119: Overtime – Team Physician Malpractice Liability

On each of these mini episodes, we chat about a new article or new surgical technique in the field of sports medicine. We’ll give you our quick take on the most recent data and how this data will impact our practice. Today, we’re broaching a topic that we haven’t discussed before on this podcast.  And that is the medico-legal side of sports medicine.  Specifically, the malpractice liability exposure for team physicians.In January of 2023, a professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles sued a surgeon in Pittsburgh, that surgeon’s medical center, and the Philadelphia orthopaedic practice caring for the team.  After a 2-week trial, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $43.5 million dollars in damages.  This ruling has had a profound impact on our sports medicine community and ultimately led to the Philadelphia practice terminating its contract to care for this NFL team.This case, and others that have come before it, has highlighted the liability that orthopedic surgeons assume when caring for elite professional athletes.  Despite this, many sports medicine physicians lack the legal expertise to understand their risk of exposure.  Today, we are reviewing an article published this month in AJSM titled “Malpractice Liability Exposure and the Sports Medicine Team Physician: Caring for Professional Athletes in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and National Hockey League.”