Outcomes after Foot and Ankle Injuries and their Medicolegal Implications
Ankle injuries are extremely frequent: sprains account for around 5% of all Emergency Department visits in the UK each year, while ankle fractures are one of the commonest fractures to require surgical intervention. Complications arising…
Categories : Articles, Trauma and orthopaedics
Read more Pain and malingering from a medicolegal perspective
There are several definitions of malingering, but in essence, it is the deliberate and fraudulent feigning or exaggeration of the symptoms of illness or injury for an external benefit. In this last respect, it differs…
Read more The Medicolegal Challenges of Managing Joint Pain
Joint pain may be either acute or chronic. Acute joint pain arises from infection, trauma, autoimmune and inflammatory processes. Without prompt diagnosis and appropriate management, there is a high risk of long-term consequences, including disability.…
Read more The medicolegal challenges of aortic valve disease: Conservative treatment or aortic valve replacement?
Degeneration of the valves of the heart is very common, particularly in older patients. Aortic stenosis (AS), which is caused by calcification of a normal tricuspid valve or progressive stenosis of a congenitally bicuspid valve,…
Categories : Articles, Cardiac Surgery
Read more The clinical management of diabetic foot and its medicolegal implications
Diabetes affects millions of people worldwide and its prevalence is increasing (1). Insulin treatment has overcome the acute problems of ketoacidosis and infection often associated with the disease, but vascular and neurological complications, including diabetic…
Categories : Articles, Vascular Surgery
Read more The role of contributory negligence in defending a claim
In order to succeed, a claim for medical negligence must prove that the practitioner involved had a duty of care to their patient, this duty was breached and that the breach resulted in harm to…
Read more A Medicolegal Perspective on Neuropathic Pain
The sensation of pain evolved to protect the body from actual and potential harm (1, 2). However, in neuropathic pain, which is caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system (1-5), this protective function…
Read more The importance of medical records when defending a claim
In most medical negligence claims, the patient’s medical record is the most important source of evidence and will come under close scrutiny. While the claimant has visible injuries that can be shown to a court,…
Read more The Medicolegal Challenges of Skin Cancer Management
Skin cancer is one of the commonest forms of cancer, currently accounting for around one-third of all cancers annually, and the incidence is rapidly increasing. Fortunately, effective treatments are available and the risks of mortality…
Categories : Articles, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Read more The Value a Well-Written Medicolegal Report Can Make to your Defence
With any medical procedure, there is an inherent risk that an adverse event may occur, which may ultimately lead to a claim of medical negligence and litigation. Often, as part of a case, independent expert…
Read more 