Litigation attorney Cullen McKinney is a founding partner at Tanoury Nauts McKinney & Garbarino, PLLC. Based in Detroit, Michigan, Cullen McKinney represents hospitals and medical professionals defending claims of medical malpractice.
When medical professionals face malpractice lawsuits, there are several defenses available to them. Some of the more common include:
- Contributory negligence. Through his or her attorney, a medical professional can claim that it was an action or omission by the plaintiff that caused injury, not one by the defendant. For example, a doctor can argue that the plaintiff failed to disclose relevant information before going into surgery, information which if disclosed, would have led the doctor to take an alternative treatment path from the one that is alleged to have caused harm.
- Statute of limitations. Statutory law sets a time limit within which a person can file a case against a doctor for medical malpractice. If that time limit has elapsed, a doctor can argue that the case is time barred by an applicable statute of limitations.
- Good Samaritan acts. This defense is available to doctors who provide medical services in emergency situations to save patients. It shields medical professionals from civil liability when they go out of their way to provide care to individuals in distress. However, the applicability of this defense varies by state.
