Podcast Episode 51 – Preventing Lawsuits, Dealing with Curbside Consults, and Avoiding Other Legal Land Mines – Dr. Jeff Segal (Medical Justice)

Episode 51 – My guest on the podcast today is Dr. Jeff Segal.  Dr. Segal is a board-certified neurosurgeon who is also a practicing lawyer!  He launched a company called Medical Justice in 2002. Medical Justice is a physician-based organization focused on keeping doctors from being sued for frivolous reasons. Dr. Segal also founded eMerit to help doctors protect and preserve their reputations – particularly online. 

Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice and online reputation.  He also hosts the Medical Liability Minute Podcast where he shares wisdom to help coach physicians to avoid some legal land mines.  I’m pumped that he’s here on the podcast today to share some of that wisdom with us.  You’re going to learn a lot.  I definitely learned some things I didn’t know.  This is stuff that all physicians need to know, unfortunately.  There’s just no getting away from legal entanglements in your career. But, thanks to people like Dr. Segal, we should be well equipped to handle them. 

Free Resource: Writing Your Professional Résumé

Most people write their résumé wrong, and they end up not getting the job they want.  Learn the best way to write your CV that gets you interviews and job offers so that you can have the career of your dreams!

 

 

Check out the additional free resources available at The Scope of Practice!

• Business management resources
• Personal finance resources
• Podcasting resources
• Recommended online courses
• Recommended books

 

Meet Jeff Segal and the Medical Justice Team!

Dr. Segal is a board-certified neurosurgeon who trained at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Segal also graduated from Concord Law School with highest honors. He is currently a partner at Byrd Adatto law firm.

Dr. Segal launched Medical Justice in 2002. Medical Justice is a physician-based organization focused on keeping doctors from being sued for frivolous reasons. Dr. Segal also founded eMerit to help doctors protect and preserve their reputations – particularly online.

Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice and online reputation.

Connect to Dr. Jeff Segal and Medical Justice

• Twitter: @MedicalJustice
• LinkedIn: Medical Justice Services
• Facebook: Medical Justice
• Medical Liability Minute Podcast
• Medical Liability Minute: Podbean
• Medical Liability Minute: Apple iTunes

 

Check out the Doctor Podcast Network!

The Doctor Podcast Network is a group of physician and physician family podcasters with incredible messages to share with physicians.  I’m incredibly excited to be a founding member of the organization.  We are a large and growing network with incredible outreach.

We podcast about any and all topics that are important to physicians and their families including:

• Financial wellness
• Business mastery and leadership
• Marriage and family support
• Real estate
• and much more!

Click here and come check out the great podcasts that are a part of the network.  If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, we’d love to have you join us!  Help us reach out to physicians all over the world!

One-on-one personal finance and business coaching

If you need a little more individualized help figuring out:

• How to build and implement a successful long-term finance strategy
• How to budget effectively without going crazy
• What to do in order to get you and your spouse on the same page with your finances
• Writing a resume
• How to find the right practice to join
• Or anything else related to business or personal finance

I’d love to help you so you can have the successful career and financial freedom you deserve.  Just click here and email me to set up a free consultation to determine if one-on-one coaching is right for you. 

I’ve coached hundreds of families to eliminate millions of dollars in debt and get their finances on track, and I’d love to help you do the same so you feel safe knowing your career and personal finances are as strong as you want them to be.

Click here and email me to set up a free consultation today!

Show times

• 00:00 – Introduction to the episode.
• 01:17 – Subscribe to the podcast, and please leave a review!  
• 01:30 – Join the Business and Personal Finance for Physicians and Dentists Facebook Group.
• 02:56 – Introduction to Dr. Jeff Segal from Medical Justice.
• 04:58 – Let’s meet Dr. Jeff Segal, founder of Medical Justice.
• 06:50 – How did Dr. Jeff Segal transition from a clinical career as a neurosurgeon to start Medical Justice?
• 09:42 – We’re going to talk to Dr. Jeff Segal about avoiding legal “landmines.”
• 10:31 – The “curbside consult” can get us into trouble.  We want to help people, but have to protect ourselves.  Be wary of doing this without seeing the patient.  Dr. Jeff Segal even recommends documenting that conversation.
• 13:30 – The Medical Justice team sees physicians get burned by not documenting things properly.  Document, document, document!!!
• 15:24 – “If it’s not documented, it hasn’t been done.”  Dr. Jeff Segal says that’s not quite true, but the better the documentation, the easier your defense.
• 16:45 – How do we prevent ourselves from being sued?  The Medical Justice team suggests that it starts with patient selection.  Don’t accept a patient that talks about other physicians being “terrible doctors.”  Get your staff to help you out.
• 18:48 – Dr. Jeff Segal says that we need to communicate effectively with our patients if we want to avoid being sued.
• 22:26 – Should we really give our patients our cell phone numbers?  Dr. Jeff Segal thinks so.
• 23:07 – What do we do when we get sued?  Get in touch with your malpractice insurance carrier.  First, DON’T PANIC!!
• 26:15 – Preparing for the deposition is going to be critical.  Get a lawyer to help you out.  
• 30:30 – How do we select the right attorney for us?  Medical Justice and Dr. Jeff Segal suggest getting the right mix of intense/aggressive and assertive/considerate.  Ask other attorneys for a recommendation.
• 31:47 – Dr. Lacey shares some of his personal experience.
• 32:50 – When does it make sense to settle and when should we fight the case?  It’s a really tough call.  Dr. Jeff Segal walks through the pros and cons of each option.
• 39:15 – Sometimes it makes sense to settle quickly and get out of the crosshairs.
• 42:38 – What are some tips that Medical Justice can offer for winning a malpractice case?
• 46:40 – The more specific you can be with your documentation, the better!  There’s no such thing as a pristine record.  
• 54:15 – How can we connect to Dr. Jeff Segal, Medical Justice, and the Medical Liability Minute?
• 56:25 – Summary of the episode.
• 57:15 – This week’s free resource is a guide called “Writing Your CV.”
• 59:00 – Signing off!

Listen to the next episode

Full Disclosure: Some of the links to the resources listed above may be affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But it doesn’t cost you anything extra—it’s just a way to show you appreciate what we do here. Thanks for this.