A medical practice that is justifiable and logical is termed a good medical practice. In order to avoid being sued, one must keep within the limits of one’s own expertize. There have been cases where people believed that they knew what they were doing, but it became evident later that they did not. For instance, a doctor removed moles from a patient’s body when she was anesthetized for some other procedure. The patient had bad scars and thus sued the doctor. The experts then reviewed and stated that the technique employed by the doctor was not appropriate. Several such cases have been reported and doctors have been sued.

Besides practicing under your own field of expertize, it is also important to be vigilant while delegating tasks. When you are assigning responsibility to others, whether medically qualified or not, you must always ensure that the individual is capable of performing the duty to acceptable standards. Likewise, if a duty is delegated to you, then you must not accept it unless you are competent enough to accomplish the task to a reasonable standard.

Keeping up to date is another significant aspect of avoiding being sued. Medicine is an ever evolving field. Using techniques that are old and outdated can potentially land you in trouble. Employing appropriate techniques and having the right facilities in your medical practice are essential for providing adequate care. 

The number of inimical episodes can be reduced by means of risk management. Besides the aforementioned practices, communicate effectively with your patients and colleagues, ensure that all the systems are in place so that none of the patient records and test results slip through, maintain comprehensive clinical records.

Strive to keep your patients satisfied, adhere to the policies and procedures of the institution, render patient-centered care in order to minimize lawsuits for medical negligence. 

When encountered with cases that you already know belong to the domain of MLCs, follow your institution’s protocol. You should carefully examine and treat such a patient; record the date, time, and place; record who brought the patient; record the examination findings. You must record dying declaration if the person is on the verge of death. Do not issue death certificates in cases of deaths under suspicious circumstances and recommend postmortem examination for the cause and nature of death. Inform the police right away. 

There is a need for reorientation courses and Continuing Medical Education programs of doctors to help them get more aware with the management of medicolegal cases.