An analysis of pediatric retinoblastoma medical malpractice litigation.
Pediatricians were the specialty most often sued in retinoblastoma malpractice cases.
An analysis of pediatric retinoblastoma medical malpractice litigation.
Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the retina that is most commonly diagnosed in the pediatric population.
The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of medical malpractice litigation associated with a diagnosis of retinoblastoma in the pediatric population.
A search for all available cases associated with "retinoblastoma" in the Westlaw Campus Research Legal Database was conducted.
One case included two siblings who were both diagnosed with retinoblastoma.
The majority of the patients were female (N = 10, 71.4%) and all patients were alive at the time of trial.
Failure to diagnose retinoblastoma represents the most common context in which malpractice litigation arises in pediatric patients.
However, few cases were identified in this study, which may be due to the settlement of these cases out of court.
Although retinoblastoma is a condition primarily diagnosed in the pediatric population, our analysis shows that many different specialties are potentially involved during litigation.
This highlights the importance of retinoblastoma education and screening across multiple specialties.