I’ve a family member who is a med mal lawyer who has done some big cases, does this on both sides (client/plaintiff): everyone with a name on the chart gets named in the suit, this is so they can get testimony and background from everyone. She won a case based on one nicu nurses testimony with a lot of circumstantial evidence of a drunk nicu doctor
The large majority of cases get paid out before trial. The ones that don’t are either the defendant really didn’t think they did something wrong (my favorite one was someone in prison for fraud suing the prison doctor who had to push back to go to trial) or they’re not happy with the settlement. It’s a numbers game, you lose one case for 100 million because of something they can find you liable for and it’s better to settle. Ask the OBs about this, they’re one of the highest risk along with neurosurgeons.
If it goes to trial: the lawyers can see your insurance policy, debts etc…my family member told me I’d be fine because I still had student loans and very little liquid assets, she literally said, and she’s cutthroat but good at her job, ‘we’re looking for the >50 year old doctor who has a beach house if we have to go to trial.’ …document, document, document, especially if you work with cowboys crnas. I document in the preop note, then text and say ‘close the loop of communication’ if I don’t hear anything to put it in nursing language. The people who I’ve known who have been in a lawsuit, even if peripherally involved, say it’s a pain, hours out of your day and paperwork
