Stephen J. Brown Published in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' Monthly Journal: AAOS NOW "Legal Trends in the Evolution of Medical Risk"

Stephen J. ("Joseph") Brown’s article, "Legal Trends in the Evolution of Medical Risk," was published in the August 2008 issue of AAOS NOW, a publication of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In his article, Joseph discusses various types of financial and legal risk inherent to the healthcare environment. The article also analyzes the effect that various recent technological, political and cultural changes are having on medical risk.

Joseph explains in his article that "The legal culture is also changing in a way that transforms medical risk. Malpractice defense lawyers and the doctors and hospitals they counsel have realized that harmed patients might sue, but harmed and angry patients will sue. Healthcare providers have realized that the financial risk to them arising from a medical mistake can, at times, be minimized simply by being forthright with patients about mistakes, apologizing to patients, and outlining corrective steps to ensure the error is not repeated."

In addition, plaintiff’s attorneys have also experienced a society that is growing increasingly tired of litigation. As such, they have realized that their clients would often prefer a prompt, fair, and hassle-free settlement as opposed to a long, drawn-out battle. Joseph concludes that "This dynamic should allow healthcare providers and insurance companies to shift their litigation budgets to the remaining cases and reinforce the movement toward early settlement for reasonable amounts. Plaintiff’s attorneys would learn that being overly aggressive doesn’t pay."