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Lawsuit cases rising for cutaneous laser surgery

Legal cases related to cutaneous laser surgery are increasing, with indemnity payments exceeding the average amount previously reported for all medical specialties, according to recent study results.

“This is the largest study identifying reasons for litigation in relation to laser surgery,” researcher H. Ray Jalian, MD, health sciences clinical instructor, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, told Healio.com.

 

H. Ray Jalian

In a national database search of online legal documents, researchers identified 174 cases from 1985 to 2012 related to injuries stemming from cutaneous laser surgery. Plastic surgery comprised 25.9% of cases, followed by dermatology (21.3%).The frequency and nature of the cases, year of litigation, location and certification of the provider, injury sustained and indemnity payment were main outcome measures.

Laser surgery litigation showed an increasing trend and peaked in 2010 at 22 cases. Physicians were identified as laser operators in 100 (57.5%) of the lawsuits, but were named as defendants in 146 cases. Nonphysician operators — including allied health professionals such as chiropractors, podiatrists, nurse practitioners and registered nurses — and nonhealth professionals — such as aestheticians and technicians — were involved in 37.9% of cases. The most common litigated procedure was hair removal (n=63), followed by “rejuvenation,” (n=43), which included carbon dioxide resurfacing, nonablative and ablative fractional resurfacing and intense pulsed-light treatments.

The most common preventable cause of action was the failure of physicians to obtain an informed consent. One hundred-twenty cases resulted in public decisions, with 61 (50.8%) decisions favoring patients. The mean award was $380,700, exceeding the previously reported mean payment of $275,000 across all medical specialties.

“[The study] underscores a few key points,” Jalian said. “First, the most common cause of action is failure to obtain an appropriate informed consent. This occurred in nearly one-third of the cases reviewed. The second important thing for physicians to realize is that they are ultimately responsible for the action of their delegates.”

Disclosure: Researcher Mathew M. Avram, MD, JD, reported serving as a consultant and a member of the medical advisory board of Zeltiq Aesthetics and serving as a consultant for Unilever.