Proper credentialing, emergency protocols key for mitigating anesthesia negligence claims

Key takeaways:

• Thorough preoperative discussion with the anesthesia provider can help lower the risk for malpractice claims.
• Poor documentation can heighten your practice’s exposure.

KOLOA, Hawaii — Proper credentialing, emergency protocols and preoperative discussion with your anesthesia provider all can help practices avoid medical negligence claims, according to a speaker.

During a presentation at Hawaiian Eye 2025, Hans K. Bruhn, MHS, said that promptly calling your medical malpractice insurance provider if a problem arises as well as thorough investigation of any incidents can also be useful for mitigating these claims.

Bruhn described the “four Ds” that contribute to medical negligence: Duty, deviation of duty, a direct causal relationship between the deviation of duty and alleged damages, and the economic and non-economic damages themselves.

“When you get into a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit, the standard of care is based on experts — your peers — who are made to say whether or not you met that standard,” he said. “The reason why I think that these four elements are important is that it helps you in your practice and training of staff to know what you’re looking at in terms of what is potentially a medical malpractice incident.”

A lack of experience on the part of the anesthesia provider, lack of emergency protocols, inadequate credentialing, and poor preoperative communication or documentation between the surgeon and anesthesia provider can all contribute to negligence claims.

Anesthesia liability exposure can be direct or indirect, Bruhn said.

An example of direct exposure would be the operating surgeon administering the anesthesia themself, while indirect exposure would be negligence of a separate anesthesia provider.

“Both of those scenarios pose some risk, but I think there’s a way that you can practically have some comfort and proceed with your surgical schedule,” he said.

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Sources/Disclosures

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Source:

Bruhn HK. Anesthesia liability and the importance of safety protocols Presented at: Hawaiian Eye 2025; Jan. 18-24, 2025; Koloa, Hawaii.

Disclosures:
Bruhn reports being an employee of Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company.

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