Though wrong-sided surgeries have been exhaustively addressed through institutionalized precautions, they still happen. In one case, a surgeon’s stated trust in the patient apparently set in motion an ill-fated course.

The California Supreme Court recently adopted a wide view of when an accident in a hospital should be considered medical professional negligence instead of ordinary negligence.

In a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court has firmly rejected a common practice of injecting allegations of elder abuse into disputes over office-based medical care.  

In 2004, Elizabeth Cox saw a podiatrist at Pioneer Medical Group for a painful toenail infection.

Patients come in many shapes and sizes. So do their complaints – from the seemingly trivial to the ones that will obviously trigger a malpractice lawsuit. A practice that masters the management and methods of complaint resolution is ahead of game in avoiding grievances, medical board complaints, or worse, the courtroom.

Illene MacDonald of FierceHealthcare interviewed CAP's Senior Risk Management & Patient Safety Specialist Kim Danebrock, RN, JD for this article.