Neurological Fallacies Leading to Malpractice : A Case Studies Approach - 19/07/16

Doi : 10.1016/j.ncl.2016.04.011

James C. Johnston, MD, JD ^a,^⁎ , Knut Wester, MD, PhD ^b,^c, Thomas P. Sartwelle, BBA, LLB ^d
^a Legal Medicine Consultants, 1150 N Loop 1604 West, Suite 108-625, San Antonio, TX 78248, USA
^b Department of Clinical Medicine K1, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
^c Department of Neurosurgery, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen 5021, Norway
^d Deans and Lyons, LLP, 1001 Fannin, Houston, TX 77002, USA

^∗Corresponding author.

Resumen

A young woman presents with an intracranial arachnoid cyst. Another is diagnosed with migraine headache. An elderly man awakens with a stroke. And a baby delivered vaginally after 2 hours of questionable electronic fetal monitoring patterns grows up to have cerebral palsy. These seemingly disparate cases share a common underlying theme: medical myths. Myths that may lead not only to misdiagnosis and treatment harms but to seemingly never-ending medical malpractice lawsuits, potentially culminating in a settlement or judgment against an unsuspecting neurologist. This article provides a case studies approach exposing the fallacies and highlighting proper management of these common neurologic presentations.

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Keywords : Medical malpractice, Neurologic malpractice, Intracranial arachnoid cyst, Migraine headache, Stroke, Cerebral palsy, Electronic fetal monitoring

Esquema

	Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.
	Disclosures: The authors have nothing to disclose.