor Has Been Sued

First off, you need to know that conducting a background check and finding out if your physician has been sued before might not be a walk in the park. While you may find reviews online, they can often be inaccurate or outdated. Also, some sites depend on doctors to self-report, which some avoid doing. 

That said, below are some of the surest ways of conducting a background check on your doctor: 

Step 1: Log Into The Federation of State Medical Board’s Physician Data Center

This is always a good place to start, as you can find your doctor’s basic information, including basic education and board certifications. You can also find any actions that have been made against the provider. 

Step 2: Check the State’s Medical Licensing Board

Here, you should check the licensing board in your doctor's current area of practice as well as any other states where they have practiced. A red flag you should consider is if their licenses have been suspended. 

Step 3: A Quick Google Search

Most people tend to underestimate the power of a Google search. You can get loads of information just by typing the doctor’s name in the search box and hitting enter. For more accurate results, put quotation marks around the doctor’s name and follow with keywords like malpractice, complaint, or suspension. 

Your Doctor Has Been Sued. What Next?

You are probably irked and well on the way to leaving your doctor. But there is no need to be hasty. For one thing, you should note that the US is one of the most litigious societies in the world. 

This means that anyone can sue anyone for anything, and most of the time, there is nothing you can do about it. This is perhaps why doctors face such high medical malpractice claims. 

So, What Do You Do? 

First, is there a pattern?  It is not uncommon for doctors to be sued in the US, but if you notice a pattern where your doctor has had many lawsuits in the past few years or when such lawsuits end up in huge payouts, that is a significant cause for concern. 

When looking for a medical provider, it is always recommended to conduct a background check. In the current day and age, most of this information can be found online. 

But, you need to be objective, as a medical malpractice claim does not necessarily translate to an incompetent doctor. “You need to get your facts straight by checking for trends and asking your doctor if they have ever been sued,” says attorney Russell J. Berkowitz.