Practice Guidelines and Malpractice Litigation: A Two-Way Street

This two-part study reviewed litigation records at two professional liability insurance companies to investigate the use of practice guidelines by plaintiff and defendant attorneys and surveyed attorneys who litigate personal injury cases to assess their views on the role of guidelines.

Abstract

Guidelines are used both by plaintiffs' and defendants' attorneys in malpractice cases. The emphasis in health reform proposals on guidelines as exculpatory evidence should be carefully considered.