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Check Your Surgeon's Background

Now that you have collected a few names of surgeons, and have checked their credential, you also can check to see if they have a history of disciplinary actions, settlements, and judgments.

A good source of information regarding disciplinary actions against a specific doctor is the state medical board. We have a list of State Medical Boards that you can use. Many of these boards have features at their websites that allow you to check on a given doctor.

The Federation of State Medical Boards also runs a service called DocInfo, where you can get a profile of a physician, which includes disciplinary actions, education, and licensing information. This site charges a fee.

Malpractice Lawsuits

Medical malpractice is a scary subject for many people. There are wonderful surgeons who have been sued and shoddy surgeons who haven't been sued yet. There are justified lawsuits and frivolous lawsuits and it can be hard to make sense of them. It is also a very difficult area to research. It takes dedicated hours of effort.

If you find that your surgeon has been involved in a recent lawsuit, ask why. You have a right to know about a lawsuit unless there is a specific gag order from the court. However, a gag order is usually regarding the amount settled, not the reason for the suit.

Also know that lawsuits are often filed because the results were not what the patient wanted or because something unforeseen happened, such as undiagnosed medical conditions or anesthesia complications that are no one’s fault. Most cases must prove negligence, but cases are won where no negligence is proven. Negligence is when the attending surgeon(s) administered care that was substandard in that particular medical community or specialty.

Even if the doctor made no mistakes, he or she may be sued for a poor outcome and it is often easier to settle out of court than fight the suit. Plaintiffs may add the name of every doctor or surgeon who came near them to a lawsuit when only one doctor is at fault (or not, as the case may be). Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell when the patient was a victim or when the surgeon was the victim of a frivolous suit.

To check on malpractice lawsuits against a surgeon, you can go to the courthouse for the county where your surgeon practices and do a search for litigations, arbitrations, and trials in the civil index. You can ask the county clerk for instructions on how to do this as this office is where this information is usually held. Some courts ask that you pay a fee for copies of the documents. Malpractice information may be found at the Superior Court Office rather than the county court. You may also find lawsuits that have nothing to do with malpractice, such as a divorce case or a suit by someone who was bitten by the doctor's dog!

You should ask your surgeon if he or she carries malpractice insurance (or a bond, in states that allow that). You may detect a note of uneasiness in the room once you ask this question because the doctor may think you are considering suing.

Searching the Internet

You can also search sites such as KnowX, which is both a free and pay-per-search site that supplies information on people.

And then there is the simple method of putting your doctor’s name into an internet search engine and seeing what comes up. Google, Yahoo, and MSN all can give you a good amount of stuff, but only some of it might be useful to you. Remember to use your doctor’s whole name and maybe even a middle initial and his or her city or town. There may be several doctors named John Smith, for instance, and you don't want to pull up information about the wrong Dr. Smith.