ABSTRACT
Executive Summary Medical errors and the harm they potentially produce are frequent subjects of court litigation. Physicians and other health professionals play two major roles in courts of law. First, they are held responsible for harm to the patient or community that resulted from their professional errors in breach of standard care; they then may and can become defendants in malpractice matters being sued by their patients. Second, they are called to courts by any involved party in litigation as experts in health matters to enlighten the judge, lawyers, and juries about the nature, causes, magnitude, management, and prevention of medical
errors and harm. In any of these roles, physicians and other health professionals must be ready to answer questions about the nature of the error and harm, the magnitude of its impact on the patient, the causes of medical error, and if the medical error was a cause of the patient’s harm.
