Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology
Volume 24, Issue 2 , Pages 60-64, May 2007

Medical malpractice actions: procedural elements

  • Mark R. Wick, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology, University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, Virginia
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests and correspondence: Mark R. Wick, MD, Room 3020 University Hospital, University of Virginia Medical Center, 1215 Lee Street, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0214.
    • ,
  • Rodney K. Adams, LLM, JD

      Affiliations

    • LeClair and Ryan, Attorneys at Law, Richmond, Virginia.

Medical malpractice suits are intensely anxiety-provoking for physicians, in part because of the foreignness of legal terminology and procedure that accompanies them. Consultations with attorneys in such matters may be confusing, and the sequence of necessary legal steps, after the filing of a complaint against the physician, can appear to be arcane and laborious. This brief discussion outlines the legal terminology and procedure that are part of any tort action—including malpractice—with the goal of reducing unfamiliarity with those elements on the part of physicians.

Keywords: Medical malpractice, Tort law, Legal procedure, Legal terminology

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PII: S0740-2570(07)00044-5

doi:10.1053/j.semdp.2007.03.002

Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology
Volume 24, Issue 2 , Pages 60-64, May 2007

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