Despite the efforts of many patient advocates and complaints against doctors, medical malpractice continues to injure and kill thousands of Americans every year.
A 12-year study from the New England Journal of Medicine that tracked 480,000 physicians found that 93% of those with five or more medical malpractice claims still practice.
When we entrust our health, and sometimes our lives, to medical professionals, we assume there’s a system in place to hold them accountable. But what happens when that system fails?
Reporting from Across the Nation Tells the Terrifying Story
Across the country, state medical boards too often delay action, downplay complaints against doctors, or quietly reinstate dangerous practitioners.
The consequences of poor regulation aren’t just bureaucratic failure. They are real lives, real injuries, and real injustice.
- Despite multiple violations and patient deaths linked to his overprescription of opioids, the Tennessee Medical Board delayed decisive action against a Jackson doctor, allowing him to continue practicing until federal authorities intervened.
- A Dallas doctor (nicknamed Dr. Death) conducted 33 botched surgeries in two years. His patients suffered extreme pain, paralysis, and death. Multiple hospitals neglected to report his malpractice, letting him resign instead of firing him. The Texas Medical Board was slow to investigate, even though many patients and other doctors reported his negligence.
- Two long-time Winkler County Memorial Hospital (WCMH) nurses anonymously submitted a complaint about a doctor to the Texas Medical Board. He used his friendship with the county sheriff to investigate who had made the complaint, then persuaded the sheriff to arrest the nurses. They were charged with felony misuse of official information; one case was dismissed, and one ended in acquittal. Before the doctor arrived at WCMH, his license had been restricted by the Texas Medical Board, but he was allowed to continue practicing.
- In 2017, the State Medical Board of Ohio declined to discipline a Cincinnati gastroenterologist following a complaint that he was sexually assaulting patients. Because the doctor was not punished, this complaint was kept confidential and was not made public until 2024, following many more instances of sexual assault.
- More than two dozen complaints were filed with the Arkansas State Medical Board against a Little Rock gastroenterologist, including sexual misconduct, improperly prescribing opioids, and wrongful death. However, the board took no disciplinary action until 2024, when a former employee sued the doctor for sexual abuse.
State Medical Boards Often Fail Patients with Grave Results
State medical boards are meant to serve as a frontline defense for patient safety. Their responsibilities include issuing licenses to qualified physicians, investigating complaints, disciplining those who violate standards of care, and making crucial information available to the public.
But all too often, these boards fall short. Many are made up mainly of medical professionals, peers of the very doctors they’re meant to oversee. Critics argue that this creates a culture of protectionism, where the interests of practitioners are prioritized over the well-being of patients.
What Can Be Done to Encourage Reform?
Changes are needed to reform these Boards and safeguard patients. What can state and federal governments do to improve state medical boards and protect more patients?
- Diversify boards to include effective representation of gender, race, and community (e.g., non-physician public members).
- Update state medical board websites to include information about the investigation processes, state laws and policies on sexual misconduct, findings from disciplinary hearings, and reporting mechanisms.
- Provide more funding and staffing to state boards to field complaints.
- Consider revocation of a license when a physician repeatedly commits lesser acts of malpractice, especially following remedial efforts.
- Increase the use of the National Practitioner Data Bank by medical boards.
- Support laws in Louisiana, like the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act in Colorado.
7th Amendment Still Best Protection Against Medical Malpractice
Before choosing a new doctor, consider checking DocInfo.org to see if your doctor has had any disciplinary actions against them by a state board. However, your best protection from a bad outcome at a dangerous nursing home, negligent hospital, or substandard clinic remains your right to trial by jury and your ability to hold them accountable if they hurt you or your loved ones.
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to medical malpractice and you wish to discuss the specifics of your case in a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer, please contact us today.