A doctor is sued, and blogs his malpractice trial

An emergency physician recently concluded his malpractice trial, and is blogging about it.

Sound familiar? Well, this isn’t the first time it happened. In 2007, pediatrician Flea live-blogged his malpractice trial, which wasn’t a good idea for him, and indeed, became a media circus.

Prominent emergency physician blogger WhiteCoat is diving into the same waters, albeit with a disclaimer saying that the trial has already ended, and also, does not need to worry about privacy laws, according to a plaintiff’s attorney.

Part one of the story is already up:

Once I had read the chart, I felt the need to validate the care I provided. I spent the rest of the day in the medical library reading through all the sources I could find about the patient’s diagnosis and about management of patients in shock. The more that I read, the more that I thought my care was entirely appropriate. I got angry. If I missed something, that’s one thing. But we diagnosed a very obscure problem and provided excellent care. I couldn’t wait to see what the “expert” said that I should have done different.

It promises to be a fascinating look at the byzantine world of our malpractice system, and required reading for both doctors and lawyers alike.

Some are wondering if it’s unethical to blog a malpractice trial. WhiteCoat has an answer for that, defiantly saying, “Go for it. The more discussion, the better. If this series is what it takes to bring the issues involved in medical blogging to the next level, I’ll be the fall guy. I won’t live my life in fear of what some evil attorney might sue me for.”

I can’t wait for part two next week.