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Recommended Reading

Books

You can purchase any of the below books from Amazon.com.

Already suggested in the website’s list of recommended books, these books detail aspects of the litigation process:

Adverse Events, Stress and Litigation

Charles SC and Frisch PR.
Adverse Events, Stress, and Litigation: A Physician’s Guide
New York. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Bad outcomes traumatize physicians as well as patients. The litigation that often follows is profoundly human, rather than just a legal, experience. Although every physician’s case is different, the chapters in this book illustrate how each case is also the same in spanning the judicial stages of the entire process. Written by a psychiatrist and an attorney, it provides unique insights, through real life stories, into the personal experience of litigation and recommendations for dealing with each stage of the process.

Dodge AM and Fitzer SF.
When Good Doctors Get Sued: A Guide for Defendant Physicians Involved in Malpractice Suit
Dodge Publications, 2001.

Written by a social psychologist who serves as a trial consultant and a medical malpractice defense attorney, this book is especially helpful for those preparing themselves for a deposition or for trial testimony. It is a practical guide and stresses important issues such as taking an active role in the defense process and the involvement of the spouse and significant other. The pocket version at the end is extremely helpful.

Gutheil TG.
The Psychiatrist in Court: A Survival Guide
Washington, DC. American Psychiatric Publishing, 1998.

This is a practical guide with useful observations and suggestions, not only for psychiatrists, but for any health care professional who must participate in the legal process. It provides good explanations of the demands on defendants and helpful hints in navigating the experience.

James JM and Davis WE.
Physician’s Survival Guide to Litigation Stress
Lafayette, CA. Physician Health Publications, 2007.

This is a survival manual for physicians who have been sued, and an invaluable guide for those who live or work with them. This book provides both scientific and practical information needed to understand and respond to the pressures of a medical malpractice crisis.

In addition, some physicians have found these books helpful in preparing for their deposition or trial:

Barsky AE, Gould JW.
Clinicians in Court: A Guide to Subpoenas, depositions, testifying and everything else you need to know.

Guilford Press,
2004.

Uribe CG.
The Health Provider’s Guide to Facing the Malpractice Deposition.

CRC, 1999.

Brodsky SL.
Coping with Cross-examination and other pathways to effective testimony.

American Psychological Association,
2004.

Articles

The following articles may also prove helpful:

(“To access article, click on: “Find on PubMed”, type in PMID number into search field and click “Go.”)

Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2005;433:15-25.
The Defense Counsel’s Perspective
Hoffman PJ, Plump JD, Courtney MA.
PMID: 15805932 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Medical-Legal Issues in Plastic Surgery, Clinics in Plastic Surgery. 1999;26:87-90.
The Deposition: the defendant’s perspective
Martello J.
PMID: 10063454 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Medical-Legal Issues in Plastic Surgery, Clinics in Plastic Surgery. 1999; 26:81-86.
How to Select Counsel and Participate in Your Own Defense: The Defendant’s Perspective
Garvey MJ.
PMID: 10063453 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Family Practice Management. 2001; 8(7).
Deposition: Defending your care
Teichman PG, Bunch NE.
PMID: 11477950 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

J Am C Radiology. 2004;1(6):383-385.
Anatomy of Malpractice Defense, part 1: suit through discovery.
West RW, Sipe CY.
PMID: 17411612 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

J Am C Radiology. 2004; 1(6):547-548.
Anatomy of Malpractice Defense, part 2: trial and beyond.
West RW, Sipe CY.
PMID: 17411651 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]