Malpractice Complaints Against a Doctor or Hospital

Choosing a doctor, hospital or other health care provider can be a big decision, so it's wise to arm yourself with as much information as possible.

How to Research a Doctor

A number of resources can help you find out whether there have been administrative actions or formal complaints made against a health care provider you're considering. There's a wide variety of potential complaints you may find against a doctor or hospital, including:

• drug errors
• misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
• unnecessary/inappropriate surgery
• unnecessary/inappropriate course of treatment
• premature discharge, and
• incomplete discharge instructions.

Using "DocInfo" to Research a Specific Doctor

The Federation of State Medical Boards has compiled a database called DocInfo, which provides background data on almost one million licensed doctors in the U.S., including information regarding any disciplinary action taken against the provider.

State Medical Boards

Each state licenses its physicians. In turn, each state's board of medical licensure handles administrative and disciplinary matters involving these physicians. This can include:

• changes to practice status
• administrative actions
• suspension of the physician's license to practice medicine, or
• permanent revocation of the physician's license.

Most state licensing boards have websites you can access for free to research a particular physician. Some boards go even further with their online tools. The Medical Board of California, for example, lets the public sign up to receive "License Alerts" that provide automatic updates when there are any changes to a particular physician's profile or status, or when any disciplinary/enforcement actions are taken against them.

The Federation of State Medical Boards has compiled a list of contact information for each of the state medical boards.

State Departments of Health Services

If you're concerned about whether to choose a particular hospital, your state's department of health services is a good resource to turn to in order to investigate whether any formal complaints have been made against that facility. Find information on the department of health in your state (from CDC.gov).

Court Records

If someone has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor in your state, there will be a record of it in the court where the case was filed. Many court records can be found online, although you will need to do a little preliminary research to figure out what kind of information is actually available online in your state.

At a minimum, you should be able to determine whether any lawsuits have been filed (past or present) against a particular physician. If the documents related to the lawsuit are not available online, you can usually go to the courthouse and pay for a copy of the record (provided the information you're looking for is not confidential).

Physician Grades

There are organizations whose purpose is to rate the quality of physicians. One of these is the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). This group gathers data about the quality of care that doctors provide to their patients. They use this information to grade the physician. If NCQA has evaluated the physician you're considering, you should be able to find a "grade" for that physician.

Health Insurance Evaluations

Some health insurance plans also provide information about physicians, such as their education, specialty, and work history. This information may be available on your insurance company/employee health plan website, especially when you need to choose a primary physician.

Use Caution and Perspective When Researching a Doctor

Sometimes patients complain about or even sue their doctor because they weren't happy with the results of their treatment, or they were put off by something like poor bedside manner. Courts typically "throw out" lawsuits like this because there is no medical malpractice to speak of. However, there is still a record of the doctor's being sued.

Bottom line: Do not assume that merely because someone complained about or sued a doctor, that doctor committed some kind of medical error. Many good physicians have been sued by cranky patients, and many of those lawsuits have been dismissed as frivolous.

If You Need Help With a Medical Malpractice Case

There's often a link between previous complaints against health care providers, and potential medical malpractice lawsuits, at least in the minds of patients.

If you believe that a doctor or other provider made an unacceptable mistake while treating you, you may have come to this article to learn whether other patients have had negative experiences with the same health care provider. That kind of information can be helpful, but if you're considering filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, you've got a lot more to consider. These resources can help:

• Medical Malpractice Claims and Settlements
• Medical Malpractice Lawsuits and the Statute of Limitations
• State-by-State Medical Malpractice Laws

If you do decide to sue a doctor or other health care provider, it's essential to have an experienced legal professional on your side. Medical malpractice cases are notoriously tough to win. There are stacks of medical records to analyze and unique court rules to comply with, plus you'll be going up against a doctor (and an insurance company) who will almost certainly dig in for a fight.

There's no substitute for a lawyer's experience and willingness to battle it out. Learn more about hiring a medical malpractice lawyer and how it might boost your chance of a successful case.